It all started one day in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Hanoi.

Lucky for me, I am a golf widow. While Kavit (my husband) played the afternoon, I went in search of a lazy afternoon indulging myself.

Right in the middle of the most glorious Shaitsus I have ever ever EVER had, I almost ached at the thought of not being able to have this when I went back to Dubai. The idea struck..why ache? Just create my own sanctuary – a rather selfish decision? Maybe…but if done correctly, I could have so much fun doing so. At the time I was working in concept design and business development for a large packaging company. I had a business and marketing degree so I knew how to ‘package’ an idea and sell it. Now I just needed the ingredients to make the product work.

I met Kavit back at the hotel that evening and was bursting at the seams, desperate to tell him my idea and hoping and praying he wouldn’t crush it by laughing. Well as SensAsia is here today, you can imagine, he was extremely supportive of the decision.

Now how do I start? I didn’t know the first thing about spa industry, aside from using them very well, I wasn’t a therapist, or any sort of beauty technician. I was just the ideal consumer. This was the approach I took in designing the SensAsia Experience. What did I want from a spa that I could build into my lifestyle? Privacy, effective treatments and good quality ingredients in comfortable, cool, and urban setting was something I hadn’t found in Dubai. I had spent most of my life in Bangkok before I went away to Boston for university. So a cross between the two worlds was just a natural decision and something I am sure many others would enjoy. There must be people like me who didn’t want the “stuffy spa” experience and wanted a spa designed with the everyday modern, busy woman of today.

I wanted a hideaway something that could turn the city’s buzz into a purr.

Without realizing it, SensAsia Urban Spa became a reflection of myself. I truly enjoyed creating the menus and working with designers to  make it all come alive. “What would I want to do when I had too many late nights or was just tired?” were questions asked that evolved into treatments like the ‘Morning After’ and ‘Higher Heel’. Fortunately, there was no one to answer to or any corporate guidelines to follow, the Journey through MY senses of Asia were created. Ubud, my favorite treatment room where I honeymooned. Samui, the beachy turquois room is were I got married, Java, where I holidayed as a child with my family and Nha trang, where my husband and I discussed at length the possibility of a spa in Dubai… aaahhhh…. What memories…

I consulted my Feng Shui master and used color to really bring life and harmony into the space, while creating a feeling of youth. She told me where a pregnant would feel the most “feminine”, hence Langkawi is where we do a lot of our SensMama treatments. Awaji is where a true beauty comes to the surface, so facials are first booked in that room. Tangy tangerine and slick lime green used in common areas. The concept came alive.

6 years later I  look back and have realized that it wasn’t easy, and after twin girls, SensAsia Urban Spa really is my first baby. We have grown the SensAsia family from just one day spa in the heart of Jumeira to a number of great hideaway locations around Dubai. Our award-winning spas integrate health and wellness in an urban environment, while providing an oasis of calm and luxury away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Today the SensAsia team prides itself in knowing that we are not a spa for everyone, but the discerning spa connosieur. We have a loyal following of savvy spa goers that understand and have come to rely on our offering.

It’s all in the details.

So relax, unwind and enjoy the SensAsia Urban Spa experience… just as I do.

Salina Handa
Founder