Turning Point Gathering - Always a Winner
by Susie Ellis

Just reviewed some literature about the upcoming Turning Point Spa Seminar in Thailand which looks like it is shaping up nicely. Turning Point is a conference that is held in Asia (last year it was in Shanghai) every year which either Peter or I have attended for the past four years. Unfortunately, neither of us will be able to make it this time since I am heading to Thailand just four weeks later and Peter will be in India just prior. We have always been impressed with how Don Siegel organizes his Turning Point events and he gets extra kudos from me for his great looking marketing materials.

Because his events are generally fairly small and intimate, it is easy to get to know people and his topics are always timely. This year it appears as if much of the focus will be on the environment and sustainability with LOHAS research and green initiatives on the agenda.

The location this year is particularly attractive. Chiang Mai is a very special region of Thailand and the host hotel - the new Shangri La in Chiang Mai (photo to the right) - will no doubt be a memorable experience. Ian Brewis, group spa director of all of their Chi Spas, is an extraordinary host. There are two other magnificent spa properties in the area – the Four Seasons and the Mandarin Oriental - which alone would make the trip worthwhile. If you are in the region and have the opportunity to attend, I would definitely recommend it. And please tell Don hello from me.

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During dinner with Ian Brewis, who runs all of the Chi spas for Shangri La, we began discussing spas in Vegas and Macau. He had just come from Las Vegas where the Hong Kong-based Shangri La brand is apparently looking at possibilities for a new hotel and spa.
We talked about how Asians - and especially the Chinese - really like to gamble and why he anticipates that a Shangri La in Las Vegas would be a home run. Just like many Americans who traveled to China in the past 20 years prefered to stay in American style hotels (think Hilton, Marriott, etc.), the Chinese, who are now beginning to travel outside of China, are looking for a familiar hotel brand. Ta da! Shangri La.

Then the very next day I read this article in the NY Times, "Las Vegas Caters to Asia's High Rollers" which explains that "Casino operators have long recognized that a large number of Asians, especially Chinese and Chinese-Americans, are avid gamblers."

Hmmm...put me down for some Shangri La stock.

Besides enjoying Ian Brewis's British sense of humor, our dinner conversation was also insightful. First, I learned that the beautiful well known photograph of the first Shangri La Chi spa in Bangkok - the one with all the bold red colors, two massage tables, high quality woods, etc. - was not an actual spa suite at all. It was a prototype! Apparently they first build a prototype of their rooms to make sure that all of the details work out, and then use it as a model for the construction workers - kind of like building it twice. It makes sense that this is one of the reasons that the workmanship in their spas is so noticeably superior.

And then we discussed the popularity of gambling among Asians - especially the Chinese - and how this is affecting the spa world...

Dinner with Ian Brewis, head of the Chi Spas from the Hong Kong-based Shangri La group, is always a lot of fun because Ian is a lot of fun. (Good thing too, since I surprised him in Shanghai by using the Shangri La website as an example during my speech on spa website design. The conference was held at the Shanghai Shangri La and it seemed fitting to use them as an example, so I showed a photo of their website every few years from inception. Hint, you can go to a website called http://www.waybackmachine.org/ and do this for almost any website.)

Ian was in New York for a few days and stopped by to see our offices and catch up. I remember meeting Ian for the first time when I attended the European ISPA conference held at Celtic Manor - it must have been in the mid 90's. I was on a pre-conference tour of UK health farms at the time and we stopped at Grayshott Hall where he was the spa director. I remember thinking that Grayshott was a bit like a haunted house at the time but apparently they have remodeled extensively, and Ian tells me it is really quite something now. From a glance at their website, I can see that it has a totally new, even "hip" look.

One silly memory – but because it is one of my pet peeves – I am sure I won’t forget it. Of the many spa treatments I’ve had, I can count on one hand the number of therapists who have washed their hands in front of me before starting the treatment. Here at the Chi spa in Shanghai, at the Pudong Shangri-La Shanghai hotel, my therapist made it a point to say between each part of my treatment, “I will go and wash my hands now.” She must have said it 3 times. Kudos then to my first spa therapist in China. And kudos to the Chi spa training program.

