The 5th annual World Spa Awards came to a close last week, with spa and wellness industry leaders attending the Armani Hotel Dubai from around the globe.

Launching in 2015 by the World Travel Awards, the World Spa Awards were designed to continue improving the standards within spa tourism by rewarding the organisations that are the leaders in the field. Votes are cast by professionals working within the spa industry as well as members of the public via the WSA website.

Rebecca Cohen, managing director of the World Spa Awards, said “This year is our most ambitious programme yet, as World Spa Awards cements its reputation as the industry’s most trusted benchmark of excellence. Armani Hotel Dubai has proven a world-class host on what has been a magnificent evening of triumph for the spa and wellness industry. We have had the privilege of recognising the leading organisations from across the world and my congratulations to each of them.”

Olivia Newton-John was honoured on the night with the ‘Wellness Pioneer Award’ (as co-owner of Gaia Retreat) for her outstanding contribution to the wellness industry and for serving as a leading voice for complementary therapies.

The NZ winners were:

New Zealand’s Best Hotel Spa
East Day Spa at SKYCITY Grand Hotel Auckland

New Zealand’s Best Resort Spa
Blanket Bay Spa at Blanket Bay

New Zealand’s Best Wellness Retreat
Aro Ha Wellness Retreat

“We are delighted with the win and so proud of the team we have working at Aro Ha delivering world class wellness retreats,” says the Glenorchy retreat’s co-creator Paula Ryan.

New Zealand-founded Spring Spa‘s Seminyak Village location in Bali won Asia’s Best Day Spa for 2019.

“Our team of 250 across New Zealand and Indonesia have been one of the most important reasons for our success,” says Ina Bajaj, CEO of both East Day Spa and Spring Spa.

“Without our superstars we wouldn’t have been able to achieve any of these accolades.”

“A special mention needs to be made to the management team, some of who have been with us for over a decade and have put their hearts and souls into our brands and loved it as much as I have.”

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