Spa people
Nichola Roche
Group director of spa, Aman
With a background as a naturopath, ayurvedic specialist, and spa therapist, Nichola Roche, Aman’s new group director of spa, has big plans for the luxury hotel’s wellness offering. She plans to make it more comprehensive, by adopting a 360-degree approach to health, and to develop a lifestyle brand – incorporating herbal teas, spa products and cookbooks – to “enable our guests to take a piece of Aman home with them,” she says.
“I want to create a more integrative approach at all Aman spas, which means ensuring all our health services and spa therapies are holistic, allowing a more in-depth and longer-lasting healing,” says Roche.
Roche was previously regional spa director for Akasha, and before that was spa director for flagship spa ESPA Life at The Corinthia Hotel in London.
Having experienced a variety of cultures throughout her career, Roche says she’s able to extract elements from her background and draw on healing methods from around the world, in order to position Aman as a true wellness brand. “Traditionally, Aman has been known for its incredible destinations, where guests can relax and rejuvenate. I want to create a more serious wellness offering, by building on and strengthening what’s gone before,” she says.
Retreats and wellness immersions – such as the new spa houses and immersions at coastal retreat Amanoi in Vietnam – will be a focus, as well as a new take on Aman’s spa offerings. “I want to make our treatments more results-focused, so they deeply nourish, ground and purify our guests. We’ll focus on providing health benefits rather than simply relaxation,” Roche explains.
One of Aman’s core concepts is that each location is different, and Roche plans to focus on that in developing spa programming, incorporating the local culture into offerings and focusing on indigenous healing. “We never repeat a concept; every property is individual, and we start with a blank canvas for each,” she says.
Later this year, Roche will also concentrate on key destinations that are renowned for healing, such as Bhutan, drawing inspiration from the country’s renowned measure of prosperity through happiness to create a ten-day Pursuit of Happiness retreat that will include oracle reading, meditation and yoga.
