East meets West at luxury spa

Ina Bajaj in one of her therapy rooms. Picture / Martin Sykes

When SkyCity built its $85 million Grand Hotel in Auckland, it broke with tradition in choosing its luxury day spa provider.

The five-star hotel houses the city's first eastern-style day spa, specialising in holistic massage, skin and beauty treatments.

Its founder hopes Aucklanders will become hooked on its services as much as Wellingtonians have.

Ina Bajaj started East Day Spa in the capital three years ago when she decided to quit her Curry Club restaurant and take a punt in a new industry.

As a busy restaurateur, Bajaj used to visit India to recruit chefs and made a point of treating herself to eastern spa treatments. It wasn't long before she wanted to bring the concept to New Zealand.

She sold the Curry Club to an Australian couple and opened East Day Spa in the old Tramways Building near the Beehive.

It was one of the first luxury day spas in the country and differed vastly from traditional beauty parlours and salons New Zealanders were used to. The spa was less clinical - a tranquil haven for peace and relaxation for busy urbanites.

She brought staff from Bali to perform facials and massage using ancient Indian Ayurvedic and Balinese techniques, with a range of natural products.

It also offers a range of spa treatments, which stands for "salus per aqua" or health through water, manicures, pedicures and tanning.

Bajaj also employs two full-time threaders who remove fine facial hair with a looped thread of cotton. The method originated in China 500 years ago and produces more defined and neater eyebrows.

"I made butter chicken famous and now I'm making threading famous," she said.

Her early apprehensions whether New Zealanders would embrace the concept faded long ago. From a database of zero, the business now has 5000 regular clients in Wellington, where Bajaj employs 12 staff and has increased turnover by 100 per cent each year.

With clients ranging from executives to janitors, Bajaj said spas were no longer the preserve of the rich and famous.

"Most people are discovering that, far from being a luxury, massage treatments are a necessity for maintaining their everyday wellbeing."

Ideally, Bajaj has a treatment twice a week and "really indulges" in a longer treatment once a month. At the age of 42, this is her secret to being able to keep going through a seven-day working week.

The expansion into Auckland can be traced to a phone call from a business associate over yum cha, asking whether she was interested in running the day spa at SkyCity's new hotel.

She hopes the result - the largest day spa in the country - will become the spa of choice for Auckland's corporate market as well as the hotel's business and leisure travellers.

Facilities include a hydrotherapy room with a five-head Vichy shower, steam rooms, spa baths and single and double massage suites.

So far it has been popular with Auckland spa bunnies doing the circuit and is attracting more males than the Wellington branch, causing Bajaj to suggest men are not as shy in Auckland. It caters for corporate groups as well as bridal and teen parties.

Prices range from $80 to $165 for a facial, 60-minute massages from $95 to $140, and spa packages from $150 for 105 minutes to $925 for the 7.5-hour-long "ultimate east".

Bajaj said New Zealanders were becoming more willing to spend this type of money pampering themselves. This was no surprise. "Stress is something everyone has now."

 

Bajaj, who moved to NZ from Kenya when she was eight, is neither a chef nor therapist, but said her skill lay in finding niches and running good businesses.

Ensuring good service is something she did well in the restaurant business and is now bringing to the day spa industry.

Bajaj has her eye on Christchurch for her next branch and aspires to form an international company.

Magic touch

* Balinese staff perform facials and massage using ancient Indian Ayurvedic and Balinese techniques.

* Two full-time threaders remove fine facial hair with a looped thread of cotton.

* The method originated in China 500 years ago and produces more defined eyebrows.

www.eastdayspa.com