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 I am very pleased to be associated with the Ananda Group, who are the leading spa operators in the region of South East Asia, and to have the opportunity of accepting this challenging position. I believe that India has a lot to offer international health and wellbeing with its long history of natural holistic therapies, many of which have already been adopted in the leading spas around the world 
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India’s premier spa operator, IHHR Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., will be starting up the Ananda Spa Institute in Hyderabad in March 2008. Jane Crebbin-Bailey of UK based international spa consultants, HCB Associates, has been advising Mrs. Neelam Khanna of IHHR Hospitality on the project since its inception in July 2005.
Jane is a member of the HABIA working group responsible for the new UK vocational standards for spa and a visiting lecturer at the University of Derby. She has recently developed a foundation degree in Spa for Buckingham-shire and Chilterns University Colleges (BCUC). Jane is co-author of The Spa Book, the definitive guide to spa therapy, published by Thomson/Delmar, which is widely used as a textbook by universities and colleges throughout the world.
The Ananda Spa Institute has 2,100m² (22,000 sq. ft) of floor space over 3 floors and plans to have three student intakes a year, with students enrolling in January, May and September and is initially working towards CIBTAC and ITEC accreditation. In full operation the institute will have 120 students on the campus at any one time.
The Institute has been set up with the purpose of providing well-trained high quality staff to the hospitality industry both within the country and overseas. The courses offered at the Institute will be – International body treatments, Ayurveda and Yoga. The institute plans to lead spa education in South East Asia and maintain high standards throughout the region with international cooperation. Josephine Wackett has been appointed Principal. She was earlier with the world famous Steiner School in London, where she was principal of the Steiner Beauty School for the last 30 years. Josephine is also the CIDESCO International Board member for Education.
The need for an Institute like this has been very keenly felt by the Hospitality Industry.It will go a long way in meeting the ever growing demand for quality professionals in the wellness sector.
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IHHR Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. launched India’s first branded spa resort “Ananda - in the Himalayas” in 1999. Ananda has gone onto become synonymous with a holistic lifestyle experience, excellent service values, authentic Spa Regimens, which all get enhanced due its location in the most beautiful Himalayan foothills of India, near the holy town of Rishikesh. It has gone onto to being voted THE BEST DESTINATION SPA IN THE WORLD, by the Conde Nast Traveller for 2005 and 2006, which speaks volumes for who they are and what they offer.
Their second end Destination Spa, Shanti Ananda Maurice, opened in December 2006, to offer not just an indigenous Mauritian experience, but to incorporate the soul and philosophy into the Spa experience of Ananda in the Himalayas into Shanti Ananda.
The group also operates the “Ista brand of Luxury Business Hotels with the launch of ISTA at Bangalore, followed by Ista in Hyderabad, which is a business Hotel with extensive Spa facilities. |
