Three years ago when Laurie Mias first approached entrepreneur Gordon Oldham to invest in her juice shop in Hong Kong, little did she know the meeting would result in an entirely different proposal.
As it turned out, Oldham – a lawyer and the co-founder and CEO of The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts – wasn't interested in juice. Instead, he sent Mias off to Bali where he tasked her with transforming his new purchase - the former Amanusa - into a spa hotel.
The result is Revīvō, a new kind of retreat that is upping Bali's wellness game with a strong approach to mindfulness. ‘With spa hotels everywhere in Bali, the competition is high,’ explains Mias. ‘To be a success, we needed to be something more.’
Swept high in the hills of Nusa Dua in the southernmost reaches of Bali, amidst three hectares of teak-swathed forest, Revīvō is intimate. With just 16 suites and villas, scattered between lush frangipani-flecked grounds, the complex, originally designed by architect Kerry Hill, is a calm retreat of shaded courtyards, enclosed gardens and vast rooms revealed through local stone, wood and thatch.
Tackling the interiors herself, Mias smartly highlighted the property's original Balinese features with a light intervention of bespoke furnishings from Java, locally sourced Indonesian fabrics, and accessories like ceramics from Gaya, a design studio and arts centre in Ubud.
This all comes together to create a soothing bolthole for Revīvō's distinct concept. Meaning ‘I will live again’ in Latin, the retreat shuns the average spa getaway, instead focusing on achieving happiness. 'The more mindful you are, the less stressed you are, the happier you are,' explains Mias.
And so, with a series of different retreats on offer – which range from Emotional Balance to Sleep Well – a tailor-made programme, is put together by an onsite team of specialists. This adds up to days spent meditating, practicing yoga or pilates, working out and indulging in spa treatments, all the while training yourself to think about the present and enjoy being in the moment.
Contemplative moments are supplemented by wholesome meals such as zucchini pesto pasta or the pumpkin carpaccio salad using fresh seasonal ingredients and vegetables that come mostly from the property's hydroponic garden. ‘Our belief is to serve food as close to its natural state as possible,’ says Mias.
A retreat that is certainly cutting through the wellness din, this is only the beginning of the journey for Revīvō, which now also offers a cruise that sails around the Indonesian islands of Raja Ampat and Komodo. Up next will be a series of global openings from Barcelona to Niseko, including a wellness club in The First Roma Sensi Hotel by The Pavilions and the new Revīvō Wellness Resort Château de Fiac, set within a picture-perfect village just outside of Toulouse, which will include a restorative salt cave housed within a cellar carved directly from the rock more than 180 years ago.
With just 16 suites and villas, scattered between lush frangipani-flecked grounds, the complex, originally designed by architect Kerry Hill, is a calm retreat of shaded courtyards, enclosed gardens and vast rooms revealed through local stone, wood and thatch
Tackling the interiors herself, Mias smartly highlighted the property's original Balinese features with a light intervention of bespoke furnishings
this all comes together to create a soothing bolthole for Revīvō's distinct concept
A retreat that is certainly cutting through the wellness din, this is only the beginning of the journey for Revīvō
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Jalan Desa Sawangan
Benoa, Kec. Kuta Sel.
Kabupaten Badung
Bali
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