In a move guaranteed to delight holiday-makers who appreciate relaxation, Accor recently announced they've rebranded select day spas from Mii Spa to Vie Spa. The magenta colour scheme associated with Mii has been replaced with light green, pale purple and yellow, to evoke a sense of calm.

This exercise is considerably more than a simple name and colour change. Sydney-based agency There assisted with the branding and Stepping Stone Corporate were engaged in a consultancy capacity.

Vie Spa

"We definitely noticed an upward trend in people taking spa-based holidays, which prompted Pullman as a brand to introduce the new Vie Spa concept," said Simon McGrath, Chief Operating Officer Accor Pacific.

"People are now booking their holidays around accommodation that has a day spa attached to it. They want to come away on holiday knowing they can relax and rejuvenate themselves with massages, facials and spa rituals, without ever having to leave the sanctuary of their resort accommodation."

"All of our Vie Spas have been purpose-built to ensure that guests get the most out of their relaxation time whilst on holidays. The service is personalised, the design has style, and perhaps most importantly, our staff are relaxed yet focussed on all the details that make for a truly great spa experience," said Simon.

Sure to be a haven of tranquillity, the Vie Spas are located at the Pullman Resort Bunker Bay, the Quay West Resort Magenta Shores, the Pullman Cairns International, Pullman Palm Cove Sea Temple Resort & Spa and the Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa. Each Spa features a tailored treatment menu for the property and a standard menu for all of the Vie Spas.

"We worked with all the Vie Spa Managers around Australia to find out the precise needs and popular requests from hotel spa guests, and then carefully designed a treatment menu to match - making sure that it was both interesting and fun," said Simon.

"The new Vie Spa menu introduces treatments such as the Ikou Native Clay Hot Oil Treatment, which is a real point of difference for Pullman, and we have also created beautiful rituals such as the two hour Heavenly Therapy Package that leaves the guest feeling soothed and revived from head to toe."

The Vie Spa Treatment Room at the Pullman Port Douglas

Kelly King has been the Manager at the Pullman Port Douglas for five years and was part of the opening spa team at the beautiful Pullman Bunker Bay in Western Australia prior to moving to North Queensland.

"A spa treatment is the perfect addition to a resort stay with Pullman because it helps highlight the leisure side of the brand and basically gives you the sense of really feeling like you're on holidays," said Kelly.

Kelly nominates the Ikou Native Clay Hot Oil Treatment as her favourite treatment that's available at all Vie Spas.

"This is a unique massage using Ayurvedic principles to effectively ease tension through heat release and massage. We use hot therapeutic oil that is repeatedly poured into a ring of clay placed on the back, after 20 minutes, the oil is massaged over the entire back, neck and shoulders. The anti-inflammatory herb and plant extracts, heat and massage all work together to help relieve tension and back pain," she said.

The Vie Spa Reception Area

Simon said the roll-out of the new spa brand was an exciting step in further strengthening the group's leisure and resort offerings.

"The launch of Vie Spa has been close to 12 months in the making and we're really excited to be unveiling Australia's newest day spa brand to the market. We have plans to further expand Vie Spa in the Pacific and two more Vie Spa's are set to open in New South Wales before the end of the year.

"Strengthening our resort offerings is one of the key drivers within the business so launching Vie Spa is a positive step in growing our portfolio and we're looking forward to seeing our guests experience this luxurious, new day spa brand," said Simon.

It's Kelly who summarises the Pullman/Vie Spa experience best.

"They've all been designed to get the most out of your holiday - purpose built Vie Spa's that are located in some of the best tourist destinations in Australia – that's what Vie Spa is all about – embracing life!"