Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai Unveils New Spa

  • October 16, 2009
Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai Unveils New Spa
In addition to Shanghai, HBA has collaborated with Four Seasons on their Seychelles, Chennai, and Guangzhou hotels.

The design fuses the traditional with the contemporary, art, science, and theatre of a centuries-old practice, providing an inspirational environment, calm, considerate and intelligent. With 762-square-meters of relaxation, treatment and consultation facilities, the Spa sets new standards for Shanghai. The Spa includes nine treatment rooms, a private manicure and pedicure room, a reserved consultation space for acupuncture and a separate domain for foot reflexology.

Guests are first greeted by a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling lacquered door of aged elm wood, reminiscent of the enormous imperial palace doors common in the early Chinese dynasties. Within is a calming yet theatrical haven of textured black granite flooring, contemporary Chinese furniture and beautiful objets d'art distinctive to China.

The reception space uses materials researched from the lanes and places of old Shanghai. Elements have lived in naturalness - no pristine engineering here. Subtleties are all around: watermarked rugs and over-scale ink and water artwork. An array of the ingredients used in the ancient arts flank one side of the space.

The spa boasts nine treatment rooms, each with its own changing areas, inspirational showers, elegant bronze vanities and veiled screens. Each of the nine treatment room takes on a unique character based on the I Ching symbol system, which was used to define order in an otherwise chaotic world. The I Ching is made up of eight symbols that signify the Universe’s eight defining phenomena: Sky, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Water (Moon), Fire (Sun), Mountain and Lake.

The rooms are distinguished by richly ornate interiors and each represent one of these symbols, creating Yin Yang or balance throughout the spa. Each space is themed around individual medicinal ingredients with rose-hip, ginseng and lilac accents reflected in unique artwork, fabric, and furniture pieces. Calm descends within the rooms with a rich and atmospheric palette of ash, honed granite and stained bamboo.

The overall effect is stunning and entirely unique in the market.