1. Home of
wellbeingThe health spa industry has found a new exclusive destination –
under your own roof. Danielle Seitz finds a big part of any luxury
property’s value now depends on the spec of its pampering facilities
Healthandfitness
1 0 4

3. 1 0 6 FA B L E S I S S U E T W O 2 0 0 8
People have been looking to their own homes as
more of a destination. Now a luxury home that
does not have a spa is devalued considerably
T
he human body, we are told, is 75
per cent water. Maybe this explains
why we have such an affinity with
it, why we seem to draw some kind of primal
comfort from gazing at the sea, savouring
a heat-busting afternoon downpour or
immersing ourselves in anything from an icy
mountain stream to a thermal spring.
Small wonder, then, that the current trend
in luxury home comforts is to recreate those
soothing experiences in our own properties,
as a bolthole from busy lives. State-of-the-
art bathroom, spa and swimming facilities
are bringing our essential relationship with
water to the forefront of what makes a
perfect home.
“Over the last 10 years or so people
have been looking to their own homes as
more of a destination, rather than going
to high-end resorts,” says David Kramer,
prestige real estate market is proving to be as
hot as ever. “The global financial meltdown
has had little effect on top-end luxury,” says
Alex Caraco, chief executive of Australian
estate agency Coldwell Banker. And an
increasingly essential investment for any
luxury property, in any part of the world,
is its relaxation and hydrotherapy facilities.
More than ever before, they have a crucial
role to play in a home’s resale value.
“Itisaprerequisitethatluxuryhomeshave
spas in every bathroom and all bedrooms
are suited with a full bathroom with a spa
of the highest quality,” says Caraco. “Plain
senior vice president of Hilton & Highland
in Beverly Hills. The result is that the late
20th Century boom in the personal fitness
industry that saw people flocking to the gym
or the health spa has now been brought in-
house – literally.
And it isn’t only because of their ability to
soothe us, wash us or keep us healthy that
these facilities have become an increasingly
wise addition to our homes. The global
economy may be cooling down but the
Breath of fresh air: luxury homes are nothing without
spa features, bringing new meaning to outdoor living;
Coldwell Banker property (above); Sotheby’s Realty (L)
Healthandfitness
1 0 6 FA B L E S I S S U E T W O 2 0 0 8
Photocredithereplease

4. Healthandfitness
1 0 8 FA B L E S I S S U E T W O 2 0 0 8
Photocredithereplease
particularly for homes that sell for millions
of pounds, they automatically expect there
to also be a swimming pool and a gym.”
Indoors or outdoors, in a hot climate or
cold, modern luxury spa products now come
with an enormous assortment of features.
Well-appointed bathrooms are now on a par
with fabulous kitchens, home cinemas and
up-to-the-minuteentertainmentfacilitiesfor
get-away-from-it-all self-pampering, and
spas and swimming pools can suit purposes
as diverse as socialising, health, fitness
and stress-relief, intimate fun or good old-
fashioned, unabashed indulgence.
breathtaking views
Jacuzzi started it all off in the 1960s, with
a simple water pump that turned a normal
bathtub into a whirlpool, replicating both
the pain-relief and health benefits of jets of
hot, bubbly water as recognised from the
long tradition of hot-spring bathing.
Now the whirlpool bath has evolved
to feature built-in pumps, massage jets,
comfortable neck-rests, room for two
and even LCD TV screens. And for those
who prefer luxury ablutions standing,
showers are keeping up, with units that
not only include a whirlpool bath but also
offer oversized shower roses – known as
and simple – a luxury home that does not
have a spa is devalued considerably.”
Krista Hunter, director of Sotheby’s
International Realty in Phuket, Thailand,
concurs. “Luxury bathrooms are seen as an
absolute must for any high-end property.
Most villas that we list would sport
imported or bespoke bathroom products.”
So what are these state-of-the-art spa
features that buyers are expecting for their
money? “A decade ago buyers would marvel
at an apartment that had a Jacuzzi bath
in it,” says Carl Davenport, of London-
based estate agency Chesterton. “Now,
On the waterfront: high-end villas worth millions are
expected to come with swimming pools and spas for
indulgent self-pampering; Sotheby’s Realty property (pic)
A decade ago buyers would marvel at an apartment
that had a Jacuzzi – now they expect a pool and a gym

