Europe’s first Evian Spa has opened at the five-star Hôtel Royal in Evian-les-Bains, France – the birthplace of the mineral water brand. The spa has been realised following a comprehensive 12-month renovation of the hotel’s existing wellness facilities and was curated to capture the essence of revitalisation. Spanning 1,700sq m, the Evian Spa embraces the ethos of its namesake brand, drawing inspiration from the beauty of nature's water cycle. Evian's

A multi-million-euro geothermal spa and leisure centre, called Terme Bjelovar, is scheduled to open in the Croatian city of Bjelovar in Q3 of 2025. Already six years in the making, the project in Veliko Korenovo is projected to cost €38 million (US$41.2 million, £32.6 million) to complete – according to Dario Hrebak, mayor of Bjelovar, who says the facility will “revitalise the city”. Terme Bjelovar will be home to a

A new urban wellness retreat has opened in downtown Portland, Oregon, at the recently opened luxury hotel The Ritz-Carlton, Portland with architecture and design by GBD Architects and HKS Interior Design and identity and wayfinding by Knot. Situated on the 19th floor of the 35-storey, 251-room hotel, Cloudbreak on Nineteen has been conceived with the help of ROAM Interior Design as a restorative health and wellness haven complete with a

Surrenne, a luxury private members club gym and spa launches in London in April, with membership costing £10,000 a year. Spanning almost 2,000sq m across four floors, Surrenne is part of Maybourne Hotel Group’s new all-suite hotel, The Emory. Architectural designer, Remi Tessier has designed the club with “perfectly choreographed light and AI-influenced symphonies orchestrated to complement the senses.” Maybourne COO, Roland Fasel, says the offering has been put together

The healing power of water has inspired the concept behind a large new spa in Florida at the recently-opened Conrad Orlando hotel. The 433-key Hilton hotel was developed by Dart Interests and forms part of the developer and owner’s billion-dollar 1,100-acre mega-resort called Evermore Orlando*, located next to Florida's iconic Disneyland resort. Dart appointed spa and wellness consultancy Under A Tree (UAT) to develop a wellness concept for the two-floor

Luxury spa hotel Calcot Manor, located in England's Cotswolds, is launching a purpose-built fitness and wellness sanctuary. Opening in February, The Grain Store will have indoor and outdoor gyms, a spin shed, holistic studio, exercise studio and café with a terrace giving sweeping views over the countryside. The gym will have a functional space, cardio zone, free weights, resistance and a place to fight postural issues: the Proverb assisted stretch

Rural Scottish retreat Murrayshall Country Estate has received the green light for its £30 million (US$38 million, €34.8 million) masterplan. The proposal includes plans for an extension to the 40-key four-star hotel in Scone, Perthshire, as well as the addition of a new spa and leisure facility with treatment rooms, a spa pool, spa cafe, gym and studio, a leisure pool and outdoor spa terrace. Proposed updates also include a

Janu, the new hotel brand from luxury operator Aman, is gearing up to launch its first location this March in Tokyo. The property will feature one of the city's largest gyms. Part of a 4,000sq m state-of-the-art wellness centre, the 340sq m gym will feature five group exercise studios for spinning, aerial yoga, golf simulation, functional training, Pilates and high-impact circuit training, as well as the first boxing ring in

KSL-owned Third Space has unveiled its latest club in Wimbledon, south-west London. The development marks the first of many forays into residential locations for the operator, following the recent securing of a loan facility of £88.5m. This is the ninth club from the premium fitness operator which has four further openings slated for residential areas of London in the next two years: Battersea, Clapham Junction and Wood Wharf in 2024

London has gained a substantial new urban spa in Belgravia following The Peninsula London’s grand unveiling of its subterranean Spa & Wellness Centre. Located beneath the new 190-room Peninsula London hotel, the facility’s opening marks the final stage of luxury Hong Kong hotel brand Peninsula Hotels’ seven-year project to create its London flagship. The newly built hotel was realised by British design studio Hopkins Architects and features heritage architecture to

Luxury hotel and spa operator Mandarin Oriental’s second London hotel will launch next January with a brand new spa designed as a boutique sister location to its flagship UK spa at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. Open to hotel guests, residents and the local community, the underground wellness retreat at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair will welcome its first guests in early 2024. Facilities will include an indoor heated swimming pool, a sauna,

Banyan Tree Group has refreshed its luxury hotel in Mérida, Mexico, with a new Angsana Spa inspired by Asian and Mexican therapies. Located in four acres of lush green tropical gardens, the newly built wellness pavilion is part of Hacienda Xcanatun, Angsana Heritage Collection’s property-wide expansion project. The spa stands above a tranquil pond and blends discreetly into the surrounding natural foliage thanks to a design blending the boundaries between

Kintsugi, a new private wellness club concept, will launch its flagship destination on Abu Dhabi’s Al Reem Island in November. Unveiled in 2022, Kintsugi is a self-care-inspired concept designed to help its members heal, grow and embrace who they are. Its approach will draw on Western and ancient Eastern healing rituals. The brand’s name refers to the Japanese method of repairing broken pottery with paint mixed with gold powder –

Center Parcs is conducting a multi-million-pound spa remodel at its Elveden Forest holiday village in Norfolk, UK. Reimagined in line with Center Parcs’ Forest Spa concept, the spa will reopen on 29 September with 25 experiences. The new facilities will be spread across six zones and be inspired by some of the world's most extraordinary natural environments. Center Parcs says the redesign “reflects our woodland surroundings through the use of

Work is underway to realise a new Rixos resort in Dubai following a partnership between UAE-based real estate developer Nakheel and Excelsior Real Estate. Set back in a secluded cove with direct access to a 700-metre beach, Rixos Dubai Islands, Hotel & Residences will be home to a range of beachfront accommodation and residences as well as a signature Rixos spa and fitness centre, infinity pools and communal residential lounges.

