tracy lee of TLee spas is designing a spa for hawaii’s Kohanaiki Resort that is inspired by two words: “Aloha Aina,” or “The love of the land.”

Located in Kailua-Kona, Kohanaiki is a 450-acre oceanfront village featuring Rees Jones fairways and dramatic coastal landscapes with ancient lava flows.

The spa – set to open in Q3 2016 – will feature four freestanding treatment rooms, including one couples' and one skincare, all of which will boast outdoor showers and soak tubs. It will also include a salon for hair, nails and makeup, as well as fitness, movement and extensive watersports components.

The spa design will use natural materials, and blend the indoors with the outdoors, with architecture that makes use of natural breezes and the warmth of the sun.

“Hawaii is a treasure chest of natural ingredients from both the land and the ever-generous ocean,” said Lee. “With Aloha Aina as our guide, we make use of organic ingredients that are created with both potency and efficacy in mind, and always with a respect for our precious earth.”

The underlying philosophy of Kohanaiki draws on the teachings of the native Hawaiian healers, and the spa’s offerings are organised according to three foundational principles.

Mana is spiritual energy, and contained within everything, animate and inanimate, including people, food, plants, trees, animals, the sea and the land. Palua represents complementary opposites, such as the sky and the moon, the sun and the earth, male and female, life and death. And Pololei is the ancient Hawaiian belief that each person takes responsibility for the balance and harmony in his or her life.

“We have been blessed with a beautiful site, but what inspires me most about this project is the reverence that the local people have for the island and the opportunity to bring into focus some of the guiding principles that have served as a guide for healing for generations,” said Lee.