5. Healthandfitness
1 1 0 FA B L E S I S S U E T W O 2 0 0 8
rainforest showers – massage jets, foot
massagers, temperature-controlled sauna
settings, aromatherapy dispensers, mood
lighting, radios and wireless transmitters,
and phone receivers.
At the end of your soak, scrub or steam,
a ceiling-mounted full-body dryer can blast
you dry with a gale of warm air. And if it
isn’t a full glass-walled bathroom with a
breathtaking outside view, Sharp, TileVision
and Aquavision are among manufacturers
of waterproof televisions, tough and
compact enough to be fitted to a bathroom
wall, with screen sizes from 8 to 40 inches.
Aquavision’s larger models include the
picture-in-picture feature, which enables the
viewer to watch two programmes at once,
and can serve as a video baby-monitor.
aquatic paradise
“In the 70s hot-tubs were deemed sex
toys,” explains Caraco. “In the 80s they
were a feature of many prestige homes but
they were rarely used, but as of the 90s they
were coming of age.” Hot-tubs and home
spas are coming into their own again now
that technology has made it easier to pursue
various leisure and entertainment activities
at home. Modern, top-of-the-range hot-tubs
have various jet patterns in different seats
in the tub, each of which treats a different
area of the body, for example the lower
back, shoulders or neck, so the user moves
from one seat to the next for a complete
hydrotherapy massage. Some brands have
body-contoured anti-floatation wells, in
which the user lies against the targeted jets
for an all-in-one, all-over body massage.
Of course, an indulgent soak in a hot-
tub or whirlpool bath would be incomplete
without entertainment, and most brands
offer stereo systems on their top models.
These are either a wireless system or, as
with Jacuzzi, an iPod dock. Mood lighting,
water features and fountains can also be
found in many tubs.
The world over, considerable imagination
has gone into the placement of spas and
pools. “We have seen spas on top of
penthouses overlooking the sea or a golf
course,”saysCaraco.“Oneapartmentblock
in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, had spas
off the ends of the balconies, suspended in
mid-air, ten storeys up.” Another property,
in Sydney, has a faux grotto, which features
a waterfall and granite sculptures in
rainforest-style landscaping around a large
indoor pool, where speakers disguised as
rocks play rainforest sound effects.
Hunter of Sotheby’s says outdoor, Thai-
style baths are popular on the ocean-
frontage homes they handle. “There is
nobody to see you but the birds as you
enjoy your cocktails in the tub.”
Kramer of Hilton & Hyland recalls,
Big screen makes big splash: aquatic pleasures at home
include waterproof televisions; some Aquavision (top and
above) models are able to show two programmes at once
Photocredithereplease

6. Healthandfitness
1 1 2 FA B L E S I S S U E T W O 2 0 0 8
Photocredithereplease
“I once had a property with an entire
underground environment. Pool, full
spa set-up with sauna, massage room,
professional gym, full kitchen, racketball
and bowling alley – all lit using the glass
bottom of the upper pool as a lens for the
sunlight, so you felt you were outdoors, but
you were three storeys down.”
But according to his colleague Gary Gold,
these days grand-scale excess is out: well-
executed, tasteful quality that doesn’t date
is what buyers are looking for in Beverly
Hills. “No one wants to look like Tony
Montana in Scarface, puffing on a cigar in
a tub the size of a pool.”
Swimming pools have, of course, long
been a fixture on the high-end property
scene. For properties in warmer climes, spas
and pools are merely part of an expanding
outdoor home scene. “Carpet, kitchens,
pizza ovens, fireplaces and plasma TVs,”
says Gold. “You can watch a movie while
floating in the pool.”
The infinity pool – or zero-edge pool –
has been one of the great design triumphs
of recent years, particularly effective if you
happen to have a stunning view from your
pool terrace. But the ubiquity of the infinity
pool has inevitably diminished its ‘wow’
factor and other landscaping ideas are
always being sought for the outdoor pool.
Phuket’s luxury properties include lotus
ponds and waterfalls next to the hot-tubs.
Cooler climates needn’t miss out on
this outdoor extravaganza, however, as
some hot-tubs are suitable for year-round
use in even the coldest temperatures. And
slide-back enclosures enable the maximum
use of a pool in climates where outdoor
swimming is usually only possible for a few
months of the year.
But if you do use a pool for exercise rather
than for idling, you might prefer the space-
saving efficiency of a swimming machine.
Compact enough to fit indoors, it includes
a powerful pump that produces a current
that enables the user to swim on the spot, in
the same manner as they would running on
a treadmill. Some models are kitted out as
mini water-gyms, featuring rowing machine
attachments and treadmills to provide an
all-round exerciser.
If you want the best of both worlds,
counter-current pumps can be bought
separately and installed in any pool for
swimming-on-the-spot training.
While luxury bathrooms, pools and spas
in prestige homes are nothing new, the range
of products and designs available is greater
than ever and is making two areas of the
home that were previously undervalued –
the bathroom and the exterior – the kind of
places that upmarket homeowners want to
stay home to enjoy.
“Destinations in themselves,” concludes
Geoff Grist of Coldwell Banker. “Nothing
adds to the ‘wow’ factor of a property like
the promise of personal pampering.”
Excess is out. No one wants to look like Tony Montana
in Scarface, puffing on a cigar in a tub the size of a pool
Natural habitat: considerable imagination goes into spa
placement, including adding lotus ponds, waterfalls and
rainforest-style landscaping; Sotheby’s Realty (below)