The Luxury Travel Magazine
The Luxury Travel Magazine
In our increasingly globalized world, feeling connected should be easy. Yet, in the hectic pace of everyday life, it is easy to become isolated. Six Senses Resorts and Spas aims to rebuild lost connections with one’s environment, friends and family, and even oneself. The brand places the well-being of people and the planet at the forefront of all it does. Overall, the resorts and spas offer the chance to disconnect from the dregs of daily life. Guests can connect with nature with a swim between the Bosphorus and the Black Sea at Kocatas Mansions in Istanbul. Or sip sweet tea alongside camels in the Negev desert at Six Senses Shaharut. The brave-hearted have the opportunity to take in Oman’s stunning natural landscape by air, as they paraglide into Six Senses Zighy Bay.
Six Senses ultimately resolves to reawaken all the senses by providing amazing views and exceptional comfort. A variety of cultural and culinary experiences highlight the splendor of the resorts’ varied locations. The brand has 22 hotels and resorts and 6 independent spas spread out across the globe, all designed to promote the wellness of both their guests and their environments.
The History of Six Senses
Before it was a world-renowned brand, Six Senses was the passion project of Sonu Shivdasani and his wife Eva Malmstorm. In 1995, the couple opened its first property on the privately-owned island of Kunfunadhoo in the Maldives. With their thatched-roof villas, sunken salas, and private saunas, Six Senses set the standard for what would become known as ‘barefoot luxury’. Quite literally – your shoes are confiscated by staff the moment you step foot on Kunfunadhoo’s sandy shores. They have subsequently diversified their portfolio: their upcoming property in The Whiteley, London is scheduled to open in 2023. Nevertheless, the Crusoe-à-la mode of their first success remains where Six Senses feels most at ease.
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"With their thatched-roof villas, sunken salas, and private saunas, Six Senses set the standard for what would become known as ‘barefoot luxury’."
Six Senses Uluwatu
Six Senses Resorts and Spas are designed to accommodate the natural landscape of their settings, creating the perfect atmosphere to connect with nature. Accordingly, each one’s personality is reflective of its setting.
At Six Senses Uluwatu in Bali, the natural landscape comprises jagged limestone cliffs creeping with greenery and the aquamarine expanse of the Indian Ocean. Sacred Hindu temple ‘Pura Uluwatu’ is the resort’s impressive namesake and neighbor. The beauty of the Indonesian landscape gives an otherworldly quality to the southernmost tip of the island. It is therefore easy to see why some Balinese believe this to be the sacred spot where the powers of the Hindu Trinity come together.
What’s more, the 28 sky suites and penthouses and 75 cliff pool villas highlight the beauty of the Indonesian landscape. Their designs pay tribute to traditional Balinese tropical architecture, utilizing the island’s natural resources. Guests can expect thatch ceilings and dark coconut wood furnishings in their luxury accommodations.
The Presidential Villa features a private spa, bar, kitchen, media room, and open-air living room. In the Master Bedroom, white gauzy curtains contribute to the ethereal effect. Visitors may imagine they are floating over the Indian Ocean. On the large outdoor decks, they’ll lounge on sunbeds surrounded by palm trees and the scent of the sea. The Retreat room takes luxury one step further, with a private wine cellar, three private swimming pools, and a deep soak bathtub overlooking the ocean.
Six Senses Fort Barwara
Guests at Six Senses Fort Barwara will live like royalty during their stay at this restored 14th century resort. Originally owned by a Rajasthani Royal Family, the resort is located in the Rajasthan state of India. It preserves two palaces, two original temples, and 48 suites within its fortress walls. The décor features scalloped archways and jewel-toned carpets with ornate patterns. Relief prints of flowers on the walls. Altogether, such designs pay homage to a bygone era in Rajasthan’s history.
Rooms offer a range of impressive views of the arid Aravali Mountain range’s landscape. The 48 suites are designed in Rajasthani style with modern technological updates. For example, the Thakur Bhagwati Singh Hot Tub Suite incorporates ‘jaali’, a traditional latticework style for windows. As light streams through the window, shapes and shadows play across the room, bringing magic in with the golden glow. What’s more, it offers stunning views overlooking the placid Barwara Lake.
The room also boasts a private roof-top terrace and a hot tub. Plus, it offers additional views over the majestic Chauth Mata Temple. Similarly stunning sights are visible from Fort Barwara’s dining venues. At Roohani, for instance, look out on the fort’s stately domes while enjoying seasonal menus showcasing Indian delicacies.
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"As light streams through the window, shapes and shadows play across the room, bringing magic in with the golden glow."
Wellness At the Six Senses Luxury Resorts
Ātayana (The Six Senses) forms the basis for meditative devotion in Buddhist practice. The Sixth Sense is the awareness of our bodies in space through the other senses, known as ‘mind’. True to their namesake, Sixth Senses Spa is motivated by mindfulness. Thus, your wellness journey begins the moment you choose your destination.
An escape to Crete is undoubtedly incomplete without a visit to Six Senses Elounda, where guests are awash with the sensations and sights of the Mediterranean. The spa’s bay windows offer views of the glittering Aegean Sea, which can be enjoyed while indulging in its natural gifts. Their most coveted wellness ritual is the ‘Sense of Greece’. This treatment includes a full-body exfoliation with Cretan olive stones, a warming seaweed muscle wrap, and a purifying Marine Salt Bath.
The Spa at Six Senses Qing Cheng is nestled in a garden of bamboo thickets and drooping willows. A consecrated quiet settles in the air as guests revel in the healing properties of Tui Nai massage therapy. Feel sensitive skin flourish under a soothing star anise and Camellia flower flannel body-wrap. To brighten and revitalize, opt for a gentle pearl-rice body scrub – its sugary, floral notes are indebted to the green tea and honey, ingredients native to the Qing Cheng Mountain.
For a truly transformative experience, why not enroll in one of Six Senses’ Personalized Wellness Plans? Their intuitive blend of science and spirituality ensures that feeling well lasts longer than your stay. Using non-invasive screening for physiological markers, their wellness experts provide lifestyle and nutritional advice, also known as ‘biohacking’. This is followed by a bespoke programme of preventative treatments, including anything from yogic intestinal cleanses to private meditation sessions. Their treatments are tailored to you and inspired by what surrounds you. As such, they joyfully enhance the Sixth Sense of self-awareness.
Sustainability
For Six Senses, to connect with nature is not only a privilege, but a promise. Resolving to reduce their carbon footprint, they have established a thriving network of sustainable practices and ecological programmes across their 22 locations. For instance, Six Senses Zighy Bay, Oman produces their own bottled water via reverse osmosis. Any salt water filtered out is used in their salt water pool, the largest in the Middle East. In Douro Valley, Portugal – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – Six Senses is regenerating a 10-acre woodland on their property as part of their Forest Restoration Project.
In May 2019, the sustainability team at Six Senses Zil Pasyon successfully completed the first stage of its coral restoration project. Additionally, the marine team at Six Senses Con Dao in Vietnam has so far successfully released 6,793 critically endangered green sea turtles into the ocean.
There are so many good reasons for a holiday at a Six Sense Resort
Six Senses Resorts strive to better the land that receives them, thereby proving that a luxury lifestyle should never compromise on sustainability. Six Senses’ empathetic approach to hospitality has permanently redefined the expectations of the affluent traveler. Their thoughtful, biophilic designs and culturally-conscious wellness treatments nurture mindfulness and appreciation for the surrounding environment. With a strong ethos of sustainability, this is a fact that Six Senses takes pride in – knowing that to connect with nature is to realize that it must be protected.
Co-authored with Dea Jusufi
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