The spa menu includes treatments with a local fl avour, including an amber stone massage
hand-picked products
“W
e didn’t want to work with just any big, international
brand,” explains Amber Spa GM Alla Sokolova. “We spent a long time researching products that, although absolutely top-end in terms of luxury and exclusivity, fitted in with our ethos and used the sort of natural ingredients you’d find in traditional treatments here in Jurmala.” The result was the introduction in
June 2010 of two brands, themselves only launched 18 months ago, for both treatments and retail: Elier (Elier Unique): Created
•
in Switzerland and packaged by Helena Rubinstein, the products are nevertheless produced in Latvia, using mud and other ingredients sourced locally. Amber Spa now plans to create signature treatments with Elier, as well as launching in-room products for the hotel. Russie Blanche: The brainchild of
•
Russian model Julia Lemigova, this luxury line is used to enhance the ‘banya’ experience. It comprises creams, masks, essential oils and scrubs, produced in France but based on traditional Siberian recipes.
and restaurant. But there was, as she explains, “no unity between the various elements of the offering”. It was to the heritage of Jurmala that
the Sokolovs turned as a potential source of that unity. Created in 1959 by the merging of seaside resort Rigas-Jurmala and hydrotherapeutic spa resort Kemeri, what is now known simply as Jurmala had long enjoyed a reputation as a health destination. Indeed, archaeological fi ndings suggest that Kemeri’s sulphur springs were already being used for medicinal purposes in the 16th century, and by the early 19th century Russian Tsar Nicholas I had granted funds for the creation of bathing areas. The resort’s popularity continued to grow, even throughout the Soviet era when it was used both as a training base for professional athletes, and as a destination to which top-performing citizens were sent as a reward for their efforts. “We decided to draw on this heritage,
delivering the sort of treatments that this area has long been famous for – mud
august 2010 © cybertrek 2010
cures, sulphur water bathing and so on – but with a modern feel and in a more luxurious environment,” explains Alla.
holistic approach With an overall investment of 6m, Amber Spa is certainly that. The 21-room boutique hotel, designed by architect and interior designer Evgenii Zakmanis of Zakman Design Studios, adopts a gentle, amber-influenced décor throughout, from the colour palette to the close-up photographs of pieces of amber on the walls, right down to small details such as amber beads adorning the ends of the bathroom taps. Meanwhile the spa – originally built
in 2005 and refurbished in early 2009 – offers 15 attractive treatment rooms, a consultation room, a relaxation area,
a pedicure/manicure area, sunbeds and a hair salon. The treatment menu includes the usual range of relaxation and beauty-focused options, with one- off treatments and day spa packages available. However, the main purpose of the spa is to complement the rest of the International Wellness Centre offering, with locally-infl uenced treatments such as hydrotherapy, body wraps and amber stone massages integrated into the centre’s broader wellness programmes. “Spa is too narrow a word and doesn’t really refl ect what we do here,” says Alla.
“What we’re about is a wellness lifestyle.” And this is where all the pieces of
the jigsaw start to come together, in a holistic approach to wellness and vitality that encompasses fi tness (in the Balans Club gym), nutrition
Read Health Club Management online at
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