Where’s Anne – At Peace in Every Way

Where’s Anne – Willow Stream Spa, Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai

You just never know precisely how a new spa will turn out.

Thousands of details all need to come together for a luxury spa to be perfect; design, equipment, supplies, hiring, training, treatments, products, food and beverage, furniture, retail items all have to be determined and put in place. There are over 1,000 items just on our list of small supplies.

Many people are involved in a spa development and opening. Everyone works together to create a great facility with energizing experiences. Ruth Armstrong, our Director of Spa Openings, worked with Lyndell Nelis our Spa Director on the opening details so I didn’t get to see the final opening product until this summer. I had a lot of anticipation and a bit of anxiety about how the concept turned out and went to see all the final touches in place.

I am very happy to say that after seeing it – I am definitely at Peace.

Each Willow Stream spa is designed to draw on the energy of the place; often it is connected to nature. However, here we connected to the nature of Shanghai the city – merging some of the art deco, somewhat flamboyant past with Chinese tradition.

The spa is built in the new part of the project yet it gives the same kind of quality and environment of the historic Peace hotel. The interior designers HBA (Hirsh Bedner) did a great job, using many of the iconic details to give it a classic feel.

The treatment menu is interesting too – carrying the character of the spa into the menu with treatments like Mystic Peace which uses the mystic knot symbol that is everywhere in the hotel and the spa as the inspiration for a very effective massage treatment.

This is the one I couldn’t wait to try. The mystic knot is like a figure 8. It is not only a symbol of prosperity and wisdom but also a perfect energy flow. Some say simply drawing a figure 8 over and over has a calming effect. This massage was designed to target long held stress knots in the muscles using the 8 continuous movement. My experience with this massage was amazing. I could really feel the stress and muscle release. I am not sure it made me any wiser or more prosperous but it certainly made me feel at Peace. I definitely will have this treatment every time I go to this spa.

Question:
What is the time you feel most at Peace yourself? I think for me it is home with my family on a Sunday night after a great weekend – just the best.