QATAR. Parfums Christian Dior and Qatar Duty Free (QDF) this week opened a global airport first beauty store and spa at Hamad International Airport. It is Dior’s largest spa worldwide and the first globally to include a barber shop.
The Moodie Davitt Report was on location for the concept’s big reveal on 7 May, which was attended by top executives from LVMH Beauty and Qatar Duty Free. These included Parfums Christian Dior President and CEO Veronique Courtois, LVMH Beauty Senior Vice President Travel Retail Alireza Danai and Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice President Thabet Musleh.
The Dior Luxury Beauty Retreat occupies an elegant duplex space in The Orchard, a 6,000sq m indoor tropical garden and retail space boasting a 575sq m water feature.
A luxury spa experience like no other
Dressed in a colour palette of warm neutrals and rich golds, and elegant wood and onyx materials, the store and spa pay homage to the luxury house’s key design codes. It spans an impressive area of 800sq m across two levels and is the largest in the world.
Upstairs is the Dior Luxury Beauty Retreat, an elegant wellbeing space and spa featuring eight bespoke cabines each offering different treatments for face and body. It is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
Based on the alignment of the skin and the senses, Dior’s skincare philosophy considers each guest holistically, with specific attention on physical, emotional and psychological wellness.
In line with this ethos, the Dior Luxury Beauty Retreat leverages the house’s savoir-faire and combines efficacious formulas and natural techniques with cutting-edge technologies to offer an elevated wellbeing and beauty experience for travellers at Hamad International Airport. It is the first beauty retreat of its kind in global travel retail.
Each suite is inspired by a different facet of Founder Mr Christian Dior’s life. The Constellation VIP Suite for couples is inspired by Mr Dior’s love for the stars. Here, guests can use private jacuzzi, steam shower and sauna facilities. The ceiling is adorned with a starry sky design evoking Christian Dior’s love of travel.
The spa is home to eight treatment rooms. Each one boasts its own identity, inspired by different design codes of the House of Dior. The Rose des Vents room contains a rose quartz massage table, while the Dune room features a massage table in bronze quartz. In the Dior Cannage room, mashrabiyya latticework is reinvented to create a luxurious and relaxing atmosphere.
The Escale a Doha is the spa’s most luxurious treatment. The two-hour experience starts with a back and leg massage, then a facial cleanse and exfoliation using Dior’s Micro-Abrasion tool. It ends with a semi-precious stone massage using the Dior Prestige Le Micro-Caviar de Rose, which contains 22 regenerative micro-nutrients that nourish, repair and illuminate the skin.
Another highlight is the Hot Quartz Sand Bath Ritual, which envelops the body in a bed of Quartz to boost metabolic stimulation and detoxification. The experience continues with a 30-minute to one-hour facial or body treatment.
Other skin technology facilities leverage the art of Dior Floral Science. The menu features exceptional treatments, created using the L’Or de Vie and Dior Prestige lines. These include the HydraFacial and Dior Micro-Abrasion experiences.
The first combines HydraFacial technology with Dior’s floral sciences to offer a deep-cleansing and exfoliation treatment complemented with Dior’s Lotion Peeling Floral before ending with an LED mask, the most powerful in the market according to the brand.
The latter uses Dior’s exclusive Sapphire Crystal Micro-Abrasion tool, which combines micro-abrasion with photo stimulation. The treatment boosts radiance and smooths the skin.
Travellers can also indulge in different body and massage experiences. The D-Waves body treatments combine electrostimulation with cryotherapy to detoxify tissues and reduce subcutaneous and visceral fatty deposits. It tackles cellulite to firm the skin with instantly visible results.
For a truly bespoke experience, travellers in Doha can request Dior Wellness On Demand Treatments, 30-minute sessions that are personalised to each guest. These can be booked on their own or alongside other experiences.
As mentioned, the Dior Luxury Beauty Retreat is also home to the world’s first Dior Luxury Barber Experience.
Expert House Barbers offer a customised diagnosis for treatments adapted to every skin type and beard whether that is a trim, a shave, a deep facial massage, or a cleansing and hydrating treatment.
The Dior Luxury Barber Experience uses the Sauvage mencare ritual: The Cleanser, The Toner and The Serum, all infused with cactus extract to combine sensoriality with efficacy and a woody aromatic scent.
Other services include the Dior Hand Care Ritual, which features a scrub and nail polish application; the Prêt-à-Porter manicure or pedicure ritual; and bespoke makeup services.
A veritable beauty palace
Downstairs, dedicated fragrance, skincare and makeup zones highlight Dior’s key lines and limited-edition expressions and a curated assortment of Dior Maison objects, while a large seating area gives travellers a space to relax and unwind. The space is designed as an elegant Parisian apartment combining both beauty and lifestyle products.
The boutique space offers exceptional pieces and rare objects honouring the expertise and craftsmanship of the house. These include J’adore amphora created by famous architect and designer India Mahdavi, and the Miss Dior trunk, custom-made by the expert Dior trunk-makers and of which only four are on display worldwide. The trunk houses eight giant bottles of Miss Dior parfums, each one decorated with a distinctive couture ribbon.
In addition, travellers can customise their Sauvage fragrance purchases in a selection of precious woods exclusively at the boutique.
Dior’s La Collection Privée is the star of the fragrance space and pays homage to the maison’s love of perfume and gifting. Highlights include Lucky, Gris Dior and Sakura, some of the brand’s most popular scents. They are available as perfumes, candles, soaps and body creams and are showcased in the boutique through sensorial experiences.
Complimentary engraving services are available with the purchase of selected La Collection Privée fragrances.
The makeup counter offers the house’s bestselling lines, including Rouge Dior and Dior Forever. Dior Beauty Consultants are on-hand to offer personalised makeup tips and help customers find their perfect shades.
Dior’s skincare lines are housed in a dedicated space. Notable collections include Dior Prestige and L’Or De Vie, which offer a holistic luxury skincare experience.
Travellers can also enjoy personalised skin consultations using the Dior Skincare Scanner in this area.
Commenting on the milestone opening, Musleh said: “I’m very proud of what we have achieved. Once again, the QDF team have pulled it out of the bag.
“I’m very fortunate to be in the position that I’m in because I lead a magnificent team. The team have worked relentlessly, day and night, to deliver this masterpiece.”
He added: “I am also grateful to the team at Parfums Christian Dior and LVMH Beauty for their excellent partnership in bringing this masterpiece to life.”
The opening of the Dior Luxury Beauty Retreat in Hamad International Airport marks another global travel retail first achievement for Qatar Duty Free. “We’ve always tried to make our mark as trendsetters and look at what our customers want,” Musleh added.
“This is of course a travel retail first, but I hope that this is the first of many Dior Luxury Beauty Retreats in the channel and that other retailers and airports follow suit.”
The Dior Luxury Beauty Retreat represents a new paradigm in how airports such as Hamad International are transforming to offer more holistic experiential spaces. Musleh concluded: “I absolutely see holistic wellbeing experiences such as this playing a bigger role in our overall offer at Qatar Duty Free.
“Customer demand is evolving and now it’s all about experiences,” he added. “Unless you give the customer the right experience, they will go elsewhere.
“As we come up against a world of digital and AI, which I believe are important and part of the journey, I think there is nothing better than touching and feeling products.
“What better way to do that than in a beautiful and luxurious spa such as this?” ✈
