What's the story of Six Senses?
We’ve grown since our story began in 1995, but we’ve based each chapter on the same ambition: to journey beyond destinations into new experiences and cultures so you feel the purpose behind your travels. Whether you’re a guest at one of our hotels or resorts, a residence owner, or spending time at one of our spas, you’ll see that being environmentally friendly and socially responsible is not just a vague promise. These elements are the magic that brings them all to life while promoting personal well-being and the health of our planet.
Creating places that reconnect people
The Six Senses ethos was established in 1995 with our first resort and a whole lot of questions. What if we could take people beyond destinations and reawaken their senses so they can disconnect yet be reconnected … to themselves, others, and the world around them?
Our vision flowed through everything – from the way we designed our buildings to the way we prepared our food and treated our guests and hosts. It enabled us to replicate across a broad portfolio from our original rustic vibe to edgy design and urban splendor. It has pushed our DNA beyond our core resort offering as a conduit into residences and clubs, to how our guests, homeowners, and members think about our other spaces beyond the hotel stay and into their home or a community where they feel they belong.
Reconnection also manifests a different kind of impact on our guests. We want everyone to leave us in a better place than when they arrived.
Healthy investments
From the beginning, we recognized the role that pioneering wellness could play in our story. In 2002, we started to incorporate a Six Senses Spa into each of our resorts and at other prestigious properties, building on our reputation for delivering holistic treatments and locally inspired therapies. We introduced yogic programs and developed advanced longevity programming, biohacking tools, and multi-day retreats as part of our overarching Six Senses Integrated Wellness philosophy.
We also took wellness out of the spa and infused it into the entire guest journey. Conceived in 2014, our innovative Sleep With Six Senses initiative saw handmade mattresses, organic bedding and sleep-promoting amenities introduced into all guest rooms as standard. With the dawn of Eat With Six Senses in 2015, menus became even more delicious and nutritious, with guests enjoying great-tasting food, just healthier.
By 2017, kids were also gaining useful life skills and knowledge through Grow With Six Senses, learning through natural play and a host of physical activities, yoga and mindfulness, local culture, sustainability, and social experiences specifically designed for each resort.
Believing that the best way to look after our guests is to care for our hosts, we launched our Mission Wellness host program in October 2019, a host-run, year-round program to develop a sustainable and supportive workplace. In 2020, we found ways to continue to support your resilience and physical and mental well-being – at home. Our At Home With Six Senses virtual platform offers expert-led masterclasses to tackle all the universal issues that continued to prey on our bodies and minds.
Sustainability at the heart of what we do
As more properties began to open under the Six Senses values, they all shared the same commitment to balancing economic, environmental, and social profitability, resolutely harmonious with local communities and ecosystems.
We worked with our property owners to make smart use of the land topography, orientation, and renewable building materials to create spaces that were vibrant and alive. In 2017, we took sustainability one step further with the launch of Earth Lab at every property to showcase their measurable impacts in terms of reducing consumption, producing locally, and supporting communities and ecosystems.
It also made sense to dig an organic garden to provide each resort’s kitchens with fresh herbs, fruit, and veg as well as a range of ingredients that could be used in our spa treatments and blended into natural beauty products by guests at the Alchemy Bar. Before long, hens were producing eggs from their comfortable coops (equipped with surround sound), and goats and camels were keeping our breakfast bars stocked with fresh milk. With seasonality paramount, our dedicated sustainability teams worked with our chefs to build partnerships with local organic farmers, ensuring veg is picked to order and delivered in plastic-free packaging.
Journey to plastic freedom
Our journey to plastic freedom started when we opened in the 1990s with guest amenities and all drinking water bottled on-site in glass since 2003. In 2016, we opened our eyes to the plastic we hadn’t “seen” before by commissioning a group-wide inventory seeking out every plastic item within our operations. To galvanize local efforts, Six Senses pivoted to a revised baseline from which to measure progress, going beyond single-use plastic and packaging and researching every plastic-free possibility (from computers to plug sockets – all innovative ideas welcome). Six Senses continues to innovate in the fight against single-use and virgin plastics, kickstarting new and creative solutions, and sharing them with the wider industry via our Journey to Plastic Freedom Playbook.
