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10 SEPTEMBER 2026 ISSUE 509

A SPA BUSINESS PUBLICATION

Megaworld invests in The Farm

CLICK TO READ

Development is underway on the 25-hectare San Benito Private Estate in Lipa City, Batangas, a major wellness community being created alongside The Farm at San Benito in the Philippines. Developer Megaworld is investing ₱12 in the project over five to seven years in partnership with CG Hospitality – the hospitality arm of CG Corp Global, which owns The Farm. The first phase will include

THE FARM AT SAN BENITO

billion (US$192 million, £142 million)

■ The new development will give access to The Farm at San Benito

roads, infrastructure and core elements of the township. San Benito Private Estate will be

branded hotel, commercial

and preserved terrain, with views

areas, holistic wellness facilities,

towards the Malarayat Mountains. Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso,

directly connected to The Farm,

a sports and leisure hub, an

giving future residents access to

active adult centre, community

president and CEO of

its health and wellness facilities.

gardens and nature trails.

Megaworld, said the aim is to

Plans include private villas

create a “community where

Around 50 per cent of the site

and residential lots, low-rise

will remain as green and open

health is a way of life”.

condominiums, an internationally

space, including natural parks

MORE >>> http://lei.sr/d4X4j_B

The hotel will be part of a 70,000sq m site

p05

FAMILIES

RYAN WICKS

Aman plans "urban sanctuary" Seoul property

KATERYNA STARUSHKINA

AMAN GROUP

DEVELOPMENT

NEW OPENING

Luxury wellness is ignoring the family market segment

The BoTree hotel in London opens social wellness club

Lisa Tacaks tries to resolve this oversight

Triplebond has extensive wellness facilities

p08

p10

spa business people Hati Malinova delivers women's wellbeing retreats for Six Senses in the Maldives and Japan

ix Senses is launching a

cyclical living. The retreat will use

retreat designed specifically

the Traditional Chinese Medicine

for women’s wellbeing,

concept of perimenopause and

which will combine modern

menopause as a “second spring”.

science and ancient wisdom to

Global wellness projects director

restore emotional balance and

for Six Senses, Hati Malinova,

regulate the nervous system.

will deliver the retreats. She

The Yin Way Retreat – The Way of

has more than two decades of

a Woman will debut at Six Senses

clinical experience in female and

Kanuhura in the Maldives between

reproductive health, postpartum

1-4 October, with its second edition

care and family wellbeing.

taking place between 11-14 December

Malinova said: “Women’s wellness SIX SENSES

at Six Senses Kyoto in Japan. Six Senses says the retreat has been created in response

of women the “Yin” principles of

The aim is to give women tools they can continue to use at home

rest, receptivity, reflection and

Hati Malinova

to a demand for more genderspecific wellness support. The experience will teach small groups

has often been treated as a narrow conversation, focused on fertility and menopause, but it's much broader than that. Women are asking more questions and often arriving at Six Senses when calm, sleep, and balance feel just out of reach.” MORE >>> http://lei.sr/H3n8X_B

William Heinecke reveals Minor's plan for global ecosystem of retreats

MINT/ MINOR HOTELS

inor Hotels is planning

The company is basing its new

a global ecosystem

philosophy on the medi-wellness

of retreat facilities,

concept called Life by Anantara,

hubs and residences with a

which launched in 2024 at Anantara

full aftercare programme.

Layan Phuket. Heinecke said, “At our

William Heinecke, founder of Minor

When wellness fills rooms in its own right, you treat it as a driver of the whole asset William Heinecke

www.spabusiness.com

flagship in Phuket – Layan Life by

International (MINT), revealed the

Anantara – wellness isn’t something

plans for the Thai-listed group’s

guests discover after they’ve booked;

hotel division in an exclusive

it’s the reason they book. In the

interview with Spa Business.

first half of 2026, Layan Life guest

Minor Hotels is shifting its

nights grew more than threefold

approach from seeing wellness

year-on-year. When wellness fills

offerings as hotel amenities to

rooms in its own right, you treat it

providing guests with a reason to

as a driver of the whole asset.”

book stays and receive aftercare.

