Some of the world’s most opulent hotels seem to be competing for bragging rights on the most over the top Jacuzzis and spas. But what really makes a bath or spa pool luxurious?A key feature of the Presidential Suite at the Intercontinental Hotel in Hong Kong, for example, at more than $14,000 a night, is the rooftop jacuzzi with unrivalled panoramic views of the city (there’s a second Jacuzzi inside the suite, by the way). And you wouldn’t expect anything less from the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at the Palms Casino resort than an enormous indoor/outdoor jacuzzi offering a clear view of the Las Vegas skyline. If you want to sample that jacuzzi you’ll have to be willing to spend $40,000 a night.
Yet, one might reasonably expect a luxurious spa when shelling out thousands of dollars a night for a room or suite. What about a truly luxurious bath or Jacuzzi for the sake of the tub itself? The trend for luxury hotel Jacuzzis seems to be an array of added gadgetry such as television screens, speakers, LED lighting, cooled mini-bars or even aromatherapy in the case of the aptly named “cocoon” Elegance, a single person jacuzzi bath from Estonian company Neoqi. But one particular design inspired start-up company in Spain brings a new level of luxury to the Jacuzzi spa: pure art.
With Gaudi inspired, mosaic constructed spa pools, Artspa delivers bespoke creations drawing from natural and organic shapes such as a nautilus shell or the natural landscape surrounding an outdoor spa. The final product looks like something you would find in Barcelona’s iconic Park Gell designed by Antoni Gaudi, but is clearly much more luxuriating than a park bench! Their most recent creation comes in the form of an octopus, seating up to ten in its tentacled extensions and costing upwards of 25,000. The craftsmen behind the designs have decades of experience as artists, graphic stylists, and landscape architects that combine to deliver one of a kind spas to suit the whims of their clients, which so far include a couple of luxury hotels and clubs in Marbella and select private home owners.
Truly, it seems the most expensive tubs of all are going to private buyers rather than hotels or rental properties. Tamara Ecclestone purchased a bathtub carved from a solid piece of rock crystal found in the Amazon forest for about $1.5 million, but that’s not even the world’s most expensive tub. At the latest Dubai International Jewelry Week a bathtub made from a rare and precious gemstone called caijou, reputed to have therapeutic and curative properties, sold to an undisclosed buyer. “Le Grand Queen”, as it is called, sold for a whopping $1.74 million.