To support local projects on the ground, each resort allocates a Sustainability Fund comprising 0.5 percent of total hotel revenue coming directly from guest bookings that goes towards meaningful and measurable initiatives outside the walls of the hotel.
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“I never thought after nearly 35+ years in our industry that I would be using words at work like empathy, gratitude and love but that’s how we evolve and the excitement of what we do.” Neil Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer
Emotional hospitality
From the moment our guests step onto the jetty or through our door for their welcome ritual, through the programming they experience while they’re with us, until the sad time they wave farewell, we do everything we can to ensure they feel the long-lasting and uplifting impact of emotional hospitality. This is wrapped up in meaningful, out-of-the-ordinary moments, whether that means fresh air, waking up to birdsong, pioneering wellness, homegrown food, or a chance to interact with the community around you in a way that feels genuine and authentic.
Over time, we keep enhancing the way we do this, for example, working with scientists, engineers, and specialists in sacred geometry to turn our homes into healing spaces, whether consciously through our labyrinth journeys or unconsciously through the energy of the physical environment itself.
Although we never joke around when it comes to our environmental responsibility or community projects, there’s always been plenty of time for fun. Our Guest Experience Makers come up with endless ways to put a smile on your face and laugh in your belly, staying true to our “fun and quirky” core brand value!
Resort timeline
Our story begins on the pristine beaches and tropical paradises of our established resorts including Six Senses Samui (2004) and Six Senses Yao Noi (2007) in Thailand, Six Senses Ninh Van Bay (2004) and Six Senses Con Dao (2010) in Vietnam, Six Senses Zighy Bay (2008) in Oman, and Six Senses Laamu (2011) in the Maldives.
Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain marked the brand’s entry into China in 2015, on the doorstep of the UNESCO World Heritage & Natural Cultural site at nearby Dujiangyan.
In 2015, we arrived at a 19th century quinta (wine estate) in Portugal’s Douro Valley. This was our first venture in Europe and our first non-villa offering, followed by our expanded residences offering in a world-famous French ski resort through Six Senses Residences Courchevel.
Of course, we always like to have one foot in the sea, so it wasn’t long before we were lured back to the coral-fringed beauty of Six Senses Zil Pasyon (2016) in the Seychelles. Two more islands caught our eye, with Six Senses Fiji (2018) and Six Senses Uluwatu, Bali (2018) joining our family. It was then back to Europe, with the launch of our two Turkish sister properties, Six Senses Kaplankaya (2018) followed by our first urban resort, Six Senses Kocataş Mansions (2019).
We also sought out-of-the-ordinary locations, from the back-to-nature tropical hideaway of Six Senses Krabey Island (2019) in Cambodia to our most ambitious project yet: a magical circuit of five lodges, positioned like gemstones throughout the Kingdom of Bhutan’s western and central valleys, collectively referred to as Six Senses Bhutan (2019).
We also opened new properties in surprising locations, starting in 2021 with Six Senses Shaharut, a desert hideaway in Israel’s Negev Desert, followed by Six Senses Fort Barwara, a 14th-century restored fort in Rajasthan, and the vibrant Six Senses Ibiza, which espouses community, spirituality, and celebration. Six Senses Vana followed at the turn of 2023, our first dedicated wellness retreat, where Ayurveda, Yoga, Tibetan Medicine, and Natural Healing Therapies combine with a kind-hearted team and personalized support.
In 2023, the quality and diversity of our properties and enhanced experiences continued when we opened a restored palazzo in the center of ancient Rome (Six Senses Rome), a tropical paradise encompassing three white-sanded private islands in the Maldives (Six Senses Kanuhura), and ski-on/ski-off suites and residences in the stylish Swiss village of Crans (Six Senses Crans-Montana), all enticing guests to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and wellness lifestyle our brand continues to promote.
In late 2023, Six Senses Southern Dunes, The Red Sea marked our entry into Saudi Arabia, one of two inland locations that together with coastal and marine initiatives form The Red Sea Project. In spring 2024, two much anticipated properties also opened their doors: Six Senses Kyoto and Six Senses La Sagesse, Grenada.