Located in an emerging neighborhood that is quickly gaining momentum as a wellness enclave, Orient Retreat Spa is a full-service lifestyle spa that integrates both Eastern and Western philosophies of well-being. Operated by Asia’s premier spa entrepreneur, Shenyn Wang, Orient Retreat Spa serves as the flagship location for Orient Retreat – Tawain’s largest spa group, with 16 locations throughout North America and Asia.

Orient Retreat Spa – which includes a 7,000-square-foot treatment and wellness center, as well as a courtyard garden and café – is designed to elevate the sensory experience of guests. As principal of New York City-based Robert D. Henry Architects, Henry has designed destination spas throughout the world, including the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach with Donald Trump, the Spa at the Wynn Las Vegas for Steve Wynn, and G-Spa at Hotel Gansevoort in New York City.
For Orient Retreat Spa, Henry created warm, contemplative spaces that accentuate the spa’s focus on stress-relief, personal care, mind/body wellness, and relaxation. “The building and courtyard are designed as sanctuaries where guests can completely

surrender to the spa experience,” Henry says. “Our intention was to engage the five senses and create a heightened sense of anticipation as visitors travel between the indoor and outdoor elements.”

To achieve this, the outdoor courtyard garden – which includes a café and relaxation areas – serves as the main entry point for guests. The entrance features a halo of light, which visitors ceremoniously walk beneath as they enter the courtyard. Upon entering, guests are greeted with aromatic landscaping and water elements. Seating for the outdoor café rests atop limestone islands that float upon an L-shaped reflecting pool. The pool features dancing water elements and planted indigenous tress, which activate the senses with meditative sounds and wafting fragrances. A wood bridge crosses the pool, leading guests from the courtyard to the indoors.

Addressing both the street front and courtyard, the L-shaped building inverts the expected. Massed in heavy local limestone, the second level appears to float above the ground floor’s delicate glass enclosure. The interiors – done in collaboration with Taipei-based interior designer Thomas Wang – evoke a clean and airy feeling with the use of local redwood and contemporary furnishings. Changing areas, lounges, café, and tea and juice bar are all oriented toward the garden viewed through broad expanses of glass.

The second level features 15 treatment rooms, as well as a relaxation lounge that overlooks the garden. Treatment rooms are designed to facilitate contemplation and repose. For example, the couple’s room provides a poetic vignette of nature by focusing on a single tree illuminated by the open light-well above.

The hydrotherapy room forms a cocoon of deep slate and glowing light. Diaphanous window treatments and ceiling coves encourage the flow of soft light throughout the interior spaces.

Treatments available at Orient Retreat Spa include massage therapies, facial care, aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, slimming/firming programs, and the signature spa treatment-Healing Flower Remedy with Chinese massage practices.