Resort operator Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts is to roll out its Pürovel Spa & Sport brand across its global hotel portfolio following its first site in Basel, Switzerland.
The new brand will reflect the company's Swiss roots and its commitment to natural materials and resources. Stone, wood, water and flowers will all be used in the design as a reminder of the pure nature and invigorating mountain air of the Swiss Alps.
There will be two different types of Pürovel facilities. Pürovel Sport spas will be 500 to 700sq m (5,382 to 7,535sq ft) in size featuring up to four treatment rooms. The larger, Pürovel Spa & Sport sites will cover around 700 to 2,500sq m (7,535 to 26,910sq ft) and boast a minimum of five treatment rooms.
The Pürovel brand aims to combine a restorative spa experience with sports and exercise. The signature treatment experience is loosely based on the four seasons with each one incorporating four different stages: spring (prepare), summer (perform), autumn (enjoy) and winter (hibernate).
Lilian Roten, Swissôtel's vice-president of operations, explains: "Nature in Switzerland goes through four stages in order to survive, flourish and reproduce. We should do the same in order to restore our wellbeing. Pürovel is all about vitality. It will not be marketed as a pampering service."
Swissôtel partnered with local company Suissessences to produce a Pürovel-branded line of essential oils incorporating Swiss herbs such as lemon balm, wild bergamot, lavender and Douglas fir.
All Pürovel spas will also have a fitness element. The size of each fitness facility will vary, but every gym will boast CV, resistance and weight areas. The larger spas will also include class spaces group exercises such as yoga, as well as separate exercise zones.
The sports programmes will be modelled on "the four steps to building vitality" - emerge, peak, cool down and rest". Roten says: "For example a 20 minute walk is to emerge, a breath of fresh air, a 30 minute run is to invigorate your body and get your heart rate up and a 40 minute work-out is to reach peak performance.
The first Pürovel site opened in Bern in 2009 and four new Pürovel spas are to open at Swissôtel-owned hotels during 2011. Spas in Tallinn, Estonia; Moscow, Russia; and Osaka, Japan have recently been revealed, while a launch in Bremen, Germany is planned this month (August).
Further sites will follow, starting with an opening in Kolkata, India and Dresden, Germany in April 2012. The target is to have 20 Pürovel-branded spas by 2013. Roten revealed that all existing spas across the Swissôtel portfolio will eventually be either converted into Pürovel spas or, if they "do not fill the criteria", they will be realigned as purely fitness centres.
Roten also said that the majority of the sites will be operated by Swissôtel, but some of the smaller Pürovel Sport facilities might be run by local spa specialists.
Swissôtel is owned by Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) and FRHI's vice-president of spas, Anne McCall Wilson, was involved in the development of the Pürovel. In addition, Swissôtel's interior designer Karsten Schmidt created the look and feel of the new spa concept.
Roten concludes: "Words are critical in conveying our brand essence. Key words for Pürovel include vitality, vigor, uncomplicated, natural, sport and healthy lifestyle. Words that Pürovel is not, include all the predictable spa words - such as relax, luxurious, pampering, mind body soul and tranquility."