MORE >>> http://lei.sr/9F4h2_B

©Cybertrek Ltd 2026 Spa Business Issue 509

Live news:

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CONTENTS ISSUE 509 04

Longevity city

Aman Seoul

Officials in Chiang Mai, Thailand, have plans to make the city a longevity and wellness hub

Aman Group plans a Seoul hotel, spa and branded residences within a 70,000sq m site

SPA BUSINESS INSIGHTS Family wellness

Belonging at BoTree

Rhythmic relaxation

Supplier news

ABRIL DONEA

Ethnobotanist Abril Giles hosts African medicine retreat

hands-on herbal medicine retreat will take place at the Nsobe Game Camp in the Miombo woodlands of northern

Zambia between 1–7 December 2026. The safari-style African Medicine Retreat has been designed to preserve ancestral plant medicine and traditional healing practices of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC). Local indigenous healers from the BIPOC

Operations consultant Lisa Takacs says luxury wellness is neglecting families

MY TAKE

Social wellness club Triplebond has opened at BoTree hotel in London, prioritising human connection

Hard Rock Hotel Malta launches with spa and fitness facilities measuring 3,800sq m

The latest in products and innovation from Swissline, Shapes, Jurlique, Seabody and Phytomer

herbalism community will teach participants how to harvest, prepare and apply remedies. Guests will prepare between three and five herbal remedies per day, learning about native plants. Accommodation will be traditional bush chalets. There will also be safari game drives across the 1,500-hectare wildlife sanctuary, with opportunities to observe animals including giraffes, zebras, warthogs, monkeys and more than 15 species of antelope. The retreat leaders include Abril Giles, an ethnobotanist, farmer and founder of the Traditional Earth Medicine School in rural Georgia, US. Hellen Songa will co-facilitate the retreat. Songa is a Rwandan-Zambian farmer, nature guide, folk herbalist and social artist. MORE >>> http://lei.sr/e6U4J_B

Spa Business Issue 509 ©Cybertrek Ltd 2026

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spa business news EVENT

World Wellness Weekend turns 10 World Wellness Weekend, a organises an annual wellness celebration, is celebrating its tenth anniversary between 18-20

We believe in wellness for all

ARNAUD REICHERT

not-for-profit association that

Jean-Guy de Gabriac

September with activations planned in a record 187 countries. The movement, which was founded by wellness consultant

such as fitness classes,

and educator Jean-Guy de

mindfulness sessions, educational

Gabriac, is designed to encourage

workshops, nature experiences

accessible, inclusive and preventive

and community gatherings.

wellness through free activities.

De Gabriac told Spa Business,

Participating venues around

“We believe in Wellness For All.”

the world will offer free activities,

MORE >>> http://lei.sr/7R5C9_B

LONGEVITY

Officials within the largest city in northern Thailand, Chiang Mai, have

■ The strategy is built around five pillars

developed a five-year strategy to make the location a global longevity

Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative

and wellness destination that will

Organisation, the Tourism Authority

generate up to THB150 billion (US$4.7

of Thailand, the Thailand Convention

billion, €4 billion, £3.5 billion) in

and Exhibition Bureau and private-

revenue from foreign visitors by 2031.

sector tourism networks.

The Chiang Mai Chamber of

Obtain access to worldwide media exposure, cutting-edge research, data, networking opportunities and more. BECOME AN ISPA MEMBER TODAY. 4

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The 2027-2031 strategy is built

Commerce’s vice president, Akom

around five key pillars: longevity food;

Suwannakantha, introduced the

herbal medicine and cosmeceuticals;

plan during an announcement

medical services; mindfulness and

about the upcoming Chiang Mai

mental wellbeing; and marketing

Longevity Summit 2026, which took

place between 3-4 September at

Four experiential tourism routes

Shangri-La Chiang Mai. The chamber

were launched during the summit.

of commerce will work with the

MORE >>> http://lei.sr/5B3a7_B

©Cybertrek Ltd 2026 Spa Business Issue 509

SHUTTERSTOCK/ BAMGRAPHY

Chiang Mai to become longevity city

Live news:

www.spabusiness.com

insider

EXPANSION

MEET THE TEAM

Aman Seoul to open after $500m deal Aman Group has announced in South Korea – Aman Seoul – as the luxury hospitality company continues to expand its model beyond destination resorts into high-value urban hotels, residences

AMAN GROUP

plans to open its first destination

We're creating an urban sanctuary where Aman loyalists can engage with the energy of Seoul

and private members’ clubs.

estate development business owned

will combine an Aman hotel with

by Aman chair and CEO Vlad Doronin

49 branded residences, an Aman

established a joint venture worth

Spa and an Aman Club, as well

US$500 million (€428 million, £378

as retail and cultural spaces.

