Heritage and Global Roots
Founded on the island of Bali in 1996, Mandara Spa took its name from the ancient Sanskrit legend of Mount Mandara and the quest for the elixir of immortality and eternal youth. Built on a foundation of authentic Balinese healing rituals, time-honored touch therapies, and warm Asian hospitality, the brand seamlessly blends regional traditions with European skincare innovation. Today, Mandara Spa is a flagship brand under OneSpaWorld Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: OSW)—a global leader in health, beauty, and destination wellness operating across premier cruise fleets and luxury land-based resorts worldwide.
Maldives Operations & Strategic Footprint
Mandara Spa was an early pioneer of resort wellness in the Indian Ocean, expanding into the Maldives in 1999. Over the past two and a half decades, it has established itself as one of the archipelago’s most trusted and enduring spa management companies.
Operating a portfolio of overwater and beachside sanctuaries across acclaimed Maldivian properties—including Adaaran Prestige Vadoo, Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives, Adaaran Select Meedhupparu, and Adaaran Club Rannalhi—Mandara Spa, along with its sister brand Chavana Spa, delivers guest-centric wellness experiences. By offering full turnkey spa management—ranging from concept design and therapist training to treatment curation and operational execution—the brand delivers consistent service standards while adapting each spa concept to complement its host resort’s unique island identity.
Leading the Next Chapter: Trent Munday
At the strategic helm of Mandara Spa’s global reach is Trent Munday, Senior Vice President – International. With over 30 years of international hospitality and wellness experience across 32 countries—including executive roles with luxury resort brands such as Six Senses and COMO Hotels & Resorts—Trent oversees the brand's international operations, strategic expansion, and commercial performance.
In this exclusive interview with Maldives Wellness Review, Trent Munday opens up about the evolving expectations of today’s luxury traveler, the shift toward intentional and recovery-focused wellness, sustainable business models for resort spas, and how Mandara Spa continues to innovate in the Maldives and beyond.
The Business of Spas & The "Reality Check"
Maldives Wellness Review: You’ve taken a refreshingly direct approach to the wellness industry, stating that the hotel spa business model is often "sub-optimal". How does this critique apply to the ultra-luxury resort market in the Maldives? Are resort spas here hitting the mark, or do they suffer from the same operational blind spots as city hotels?
Trend Munday: Over the years we’ve moved from spa to wellness and now longevity seems to have become the focus. If anything, I’d say that many hotels and resorts are now even more confused than they were before when it comes to their spa. Some GM’s see it as just another amenity, like a pool or a gym. Others see it as a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that they can get some marketing leverage from. Then there are those GM’s that see the spa as the core of all things wellness (and increasingly longevity) – though they are often still unclear about exactly what wellness means for them and, critically, how wellness fits within the overall resort offering.
