Jungutbatu

Tell us a little about your background before joining Spring Spa. What were you doing before, and how did you eventually become part of the Spring journey?

Originally from New Zealand, my career has taken me through quite a few different worlds. I started in banking before following my passion for the beauty industry, where I went on to own an award-winning salon and launch a cosmetics brand.

After many trips to Bali and developing a real love for the island, my husband and I decided to make it our home. I then moved into luxury hospitality as Marketing Manager for one of Southeast Asia’s leading luxury villa management companies, working across Indonesia and Thailand and later launching its concierge programme.

My journey with Spring began when our founder, Ina Bajaj, offered me the opportunity to join the business as COO. It felt like a natural coming together of my experience in beauty, brand and luxury hospitality. I later moved into the CEO role, which marked a pivotal period for Spring as we entered a significant phase of growth and expansion. Since then, I’ve led the development of the brand across Bali and New Zealand, opening new locations, evolving our concepts and building the wider business into what it is today.

I have a very hands-on approach, particularly when it comes to the guest experience, brand development, design and creating new concepts, which is the part of the role I enjoy most.

Spring now has several locations across Bali, but Spring Spa Lembongan feels quite different from the others. How did the idea of bringing Spring to Lembongan first come about? And what was the journey like, from finding the location to actually building on a small island?

Ina originally discovered the site in Jungutbatu and immediately saw its potential. When I came on board, the project was underway and I took it through its next phase, developing and elevating the concept, overseeing the project and ultimately bringing it through to opening.

What made the journey particularly memorable was that we built it during COVID. Building on a small island is challenging enough, but at the time we were also dealing with limited boat services, restrictions and all sorts of logistical hurdles. We were fortunate to have a fantastic contractor who really understood what we were trying to achieve and worked through those challenges with us.

The setting ultimately shaped so much of the concept. Rather than creating a conventional spa, we wanted something that felt completely at home on Lembongan, individual treatment huts, tropical gardens and spaces that embrace the incredible views across the water towards Bali and Mount Agung.

It certainly wasn’t the easiest project to deliver, but I think that’s part of why Lembongan is so special to us. What emerged feels distinctly Spring, but also completely of the island.

Apart from the beautiful design, what do you think makes the Spring Spa experience different from other spas in Lembongan?

I think it’s the combination of the setting and the level of experience we’re able to offer. Lembongan has this wonderful, relaxed island energy, but we’ve never felt that being on an island should mean compromising on the quality of the treatment, products or service.

The spa itself is quite unique, with 10 individual treatment huts, eight social treatment pods and a hair salon, so guests can come for everything from a massage or facial through to nails, hair and beauty treatments. You can have a completely private, restorative experience, or come with friends and enjoy something much more social.

Behind that is something guests perhaps don’t always see, the amount we invest in training our teams and maintaining consistent treatment standards across Spring. For me, that’s a huge part of what makes the experience different.

Ultimately, we wanted Lembongan to feel elevated without losing the ease and informality of being on an island. You can arrive straight from the beach, completely switch off for a few hours, and leave feeling like you’ve experienced something quite special.

Out of all the treatments at Spring, do you have a personal favourite? What makes it your go-to treatment?

It would have to be our Mother Earth ritual. I love it because it really captures what we wanted Spring Lembongan to be, a treatment that has a genuine connection to the island and its natural surroundings.

We work with local Lembongan seaweed farmers to cultivate Katoni seaweed, which we combine with pandan leaves and virgin coconut oil for the body scrub. That’s followed by a nourishing wrap using Lombok honey and aloe vera grown in our own gardens, before finishing with a pressure-point facial massage.

There’s something very grounding about the whole experience, and I particularly love that so many of the ingredients have a story and a sense of place. It’s not a treatment we’ve simply brought to Lembongan, it was created around Lembongan, and that makes it quite special to me.

What are the treatments guests seem to love the most at Spring Spa Lembongan? And if someone was visiting for the first time, what would you recommend they try?

Massage is always incredibly popular, particularly our signature massage therapies, and our facials and head spa treatments have also developed a very loyal following.

For a first visit to Lembongan, though, I would make time for one of our longer experiences rather than rushing in and out for a quick treatment. The location is such a big part of the experience.

I’d suggest starting with one of our signature massages and adding a facial or our head spa treatment. Then don’t immediately leave afterwards, give yourself some time to enjoy where you are. That’s really when Lembongan makes sense.

When you’re not working, where do you like to spend your time in Lembongan? Any favourite spots to eat, relax or simply switch off?

Coconuts Beach is definitely one of my favourite parts of the island, and I love what the team at Lago has created there. It’s such a beautiful setting, and places like Dawn and Dusk, the Sundeck and the Pontoon have brought something really special to Lembongan while still feeling completely at home on the island.

I really enjoy seeing how Lembongan continues to evolve. There’s a growing collection of great places to eat, stay and spend time, but it still has that wonderful sense of community and laid-back island character that makes it so special.

For me, switching off in Lembongan is really about keeping things simple, good food, being by the water and enjoying the slower pace. Coconuts Beach is pretty hard to beat for that.

Looking back at your journey so far, what is something you’re particularly proud of, whether in your career or personal life?

I think I’m most proud of the journey itself. My career hasn’t followed a particularly conventional path, but every chapter has somehow led naturally into the next, and I’ve been fortunate to build a life and career around industries I genuinely love.

With Spring, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built and how much the brand has grown, but I’m even more proud of the people who have grown with it. Having the opportunity to guide and support members of our team as they grow into leaders, train others and build meaningful careers of their own is incredibly rewarding.

And after all these years, I still get genuinely excited about what’s next, finding a new location, developing a concept, working through a design or thinking about how we can make the guest experience better. I think the day I stop feeling that excitement is probably the day I should be doing something else.