million) to develop Aman and sister

In July, Shinsegae Property and

Editorial director

Liz Terry

+44 (0)1462 431385

Spa Business editor

Vlad Doronin

The 70,000sq m development

Miami-based OKO Group, the real

For email use: fullname@ leisuremedia.com

Katie Barnes

+44 (0)1462 471925

Publisher

Astrid Ros +44 (0)1462 471911

brand Janu hotels and residences. MORE >>> http://lei.sr/4s6n7_B

Head of news

Helen Andrews +44 (0)1462 431385

DEVELOPMENT Head of digital

Gensler unveils plan for Truthful Hills Laos masterplan for Truthful Hills, a

+44 (0)1462 471917

Head of design ■ Truthful Hills Laos will offer wellness facilities

GENSLER

Gensler has unveiled its

Tim Nash

Ed Gallagher +44 (0)1462 431385

major tourism destination being developed across 522 hectares

to the Karst Mountains, rivers,

near Vang Vieng in Laos.

agricultural landscapes and caves

Created for Vang Villy Hill Co Ltd,

for which Vang Vieng is known.

Spa Business insider is published fortnightly by The Leisure Media Company Ltd, PO Box 424, Hitchin, SG5 9GF, UK. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the publisher The Leisure Media Company Ltd.

the nature-led masterplan brings

Gensler says the masterplan uses

together hospitality, recreation,

the existing topography to determine

wellness, cultural attractions and

the positioning of accommodation,

supporting infrastructure, with the

attractions and circulation routes,

landscape intended to dictate the

while preserving ecological corridors

form of the development rather than

and views across the landscape.

being adapted to accommodate it.

Low-impact mobility, protection of

The site lies between the villages

natural waterways, conservation

©Cybertrek Ltd 2026.

of Pakpor and Phoudindeng in

and environmental resilience are

Vientiane Province, around the

also priorities for the project.

Nam Them reservoir and close

MORE >>> http://lei.sr/w7z4N_B

ISSN: Print: 1753-3430 Digital: 2397-2408 Subscribe to Spa Business and Spa Business insider at to www.leisuresubs.com, email: subs@leisuremedia.com or call +44 1462 471930.

Spa Business Issue 509 ©Cybertrek Ltd 2026

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recorded or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, Cybertrek Ltd. Printed by Preview Cromatic Ltd. Distributed by Royal Mail Group Ltd and Whistl Ltd in the UK and Total Mail Ltd globally.

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spa business opinion

MY TAKE

KATERYNA STARUSHKINA

If hotels want families to leave feeling restored, the wellness journey cannot end at the treatment room Lisa Takacs, founder and creative lead, Wildhood

Parents are overlooked Wildhood's Lisa Takacs says luxury wellness is neglecting families

uxury hospitality has become very

children are quietly left in a state of vigilance,

good at talking about wellness.

and this becomes most obvious at the pool.

Spas are more thoughtful, sleep

There is a familiar moment between the

programmes are more advanced and

sunbed and the water when a hotel’s idea of

resort experiences are increasingly built around

the perfect day starts to slip. A child heads

restoration, calm and longevity. But in my work

straight for the deep end before the towel

in luxury family hospitality, I keep coming back to

has been unfolded. A parent gets up again,

the same blind spot. Wellness is often designed

still applying sunscreen, watching the water

beautifully for adults, while parents travelling with

instead of relaxing beside it. The setting looks serene, but the parent is anything but.

■ Parents want hotels to have thought about their children

Family travel market Family travel accounts for approximately 30 per cent of global outbound tourism, according to STR and industry research cited in the global Kids Hospitality Report. Families also tend to stay longer and spend more on food, beverage SHUTTERSTOCK/ MITA STOCK IMAGES

8 12

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and services than many other guests, which goes to show that families and especially parents should not be treated as a secondary guest segment, yet too many luxury hotels still design the family journey as if wellbeing belongs mainly to adults travelling without children. ©Cybertrek Ltd 2026 Spa Business Issue 509

■ Children should have clear places to play

www.spabusiness.com

SHUTTERSTOCK/ SHUTTERSTOCK/ PEOPLEIMAGES PEOPLEIMAGES

Live news:

Design lessons Spa teams understand transitions better than almost anyone in hospitality. A good spa does not move a guest abruptly from reception to treatment to departure. It creates arrival

Wellness is often designed for adults, while parents travelling with children are quietly left in a state of vigilance

rituals, relaxation lounges and moments of quiet decompression. It understands that calm

the calm of the resort rather than constantly

is not only about how a space looks, but also

managing the atmosphere's soft collapse.

about how it can be supported. That same

It’s not about turning luxury wellness into

thinking is needed beyond the spa door.

childcare, but rather about recognising that a parent’s wellbeing is shaped by the spaces around

Solutions

the spa as much as by any booked treatments.

