Six Senses to launch New Brand

Six Senses has commenced rebranding their Evason Hideaway properties to Six Senses Hideaway. The group says the rebranding is in response to market surveys which showed that 'Six Senses' - a group brand that has thus far been reserved for the Six Senses Spa division - enjoyed high global recognition and was indicative of the lifestyle experiences offered by the group's boutique resorts.

The first Six Senses Hideaway is a fifty-six private pool villas new-build that opened November 1, 2007, on the Thai island of Yao Noi, just beyond Phuket in picturesque Phang Nga Bay.

Simultaneously, Evason Hideaway properties operating at Hua Hin and Samui in Thailand - with fifty-five and fifty-two pool villas respectively, will be rebranded to Six Senses Hideaway. In Vietnam, the Evason Hideaway at Ana Mandara - comprising fifty-eight pool villas - will be rebranded as Six Senses Hideaway at Ninh Van Bay.

In January 2008, the next new-build property will open as Six Senses Hideaway at Zighy Bay, on Oman's Mussandam Peninsula. With eighty-two private pool villas and suites, this will be the first Six Senses Hideaway outside South-East Asia. Future Six Senses Hideaway's are already in development on the island of Con Dao in Vietnam, and Vatulele Island in Fiji, while several more are in the planning stage.

To further expand on the Six Senses brand awareness and integrity, a second resort brand is being developed as a companion brand to Six Senses Hideaway's. Six Senses Latitude will offer innovative style with unique and diverse design personalities, each providing individual and spirited guest experiences that reflect the brands creative Latitude.

The brand is design-led but evokes emotion rather than a heavy wow-factor, imparting an inspired and trendy sense of community. The use of recycled and sustainably sourced materials work alongside natural finishes.

Usually with a greater number of accommodations than a Six Senses Hideaway, a Six Senses Latitude shares its sister-brand's attention to detail and generous proportions. Accommodations may also include some personal swimming pools, plus one or two premier Retreats.

2008 will see the first new-build Six Senses Latitude, with the ninety-seven key property - with forty-seven personal pools - in Jafre, located between Gerona and Figueres, north of Barcelona in the Catalonia Region of Spain. The second new-build Six Senses Latitude will open in the Laamu Atoll to the south of the Maldives capital, Male. It will offer around one hundred villas - many of which are over water. Several current Evason-branded properties will undergo major refurbishment to align them with the Six Senses Latitude branding. The first of these is expected to be the Evason Phuket in Thailand.

The Six Senses Spa brand integrity will also be expanded with the development and opening in mid-2008 of the first Six Senses Destination Spa, ten minutes off the coast of Phuket. Sixty-one private pool villas support the three-thousand square metre wellness centre. An all-natural commitment will embrace organic fishetarian cuisine, with the spa focus on lifestyle adjustment rather than medical procedures.

The often-believed notion that destination spas are akin to boot camp, where rigid restrictions are imposed to create somewhat joyless experiences, will be turned on its head. The Six Senses Destination Spa at Phuket will present four uplifting interrelated themes for the spa: Chinese, Indonesian/Balinese, Indian and Thai, together with a vast menu of treatments and therapies that assist the achieving of individual goals.

Soneva, the Six Senses flagship brand will be identified as Soneva by Six Senses, with a third Soneva property opening on the Thai island of Kood in the third quarter of 2008. This property joins the highly acclaimed Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili in the Maldives. Soneva Kiri is a forty-five minute flight from Bangkok to the resort's own airport just off the coast of Koh Kood. It will offer forty-two spacious one, two, three and four-bedroom villas. As with every Six Senses property, the Six Senses Spa will be a key element.

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