Northern Irish day spa concept launches, powered by ethnobotanicals

Independent spa consultant, Orla Gallagher, and health promoter, Ciara Loughran, have collaborated to produce a new luxury Northern Irish day spa concept and product house, named Le Jardin.

The concept made its debut in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, and has been conceived to offer a premium urban wellness experience using traditional spa therapies and indigenous Northern Irish herbs.

The duo created the brand with nature and ethnobotany at its core, with a defined yet flexible character to allow future properties to adapt so each facility reflects its location.

“So often when you enter a UK spa it takes inspiration from Asia, but at Le Jardin we use our own local Northern Irish herbs to build a connection and story,” said Gallagher, Le Jardin’s director and spa manager, who has a background in spa management, holistic health and treatment development.

Gallagher explained that the production of Le Jardin's in-house product range has helped it build an organic business model by working with local community suppliers to source herbs.

The first 3,000sq ft Le Jardin spa features biophilic details incorporated into the design by Gallagher – who drew on her spa consultancy experience and help from PLY design studio to create the destination.

With five treatment rooms, the spa houses an aromatherapy steamroom, vitality pool, traditional and infrared saunas, a bucket shower and a relaxation room with automated loungers and weighted blankets.

"Having over 15 years of experience working in the spa industry, at luxury locations such as Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, it was always my dream to bring Northern Ireland a new spa concept, where the focus is upon creating bespoke treatment protocols with products that evolve as we do,” said Gallagher.

“We provide hotels and resort-style facilities with the intimacy of a private retreat, but our commitment is to quality as opposed to volume, meaning customers are fewer but they book for longer treatment durations.”

The Dungannon spa is the first stockist of premium Spanish product house, Natura Bissé, in Northern Ireland.

Looking ahead, Gallagher has a long-term rollout plan for Le Jardin to expand further into Ireland and open properties in the UK and US.

Le Jardin is currently also setting up a spa school for accreditation to ensure standardisation and practitioner level therapy in all future properties.