Asia’s hot spot for five-star spas (hktdc.com)


	EPSA at The Peninsula, Hong Kong's newest luxury spa, fuses traditional Chinese elements with contemporary flair

	ESPA founder Susan Harmsworth says her Hong Kong therapists are "the most diligent team" her trainers have worked with

Within the space of a few short years Hong Kong has acquired one of the world's finest collection of top-notch spas with the latest – ESPA in The Peninsula hotel – recently opened at a cost of HK$46.7 million (US$6 million).

Never slow to spot a trend, Hong Kong hoteliers began to include spas in their plans when their worldwide popularity began to surge. Hong Kong residents, who have developed a taste for holidaying in the renowned spas of Bali and Phuket, also began to clamour for similar facilities in their home city. Now the city has a total of six hotel spas that feature in Spa Asia's list of the world's best – arguably the highest concentration of any city.

The most recent spa to open is at The Peninsula, the grande dame of Hong Kong hotels, that is approaching its 80th anniversary. The hotel went into partnership with the renowned British company ESPA, converting two entire floors - comprising 1,116 square metres - to sophisticated, state-of-the art treatment rooms.

Passion for perfection

Designer Henry Leung opted for a fusion of traditional Chinese elements with contemporary flair, featuring marble, aged wood and textured granite. There are a total of 14 treatment rooms, six with floor-to ceiling harbour views and two set up as private suites.

ESPA founder Susan Harmsworth says the company is very picky about who it selects as a partner: they turn down up to five projects daily. The development of The Peninsula spa took three years, and involved intense training of the 22 therapists.

"My trainers tell me that the staff in Hong Kong were the most diligent team they had ever worked with," she says. "I think this will be the spa in Hong Kong … ESPA and The Peninsula both have a passion for perfection."

There is certainly keen competition at the top end of the Hong Kong spa market. Close to The Peninsula is the InterContinental Hotel which has its luxurious I-spa, and the Chuan Spa, on the 40th floor of the Langham Place hotel in Mongkok, which builds its treatment programmes around the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, with an emphasis on the harmony of the conflicting yin and yang forces.

Grand concept

Across the harbour the Grand Hyatt has, likewise, given over a complete floor to its Plateau concept, where the rooms are light, airy and minimalist, with futon-style beds. Guests on the 11th floor can wander along to treatment rooms, dine on the special spa cuisine or take a dip in the harbour-view pool.

Two new five-star hotels in Central district also boast fabulous spas. The ultra-chic Landmark Mandarin Oriental has vitality pools, amethyst crystal steam rooms, "experience showers", Turkish hamam baths, a Roman-style gentle heat bath as well as 15 private deluxe treatment rooms and two dedicated Pilates and yoga studios. The waterfront Four Seasons hotel, a mere five-minute stroll away, also has a luxury spa, featuring some treatment rooms with views of Hong Kong's spectacular harbour.

And there is one more super-spa yet to come. The much-loved Mandarin Oriental hotel, closed for HK$11 billion (US$140 million) renovations, and due to re-open this autumn, will also have a modern facility, giving visitors an incredible choice of world-class spas, all within a few kilometres of each other.