New horizons for Byron Bay spa retreat
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday February 13, 2010
GAIA, the Byron Bay retreat and spa owned by Olivia Newton-John, is going global. The managing director and co-founder, Gregg Cave, has flagged a move into the day-spa arena in Australia and internationally."It's still in the planning stages but we are looking at creating urban day spas that build on Gaia's strengths and the knowledge we've accumulated," Cave says.Gaia is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month and Cave says much has changed in that time. "For the first 18 months we didn't have a gym. Then our guests started to talk about wanting to do more exercise, so we built one," he says.The most recent addition to the 10-hectare property on the highest point of the Byron Bay hinterland is an outdoor treatment room known as the Sacred Garden.Cave says the 20-room retreat happened by accident. Long-term friends Cave and Newton-John came across the property and decided immediately it was the place they wanted to holiday.Next morning, they decided they would build a retreat for others to escape the stress of life and they chose the name Gaia, the spirit of mother earth in Greek mythology and the name of the album Newton-John recorded about her experience of breast cancer, Gaia: One Woman's Journey.See gaiaretreat.com.au.Club Med celebratesClub Med is turning 60. The first Club Med opened in 1950 on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca. There are now 80 resorts but the original principles of the founders €” Frenchmen Gerard Blitz and Gilbert Trigano €” remain the same. The Frenchmen wanted to make it easier and affordable for ordinary people to visit exotic locations, and they introduced the concept of an all-in-one price.To celebrate, Club Med is offering 60 per cent off the price for a second person when two people book together. The offer is valid until January 2011 (blackout dates apply) but bookings must be made by March 31.Phone 1800 258 263, see clubmed.com.au.
© 2010 Sydney Morning Herald
