Mumbai, Apr 27: With wellness fast becoming central to hospitality development across South Asia, ELE|NA took the stage at HICSA 2026 to call for a fundamental shift in how spa and wellness partnerships are conceived, designed, and delivered within hotel projects.
Speaking at the 21st edition of the Hotel Investment Conference South Asia (HICSA), Heidi Grimwood, Senior Vice President at ELE|NA, urged hotel developers to move beyond surface-level spa concepts and invest in fully integrated wellness ecosystems from the ground up.
On the panel “Bare Essentials: Nature & Wellness,” Grimwood said: “A treatment rooted in a destination’s plants, waters, and healing traditions becomes a lasting memory. A generic spa experience—even in a beautiful setting—is quickly forgotten. The difference lies in how deeply wellness is built into the property from day one.”
The message comes at a time when wellness-led travel is driving a growing share of luxury hospitality demand across the region. Yet many developments still rely on standardised spa formats that struggle to create meaningful differentiation or long-term guest recall.
With a portfolio of 15+ operational properties across India and the Maldives—and a pipeline spanning Nepal, Bhutan, Coorg, Jaipur, and Kannur—ELE|NA is positioning itself around a distinctly localised model. Its Wellness Your Way™ philosophy replaces fixed menus with treatments shaped by indigenous botanicals, regional healing traditions, and the natural environment of each destination.
A key highlight of Grimwood’s address was ELE|NA’s No Menu Spa concept, where therapists design treatments intuitively around each guest—moving away from scripted offerings toward personalised, expertise-led experiences. Beyond operations, ELE|NA is building a broader ecosystem through its Wellness Academy and its organic product line, Essentia—both aimed at strengthening local sourcing, practitioner training, and long-term consistency across properties.
As destinations like Bhutan and India’s regional retreats gain momentum, ELE|NA is calling on developers to apply greater scrutiny when selecting wellness partners—particularly around cultural authenticity, operational depth, and sustained commercial performance.
