Giant Octave Living Destination Retreat set to open in 2017
The Octave Living Destination Retreat – one of China's first wellness communities – is now under construction just outside Shanghai on the shores of Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou.
A project by IMC Octave – the hospitality arm of Singapore-based IMC Group – the retreat has been designed by New York City-based Tsao and McKown Architects.
GOCO Hospitality is the master consultant for the project, doing the feasibility and business planning. Goco will also oversee the design and technical services. Horwath HTL – which joined forces with GOCO in September 2013 – was involved with market research and feasibility.
The 18.8ha development is being built in five phases, with three already underway. Opening is scheduled for 2017.
The 85,000sq m (914,932sq ft) retreat will have an 8,500sqm (91,493sq ft) destination spa with 69-treatment rooms, 104 private villas, 100 serviced apartments and a 50-bed boutique hotel.
There will also be a commercial village and lakefront real estate with retail, F&B, art and entertainment facilities and a learning centre.
The spa will include two aquatonic pools – one indoor, one outdoor – featuring therapeutic hydromassage stations.
A thermal area, by Hong Kong-based Deckelmann Wellness, will offer male and female areas, as well as a unisex zone with five thermal experiences.
“GOCO Hospitality saw a clear opportunity to create wellness communities in China, because they've existed successfully in Europe and the US for centuries,” Josephine Leung, group director of design for GOCO, told Spa Business.
“The wellness facility will offer comprehensive health programmes – combining western and traditional treatments and advice to improve guests’ lifestyles,” Leung added.
“This will be the place where generations meet and interact in an urban resort setting – discovering, sharing and learning together.”
The Octave Living Destination Retreat will target professionals in their mid-30s to 50s.
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