Asian Hotel Brands Are Transforming Luxury Hospitality

When The Peninsula opened in Belgravia, the exact date was chosen by a feng shui expert and a traditional Chinese lion dance was performed to ensure good fortune. Just two of the factors that set apart this new addition from other luxury hotels in the UK and Ireland.

The Peninsula, founded in Hong Kong, is one of a new raft of luxury Asian hotel brands to open its first British location. At the same time, Raffles opened an outpost of the famed Singaporean hotel in the OWO in Whitehall; Thai brand Anantara acquired The Marker Dublin; and Charlton House in Somerset became part of Singapore-owned Montigo Resorts. Hot on their heels was the opening of Mandarin Oriental
Mayfair, a sleek, boutique alternative to the Hyde Park grande dame.

What they bring is a superb level of service along with a significant focus on wellness, as anyone who has stayed in a five-star hotel in Asia will attest. ‘Asian hospitality is rooted in a deep cultural tradition of respect, warmth and genuine care,’ says Dalip Singh, CEO of Montigo Resorts. ‘In many Asian cultures, welcoming a guest is akin to welcoming family.’

Singh’s teams are trained to anticipate needs before they arise. ‘If we notice a guest is left-handed during a meal, we ensure their next dining experience is set up accordingly. A preferred side of the bed? Milk, no sugar, with your coffee? These small but meaningful touches created a seamless, personal experience.’ And there’s the rub: while bad service is easy to pinpoint, good service can take many subtle guises, which add up to more than the sum of their parts.

Whenever I’ve stayed at a Mandarin Oriental, I’ve noticed the housekeeping team always add thoughtful flourishes, such as providing a new microfibre cloth for my reading glasses or a stylish bookmark for my paperback. And when I checked into The Peninsula in Belgravia I was pleasantly surprised that every in-house restaurant already knew about a food allergy without me having to mention it, thanks to the helpful online customer requirements form I’d filled in ahead of my stay.

Before opening a hotel, The Peninsula takes a team of staff from an upcoming property to their flagship hotel for training. Ahead of The Peninsula London launch, the then CEO Clement Kwok (now executive director) of parent company Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, told me: ‘When we open a new hotel, we also transfer task forces of experienced people from other Peninsulas into the local operating teams to ensure that everyone understands the true meaning of Peninsula service as soon as the hotel opens.’ Similarly, Anantara sends a Thai team to each new hotel for at least a year to train staff.

Attention to detail is also central to Estelle Manor in Oxfordshire and Gleneagles in Scotland, both owned by Indian-born Sharan Pasricha, who sees personalised service and wellness as pivotal to hospitality. When Pasricha bought Gleneagles, ‘the ambition was to surpass its glory days of the 1920s,’ says managing director Conor O’Leary.

‘We have worked incredibly hard to build on the truly personalised service we offer, making our guests’ experiences the best they’ve ever had, at any hotel, anywhere,’ adds O’Leary. ‘The very thing that makes Gleneagles so special is the tireless effort and commitment the expert team puts in.’

Under Pasricha’s ownership, the country estate has been steadily transformed including a redesigned spa, positioning Gleneagles as Scotland’s leading wellness destination. Wellness is a serious business for Asian hotels. For Anantara, whose gorgeous Phuket spa stood in for the one in the latest series of The White Lotus, wellness is ingrained in its DNA, including at The Marker Dublin – though here, rather than over-water pavilions, the spa is slickly contemporary as befits its urban setting. Montigo Resorts brought its group general manager for wellness, Warsiyah Kasmudi (Yaya), from Indonesia to its Somerset hotel: ‘Yaya brings an extraordinary depth of knowledge in Asian healing traditions and she trains our team in authentic Asian wellness techniques and service culture,’ says Singh.

When Hong Kong billionaire Gerald Chan bought Heckfield Place in Hampshire, he always envisaged adding a major wellness component. The country house hotel now includes The Bothy, a stunning haven found beyond the bucolic estate’s walled garden. The beautifully designed 17,000sq/ft space includes treatment rooms, hydrotherapy and thermal experiences, as well as gym and yoga studios. Last year, The Bothy introduced bespoke retreats (a week before arrival, guests are given a one-to-one mind and body assessment via Zoom by an eco-psychologist), which have proved popular.

Also several years in the making is the staggering Eynsham Baths at Estelle Manor. Although inspired by Roman bathhouses, Pasricha and his wife, Eiesha Bharti, drew on their Indian heritage for many of the treatments. Among them are the marma chikitsa with chakra healing and a potli massage using ayurvedic principles. The Peninsula, Raffles and the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair have all dug deep – literally – to create sublime subterranean spas and wellness spaces. This summer another renowned Thai brand, Six Senses, is due to open its first UK hotel in Bayswater and the Hong Kong-owned Rosewood group will open its second – The Chancery in Mayfair – both promising impressive spas.

No wonder long-standing luxury hotels in London are upping their game to compete. The cavernous new spa at Claridge’s is designed by Hong Kong architect André Fu and inspired by his travels to Japanese temples and zen gardens. Each treatment begins with a gentle foot bath in rice water. The Ritz is the latest to embark on a spacious underground spa and The Dorchester recently refurbished its guest rooms and suites (complete with those wondrous Japanese loos that are de rigueur in Asian establishments), and beefed up its spa treatments. The Savoy London has introduced rotating Wellbeing Residencies by visiting specialists.

With more eastern competition still to come (India’s Oberoi is planning its first UK hotel and the Mandarin will open its third in London, on the South Bank), expect a trickle-down effect on hotels throughout the UK and Ireland – hopefully including those Japanese loos.

By Gillian Rhys