Hospitality Design - November 2017 - 70

perspectives

brand identity six senses
4. Housed on a site of
old stone ruins, the Paro
Lodge at Six Senses
Bhutan recalls the setting
with hewn stone walls that
contrast mid-tone vertical
timbers sourced from
renewable resources.

4
5

Six Senses Bhutan, opening in early 2018, as "an
amazing journey" between five different lodges
in Thimphu, Punakha, Gangtey, Bumthang,
and Paro, each with spas highlighting specific
treatments. "Bhutan is a magical country. I could
not find a location where the gross domestic
product is less important than the happiness
of the local people who still live their lives as
they have been living a 100 years back: pure
with an unspoiled nature and culture," says
Anukularmphai. "It is not just one resort but

070

November 2017 hospitalitydesign.com

five different locations with five different design
approaches and five different experiences."
Located on a private island, the star of the
Seychelles property is the spa, nestled into a
staggering array of rocks. "One of the owner's
representatives had scouted out that location and
he took a group of us up there. We had to beat our
way through the bushes and climb down through
crags and over the rocks, helping each other,
holding hands to pull each other up," remembers
Andrew Best, vice president of architecture and

5. A rendering of the
Six Senses CransMontana's indoor pool,
with a dramatic ceiling
installation that evokes
the feeling of looking up
while walking through a
forest.

technical services for Six Senses, who worked
with Jacobs at Four Seasons and then joined him
at Starwood Capital to help launch the Baccarat
and 1 Hotels brands before following him here. "It
was a difficult site, but when you find a magical
place, it's something that you really work hard to
respect. You make it shine."
Working in tandem with Amber Beard, Six
Senses' vice president of sustainability, Best
implemented a set of standards centered around
materiality, plumbing, and potential solar energy
sources. Environmental consultants are often
brought on at the onset of a project to explain to
designers how buildings should face to get the full
impact of the natural breeze and sunlight. "It's
good to remind [designers] right off the bat that
sustainability is a big part of our company and
thinking about that from the very minute you
start putting your pen onto the sketch paper is an
important element," Best explains.
Future properties reflect this synergy
between design and Mother Nature as well,
such as the Six Senses Zhiben Hot Springs in
southeastern Taiwan, set at the base of Medicine
Mountain where herbs and medicinal plants are
grown. Tokyo-based KKAA is overseeing the
design, fashioning a spa building from driftwood
found on nearby beaches, presenting greenhouses
as children's play areas, and turning the idea of
farm-to-table dining on its head.
In Rajasthan, India, Six Senses Fort Barwara,
opening in early 2019, will look onto a 700-yearold fort where a forest used to be before it was
cut down. "The first thing we said is: Why
can't our sustainability manager find a way to
replant this forest? And why do we have to wait
until we open the hotel? Why don't we find a
sustainability manager who can help connect
us to the government agencies that would help
support that?" Best explains. "It's interesting that
the sustainability manager becomes almost the
first person [hired] before the GM."

Holistic Thinking

Anna Bjurstam was leading a 20 gym-strong
chain in Sweden when she started meditating,
investigating alternative healing practices,
and realizing "that physical fitness was not
everything when it comes to wellness." So she
looked into the mushrooming spa industry and
started working with Raison d'Etre consultancy

http://www.hospitalitydesign.com

Hospitality Design - November 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - November 2017