Oriental Ecstasy

Indulge in ultimate luxury at the legendary Chi spa in Bangalore.

- Anupama Bijur

It’s one thing to go to an exclusive hot-spring or geyser nestled in a remote destination but it’s quite another to find a spa that offers not just a scrub-down but a healing system that is a fusion of chi techniques, Ayurveda and Chakra healing. At Chi, the spa at the just-opened ShangriLa in Bangalore, this is all on the menu. If you’re a resident of Bangalore, you are a short drive away from this indulgence.

The 503 sq metre space is an elaborate structure, mirroring the hotel it is a part of. The Shangri-La Bangalore has the highest room inventory in Bangalore yet. In traditional Chinese philosophy, chi or qi is the universal life force responsible for wellbeing. The Chinese believe that when chi is flowing freely in the body, it leads to wellbeing. Chi is Shangri-La’s signature brand of in-house spas that is anchored in this ancient philosophy of wellness. The first Chi spa was launched in 2004 at Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, and is now a feature in most Shangri-La hotels. Bangalore is the first Shangri-La hotel to have a Chi spa in India.

Tucked away behind tall glass doors on the wellness floor, Chi, designed by the Singapore-based firm Wilson and Associates, and executed by Adarsh Design Studio, (the design wing of Adarsh Group that owns the franchise of the hotel) incorporates the five elements of wood, water, metal, earth and fire. As you walk through the glass doors, the first impressions of the space is of volume, provided by the impossibly high ceilings. Making the most of its city location, the spa maximises vertical space, where expanding horizontally is a challenge. The reception is dominated by a ceiling-to-floor feature wall with a 3D circular sculpture that looks both like a blooming flower and a flaming sun. The soft and muted nude colour palate is warm and inviting. Its timber walls and high ceilings are a recurrent motif in the layout that is neat and linear with long arterial columns for passageways.