At the family poolside, the solution isn’t a

If hotels want families to leave feeling

large children’s area or play structure that

restored, the wellness journey cannot end

runs the risk of working against the luxury

at the treatment room. It has to include the

atmosphere that the hotel has worked so hard

poolside, the transitions and the moments

to create, but rather something more subtle.

where parents are usually expected to

This might be an outdoor play system with

hold everything together themselves.

waterproof toys, brought out each day and

Families do not experience wellness in

integrated into the poolside experience. It

isolated moments. For parents, the real luxury

would give children a clear place to settle when

is not just a beautiful spa or pool – it is a hotel

they are out of the water and allow parents to

that has thought carefully enough about their

sit down, order another drink and stay within

children that they can finally exhale. ●

www.spabusiness.com

spa business insights

BoTree hotel in London’s Marylebone, UK, has opened a social wellness club

Belonging at BoTree

Music-driven classes take place in the infrared studio called the Bassment 10 www.spabusiness.com

RYAN WICKS

he BoTree hotel in London’s Marylebone has opened Triplebond, a new multi-floor social wellness club that puts human connection at the heart of the model, combining fitness, recovery and health optimisation under one roof. Available both to members and guests of the five-star hotel, the new concept has been built around three pillars – activation, restoration and connection – and represents a significant expansion of The BoTree’s wellness offer. While much of the rapidly-growing longevity and optimisation market has focused on treatments, technology and individual health data, Triplebond is taking a deliberately social approach, making connection and belonging a fundamental part of the proposition rather than an add-on to the wellness offer.

Facilities offer red light, contrast and hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Facilities at Triplebond Facilities range from an infrared-heated exercise studio and Technogym-equipped fitness floor to cryotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, red light, compression and contrast therapy, as well as a rooftop swimming pool and social spaces overlooking London. At the heart of the activation offer is the Bassment, a 20-person, beat-led infrared studio where classes are driven by music and rhythm. Programming includes Pilates, highand low-impact strength, barre and stretch. Outside class times, the studio can be used for self-directed movement and meditation. Spa Business Issue 509 ©Cybertrek Ltd 2026

The same floor houses a Fire and Ice Circuit with an infrared sauna, photobiomodulation panels, cold plunge and shower, as well as a separate space with three Monk smart ice baths and fulllength red and near-infrared light panels. www.spabusiness.com

ALL CREDITS RYAN WICKS

Triplebond has a rooftop swimming pool

spa business insights

RYAN WICKS

The gym sits on level nine, with floor-toceiling windows. The partnership brings Technogym Checkup into the club, giving users access to assessment and testing technology alongside conventional training. Recovery and longevity have been concentrated on a separate floor, with a red light lounge, electric whole-body cryotherapy chamber, hyperbaric oxygen chamber, private recovery circuit and a Lymphatic Lounge using Hyperice Normatec compression technology. A Decompress Lounge provides a quieter counterpoint, with massage chairs and other relaxation tools.

The opening is part of a wider second phase of development at the 199-room hotel

Diagnostics and partnerships Diagnostics are also embedded in the model through a partnership with health-testing business Stride. Wellness members undergo onboarding which includes blood analysis, DNA profiling and gut microbiome testing, followed by personalised interpretation of the results. Stride itself currently offers integrated healthtesting programmes covering more than 500 DNA, microbiome and blood markers. ● RYAN WICKS

Fit-out specialist McCue delivered Triplebond, with Tonik Associates named as architect 12 www.spabusiness.com

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spa business insights

Rhythmic relaxation Hard Rock Hotel Malta debuts with brand new Sound Body wellness concept

ard Rock International has opened its first property in Malta, Hard Rock Hotel Malta, with what it says is one of the largest wellness facilities in the country – measuring 3,800sq m. The 397-key five-star resort was developed in partnership with hospitality and property developer Db Group. John Rees, senior VP of hotel operations at Hard Rock International, said, “This landmark opening is a significant investment in Malta, with €350 million (US$409 million, £305 million) invested in the island’s tourism sector and hundreds of new jobs created.” Located in St George’s Bay, the property has 11 swimming pools, including the signature Hard Rock guitar-shaped pool and a rooftop cantilevered pool, as well as more than 10 dining and entertainment venues. Architecture is by Darren Sciberras and MYGG, and interiors involved a variety of design studios, including Astet, Elastic, Jestico and Archtube. Architect Vincenzo Bonanno was responsible for the 1,400sq m Hard Rock Café (which seats 222 people), the gym and spa.

