The hospitality group is moving ahead with openings across Southeast Asia, including Raffles Bali, which had a soft opening on 4 July Photo Credit: Accor
SINGAPORE – One of Accor's most iconic luxury brands, Raffles Bali soft-opened over the weekend on 4 July, with a distinct focus on wellness travel to woo crowds seeking to rebalance body, mind and soul amid the global lockdowns.
Initially slated to open in April 2020, this Bali luxury outpost is the 15th Raffles property launched worldwide, and marks the brand's second in Indonesia after Raffles Jakarta.
“A lot of people think development is stopping because of this crisis, but in actual fact our development team has seen almost as many signings in the first six months of this year [as previous years],” said Gaynor Reid, Accor vice president communications & CSR, Asia Pacific.
After Bali, Accor is expected to roll out the Raffles brand in India's Jaipur and Udaipur as well as a second Singapore address on Sentosa island.
Wellness travel to woo business events market
Located on Jimbaran Bay, Raffles Bali offers just 32 private pool villas overlooking the Indian Ocean, and is the brand's first to launch the brand’s new wellbeing programme, Emotional Wellbeing by Raffles.
“The pandemic has created not just a physical health crisis, but also a mental health crisis and we believe that many companies will be looking at incentives that can help delegates rebalance and reconnect. Raffles Wellbeing will be the perfect answer to this,” said Katya Herting, GM, Raffles Bali.
Raffles Wellbeing Butlers trained in health and wellbeing will be on hand not just to assist with guests' requests, but also recommend a range of treatments and experiences combining the hotel’s natural surroundings, with programmes including “nutrition, spa, yoga, sleep, and cultural immersions”.
Among the resort's most unique offerings will be The Secret Cave, a natural cavern discovered during the hotel’s construction and now turned into an intimate dining spot ideal for romantic dinners. Other amenities such as the signature Writers Bar, hilltop dining at Rumari, and a 25-metre infinity pool make up the luxury offerings at the resort.
To top off the luxury factor, while ensuring privacy and safety in smaller numbers, there’s also the possibility of buying out the entire resort, which Ms Herting says “is what corporate planners are looking for more than ever”.
“For many months, we have been speaking to corporate planners about Raffles Bali and the main sentiment that we are seeing is a level of caution.
“In the current environment, putting health and wellbeing at the core of events will help to deliver a level of reassurance and confidence in events that are not just about people getting together but about them leaving in a better state of mind and body than when they arrived.”