Water is the most versatile and beneficial element for body and mind, and the SPA is where its properties are enhanced to offer experiences of total well-being and relaxation. Traditional settings are flanked by new trends and technological solutions that improve performance and profitability.
Spas are places dedicated to wellness, beauty and body care, where water plays a fundamental role and represents the “fil rouge”.
Today, in the most developed spas, water has receded in many respects compared to the past associated with traditional applications such as showers, whirlpools and swimming pools. In recent years, we have seen an increase in the quality of water environments in spas, in terms of innovative experiences in line with today’s consumer needs.
The clientele of spas has broadened and diversified to the point where great attention must be paid to the design and improvement of services. Spas also follow the evolution of people’s tastes and technological progress,” says Régis Boudon-Doris, CEO and founder of bbspa_Group, a company that has been designing and managing spas worldwide for more than 30 years.
Not only should water not be missing in a SPA, but it is also true that it can be used in unusual and innovative ways compared to the past, for example in solid form, with a very wide range of treatments and environments dedicated to cold therapy, much in demand not only by sportsmen. This does not mean that traditional treatments will disappear, but we must move with the times to make spas a real attraction for consumers and a profitable investment for entrepreneurs.”
What forms can water take in a spa
Let’s start with the applications that represent the “great classics”:
1. Swimming pools: inevitable and in great demand. They lend themselves to infinite solutions: indoor and/or outdoor, recreational and/or therapeutic, filled with thermal water, sea water or regenerated water, with biofilters or with chemicals. They can certainly be the driving force behind a spa project, but the choices must be made consistently and in synergy with the SPA concept and business model.
2. Whirlpools: considered one of the main attractions of spas, but in addition to the choice of water and its treatment, as in swimming pools, the strong points and consequently the strategic choices concern the types, positioning and composition of the whirlpool jets. These choices make them effective, appreciated and experienced as a treatment of great value and not just as “water games”.
3. Onsen: the traditional Japanese bath, which involves a real ritual of immersion in tubs of very hot thermal water (almost always over 40°). It is a ceremony that promotes skin cleansing, muscle relaxation and relief from joint pain. Traditional onsen baths are made of Japanese cypress (inoki) for indoor use or granite for outdoor use.
4. Cryo tubs: these are undoubtedly the trendiest tubs in spas today, and they are also very popular with top sportsmen and women who want to recover quickly after intense exertion. They are essentially individual tubs with water at a temperature close to 0°C in which to immerse oneself. Some models allow immersion without contact with the water, which are used in biohacking and longevity courses/programmes.
5. Kneipp paths: these are paths that alternate between hot and cold water basins with a temperature difference of 10/12°. The immersion mainly involves the lower limbs, up to the knees, to stimulate vascular gymnastics. Some pools are often equipped with a floor to stimulate the arch of the foot with stones of different granulometry, to improve blood circulation and obtain a revitalising effect. A complete Kneipp course should include pools for the upper limbs and face.
6. Sensory showers: they alternate different types of water jets at different temperatures and flow rates, in conjunction with chromotherapy and aromatherapy systems, to create true wellness itineraries. They can be programmed to interact with the body and mind, stimulating circulation, toning the skin and providing a pleasant sensation of freshness and energy.
7. Sauna: Contrary to popular belief, water is also used in the sauna as a valuable element to create the ceremonial Aufguss. Ice scented with essential oils is poured over hot stones to create steam and raise the actual and perceived temperature. This promotes cleansing, and relaxation and has a beneficial effect on the metabolism and immune system.
8. Frigidarium: like the cryo-baths, this is the experience of cold, achieved in various ways through the combination of ice and snow. Using these natural elements, we create environments or itineraries where, in addition to the usual ice waterfalls, snow showers, ice and/or snow walls, we find mist and cold water cascades and reaction baths. A series of elements must be carefully composed to create a spa experience that is consistent with all the other elements in the spa Wellness Path.
9. Turkish bath or hammam: first of all, it is important to understand that this is not a simple hot steam bath, but a journey made up of different environments, with different percentages of steam (from 65% to 95%) and different temperatures (from 32° to 48°) and that each environment has a different function and ritual. So, you will go from a steam bath to a hot stone massage, from an energising massage to an aromatherapy steam bath. All are designed to regenerate and purify the body and mind.
One thought is obligatory: why is it that, despite all the previous declinations of the ‘water’ experience, we are often faced with ‘photocopied spas’ consisting of a sauna, steam bath, prefabricated jacuzzi and relaxation area?
The expectations of spa visitors are now very different and those investing in the sector need to take this into account, especially if they want to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and success!
How to innovate the water experience
If we talk about innovations and evolutions of water in spas, it is not so much about environments, but rather about new technological solutions, new applications or trends that enrich the panorama of wellness offers and increase their quality and benefits. We explored this aspect in depth with Régis Boudon-Doris.
“The main innovations relate to the interaction between experiences and users. Passive enjoyment of a spa facility or environment is no longer allowed! This means that when I have to design experiences, I have to tailor them to each client’s objectives.
A classic example is the whirlpool bath. It should no longer be conceived as a space of ‘water bubbles’, but rather as a moving experience where different stations create paths that massage, caress, and swim against the current, all in response to individual needs.
There is a growing trend towards environments that interact with people, opening windows of relationships with others and increasing the attractiveness of the place. Emotional showers have also come a long way and, with their wide range of programming options, make it possible to personalise the experience with paths that respond to a variety of needs, enriched with innovative and regenerating sensory stimuli.
Of course, we are talking about solutions that require a significant investment,” says Régis, “but my 30 years of experience with the bbspa_Group allows me to say with confidence that what is invested is quickly transformed into an increase in customer frequency and, consequently, in the profitability of the spa.
Another example of technology at the service of a renewed and attractive water/wellness experience, and one in which our team is increasingly called upon to intervene in indoor SPA environments (hotel SPAs are all too often “underground”), is the creation of immersive experiences, i.e. evocative and dreamlike projections inside environments such as swimming pools, saunas and relaxation areas. These immersive experiences, resulting from collaborations with video artists, can evoke suggestions that eliminate the perception of being indoors, greatly enhancing the sense of wellbeing and creating particularly Instagrammable places”.
