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At Bhutan resort, all-inclusive adds up to mindful wellness

You could argue that simply being in Bhutan is a wellness retreat in itself: The tiny Himalayan country measures itself by the Gross National Happiness of its 800,000 mainly Buddhist inhabitants, and it aims to become 100% organic within a few years.

So perhaps Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary, which opened in August and bills itself as the only 5-star property in Asia with an all-inclusive well-being program (see related story), has a head start.

The well-being lounge at Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary
The well-being lounge at Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary

Owner Louk Lennaerts came to Bhutan for the first time more than four years ago to scout properties and was entranced. The “great luxury,” he says, of the hillside land he and partners purchased in Paro’s Neyphu valley, is the spectacular view. Other companies are moving in as well, including Dusit Hotels & Resorts and Six Senses Resorts & Spas, with five scattered lodges, opening a total of 386 rooms within the next two years.

All 24 guest rooms have a view of the valley.
All 24 guest rooms have a view of the valley.

The building is new – more than a year to plan and nearly three to build – with the design led by Lorenz Lennaerts, Louk’s son. “We could not come there and say, ‘We want to design this how we would design a western building,’” says Lorenz Lennaerts. Being required to work within strict architectural parameters made by royal decree, he didn’t have much choice. The result: a building modeled after a dzong, or fortress, with pitched roofs, courtyards and walls nearly a meter thick. While the 24 rooms have a view across the valley of historic Eutok Samdrupcholing, a Buddhist monastery and school dating to the 15th century, the beds are arranged so that guests’ feet don’t point toward it (that’s considered offensive).  

The sanctuary wing of the hotel
The sanctuary wing of the hotel

Mindful leisure

Louk Lennaerts, who estimates project and land costs from US$7 million to US$10 million, says 100% foreign ownership came with the obligation to create a 5-star hotel. The Dutch Lennaerts’ background includes Fusion Maia Danang, an all-villa spa resort in Vietnam.

“My interest has always been to help an investor to create something that is for the next five to ten years,” he says. Most current visions of luxury offer luxury materials and “optimized standards of operation,” but little connection.

The hotel's outdoor terrace
The hotel’s outdoor terrace

“What happens to me if I’m talking about luxury is finding myself,” he says, which he defines as “mindful leisure.” At most hotels, that might be cultivated with a relaxing spa treatment or a healthy, energizing meal, but it quickly dissipates when guests are asked to pull out a credit card. “If I go to a wellness area and I can take any treatment, I can get any consultation, I can have just my coffee if I like, and never have to sign a bill… it gives you the feeling, ‘I’ve come to friends,’” Lennaerts says.

It’s that mindful leisure that transforms a visit to the small hotel from “collecting impressions” to making connections, either with locals through cultural events or with themselves (each room, offers either a terrace or a balcony – and an apple tree, a bench and an inspiring book). WiFi, boosted by glass fiber cable, is generally good, Lennaerts says, despite inherent challenges – and guests seem to adjust quite well to not being on their phones as much.

The “golden bridge” across the courtyard to the main building
The “golden bridge” across the courtyard to the main building

The main entrance introduces the spirit of the property. Through a gate is a courtyard with prayer wheels and a tree. Guests turn the wheels and cross the courtyard via a “golden bridge” to a set of red double doors. Beyond that is the candle-lit transformation room, whose wall paintings have animal and wheel of life imagery. Guests are invited to do a simple welcome ritual before entering the main building, with activity rooms, a boutique selling local products, restaurant and a view of the valley beyond. The hotel’s library acts as a sort of business office to identify entrepreneurial ventures, such as amenities, for instance, or a local muesli, and guests are invited to learn more and even invest or lend expertise.

Local wellness

Lennaerts calls the hotel “a monastery of healing.” Its 80 employees are nearly all Bhutanese, including 11 devoted to the spa. Treatments include Kunye (traditional Tibetan massage) and hot oil compression; wellness programs include a consultation with a doctor of traditional medicine, using local herbs and “menchu,” medicinal water in hot stone baths; there’s also a sauna, steam room and 50-foot pool. Guest rooms, with blue-gray stained Japanese pinewood furniture designed by the Lennaerts and manufactured in Vietnam, have a living area and space to eat.

The restaurant has an open kitchen, farm-to-table menu with locally and nationally sourced items, including whiskey and beer. The property is planning an organic garden.

Open since August, the hotel is making additions, including six mud guest houses similar to one Lennaerts rented from a neighbor during construction, and tweaks – they’re still experimenting with the underwater music that plays in the swimming pool. “I’m trying to realize what I saw at the beginning, which was created with the words ‘Bhutan spirit,’ and we are still refining every day because we are learning from the guests,” Lennaerts says. They are mostly Europeans up to now, but he sees potential from Japan.

Would he ever partner with a larger entity to extend the brand? Lennaerts is open to it – early on, he says, he discussed the idea with luxury guru Adrian Zecha – but understands that the longer the chain, the tighter it might bind. “That is more talk for next year,” he says.

(See more photos below)

The restaurant's community table
The restaurant’s community table
A guest bath
A guest bath
A view of Eutok Samdrupcholing, a monastic school across the Neyphu Valley
A view of Eutok Samdrupcholing, a monastic school across the Neyphu Valley
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