Published on : Friday, June 27, 2014
Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St. Petersburg presents the latest and final addition to its variety of outstanding features – long-expected Luceo Spa is now officially open.
Luceo is the ultimate destination for holistic spa experiences, unique for St. Petersburg. The venue is beautifully integrated into the palatial structure; Luceo is built into one of the Lion Palace’s original courtyards and occupies four floors.
Luceo means “to be light” or “shine” in Latin, and its design features light natural colours and plenty of wooden as well as stone and mineral details, creating very soothing, very airy and calm atmosphere. Director of Luceo Spa Wdson Brum explains: “We are helping people to connect with themselves. This is very important when you try to relax. What you take with you after a visit to the Spa is the memory of the sensation you had, and it is priceless.”
Wdson Brum was responsible for setting up Spa operations, concept formulation, the treatment menu, personnel selection and overall management of Luceo – the only spa in St. Petersburg with a truly holistic approach. Born and raised in Brazil, Wdson has always had strong appreciation for beauty, so his career in the spa industry came as an eventual logical continuation of his philosophy.
In the course of his career, Wdson had worked in United States, Mexico, Spain – but always wanted to work in a Nordic country. “I love it here. St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities I have been to. I am fascinated by its culture and history and take every opportunity to visit the Hermitage. And the challenge of leading such a great project from scratch is extremely motivating.”
Luceo Spa
The first floor of the Spa is occupied by gym, complete with state-of-the-art TechnoGym equipment: recumbent bikes, stair steppers, elliptical trainers and a full set of weight training equipment. Guests of the Hotel can access the gym directly from the corridor, without going through the Spa reception. The design centrepiece of the gym is a unique chandelier that protrudes from the ceiling all the way to the floor and adds a palatial note to the fitness area. The gym is open 24 hours, and personal trainers are available upon request.
The main entrance to Luceo is located on the second floor of the Hotel – the guests enter the spacious lounge where a reception desk is made of an onyx monolith, beautifully lit up from inside. Here guests also find the Spa retail store, where guests can purchase the products used for their treatments.
The treatment rooms, eight in total, are all named after different gems and minerals – each with its own healing power. On the second floor is located the jewel of Luceo – a VIP suite for two called Alexandrite, with its own entrance, where guests can enjoy their spa experience as a couple and relax before and after treatments in their private lounge. Alexandrite is a very rare stone, named after the Russian Tsar Alexander II; the stone was discovered on the day of his coming of age. The stone has a rare quality – it changes its colour from bright green to red when heated; it is said to stimulate the pleasure of living and love, and used as a lucky stone.
Also on the second floor there is a nail studio named Amber, which is a fossilized liquid extract of a pine tree that is believed to be able to hold the power to push away body diseases, and the Agatha Beauty Suite. The stone has been used to strengthen the heart and give courage.
On the third floor of the Luceo are five body treatment rooms, named Amethyst (the stone known to sooth sadness and hold a calming effect); Citrine (this mineral holds energy similar to the sun – it warms and gives life); Emerald (revitalizes the physical body); Ruby (helps concentration and gives mental strength); and Turquoise (known for its capacity to absorb negative feelings).
And the top floor of Luceo features the ultimate point of the Spa – a triangular vitality pool under the glass roof, which saturates the place with light and sun and allows guests to watch the ever-changing colours of the St. Petersburg sky while enjoying the water rituals in the pool and resting on lounge chairs afterward. One of the walls is fully covered with a waterfall, which creates a soothing sound and facilitates complete relaxation. Large chunks of moon stone and elaborate chandeliers complete the design of this unique place. The use of the pool is limited to adults as of 16 years old.
Products and Treatments
Luceo Spa uses three prominent product lines for treatments: Santa Maria Novella, Omorovicza and ila. The spa is the only place in St. Petersburg where these products are available, and many guests are wowed by the fact that they can now have unique treatments – and also buy their favourites for use at home.
Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella is one of the world’s oldest pharmacies, first founded in 1221 in Florence by the Dominican Friars who started making herbal remedies and potions to use in the monastery. Their reputation became world renowned and the pharmacy, sponsored by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, opened to the public in 1612. Many of Santa Maria Novella’s products have become a part of history: the world famous pot-pourri is still hand crafted in large terra cotta vats using local essences and plants as has been the tradition since the 1200s. The first eau de Cologne has been attributed to the pharmacy’s creation in the 1500s of Catherine de Medici’s Water of the Queen. She used the citrus and bergamot scented water.
In Luceo, the renowned Santa Maria Novella Selection features Four Seasons oils that contain a mixture of selected plant oils with affinity to the skin and enriched with essences for a natural fragrance. Winter is cinnamon and citrus; spring is ylang-ylang, rose, clary sage, and mandarin; summer is bergamot, lemon, aniseed, petitgrain; and autumn is lavender, blue chamomile, patchouli, sweet orange.
Luceo’s Aromatherapy massages are based on Santa Maria Novella’s oils and include the Hotel’s signature treatment – Luxurious Journey for Two. It is the royal relaxing experience for a couple in the Alexandrite Suite, where guests enjoy the massages of their choice and private time before and after the treatment in the privacy of the suite’s lounge with Champagne and caviar.
The Omorovicza story begins more than 2,000 years ago, when the healing properties of Hungary’s thermal waters were first discovered. In the 1800s the Omorovicza family built the beautiful Racz spa in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, on the site of a medieval healing spring. Two hundred years later, descendant Stephen took his future wife Margaret to the baths in Budapest. Amazed at the transformation of their skin, they enlisted the help of a Nobel prize-winning laboratory to harness these healing waters into a pioneering new skincare range.
Omorovicza Gold Selection treatments infuse healing thermal waters of Hungary with extracts of gold, which aids in strengthening and healing of skin. Golden Stone Massage, Royal Body Scrub and Gold Hydrating Facial leave skin supple and revitalized, with the soft golden glow and luxurious scent.
And one more line used in Luceo is ila, whose philosophy is “beyond organic.” The brand creates remarkably effective natural products with the highest degree of ethical integrity. In addition to being completely free from synthetic chemicals, ila products harness nature’s purest vibrancy through use of the finest raw ingredients, grown and harvested by artisan producers in harmony with nature and local communities.
Ila has developed a unique Yantarj selection exclusively for Luceo Spa. Yantarj means amber in Russian. Yantarj Body Massage, Rejuvenating Facial and Wrap use unique combination of ingredients, with the result of pure radiant skin and overall well-being and tranquility.
Source:- Four Seasons Hotel
Tags: Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace
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