When we visit a spa, the point that really attracts most of the customers is the services menu. We all pay a lot of attention to what the spa has to offer to us. It is not just the services that can impart relaxation but also the whole environment that needs to get the credits as well. Architecture and ambience play an important role in the process of achieving calmness and relaxation. In a conversation with J Tara Herron, Director, The Imperial Hotel Spa for our Indian Salon and Wellness Yearbook 2017, she tells us the history behind her brand, the USPs of it and what customers can expect from it.
Kindly let us know about your brand, The Imperial Hotel Spa.
The Imperial Hotel spa can boast of an intricate Moroccan architecture that is interwoven with Moghul and Indian motifs. Awarded the Best Luxury Wellness Retreat India in 2015 and also awarded for its Best Spa Interiors by GeoSpa asiaSpa India Awards in 2014 and 2015, the place offers extensive service from unique spa packages, spa cuisine, personalized well-being programs and a treatment menu to whet your appetite for ultimate Wellness.
How the ambience and architecture of a brand help it in achieving its set vision?
Architecture has a huge role to play in the whole rejuvenating and wellness experience on offer. From poetic verses engraved at select points to exposure to inspiring phrases that are there to uplift the spirit, enlighten the soul and naturally lead to a mood of meditation. The various verses by famous Sufi poets carved on tablets of stone embedded into the walls, add to the inspirational element to the interior design.
What are the USPs of your brand?
From luxury linens to the motifs and accessories, everything holds the element of soulfulness going back into time. Use of a specially woven, predominantly white fabric for the treatment rooms with an accent of turmeric gold make for the key Sufi colours. Hydro Therapy areas and changing rooms are blessed with spacious vanity areas, ensuring ultimate indulgence. All the rooms are equipped with traditional oil dispensers, copper utensils and more to give you the feeling of authenticity.
What all services are on offer for the customers to relax and rejuvenate?
The therapies on offer include Balinese, Thai and Sports remedial massage, Savasana Detoxifying wrap, dedicated treatments for men, luxurious rituals for couples at the Moghul Suite to name a few. The Signature massages comprise Imperial Balance and Imperial Depth massages that are conducted with the spa’s signature SUFI organic oils. Traditional Ayurvedic therapies and coupled with consultation with the In-house Ayurvedic doctor. To add to this experience is a specialized Spa menu and the premium Spanish skincare brand Natura Bisse. The whole deal is to assist the customer detoxification, release, relax, uplift, balance and refine the soul, body and mind.
What is the history associated with your brand that gives a weight to its name?
The Imperial is literally a heritage property that was conceptualized in 1934 by Blomfield and inaugurated by Lord Willingdon in 1936. Currently, it is owned by Sardar Hardev Singh Akoi and Sardar Jasdev Singh Akoi, grandsons of the Late Sardar Bahadur Ranjit Singh who built the hotel. The Hotel was designed to be one of the finest monuments of Lutyens’ grand vision of the Capital City’s original master plan presenting a unique blend of Victorian, Old colonial and Art Deco styles. The hotel was named and conferred the exquisite Lion Insignia by Lady Willingdon. It was the first amongst the legendary “Four Maidens of the East”.
