April/May, 1998
No. 034/VI/98
cover story
Ground Breakers
Bali's top corporate
women
Out of the Frying
Pan
The legacy of widow
burning in modern Bali
beyond
bali
Pedal Power
Cycling around Lombok
regular
features
Sidelines
The cultural
value of
Indonesia textiles
Adventure
Off-road trips by Land
Cruiser
Home Grown
Bali's surf hero of
nineties, Rizal Tanjung
Mandara's many
Bali
spas
Books
The Butterflies of Bali
Food
Four delis that have
survived the crisis
Photo Gallery
F.X. Marit captures nyepi
on film
Jungle
Drums
advertising index for
Bali Echo web site
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Agentle
breeze caresses the air, knowing hands gently cleanse the body with an uplifting
lavender-scented wash, bird-song blends melodiously with a tuneful gamelan. The scene is
set, the experience begins.
It matters little which of Mandara’s spas you visit, the experience at each of them will strike similar chords in the harried western psyche. Time stands still as the senses are gently massaged to a state of total relaxation.
Mandara Spas have carved a niche of their own in the Bali spa scene. Concentrating on small, private spas, the company has opened eight in the space of just one and a half years and the formula has worked so well that resorts in Bali and beyond are eager to open one of their own. Started in 1991, Mandara set up in Bali with the intention of opening a major spa that would prove a destination in itself. Soon after arriving, however, American Tom Gottlieb, founder of the company, was approached by the Chedi to set up a small intimate spa at their boutique resort outside of Ubud. The results were so wonderful that the hotel management decided to open Mandara Spas in their sister resorts, The Legian and Serai and the Chedi Bandung. It also changed the entire concept and set the company on a startling road path to success. From there one thing led to another and now Mandara Spas can be found in Bali Padma, The Imperial, Nikko, Novotel in Lombok, Ibah and Waterbom as well as two in Java, one in Malaysia and more on the drawing board.
The recent boom in spas in Bali has resulted in some wonderfully luxurious ways to pamper the body and soothe the soul. The world is discovering the wealth of wonderful natural treatments that have existed in Indonesia for countless generations. Traditionally passed on from mother to daughter and administered from small neighborhood salons and streetside jamu stalls, recent publicity has brought these home-spun secrets to an international audience. Western practitioners who have been involved in setting up the luxurious centres on Bali, are now being sought out to share their Indonesian experience in other countries. Two people who are being quizzed by curious spa operators are closely related to Mandara and have been key figures in setting the standards and the flavour of the current operation. While the softly spoken Tom Gottlieb is the brains behind the business, Hawaiian-based Ginger and Chicago-born Susan Stein have created Mandara from the ground up.
“Ginger was the first on the ground here in Bali. She spent six months researching the local scene, traveling to Java where many of the best known treatments originate, and then putting all her experience into creating something really special. A lot of the success has to be attributed to her,” says Susan modestly. “I arrived on the scene as we were putting together the first group of trainees. As a partner in a California spa myself and with a great deal of hotel experience in my background, I was very impressed with the way Ginger worked with that first group and set the tone for all the staff that followed.”
‘Organisational development’ is how Susan Stein describes it. “Everyone contributed, we discussed things, they developed. It is very much a people-oriented business and people have ideas. The greatest challenge with Indonesian staff is encouraging them to voice their opinions.” Playing children’s games like the hokey-pokey and Simon Says with the staff helped them to relax, laugh and relate to each other in a very comfortable way. Their English improved as their people skills came along. Then came the job of introducing them to the range of products and therapies. “Every one of our staff undergoes a ten to twelve week training course which is very intense,” explains Susan, “those that come through the course really know their stuff, have the basic language and communication skills necessary to provide the kind of service Mandara is becoming well known for.”
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