There are few escapes in the concrete jungle known as Bangkok. A much welcome one is in the form of the new urban wellness retreat at the Four Seasons Bangkok at the Chao Phraya River.
Spear-headed by Benjamin Carter, director of spa, the retreat is what all wellness centres should be — a lifestyle destination. “Our urban wellness centre is aimed at enhancing unique holistic goals. It’s about integrating what people are currently doing and what we can foresee and achieve with them; whether they are with us for one or two days, or are based in Bangkok. We will encapsulated where you are and where you’re going. One day you may need an indepth programme, the next you may need to be pampered and relaxed. Things are not always on a rigid schedule. It’s also about learning to work with other physicians to integrate the best into your wellness,” explains Carter.
Arranged around a serene palm courtyard, away from the chaos of city life (and the rest of the hotel buzz), more than 2,500m² of wellness space offers a haven of self-care. Three streams of wellness come together — a mix of mind, body and work wellness. “It’s getting your body what it needs in all aspects,” adds Carter.
Mind Wellness
A complete wellness journey is more than just the physical body,” says Carter. Taking the time to connect with oneself is of utter importance and the Urban Wellness Center has a team of in-house practitioners and visiting masters to cater to different people through a series of spiritual practices.
The centre offers a spirit house guided ritual, guided meditation, reiki, pranic healing, ayurveda and acupuncture with visiting masters.
Body Wellness
The lavish spa, for those looking for luxurious pampering, has nine treatment rooms, a VIP suite and an advance treatment room. While all the locker rooms have vitality pools, there is also a spacious consultation area with a wellness boutique and relaxation lounges. The vitality pool is where you’re most likely to bump into me, simply because it combines various water effects to soothe the different aching parts of the body, and I have plenty. The waterfalls or cervical massages with air effects such as hydromassage beds not only relax the body but the mind, as well.
Additional spa services include a Gentleman’s Tonic barber shop, which is so much like a gentleman’s club that you’re going to find it hard to leave, even if you’re not man! A Sense of Beauty, a Salon by Sasha, caters to the women.
Work Wellness
The centre is also very sports-focused and takes the “Formula One” of sports performance and trickles it down to integrate it into daily lifestyles. “It’s about bringing regulated athletic performance into people’s exercise routines,” explains Carter.
“Fitness is supposed to be fun,” says Carter, and at the wellness centre it is also about capitalising on the entire centre. The fitness offering encompasses a naturally-lit state-of-the-art gym, a dedicated mind and body studio with regular open and private classes, and a 35m lap pool, not forgetting a custom competition-size Muay Thai ring.
“At the Four Seasons, we want to know who you are so we can become a team and help develop you,” adds Carter. Turn up the music — and heat — with high intensity interval training. “The Four Season Wellness Centre has an extensive aqua programme, because who doesn’t believe in the healing powers of water?” says Carter. This isn’t just aqua aerobics, the centre also has aqua flow, aqua bootcamp, aqua Muay Thai and aqua yoga, for when you’re injured and need to recover. “It’s about knowing the peaks and troughs in people’s lifestyles and activities,” adds Carter.
“We look at the science behind what you need to be at your optimum best and of course, being the Four Seasons that comes with luxury service and personalisation. This is where we inject the bit of difference to the market, especially with our membership and boutique healthcare services. We will be teaming up with other partners and creating a unique hub in Bangkok with the best practitioners. It’s not about targeting just one group of people — high sports performance people. It’s taking from the everyday and turning that into something better.”
For those looking for regular access to the Urban Wellness Centre, private memberships are the way to go, though for a taste of what that entails, the centre also offers day passes. Visit fourseasons.com/bangkok/spa.
