As wellness travel continues to boom, hotels and resorts around the world are spotlighting spa, fitness, and wellbeing in their amenities and programming, offering things like dedicated retreats, expanded fitness classes, and healthy mini-bars. Some properties, though, are taking a more bespoke approach by developing their own products—including house-label skincare lines. And we’re not talking the bath and body amenities found in the rooms, either, but actual skincare products designed to be used in spa treatments and deliver effective results.
Why would a hotel go through the time and expense of creating such products, instead of just partnering with a well-known cosmetics label? It’s all about the luxury—and defining the brand. Whether it’s the exclusivity of offering something guests can only find at your hotel, the chance to craft something that evokes the property’s location or “essence,” or the ability to offer a truly unique souvenir (and one that guests might continue to purchase once back home), stocking a custom product is a next-level amenity that embodies the “sense of place” philosophy.
Here are five hotel names that can now line your bathroom shelves.
Rocco Forte Hotels
The Story: Following the success of its wellness-focused Verdura Golf & Spa Resort in Sicily (opened in 2009), Rocco Forte has taken its brand-wide spa offerings to a new level. Under the direction of Irene Forte (daughter of brand founder Sir Rocco), the luxury group established a dedicated Rocco Forte Spas division to operate all its in-house spas and elevate the menus, adding an array of signature rituals. In 2016, the hotels began rolling out the Irene Forte skincare line, which is used in many of the treatments and are available for sale. The products were also inspired by the Sicilian resort—namely, Verdura’s vast organic orchards, which are home to hundreds of olive, orange, almond, lemon, and pomegranate trees.
The Products: The brand tapped noted Italian chemist Dr. Francesca Ferri and her team to harness the power of the farm-harvested ingredients—as well as Verdura’s organic olive oil and water from Sicily’s Madonie Regional Natural Park—to create the range of pollutant-free formulas for the face and the body. Handmade in Trento, Italy, the line includes standouts like the Pomegranate Face Mask, which smooths skin and helps hydrate, soothe, and reduce redness; the Almond Cleansing Milk, which nourishes and hydrates while gently cleansing skin; and the Hibiscus Serum, which helps lift and tone the skin, and reduce the signs of aging.
Irene Forte skincare. Photo: Courtesy of Rocco Forte/Carolina Sandretto
Villa D’Este
The Story: Glamour, style, and beauty—both human and natural—are a big part of what drives this legendary Lake Como hotel, and what has inspired generations of guests (from kings and queens to George and Amal Clooney) to keep coming back. Another big selling point: the sense of privacy and instant-VIP-status every guest feels, thanks to the refined service, idyllic lakeside location, and fairy tale–like grounds. All these elements helped inspire the idea to create house-label products, as it seemed like the natural next step in catering to such a discerning clientele. “We decided to create our own skincare line to maintain our signature sense of exclusivity,” sums up Danilo Zucchetti, managing director of Villa D’Este and its sister hotel in Tuscany, Villa La Massa. The hotel tasked an Italian company to create the products, with two precise mandates: No strong fragrances, and make sure they are effective.
The Products: Following about a year-and-a-half of development, the resulting range includes seven products for the face—from cleansers and toners to moisturizers and masks—and four for the body, including formulas to firm and tone the skin. Favorites include the Complex “C” Mask, which uses Vitamins A and E, wheat-germ oil, and horsetail-leaf extract to nourish mature and dehydrated skin and impart a smoothing glow; and the signature PH Normalizer Formula, which can be incorporated into any skincare regime to help regulate the skin and protect again environmental damage. The products are used in the treatments offered at the intimate Villa d’Este Beauty Center, and are available for sale at the spa’s front desk.
