The awards were announced at the Wellness Summit Gala Dinner in Kuala Lumpur on 16 October, which was attended by over 220 industry people and media.

Kamalaya was one of 8 finalists in the category, which included wellness destinations from Asia and one from Australia. This was the first year that Kamalaya, which opened in November 2005, had entered the awards.

The Spa Asia Crystal Awards is an annual event to honour and recognise the ‘best of the best’ in the spa and wellness industry. A rigorous judging process includes the evaluation and scoring of submissions by a panel of industry judges (30% of total score), a secret shopping audit conducted by SpaAudit.com (60% of total score) and votes from Spa Asia readers (10%).

The secret shopper visit, which accounts for 60% of the total score, looks at every aspect of the guest experience from pre-arrival to departure and includes assessment of accommodation, cuisine, private and group fitness classes, consultation, treatments and overall impressions and results.

The Best Wellness Retreat category is awarded to the destination that best embraces Spa Asia’s definition of ‘spa’ across the operation and offers guests a personalised experience of holistic treatments that deliver wellness of body, mind and spirit. To make the nominations list, businesses must give evidence of their forward thinking approach to wellness, structured training programs and how they embrace a broader wellness concept that considers the environment, the staff and the host country.

Kamalaya Cuisine was featured throughout the 3-day Wellness Summit. , Kamalaya’s Executive Chef Kai Mueller was invited to work with the food and beverage team at the conference venue, The Palace of the Golden Horses, so that attendees could experience Kamalaya’s inspired healthy cuisine.