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will unveil a brand new Asaya wellness spa in 2024 at a lakeside castle in the Austrian countryside. The spa will open at the luxury hotel and spa operator’s upcoming hotel Rosewood Schloss Fuschl, complete with eight treatment rooms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a fitness centre. Asaya is Rosewood’s signature wellness concept focused on the intersections between physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. The Asaya

1 Hotels, the eco-luxury brand and brainchild of Starwood Capital founder Barry Sternlicht, has opened its debut European property in the heart of the UK capital with design by GA Group. 1 Hotel Mayfair has been designed to set a new benchmark for lower-impact luxury in London and adhere to 1 Hotels’ sustainability-minded philosophy that “those that travel the world should also care about it”. The London location is gearing

Luxury hotel operator Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) has announced the opening of its first Greek property and spa, Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino. Described as a sustainably-driven destination, the new beachfront resort in Messenia has been developed in collaboration with Temes – the property owner and a developer known for its commitment to sustainability. The design team behind the 99-key resort was Tombazis & Associates Architects and K-Studio. Their brief

Third Space has signed a deal to open a club at The Whiteley, the iconic West London landmark which is undergoing a £1bn transformation into a mixed-use development. The luxury fitness operator will take 34,000sq ft of space across three floors within The Whiteley, directly accessed via Porchester Gardens in Bayswater. Third Space currently operates 10 clubs across London and is rolling out its high-end brand following investment from KSL

Austrian eco-resort Puradies in Leogang, Austria, has been upgraded with a brand new spa inspired by the four natural elements and designed to integrate smoothly into the natural landscape. Italian architecture and interior design firm Network of Architecture (Noa*) was appointed to realise the new 1,500sq m Heaven Spa in October 2022. With 76 rooms and 14 chalets, the family-run hotel is laid out as a village and is dedicated

Calilo, a luxury boutique resort on the Greek island of Ios, has a new spa and fitness centre. The hotel has a philosophy based on sustainability, art and intentional design. Inspired by the naturally calming energy of water, the spa includes six new treatment rooms that feature waterfalls and treatment beds suspended above pools of water to deliver a calming experience for guests. The ceilings are partially perforated to allow

Austria’s five-star alpine wellness retreat Hotel Krallerhof has been updated with a new nature-centric glass-fronted spa, Atmosphere by Krallerhof. Embedded in the slopes of the Asitz mountain, the five-star Salzburger hotel’s new adults-only wellness facility opened following a two-year project helmed by Iranian-German architect Hadi Teherani. Hotel owners the Altenberger family tasked Teherani and his team with creating a spa facility – in addition to its existing Refugium spa –

Global online architecture platform Architizer has spotlighted innovative spa and wellness architecture concepts around the world as part of its 11th Annual Architizer A+Awards. Founded on the premise of democratising architecture, the annual A+Awards honour the best buildings and spaces from across the globe. The 2023 awards were split into 119 categories including a Spa and Wellness subsection which awards the best overall architecture dedicated to psychological and physical wellbeing.

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has launched the final phase of its huge new photography centre, making it the largest space in the UK housing a permanent photography collection. The V&A Photography Centre features seven galleries, showcasing 600 pieces from the V&A’s vast, 200-year-old photography collection. The first phase of the project launched in 2018, with three galleries designed by architects David Kohn. The final phase sees the addition of

Dior has launched a brand new wellness retreat at the iconic Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France. A part of The Oetker Collection, Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc has been a legend in the French Riviera for more than 150 years and has long been a refuge for stars and key figures worldwide. The hotel is set on nine hectares of lush grounds – rich with Aleppo pines, agapanthus, lavender, fragrant roses

Global architectural firm Woods Bagot has completed its comprehensive renewal of the Continental Sorrento in Victoria, Australia, with a luxury underground spa and bathing retreat. The hotel – known locally as the “Conti” – opened in 1875 and is based in Sorrento; a popular holiday destination thanks to its sheltered coastal access and the region’s naturally occurring geothermal mineral springs. The opening of the spa marks the final step in

Royal Scotsman, A Belmond Train, Scotland has announced a long-term partnership with Dior Beauty to create a new Dior spa carriage. In homage to Christian Dior’s love for Scotland – where he famously hosted an acclaimed fashion show in 1955 – the new Dior Spa Royal Scotsman features two lacquered treatment rooms, restyled with Dior’s iconic burgundy toile de Jouy motif. The wellness space has been designed to offer guests