Introducing the Floating Spa at Monkey Island Estate, Bray-on-Thames

Posted in News on 20 December, 2018

YTL Hotels is delighted to announce details of the Floating Spa at Monkey Island Estate, which will be opening in February 2019, in Bray-on-Thames. The hotly anticipated opening will not only include 41 boutique bedrooms on this private island, as well as 6 individual luxury residences forming the rest of the estate, a modern brasserie, and seven acres of stunning grounds, but will also feature an innovative and exciting spa concept: The Floating Spa, created by YTL Hotels’ wellness experts at Spa Village.

The Floating Spa will be a unique spa experience and will be based completely on the water. The bespoke crafted barge will comprise three indulgent treatment rooms, an airy and bright wheelhouse reception and an Elixir Bar, all moored on the banks of the island. The Floating Spa experience will be peppered with touch points that celebrate the power of water, taking guests far beyond the traditional spa offering, and on holistic voyages through the history of the island and the River Thames.

The history of Monkey Island dates back 800 years, when it was founded by monks, and all treatments and experiences have been choreographed to fit the setting and concept. As such, the Floating Spa signature treatment will be The Monks Elixir –Botany and Beauty. The treatment will begin with an ‘Elixir Tasting’ of one of the monk-brewed ancient herbal tonics: Chartreuse, D.O.M Benedictine or Frangelico. Following this traditional sensory ritual, guests will indulge in a full body massage with house-cured herbal oil and essential oils, further enhanced by herbal packs placed on the joint to relieve stiffness and improve mobility.

Proving their dedication to rooting the spa in the history of the island and the surrounding nature, Monkey Island Estate has partnered with British spa brand Moss of the Isles to create bespoke treatments that tap into nature’s most potent and nourishing elements to create powerhouse formulas that transform, heal and rejuvenate skin. From the Floating Massage, which mirrors the hypnotic effect of rocking on water, to the Garden Herbs and Magic Peat, which reflects the lush and fertile grounds of Monkey Island, these signature treatments use completely natural and hand crafted products including unique ingredients such as Moss, Peat, Rosemary, and Horse Chestnut.

Additionally, the Floating Spa will be working with ISUN Alive & Ageless skincare, award-winning high performance integrity products all hand-made from wildcrafted, organic, and natural ingredients, to offer both massages and rejuvenating facials.

In true Spa Village style, the spa experience will not be limited to treatments in the Floating Spa. Special touchpoints and surprises for guests will ensure that visits to the Floating Spa are all-encompassing and holistic. The Experimental Teahouse will grow medicinal plants and herbs that will be used at the on-board Elixir Bar, based on the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries’ barge that traded along the Thames in the 1700s, and guests will be encouraged to sample house-cured elixirs to suit their needs, many of these taken from ancient recipes brewed by the original Monks of Monkey Island. Organic British products, traditional pastilles, and even chocolate meditation sessions, will all comprise to ensure the Floating Spa experience is as intriguing and unique as Monkey Island itself.

Following YTL’s superb renovation, the historically famous Monkey Island Estate will once again offer guests their very own private countryside escape. With an intriguing history dating back 800 years, Monkey Island Estate is set across seven acres and will consist of 38 bedrooms and three deluxe suites, all designed by the award-winning New York-based Champalimaud Design.