Dubai and Abu Dhabi are less than 100 miles apart, but in some ways they are worlds apart. While Dubai is synonymous with futuristic bling and off-the-scale glitz, Abu Dhabi offers a softer, slower and less glitzy exterior. It’s a distinction that the city is increasingly positioning itself as a cutting-edge wellness destination and its cutting-edge destination spa. Kintsugi Spacehopes to serve as a prime example.
Kintsugi Space is Abu Dhabi’s first women-only club founded by a group of Abu Dhabi-based women’s wellness enthusiasts. The idea for a holistic wellness company started back in 2015 and grew into a product line and magazine. Opened in November 2023, the spa now fills a seven-story, pastel-pink biophilic residence on Ulrim Island. The spare-no-expenses-paid, women-only spa brings together big-name experts from an international pedigree, including Kuntsugi’s creative director Patrizia Bortolin—the Italian guru behind the health resort Pridelhof in South Tyrol—and the wellness community. Ambassador Anastasia Achilleos — a celebrity. and lymphatic and fascial system specialist, whose clients include Jodie Comer and Demi Moore. He has also hunted practitioners from the world famous Chiva-Som in Thailand.
The seven-level spa has a tranquil atmosphere.
Courtesy of Kintsugi Space
Treatments at Kintsugi draw inspiration from all over the world and range from the ancient (such as Chi Ni Tsang, a massage of the internal organs with Chinese roots) to the avant-garde (such as the Keope treatment, an ergonomic machine from Italy that promotes arterial circulation. ). Although there is no shortage of crystal or kinetic passages, “quantum” principles are at the root of many therapies using scalar waves and sound and light therapies. High-tech equipment includes oxygen chambers, LED beds and bioacoustic sound generators.
Memberships are spread over three-, six- and 11-month periods, with a three-month minimum membership starting at $3,920. Six-day retreats are also open to non-members, starting at $8,167. If health is wealth, here wealth is health.
East meets West in the treatment rooms.
Courtesy of Kintsugi Space
“There are a lot of other health concepts coming up, but the way we do it here is the quantum technology, the quality of the touch, the plant-based menu, and it’s very Italian,” says Achillos of Patrizia’s influence. Achilleos moved to Abu Dhabi with his family to head the spa. “[It’s] An Italian love affair with food and Italian furnishings. There really is nothing like that.”
But others will be quick to follow. The Emirati capital already has a foothold in health, with the 2015 opening of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a 23-acre multi-specialty luxury hospital — which cost $1.9 billion to build and is about 10 minutes from the spa. Located at a distance. Almaria Island And holistic wellness—a combination of both Western and Eastern practices and philosophies—is in demand. Five days Kayan Wellness FestivalThe first-of-its-kind festival in Abu Dhabi began in April on Al Fahd Island. It included international experts, such as Oprah-endorsed clinical psychologist and self-described “wisdom teacher” Dr. Shefali, as well as plenty of yoga, meditation, and wellness treatments.
The spa takes a holistic approach.
Courtesy of Kintsugi Space
In 2025, an outpost of the famous wellness clinic and five-star hotel SHA About 30 miles north of the city center, the emirate’s so-called Riviera, the coast is coming to the Emirates. With a mission of “longer and better lives”, a focus on natural healing and regenerative medicine will be the key words of both the original SHA Spain and the latest arrival SHA Mexico, which opened in January 2024. No room rates yet. ; However, SHA Spain and SHA Mexico start at $7,796 and $5,770 respectively.
In-demand luxury wellness real estate is also on the way. Although there is no opening date yet, the UAE’s first wellness-focused residential community is coming to Abu Dhabi’s Saadia Grove. New low-rise townhouse, with prices starting at around $767,785. Source, will include one-, two-, and three-bed apartments, as well as a wellness concierge, rooftop Zen gardens, and fitness spaces. According to real estate developer and manager Aldar, the community had to add 148 units after the initial 204 units were sold within days of launch.
“[In Abu Dhabi], they have everything they need to build whatever they want, and it happens here very quickly,” says Achelios. “They have the talent, the wealth, the brains. People from all over the world are migrating to the Middle East. [and] We are part of this movement.”
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