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Raffles Dubai spa director Pia Newport.

Spa managers gathered at Raffles Dubai last month to talk about the challenges the industry faces, the need for hoteliers to support a benchmark, and the future of spas in the Middle East.

What sort of facilities does your spa have, and what treatments do you offer?

Pia Newport: Here at Raffles Dubai we have six treatment rooms, or treatment suites as we call them because they each have private change areas.

We also have a couple's suite, and under the dome there is a beautiful outdoor pavilion which we will use for private treatments - we would like to introduce Thai massage to be done out there in the special area.

Our treatments are the usual massages, facials and treatments, but we have a couple of surprises in store that we are just finishing designing now that will be a first for Dubai. It will be related to the pyramids, and Egypt, and gold. For fitness facilities we have two salons.

Jessica Fitzjohn: We have got eight treatment rooms, and three couple suites, with outdoor rain showers and indoor rain showers as well. Our facilities include steam rooms, relaxation rooms and a wide range of body treatments, rituals and facials. Each treatment begins with a cleansing ritual using the outdoor rain shower, and afterwards guests are free to relax.

Jason Sloan: At Amara we are taking things to the next level, we are looking at outdoor baths and selling with a Thai factor. We have set ourselves apart from the spa industry in Dubai with a unique selling point: instead of being a city centre urban resort spa we have really thrown ourselves open to the public. Usually most hotel spas are fed by the hotel guests and the occupancy of the hotel, but we just can't rely on that, so we have made a separate retreat which has become very popular. Six Senses used to be our biggest competition but they have gone more in-house now and closed their doors to the outside, so we get the spa connoisseur coming to us now.

Mike Monsod: Our spa has nine treatment rooms, and it is in the centre of the city so it is very much a day spa compared to Jason's facility which is where people can really lounge around and stay longer. But we do get almost 50-50 in-house versus outside clients.

We have several signature treatments with our signature oils, and we also have a selection of body treatments, massages, and facials. And we also have our health club section, where we have a very nice gym, outdoor pool and squash court, and a tennis court.

Nicola Bush: We have a Balinese themed spa which is quite a small facility, we have 10 treatment rooms which are all individual for ladies and gentlemen, and included in that we have two private rooms in the ladies section. We have a European skincare line, plus a more traditional Asian line, so we offer a diverse range of treatments. And of course we have heat treatments separated for both men and ladies, and our health club facility, which is available 24 hours, and there is a pool and beach area as well.

V.L Shyam: At the spa we have six treatment rooms, out of which two are couple rooms. On top of that we have eight spa suites, and then on another level we have offices and a spa butler service. Ayurveda is the nucleus of the spa, which we have complemented with alternative and traditional therapies from all over the world. We function as a medical spa as well, because I am a traditional medical doctor myself.

Yee Man Timm: We have a huge activities facility with tennis courts, squash courts, table tennis tables, swimming pool and gymnasium. So far we have four treatment rooms, and before Christmas we are planning to put in a couples room as well, and so far in Dubai we are the only spa with the Panpuri range.

Panpuri is a brand from Thailand, and it is 100% natural products. We also have a retail section, and we sell all the products from our treatments there.

Donna Kenyon: You could say the Rotana group is a virgin when it comes to spas, because they are still getting into the concept. Our hotel has a small basic spa, or massage room, and other hotels are slowly moving into the spa area. There will be one in Fujairah, and one in Abu Dhabi, and we have a lot of properties opening which will incorporate some spa facilities, but the themes and the ideas behind it are still in the basic stage.

Many hotels in Dubai and across the Middle East are finding it difficult to find appropriate staff for their properties. Given your facilities need specialised staff, is the problem even greater for you?

Fitzjohn: I think it is difficult to find good staff; there are lots of people looking for a job in Dubai but to find the good staff is quite difficult.

Bush: There's so much competition that they see what you are offering, then they stay for one year then jump to a new hotel, then keep going again.

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