Spread along a secluded corner of the Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, Penang is CHI, The Spa which offers a blend of Asian healing rituals and therapists. It is a veritable sanctuary within 3,800 square metres of gardens, comprising 11 treatment villas, a sanctum and yoga pavilion under soaring rain trees, exude serenity and solitude. There are three Couples’ Villas and eight Garden Suites, where some with outdoor spa tubs, and designed in keeping with CHI’s signature “spa within a spa” concept with its own rooms for changing and treatment, private garden and semi-outdoor rain shower.

The spa area is enveloped by walls made of local granite, shaded by the canopy of centuries-old rain trees, and intersected by walkways through bamboo forests. All spa structures are open to the surrounding tropical vegetation. Tranquil interiors include teak walls, wood tiles and rich, dark silks, highlighted by Asian art and artefacts. The CHI concept was developed in collaboration with a team of recognized specialists.

Spa treatments and an exclusive product range have been designed based on the three areas of Balancing and Detoxification, Calming and Serenity and Nurturing. Indigenous ingredients and techniques drawn from the ancient healing traditions of Asia are used including Malaysian style poultice treatments and traditional Malaysian scrub or lulur.

Exotic local ingredients appear throughout the CHI Spa menu of more than 30 treatments, from poultices of lemon grass and ginger, to oil of nutmeg and aromatic pandan leaves used in body treatments. The “Rasa Asmaradana” (Loving Feeling) massage treatment, involving traditional Malaysian techniques and ingredients, is a signature therapy, opening a window to local Malay ritual and healing culture to contemporary spa goers.