A thought. After our first Shanghai spa experience, Nicholas and I had dinner before heading to the Bund to see a bit of the nightlife. When we returned later in the evening, our cab driver dropped us off at the side entrance to the hotel amongst quite a bit of traffic. After we got out of the cab (thankfully) our cab driver got into a fist fight with someone from another vehicle because both vehicles wouldn't budge to alleviate a traffic jam. This was frightening.

I thought later about how I am seeing two aspects of China here….one is the very modern face with skyscrapers, western style restaurants, and plenty of contemporary glitz. The other is a backwardness which is very foreign to an American. The fight was one example; another was a woman helping her young child, about four, squat down to go the bathroom right in front of me on a ferry ride, like a dog going to the bathroom in the street. Then there were the sounds, and sights, of older men clearing their throats and spitting on the sidewalk. It's a bit of a yin and yang experience and I look forward to learning more about the dichotomy while I am here. I wonder if the shift from the dark ages of the cultural revolution to the modernizing influence of the west on this communist country is at the root. It certainly hasn't been a gradual evolution of change for them.

The flight to China…14 hours from New York to Seoul, Korea, a five hour lay-over and a one-and-a-half hour flight to Shanghai. I am traveling with my step son, Nicholas who is 28 years old and loves to have “experiences” rather than “things”. So thought this trip would be a good birthday gift for him – good for him – and for us. Nick came into my life after I married his dad. He was just four when I first met him, and I am happy to say we have always had a great relationship. He is a smart, health conscious, and a great golfer. The plan is that he will visit some spas with me in Shanghai and then while I am at the Turning Point Conference he will play some golf.

On our first day in Shanghai we arrived at the Pudong Shangri-La Shanghai Hotel around noon and didn’t want to nap because we wouldn’t be able to sleep that night. We decided instead to try out the new Chi spa here, where I treated Nick to his first two-and-a-half hour spa ritual – the Himalayan Hot Stone Massage ritual. He has had massages before (living in LA he goes to a place which gives very inexpensive Thai massages - well inexpensive for LA anyway).


The Chi spa has a nice vibe, and nine very memorable treatment rooms (when we compared later, we found that both of our treatment suites were the same). There is a place for two people to sit and have the foot washing ritual, and a changing area with its own steam shower, separate regular shower, vanity area, and armoire for robes and clothes. I liked the touch of a ringing, large silver bell to tell my therapist when I was ready for her to retrieve me for the first part of the treatment, a foot scrub with salt. Then to the massage table (one of two in the room) where she proceeded with a warm-up massage, which lasted almost an hour, followed by another hour of massage with hot stones. Near the massage tables was a beautiful infinity bathtub - even though it wasn’t used in this treatment, it looked nice filled with water and floating flowers, with a colored light shining from the tub. I believe this is the first time I have had a two-hour massage. There certainly is truth to how wonderful it is to “get into the zone”.

I'm at the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort & Spa in Cebu, Philippines. Arrived after midnight and after a good night's sleep decided to try out their famous Chi Spa. Since this was my only day to have a spa treatment (because the conference begins tomorrow), I decided to call early in the morning to book some treatments. Looking over the menu, I selected two of their signatures: the Barako Coffee Bean Scrub, followed by the Philippine Hilot Massage.

After breakfast - and one of the best coffee lattes I have ever had - I head to the Chi Spa Village. I walk over a wooden bridge with water on both sides into a huge indoor/outdoor reception pavilion that appears to be three stories tall with a dramatic hanging art chandelier. I am graciously greeted by several staff members and asked to sit on a certain bench with a view into the Chi Village. I have to say it reminded me somewhat of the Golden Door in California with the landscaping and use of villas for treatment rooms. Although this design is Chinese and the Golden Door is Japanese, there was a very similar feeling of quiet, beauty, simplicity, nature, and a bit of mystery.

More later about the coffee scrub and hilot.....