Nordic design and wellness go hand in hand, and the Alsik Spa will offer guests a relaxing experience whether they are on business or visiting for leisure purposes
– Ian Bell, Raison d’Etre senior project manager

Global spa consultancy Raison d’Etre (RdE) has been commissioned to design and implement Denmark’s largest spa and wellness facility, which will be situated in a hotel created by Henning Larsen Architects.

Due to open early next year in the industrial harbour of Sønderborg, the Alsik Hotel forms part of Frank Gehry’s masterplan for the southern city.

RdE’s 4,500sq m (48,400sq ft) component of the scheme will cover a four-storey section of the hotel and will be “heavily influenced” by Nordic design.

The spa will feature a variety of recreational, fitness and relaxation areas for guests, including a complete wellness floor offering thermal experiences and screening rooms. Other facilities will include a 160sq m (1,700sq ft) indoor pool, an outdoor infinity pool, an expansive Ice and Fire World, a Watsu pool, an Aurora Borealis cave and a hammam.

There will also be a large 24-hour gym with two virtual fitness studios, a café, a teen club and a pool and play areas that are “uniquely designed to help children relax and unwind, fully embracing Nordic wellbeing.”

Ian Bell, RdE senior project manager, said: “It’s a privilege to be involved in this exciting development, which will establish a number of firsts in the market. Nordic design and wellness go hand-in-hand, and the Alsik Spa will offer guests a relaxing experience whether they are on business or visiting for leisure purposes with their friends and families.”

The Alsik Hotel will feature 190 luxury bedrooms, 11 conference rooms, a 16th-floor observation deck and three Jesper Koch restaurants overlooking the waterfront of Sønderborg. It is doubling the number of hotel rooms in the city, and around 65,000 overnight guests are expected in its first year of operation.

The complex will be formed by two connected towers, 19 and 4 storeys high respectively. Both will feature an aluminium and glass façade – a modern interpretation of the colours and weaving patterns of local brickwork.

The project is being developed by Bitten & Mads Clausen’s Foundation, the Danfoss Group and German hotel operator RIMC Hotels & Resorts.

Gehry’s wider masterplan for Sønderborg, first unveiled in 2012, aims to transform the waterfront into a vivid urban district by creating a sense of density and activity. His design is focused around a main square, while several parks, mixed-use and cultural facilities are linked together via a harbourfront promenade.

The managing partner of Raison d’Etre is Anna Bjurstam, a founding member of the Global Wellness Summit. The company has been developing, opening, managing and creating spa brands internationally since 1998.

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