There are 11 treatment rooms

Spa and wellness facilities Hard Rock Hotel Malta has a signature Rock Spa, which offers its Rhythm and Motion treatments, as well as Body Rock gym facilities and Rock Om yoga classes. 16

www.spabusiness.com

Hard Rock Hotel Malta offers a modern approach to wellness travel

Juno is the main supplier of the spa’s thermal facilities

The hotel has introduced its Sound Body concept, which integrates Body Rock fitness and Rock Spa recovery facilities into a single wellness offering. Thomas Guss, Hard Rock Hotel Malta’s GM, told Spa Business: “The opening of Hard Rock Hotel Malta marks an exciting new chapter in wellness destination experiences, with Sound Body set to become Malta’s largest wellness concept, spanning 3,800sq m. Sound Body is built around the belief that wellness is most powerful when movement, recovery, longevity and restoration are experienced Spa Business Issue 509 ©Cybertrek Ltd 2026

as part of one connected journey. Bringing together Body Rock and Rock Spa as one connected experience, the concept blends immersive fitness, hydrothermal facilities, advanced recovery, and personalised wellness experiences into one integrated destination designed around movement, restoration, and longevity-focused wellbeing. “From high-performance training to spa and recovery experiences, Hard Rock Hotel Malta offers a modern approach to wellness travel that supports how guests want to move, recharge and reconnect while away.” www.spabusiness.com

Fitness facilities are on offer at the hotel’s Body Rock gym

The spa, which measures 1,800sq m, has 11 treatment rooms, with treatment beds by both Nilo Spa Design and Gharieni. Linens are by BC SoftWear, while spa treatment partners are Comfort Zone, Knesko and Therabody. Thermal facilities include a sauna, steamroom, salt room, swimming pool, hot tub, ice bath, heated benches and a relaxation area overlooking the indoor pool. Juno is the main supplier. There’s also a relaxation lounge and a wellness retail boutique. Memberships for the spa and wellness facilities cost between €42 (US$49, £37) and €55 (US$64, £48) per month depending on whether it is low or high season. The property also has a beach club, a retail outlet called Rock Shop and a 466sq m ballroom.

Hard Rock Malta has a wellness retail boutique in the spa

The Db Group The Db Group is a Maltese company with offices in London, UK, and the UAE – where it’s planning another Hard Rock Hotel and branded residences, which are due to open in 2029. The Group is known for its restaurants, including brands such as AKI and LOA, as well as developing a multi-use project in Malta’s entertainment district of St Julian’s. The company also has franchise rights for chains such as Starbucks, Hard Rock Café and Grom in Malta. ● 18

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SUPPLIER NEWS

For the latest supplier news and company information, visit

spa-kit.net

Suppliers tell Spa Business insider about their latest product, design and technology launches

SWISSLINE

■ The brand's new Cell Shock White Glow Serum and Glow Mask have been designed to treat dark spots

wissline has created a Cell

uneven pigmentation. Delentigo is

Shock White Glow Serum

designed to prevent and regulate

and Glow Mask to be used

the formation of melanin and

SWISSLINE

Swissline develops Cell Shock White Glow Serum and Mask plus treatment

to treat both melanin-driven dark

lipofuscin in the skin by activating

spots and those that have formed

the skin's own cleaning system,

due to age-related pigmentation.

proteasome, which degrades

They are both designed for early-

oxidised proteins. The effects

ageing and mature skin.

are said to include lightened age

biological processes, including

spots and equalised skin tone.

cumulative oxidative stress and

The Glow Serum uses a trademarked ingredient called

Swissline’s global brand director,

■ Custodio d'Avo

cellular senescence. Treating them

Delentigo to target pigment

Custodio d’Avo, explains: “All age

in the same way overlooks their

irregularities. This ingredient

spots are dark spots – but not all

distinct causes – and the different

combines a biologically active

dark spots are age spots. While

strategies required to address them.”

form of soy isoflavones, in addition

dark spots are driven primarily

to sulforaphane from Swiss

by excess melanin production,

garden cress sprouts to address

age spots reflect more complex