Plus

Plus

Men too can seek refuge at Sanctuary
By Apsara Kapukotuwa
Ever wished that you could take wing on a harried day? Just wished that a getaway was within reach of Colombo to help you de-stress with maybe a flower petal bath and Balinese aromatherapy? The Sanctuary Spa down Jawatte Road, which celebrated its second anniversary this July has found many busy people seeking just such an escape.

"Who says men don't need pampering", a new line of treatments targeted at men from the high-stress corporate world is what the Sanctuary Spa plans to offer in the near future.

Launched as the only day spa in Colombo, Sanctuary has opened branches at Triton Ahungalle (Athena's Spa), Tea Factory, Nuwara Eliya (Misty Mountains Spa), and has spas coming up in Earls' Regency Hotel, Kandy, Poovar Island Resorts in Kerala, India (with at least three more planned in India) and Malaysia. This is directly in line with their hopes of establishing the Sanctuary name regionally with what their Public Relations Manager Surani Michelo calls "international standards with a Sri Lankan flavour".

The Sanctuary Spa's qualified therapists hold international accreditation from the Fredrique Academy. In July, Sally Beighton, an experienced beauty industry professional in Asia today, was at the Spa to conduct one of their continuous training programmes. Sanctuary is also a member of the International Spa Association (USA).

The ambience and the quality of the treatment are what Sanctuary’s staff are proud of. Positive reviews in magazines and newspapers such as Time (USA), South China Morning Post, Evening Standard (UK) and Expat Living (Singapore), have even taken the management by surprise for they were not aware that they were being reviewed.

As part of their advancement process to keep the ambience, quality of service and standards at its highest level, a mystery client programme is in operation where gift vouchers are sent out to randomly selected people and they are given the opportunity to rate and review every aspect of The Sanctuary.

With the advent of eco-tourism, spas are catching on fast worldwide as the all natural way to keep healthy, stress free and enjoy oneself. The introduction of the gift voucher system which started off with expatriates as their chief clientele, has seen spa treatments grow in popularity even among Sri Lankan teenagers, couples and even as a substitute for 'hen' nights or clubbing. Treatment options such as "Goddess Time" where upto 20 people can enjoy unlimited treatments at the Spa as a group for upto three hours are increasingly in demand, says Surani.

The Sanctuary hopes to start several new treatments soon including a pregnancy massage and the infancy massage as well as innovate new techniques by blending two massage techniques such as the Hot Stone and Swedish.

Back to Plus