Exclusive Interview | Heidi Grimwood, Senior Vice President, Atmosphere Wellness
/“By honouring India’s cultural context while staying true to our methodology, we create wellness journeys that are deeply rooted, emotionally resonant and globally relevant.”
Q: India has one of the world’s oldest wellness traditions. How is ELE|NA adapting its global wellness philosophy to honour local practices without diluting its international identity?
India’s wellness heritage is both ancient and deeply nuanced, and our approach is rooted in respectful integration rather than surface-level adaptation. At ELE|NA, we do not seek to reinterpret local traditions to fit a global mould instead, we allow them to inform and enrich our philosophy through meaningful collaboration.
Our Wellness Your Way™ framework provides the flexibility to thoughtfully incorporate practices such as Ayurveda and indigenous healing rituals in a manner that remains authentic to their origins while being intuitively personalised for each guest. The foundation of our global identity which is therapist-led customisation, intuitive therapies and sustainability-driven practices remains constant. What evolves is the expression of wellness, shaped by place, culture and individual need.
By honouring India’s cultural context while staying true to our methodology, we create wellness journeys that are deeply rooted, emotionally resonant and globally relevant. These experiences speak to the wisdom of tradition while meeting the expectations of the modern, discerning traveller.
Q: 2026 is a pivotal year for Atmosphere Wellness in India. What shifted internally that made now the right moment to scale into this market?
For us, 2026 marks a moment of readiness rather than rapid expansion. Scaling Atmosphere Wellness, a complete, future-ready wellness ecosystem, is a natural progression shaped by years of strengthening our foundations, refining Wellness Your Way™, investing deeply in therapist excellence through the ELE|NA Wellness Academy, and building wellness frameworks that can adapt authentically to culturally rich environments.
India is compelling because wellness here is not viewed as an occasional escape, but as a way of life. As Indian travellers increasingly seek personalised and meaningful experiences, this aligns seamlessly with our belief that wellness should be intuitive, culturally connected and deeply personal. Entering the market now allows us to engage with India thoughtfully, with the depth and integrity the wellness space here truly deserves.
Q: Wellness Your Way™ suggests personalisation at scale. How do you balance bespoke guest journeys with operational consistency across multiple Indian destinations?
At ELE|NA, consistency is created through intent, while personalisation emerges through presence. Our wellness frameworks, operational standards and training protocols provide a strong, shared foundation across destinations in India. Within that structure, the guest journey remains fluid, shaped by the therapist’s intuitive understanding of each individual’s physical, emotional and cultural needs.
India’s layered wellness traditions allow every sanctuary to express its local environment with authenticity rather than uniformity. This balance ensures that each experience feels deeply personal and contextually relevant, while carrying the trust, rigour and methodology that define ELE|NA across all our destinations.
Q: India’s hospitality ecosystem ranges from ultra-luxury resorts to emerging wellness-led properties. Which segment excites you the most—and why?
What excites us most about India is not a single segment, but the breadth and evolution of its hospitality landscape. We see strong opportunity across both established luxury resorts and the growing wave of wellness-led properties, as wellness in India is increasingly viewed not as an enhancement, but as a fundamental part of the guest experience.
Luxury resorts offer the scale and setting to create deeply immersive, transformative wellness journeys, while emerging wellness-focused properties bring a spirit of agility and innovation. In parallel, we are seeing growing interest from high-end branded residences, with several requests in India to manage spa and wellness facilities within these developments. This reflects a shift where residents seek the same level of structured, professionally managed wellness experiences in their living environments as they do while travelling.
For us, the real opportunity lies in collaborating with partners who view wellness as a long-term guest engagement strategy. This allows us to create culturally connected, meaningful wellness experiences that resonate with the modern Indian traveller and evolve with their expectations.
Q: Therapist training is often the weakest link in luxury wellness. What gaps do you see in the Indian market, and how will ELE|NA raise the bar?
One of the key gaps we see in the Indian wellness market is an emphasis on technical skill without the same focus on intuitive, guest-responsive care. In luxury wellness, true transformation happens when therapists can adapt treatments to a guest’s physical and emotional state in the moment.
Through the ELE|NA Wellness Academy, we train therapists beyond technique, with a strong focus on intuition, emotional intelligence and continuous development. In India, our aim is to nurture practitioners who combine traditional knowledge with personalised, adaptive care, creating wellness experiences that feel genuinely meaningful and refined.
