HONG KONG -- Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is getting into the spa
business with the launch of a new brand, Chi, highlighting
treatments based on Chinese philosophy and traditions, said Austin
Frost, vice president-international sales.
The first Chi spa will open at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok
this month, and two more are slated to debut later this year, one
at the group's Mactan Island Resort, Cebu, Philippines, and another
at Shangri-La's Fijian Resort, Yanuca Island.
Frost said the spa's name refers to good health and well-being.
In traditional Chinese philosophy, "chi" is the life force that
governs well-being, and to promote good health, chi must flow
freely, he explained.
Five more spas will come on line in 2005 at Shangri-La Maldives
Resort & Spa, Villingili Island; Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah
Resort & Spa, Muscat, Oman; Pudong Shangri-La in Shanghai;
Shangri-La's Sunny Bay Resort at Sanya and the Shangri-La Hotel
& Spa at Haikou, both in China.
Next up will be the property in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2006
and the property in Guilin, China, in 2007. These seven spas are
debuting at the same time as the hotels, except in Shanghai, where
the spa will launch at the same time as a new tower complex.
To contact reporter Jorge Sidron, send e-mail to [email protected].