H & C News, as readers will know, frequently returns to the important issue of analysing what constitutes the best possible ‘guest experience’, and how best to deliver it in a hotel or restaurant.
Our focus, of course, is usually on delivering hospitality in the UK, but we were recently offered the opportunity to meet Jorge de Almeida, the impressive General Manager of the 5 star Asia Gardens Hotel and Thai Spa, located on Spain’s Costa Blanca.
The picture above illustrates just how beautiful and lush is the environment enjoyed by the Asia Gardens and its guests – it would be difficult to find a more complete contrast with the high rise tourist hot spot represented just down the coast at Benidorm.
Business challenges
For all its beauty and luxury, the Asia Gardens operates in an international market that is becoming ever more competitive, as countries, cities and regions, and the hotels within them, seek to maximise leisure and business visitor numbers.
Today, the world is full of beautiful and accessible leisure locations and facilities, and standing out from the crowd is not easy, however superb your facilities. Which makes detailed attention to delivering guest satisfaction even more essential.
The Asia Gardens also offers very high quality facilities for business meetings and conferences: again, a highly competitive market, and one that has been weakened by both the Spanish and European economic difficulties.
The 5 star ‘fusion hotel’: Asia meets the Mediterranean
How to deliver a guest experience ‘with a difference’ is the problem: superb service, luxurious rooms, the latest technology, excellent cuisine…these are now offered by many hotels and resorts across the world.
For both leisure and business guests, however, the Asia Gardens delivers all these and more: what may be termed its ‘fusion experience’.
Situated 150 metres above sea level on the slopes of the Sierra Cortina, the Hotel is a unique concept that combines state-of-the-art facilities with the opulence of Indian and Thai palaces gone by – transporting guests into a world where Asia meets the Mediterranean. From the Balinese influence on the rooms, giving each an individual character and design, to the expanse of Asian-styled tropical gardens with cascading water features and spectacular views over the Mediterranean, everything is designed to bring complete peace of mind.
The unique ‘Asia Gardens’ bring many acres of lush tropical gardens, creating an Asian environment in a Mediterranean climate region. Over 200 different species of plants and trees have been planted, 80% of which are Asian in origin: the 150,000 shrubs provide a visual and sensory feast for guests!
The hotel’s 4 restaurants specialise in a variety of cuisines including Asian fusion, Mediterranean, and international gourmet – with extensive outdoor dining so you can enjoy the renowned microclimate that guarantees stable, warm temperatures all year round.
And the Thai Spa is also unique in Europe. Complete with outdoor stilt cabins with tatamis for traditional Thai massage, a beautiful heated indoor pool with outdoor access, Turkish Bath, outdoor Jacuzzi, solarium terrace and relaxation area, guests can enjoy the expertise of the hotel’s massage therapists who have all studied at the Wat Po Temple in Bangkok, where the first traditional Thai massage techniques were originally taught.
In summary: the finest contemporary standards of European hotel design and service ‘fuse’ with the finest elements of Asia – design, architecture, gardens, plants and scents, as well as cuisine – to create an environment and ambience that is both exceptional and genuinely ‘unique’.
Microclimate and sunshine
The exclusive Microclimate of the area where Hotel Asia Gardens is located guarantees the privilege of stable, warm temperatures all year round, even in winter.
The hotel is strategically situated between the Sierra Cortina range and the imposing bulk of the mountain known as Puig Campana to the north and the waters of Mediterranean to the South, receives only very occasional rainfall, and enjoys an average annual temperature of 22º C.
Similarly, Asia Gardens receives an average of 8 hours’ cloud-free sunshine every day over the year, making it one of the sunniest spots in the whole of the Mediterranean.
Thai Spa
The Thai Spa of the Asia Gardens is a new concept in spa where magic, tradition, wisdom and fantasy are the true stars of the range of treatments. You can enjoy the traditional Thai massage which, at more than 2,500 years old is a real anti-stress therapy that combines pressure and stretching, a whole complex sequence of yoga-based movements.
Traditional Thai massage is the prime exponent of a philosophy of peace, tranquillity and harmony practised throughout Thailand following the methods of the traditional School of Thai Massage at the Wat Po Temple in Bangkok. All the professionals forming part of the Asia Gardens Thai Spa technical team trained at this temple and are ready to take on the task of restoring physical bio-balance and freeing the body and spirit from tension of all kinds.
The treatment and relaxation areas feature:
- 5 indoor twin treatment rooms with fully equipped bathroom and bath, 2 of them are tatami rooms, 3 have Balinese massage beds and chairs for foot massages, and 7 outdoor massage rooms
- indoor heated pool with exit to outside, Turkish bath, outdoor Jacuzzi, sun terrace, relaxation area with infusions service
Bars and restaurants
Only perfection is good enough for the most discerning palates, and the restaurants in the Asia Gardens seek to deliver a unique culinary range and opportunity that won’t disappoint, blending authentic Asian flavours with those from traditional Mediterranean and international cuisine. They include:
“Udaipur” Grand Buffet : serving an exquisite mix of traditional Mediterranean and international cuisine with the original flavours of Asia.
“In Black” International Restaurant
The Asian restaurant, offering an exciting fusion of the finest Oriental cuisine
“Palapa” Mediterranean Restaurant: combines Mediterranean cuisine with privileged views over the hotel’s beautiful pools.
Bonsai: the perfect meeting point both during the day or at night, with the three different ambiences of the Bonsai Bar, the Bonsai Lounge and the Bonsai Terrace.
For more information on the Asia Gardens Hotel and Thai Spa click here