Q: Sustainability is frequently discussed but rarely executed well. What does “eco- conscious” actually look like inside an ELE|NA spa—beyond the buzzwords?
At ELE|NA, sustainability is designed to be tangible and integrated into the guest experience rather than remaining a concept. Each sanctuary has a dedicated Sustainability Ambassador who ensures eco-conscious practices are embedded into daily operations. This includes repurposing ingredients such as using coffee grounds in scrubs, transforming fruit peels into wellness snacks, and prioritising locally sourced oils and botanicals. In India, this also means working closely with regional ingredients and traditions. We further engage guests through sustainability workshops, allowing them to understand and carry these mindful practices home, creating impact that extends beyond their stay.
Q: With destination wellness retreats gaining global momentum, how do you see India competing with established wellness hubs like Bali or Thailand?
India holds a distinctive advantage in the global wellness landscape because wellness here was never created for tourism; it is woven into the country’s cultural and philosophical fabric. While destinations such as Bali and Thailand have developed exceptional, well-structured wellness ecosystems, India brings with it centuries-old systems like Ayurveda, yoga and holistic healing that are deeply authentic and globally respected. What is emerging now is a more contemporary expression of these traditions, shaped through experience-led formats that resonate with today’s traveller. With the right balance of authenticity, infrastructure and personalised wellness journeys, India is well positioned to evolve into one of the world’s most meaningful and credible destination wellness markets.
Q: Digital wellness is a fast-moving space. How will Atmosphere Wellness ensure technology enhances—not replaces—the human touch that wellness relies on?
At ELE|NA, we view digital wellness as an enabler that strengthens, rather than replaces, human connection. Technology allows us to support personalised wellness journeys through tools such as app-based wellness tracking, guided programme and continued guest engagement beyond the physical spa space. In India, where wellness traditions are deeply experiential and relationship-driven, preserving the therapist–guest connection remains essential. Our approach is to use technology to enhance continuity, insight and accessibility, while ensuring the core of every experience remains intuitive, sensory, and deeply personal, which is where true wellness transformation happens.
Q: From the Maldives to India is a significant cultural shift. What lessons from your award- winning properties will translate seamlessly, and what will need re-imagining?
From the Maldives to India, the transition represents a significant cultural shift, yet the foundation remains unchanged. At the heart of this evolution is a core belief that wellness should be deeply personal, intuitive, and led by human connection rather than geography.
Wellness Your Way™ is ELE|NA’s guiding philosophy—an understanding that wellness should adapt to the individual, not the other way around. To deliver on this promise consistently across destinations, we created the ELE|NA Wellness DNA, anchored in the Six Pillars of Vitality.
Together, they shape The Vitality Path—a hyper-personalised wellness journey guided by intuition, expertise, and purpose, allowing each guest’s wellness to unfold in their own way. Across our award-winning Maldives properties, therapist-led experiences, sustainability-driven practices, and immersive wellness journeys have consistently delivered meaningful transformation. These elements translate seamlessly because they are rooted in human connection, intentional touch, and personalised care.
What requires thoughtful re-imagining is the expression of wellness itself. India’s rich healing heritage and heightened wellness awareness call for experiences shaped by Ayurveda, indigenous rituals, and cultural nuance—interpreted through the lens of the Six Pillars of Vitality. The focus is on aligning with India’s rhythm, traditions, and guest expectations, while remaining true to ELE|NA’s foundational methodology and global standards.
Q: Looking ahead five years, what would success in India truly look like for Atmosphere Wellness—not in numbers, but in impact?
Looking ahead five years, success in India would be defined not by scale alone, but by the depth of our impact on the country’s evolving wellness landscape. It would mean being recognised as a brand that thoughtfully blends India’s rich healing traditions with contemporary, personalise wellness journeys, while supporting hospitality partners in embedding wellness as an integral part of the guest experience, rather than a standalone offering. Equally important is our investment in people: nurturing therapists, elevating training standards, and creating meaningful growth pathways for wellness professionals across the region. Success also lies in continuity—ensuring that wellness doesn’t end at checkout. This is where our evolving ecosystem comes into play, including a very much in-progress product manufacturing partnership designed to extend ELE|NA’s philosophy beyond the treatment room and into everyday life.
Ultimately, true success would be reflected in guests carrying these practices and rituals at home with them, positively influencing how they live, move, rest, and nourish themselves long after they leave.
