The Yak interviewed Luisa Anderson – Regional Director of Spas for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts at their new digs in the foothills of Jimbaran…
Wow, I’ve just booked in for a very novel therapy, at the brand new The Healing Village Spa, called Celestial Light Ritual. The incredible, new therapies that the Four Seasons has instigated are centered round energy healing, and are all very impressive. Can you tell us a bit more about the move towards these types of treatments?
Whilst every Four Seasons spa strives to provide the best and most meaningful experiences using organic products, each creates and curates their own offering. In Bali, it was important to us to stay connected to the culture both in architectural design and spa experience. At the same time we were inspired to include the healing support of light, colour, sound and crystals and link this back to Balinese ways.
When working with the architects we made the decision to create a treatment room without any windows, in contrast to all the other rooms that have generous outdoor bathing areas and Balinese gardens. This room is perfect for chromotherapy (colour therapy) as it is sealed from outdoor light. Our team has been working with a colour-healing consultant in Australia for the last 5 years, and was keen to use colour in a bigger way in our spa treatments. We have also worked very closely with Bali’s top crystal jewelry designer, Anna Michielan who, with my team, is very connected to the properties of each crystal.
So the idea of THE ILLUME ROOM was born. The tag line of The Healing Village Spa is, “It takes a village to raise a child and a spa village to raise vibration”. In THE ILLUME ROOM we have harnessed the more subtle aspects of healing vibration, through the combined use of specially composed music tracks with a surround-sound system, a heated crystal-sand massage bed, alchemy crystal singing bowls in 423Hz (the heartbeat of Mother Nature), and colour therapy.
You recently expanded the spa can you tell us what has changed, in so far as the construction?
The new spa is 70% bigger than before, rebuilt and reimagined with a contemporary Balinese design, surrounded by water features. The architect was Nick Juniper from Fulcrum Agency in Perth, and interior design by Design Studio SPIN, Japan (same as Sundara).
It has transformed into a two-storey building covering more than 2,000 square metres of indoor and outdoor space. There are now ten treatment rooms – up from seven previously – and each treatment room is a Suite, with en-suite bathroom and steam shower. Treatment beds are top-of-the-range: fully adjustable, heated mattress with in-built aromatherapy head pillow. The Chromotherapy room has a quartz sand bed for Psammotherapy (Hot Sand Therapy). The bed is made from crushed crystals and is heated to combine thermal heat with aromatherapy, inversion therapy and undulating massage (the sand-bed moves as the therapist applies pressure to different areas of the body).
The Longevity Garden is a private space for couples to DIY salt scrubs and mud wraps, with an infra-red mat to aid absorption of minerals and draw out toxins. As they move from stone loungers warmed by the sun to an ice bath, they will enjoy the benefits of thermotherapy: reduced inflammation, increased circulation, endorphins and faster muscle recovery.
A Wet Room with an eco-friendly Vichy shower (50% less water than regular Vichy) provides water treatments and body scrubs enhanced by colour therapy.
There is also a Rossano Ferretti Hair Salon (the only one in South-East Asia), in partnership with the celebrity Italian stylist whose clients include Kate Middleton, Jennifer Lawrence, J-Lo and more. Ethical, eco-friendly, hair products.
Along with a yoga studio, gym, steam & sauna, large reception area and retail space, creating a complete wellness and beauty destination.
What was the main aim with expanding and re-launching?
To reinforce Four Seasons position as Bali’s leading wellness destination, with revolutionary new treatments rooted in science, to complement our beautiful Balinese-inspired rituals. We wanted a space to bring healing, delight and inspiration to the guest.
Which treatments would you like to highlight?
THE ILLUME ROOM
Be guided back to wellness in The Illume Room. This cutting-edge spa suite draws on the latest technologies and science of the body’s 50 trillion cells to offer a total immersion into light, sound and colour frequencies for balance and bliss. Bali’s first ‘Surround Sound Spa Suite’, The Illume Room is sealed from outside sources of light to maximise the powerful colour therapy healing. A heated quartz-sand bed, made of crushed crystals, combines with surround-sound technology and seven alchemy crystal singing bowls add to the high vibrations. Working on the body’s electromagnetic field, our powerful treatments stimulate inner healing responses, while inviting every cell to thrive for true holistic harmony. Quantum physics shows that each colour resonates with the body in a unique way – a synchronicity reflected in our Gemstone Oils: Garnet to calm and ground; Carnelian for creativity and passion; Rose Quartz for love and connection; Lapis to cool and refresh; Amethyst to purify and protect.
