Ho Renyung, like many in Singapore, has spent much of the last two years on the little red dot after the hit of Covid-19 in 2020. As a result, when it came time for her to leave Singapore for her first trip from leisure, a family vacation in Switzerland – last November, she remembers feeling a little anxious about leaving this safe cocoon.

“Once there, it was almost like a veil lifted and my senses were fully engaged in a way that I didn’t realize I had missed,” says Ho, senior vice president of corporate headquarters at the Banyan Tree Group brand. “Singapore is a small place and I’m someone who comes alive in nature, so being able to take long walks in the mountains and breathe in the fresh air was so rejuvenating.”

The sense of well-being that comes from exploring the planet is one that Ho hopes to share with guests of the hotel group as travel resumes.

This year, the group is launching two new properties in Bali and Phuket that aim to encourage exploration both within and beyond borders. In Thailand, she unveiled Veya Phuket, a new brand of wellness hotels inspired by the pandemic.

“For Veya, the concept is that the next frontier of travel is internal. People realized they wanted to invest in their own health and well-being,” says Ho, whose parents are Banyan Tree founders Ho Kwon Ping and Claire Chiang.

In addition to in-room design elements such as nightlights, blackout curtains and nighttime aromatherapy, guests also have access to unique wellness programs such as sound therapy, sensory detox and sound therapy. weightlessness to decompress from the pandemic and reconnect with themselves.

If successful, there may also be herbal therapy programs inspired by traditional practices and remedies to explore. “There are tools, rituals and practices that we humans have used for thousands of years to better understand ourselves and exist in balance and awe of nature and living systems.”

“I see Veya as a platform where we can explore this aspect of mindfulness and mix it with cognitive tools and therapy, thereby evolving what spa and wellness looks like,” she says.

Then there’s Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape in Bali that aims to encourage guests to connect with nature with its unique “no walls, no doors” villas. The sprawling estate, slated to launch in June, is set in lush mountain peaks and scenic rice paddies.

“We want to bring customers back to basics while meeting what people are looking for in terms of luxury. It is no longer a set of equipment, but a radical set of experiences because there is a deep need for escape and a desire to be immersed in remote places in nature,” observes Ho.

Reflecting on her stay in a fake villa before construction began, she recalls the “magic” when mist came to her room and fireflies danced before her eyes. “We wanted to make this place a destination where you can forget the outside world exists.”

This sense of oneness with nature reminds Ho of her annual birthday trips, when she usually takes a solo trip to a mountainous region like Mount Fuji in Japan or the Sapa Valley in Vietnam.

“I’ve always had a deep desire to withdraw into myself and use solitude to connect. It’s a special type of journey that always brings me back to myself and makes me feel connected to something bigger. Covid-19 gave me time to incorporate that wisdom into the offerings we have,” she recalls. “Our core value proposition has always been to empower people to discover and explore new frontiers.”

(Also read: Take a look at Banyan Tree’s Covid-inspired wellness hotel)