Villa D’Este skincare line. Photo: Courtesy of Villa D'Este
Palazzo Avino
The Story: Upon taking over the day-to-day operations of the Amalfi Coast’s five-star Palazzo Avino from their father, sisters Mariella and Attilia Avino began making some changes to the historic property, from adding a lobster-and-gin bar to updating design elements throughout. They also revamped the jewel-box spa, and enlisted noted biocosmetics company Effegilab (which specializes in developing clean biocosmetics free from dyes, petrolatum, and traditional preservatives) to create a full line of products. Their request: to use ingredients from the surrounding Campania region to showcase the bounty of this corner of Italy and help connect guests to the destination.
The Products: The “cosmetic food” range is separated into three lines: the Apricot line features the mineral-packed fruit from the volcanic Vesuvius area to soothe and hydrate; the Apple line highlights the ancient Annurca varietal, which is rich in antioxidants that help refine and moisturize; and the Lemon line is based on the famous citrus varietal from Sorrento, which helps balance, brighten, and improve elasticity. The scrubs, masks, lotions, and oils are used in corresponding facials and body treatments and are available for sale.
Palazzo Avino’s Apple skincare line. Photo: Courtesy of Palazzo Avino
Aman
The Story: In honor of its 30th anniversary—and to further solidify its commitment to wellness—Aman this fall launched a skincare collection designed to reflect the exotic locations of the brand’s portfolio. The line embodies the Aman ethos inside and out, from the use of natural, rare, and precious ingredients (many of which were wild-harvested in various Aman destinations) to the beautifully crafted, Japanese-porcelain-inspired packaging envisioned by architect Kengo Kuma.
The Products: Designed to target specific issues (for the skin, body, and mind) and based on natural and holistic philosophies, the 30 Aman Skincare products are grouped into three themes: Grounding, with an earthy essence to reflect the brand’s mountain and desert properties; Purifying, with fresh ocean flair to evoke the coastal resorts; and Nourishing, which takes its cues from the forests. Healing, high-quality sandalwood and alkalizing, oxygen-rich spring water are used throughout to support results-oriented ingredients like pearls, tree oils, jade, maca, rainforest muds, amethyst, palo santo, seaweed, gold, and Amazonian butters; many are sourced from Aman locations like Bhutan, Italy, India, and Morocco. Face creams, cleansers, masks, serums, body oils, and milky soaks have hydrating and nourishing effects on the skin, while targeted pulse-point oil blends help you harness some of the calming Aman spirit while on the road.
Aman’s new skincare line. Photo: Courtesy of Aman
Borgo Santo Pietro
The Story: Nature—and healing—have been at the center of this idyllic Tuscan hamlet since the 12th century, when the village served as a resting place for pilgrims journeying on the Spice Route, and the locals would make herbal remedies for their speedy recuperation. Since 2001, the enclave has been under the care of Jeanette and Claus Thottrup, who have expanded it to include a five-star boutique, vineyards, a cooking school, a 220-acre organic farm (with orchards, vegetable gardens, and areas for flocks of sheep and chickens), and a spa set overlooking lush gardens. A passionate naturalist, Jeanette had the idea to create a bespoke skincare line that, as she explains, would offer “a wealth of natural benefits without sacrificing efficacy,” and that would “effectively blend nature and science.” To do so, she went all in, building a state-of-the-art lab on the property where she, pharmacist/chemist Anna Buonocore, and spa manager Tracey Mallalieu could get to work. Four years later, the Seed to Skin line has just launched this fall.
The Products: The extensive range of natural skin and body products has been formulated with an advanced molecular delivery system to, as the creators describe, “harness the true power of nature,” and better imbue the skin with powerful vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and polyphenols. Packed with ingredients from the Borgo Santo Pietro estate and elsewhere in Tuscany, and featuring an array of scents created by an aromatherapist, the handmade products have been rigorously tested by an independent third-party laboratory, and have been shown to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, increase elasticity and brightness, and boost collagen production, among other benefits. All the goodies—which include standouts like a cell-recovery facial oil, day-and-night eye treatment, and probiotic pink clay mask—have been packaged in green-glass bottles and jars as a nod to the stock in the hotel’s wine cellar.
Borgo Santo Pietro’s skincare line. Photo: Courtesy of Borgo Santo Pietro