CELESTIAL LIGHT RITUAL 120 min | 3,500,000++
An ethereal sensory immersion Cocooned in The Illume Room on a massage bed of crushed quartz crystals, this profound experience draws on the vibrations of gemstones and the transformative effects of light, colour and sound to elevate you to an otherworldly realm. With the choice of colour and gemstone oils tailored to your needs and focus areas, experience a bespoke flow of therapies that incorporate crystal massage tools, high-frequency crystal-infused oils, chromotherapy lighting and resonant singing bowls. Together, they bring the body, mind and emotions into balance and induce a state of mesmeric bliss.
BARU DETOX 120 min | 3,500,000++
Wash away the tide of toxins Boost circulation with this citrus-spiced oil and clay wrap, with 15 natural powders (including kelp and bladderwrack) to aid toxin release, plus cleansing mini facial. Let the vibrations of chromotherapy literally wash over you with a Vichy shower delivered through coloured beams of light, to tune your energy to the frequency of Mother Earth. A deep tissue massage completes this powerful, sensory experience.
THE LONGEVITY GARDEN 75 min (individual or couple) | 1,200,000++
Tucked away at the back of our Spa overlooking the abundant tropical gardens lies a tranquil space for self-directed purifying, cleansing and healing. Create a Balinese-style steam room hammam alone or with a partner with local nourishing coconut soap and pumice. Use nutrient-rich volcanic mud body masks combined with an infrared mat for mineral magic, followed by a cleansing shower and three-minute ice tub immersion to release endorphins, tighten pores, reduce muscular recovery time, and invigorate from head to toe.
With the new direction of the spas, what were the challenges in bringing the spa team into this new focus?
The team embraced the concept very easily as we had worked with sound, colour and crystals over the years. It was an organic evolution we had been building up to. There were challenges however as COVID broke a few months before the Spa’s scheduled opening. Physical distancing and reduced working hours made training and trialing the treatments quite tricky. We were really grateful to have the owner’s support to complete the project and launch in September 2020, amid a global pandemic.
How have the treatment ingredients changed?
We have used organic spa products for more than 10 years. For the new spa we partnered with a fabulous company called ISUN out of the USA that uses organic wild crafted ingredients along with crystals in almost all products. For example we have 5 different crystal oils we use in the Celestial Light Ritual: Garnet, Carnelian, Rose Quartz, Lapis Lazuli and Amethyst.
We had other products manufactured here in Bali – also organic. They include ingredients such as essential oils found in the Indonesian archipelago, Indonesian volcanic mud and Balinese virgin coconut oil soap.
What are the highlights and results that can guests expect from this new Four Seasons Spa path?
We wanted a space that would support healing from every angle. The physical product is supreme, the treatments innovative and effective, we have a commitment to keeping ‘energetically clean’ spaces and the therapists love what they do. It’s a great recipe for healing opportunities.
Can non-hotel guests book in for some treatments?
Yes, both spas at Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay and Ubud are open to non-resident guests, and all treatments are available.
Do you have residencies or visiting notables throughout the year?
We had a really robust Guest Practitioner programme in Jimbaran for the 5 years preceding COVID and a Yoga Master in Residence program in Sayan. Both were hugely successful and we have every intention to reinstate these programs once borders open. So, until then we are bringing out our experts to the world via virtual wellness sessions. We are also launching a new monthly series June through to December in collaboration with Four Seasons Resorts of Asia in Maldives, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. For the June activities, we have:
- Saturday, June 12, 2021, 4:00 pm GMT+8: In celebration of Global Wellness Day, resident wellness mentor Ibu Fera invites participants to join her on the treetop lotus pond at Four Seasons Resort at Sayan, for a 45 minute meditation focused on increasing awareness and mindfulness to boost resilience.
- Wednesday, June 30, 2021, 4:00 pm GMT+8:Amid the rice fields of Dharma Shanti Bale, join Sayan’s Spa Manager Faraaz Tanveer for Qigong, the first of 9 monthly “Live Well” experiences curated by Four Seasons Resorts of Asia. The series will continue the last Wednesday of each month through to December, featuring on-site experts from Bali, Maldives, Langkawi, Thailand and Vietnam Resorts. For details on these complimentary virtual sessions, message @fsbali on Instagram or email ubu@fourseasons.com.
All sessions remain on-demand on our social channels, for anyone who misses the schedule and wants to participate in their own time.
And lastly, I fell in love with the music and the new ingredients used – are these available to purchase?
Those ISUN products are just too good not to sell – yes they’re in our spa retail shop along with exquisite crystal jewelry, Balinese produced products and many other goodies. The Sacred Nap album is available for purchase at Rp369,000.
Can’t wait to step away from the clatter and into the bliss of The Healing Village Spa at the Four Seasons Jimbaran – so thank you Luisa and I am sure we’ll catch up again soon.
IG: @fsbali