Shanghai's latest five-star hotel Hyatt has given over an entire floor to its spa in recognition of how important health, well-being and pampering are to today’s travelers. Hyatt on the Bund's 3,000 sqm Yuan Spa (see P68 for details) comprises a 12-suite spa, 25-meter swimming pool, a whiz-bang fitness center with user-controlled fans and TV screens on each machine, Next hair salon, lounge and organic juice bar.

Yuan means 'river’s source', and the water theme provides a strong undercurrent both in terms of design and treatments offered. A pebble-strewn stream from a natural spring located below the hotel flows across the space and laps up to the individual treatment rooms. The designers have built a contemporary setting using natural materials such as textured woods and granite, and added iPod docks on the walls as well as a mechanical bed.

"Each of the Hyatt Pure Spas around the world features unique aspects of its destination," explains spa manager Amanda Teng. As for the choice of skin products by Shanghai start-up Ba Yan Ka La, she says, "We thought it was a good match-we are both offering a contemporary take on Chinese traditions and of course the use of pure water." (Ba Yan Ka La products use water from Himalayan springs.)

The signature 90-minute Yuan Infusion Massage is alone worth a trip to the north Bund. Using Chinese medicinal herbal compresses filled with ginger, notoginseng and Tibetan saffron to massage the body, the treatment clears blocked qi and eliminates toxins. Before and after the treatments clients are free to use the yin and yang plunge pools, sauna, steam, or retire to the low-slung lounges for a fresh juice under the occasional burst of spring mist sprayed from nozzles hidden among the bamboo plants.

Hyatt on the Bund

Location: Jinmao Tower, 88 Shiji Da Dao, near Yincheng Zhonglu

Tel: 021-5047-1234

(That's Shanghai September 20, 2007)