Life Is Beautiful
Modern people, immersed in an endless stream of events, travel, information and stress, need places where they can not only relax, but also come back to themselves. Harmony with oneself and the world is born at the intersection of ancient traditions and innovative technologies, personal experience and professional mastery. The story of Anna Ferleger, owner of the Anjana Spa salon network, is a vivid example of how a philosophical and, at the same time, practical approach to business can turn a spa into a home of renewal for the soul and body all over the world, including Dubai.
My story of creating the Anjana Spa network began in an exciting and unexpected way — during the Covid pandemic. My family and I spent this difficult time travelling: first six months in Thailand, and then we moved to Turkey when it was still closed to tourists. Realising that the situation could drag on, we decided to settle in a hotel where we usually stayed with the children.
Previously, I had never used spas in hotels — I came for a short time and was busy with other things. But now, realising that we would have to stay for a long time, I finally decided to visit the local spa. What I saw did not impress me at all. After assessing the situation, I talked to the hotel owner and offered to create a new spa space according to my standards — after all, I would have to use it for at least a year and a half.
This is how my story of creating the network began. We completely rebuilt the premises and carefully selected specialists. It was important for me to embody the atmosphere and level of service that I first felt as a teenager in the Kiev spa "Favourite". It impressed me then with how, when you enter, you seem to be transported to another world — with subdued lighting, where you lose track of time, and your body begins to relax on its own.
The professionalism of the masters was impressive: being a student at a medical college, I understood that they were using some special techniques that allowed the client to disconnect from external life. After a two-hour procedure, you felt completely renewed, but at the same time you could not remember what exactly they did to you — so deeply did the brain rest. This spa set the highest bar for me — it was a level that I then searched for all over the world but could not find. Perhaps it was the youthful impressions, always the most vivid. But I wanted to create something as close as possible to that first experience.
After Turkey, we moved to Dubai, where I again did not find a spa that matched my idea of the perfect getaway. Therefore, I took over the management of two centres in hotels where I often stayed, in order to create a space that fully meets my needs. The main user and connoisseur of my spas is myself.
One of them is located in the Rixos the Palm hotel on the Palm in Dubai, the second is in Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, also in Rixos Saadiyat. They differ in style: in Abu Dhabi, you seem to be transported on a journey through Morocco, with large relaxation areas, interior courtyards, separate spaces for men and women. The Dubai spa is more of an urban type with an emphasis on the professionalism of specialists.
Our main feature is a multinational team of top-class masters who are constantly training. We conduct professional training at least twice a year, and leading specialists additionally train the rest and control the quality of work.
The second important difference is the use of only premium cosmetics from world brands. We do not create our own products but choose the best of what exists on the market. For massages and body treatments, we use Sultan de Saba — the most prestigious product in oriental spas. There are lines for the hammam and massages. For aesthetic medicine, we use other brands, as Sultan de Saba is more focused on relaxation and body care.
The range of procedures is as wide as possible — from relaxing massage to body shaping. For facial care, we also choose luxury brands like Biologique Recherche, HydroPeptide. We not only sell these cosmetics, but also work with them, unlike many other spas. This year, the Paris office of Sultan de Saba recognized us as the largest consumer of their products in the Arab market.
The name Anjana Spa belongs to the Rixos hotel chain, but we decided to keep it as we plan to eventually take over the management of all the spas in these hotels. For me, Anjana Spa symbolises rebirth — our logo depicts a sprouted leaf. This metaphor symbolises unity with nature and the renewal of life.
Our main recommendation to guests is to start getting acquainted with the spa and their vacation with a hammam. This is an ancient ritual known since the ancient world. This is how concubines were prepared for sultans and kings — a woman needed to be filled with energy in order to share it with the ruler.
The hammam is a place where a person is cleansed and connected with all four elements. With air, whose warm streams open the pores. With warm water, with which ablution is performed. With the earth through contact with a heated stone. With fire through the heat that warms the body. This procedure cleanses not only physically, but also mentally. The body completely relaxes on the warm stone, freeing the mind from an anxious stream of thoughts. People come tense, tired after a flight, swollen, and this procedure completely revives them. For me, Anjana Spa is about renewal, when you come in one state, and leave reborn.
Opening a spa in the Emirates was both easier and more difficult than in Turkey. Easier, because I already had the experience of launching two spa centres. I clearly understood all the stages, what is important and what is secondary. Difficulties were associated with the legal peculiarities of the UAE. Many say that in the Emirates everything is simple — you come, open a company and make money. In reality, everything turned out to be quite different. There are many legal nuances, and it is important to do everything correctly, and this takes time. In Turkey, I could open a company in a day and immediately get a bank account. In the UAE, you first need to conclude a lease agreement for the premises, and only then register a company. This takes about a month. A bank account can only be opened once you have a registered company.
We accelerated the process thanks to good lawyers and the fact that I already had an account with a local bank. As a sole owner, I was able to conduct all operations through my personal account for the first time, without waiting for the opening of a corporate one. This allowed us to launch in a month and a half instead of three.
Another difficulty is obtaining work visas for employees, finding housing for them, and organising transfers. The employer is obliged to provide housing, not the employee to rent it himself. There were quite a few such unexpected situations.
On the other hand, distributors of cosmetics are more widely represented on this market, with more choice and more favourable conditions for cooperation. In Turkey, there are few luxury brands, and distributors don't always dictate adequate conditions. In the UAE, there is no such monopoly, as the range of cosmetics is very wide.
As for profitability, contrary to expectations, my profit margin in Turkey is higher than in Dubai. Although in the Emirates there are lower taxes, there are also quite a few expenses. As we do not save on quality and use expensive professional cosmetics, our margin is lower than that of competitors. But I am not ready to compromise on the level of service.
My advice to those who want to open a business in the UAE is not to believe the rumours about easy money. You need to carefully calculate the financial model and be ready to invest a considerable starting capital. Legal registration will take about three months, even with a good understanding of all the stages.
It is important to first study the market, choose a location and prepare everything necessary before signing a lease agreement. You need to find lawyers, open a personal bank account, find a realtor and future employees. Only after this preparatory stage, which will take at least a month, can you proceed with renting premises and launching a business. Otherwise, you will be losing money for every month of downtime.
Over two years of work, we were able to increase the turnover of the spa by 30% compared to what it was before us. We have practically no complaints, and we have acquired regular local customers. It is especially pleasant that families started coming to us. In the UAE, spas do not always have a good reputation, not everyone treats them with trust. We were able to change this perception, and now local couples are happy to come to us.
An interesting observation: Arab clients prefer to go in groups, not alone. For them, the approval of others is important. Men love massages. Women come for half a day, do 2-3 procedures, and then relax in the relaxation area, chat, drink tea. For them, this is a whole ritual, as in ancient times — not just care, but a place for communication. Therefore, we have created special programs, for example, for celebrating birthdays. A group of girlfriends can spend the whole day in the spa with a tea ceremony, congratulations, rituals and procedures.
I have many ideas for development. I want to take over the management of all the spas in hotel chains, so that a person, coming to any of them, receives the same high quality everywhere. For me, as a frequent hotel guest, it is very important to know what to expect from a spa in different countries and cities.
The spa is not the only area of my business. If something inspires me, I strive to bring it to perfection, to automate processes so that my participation is only required at a minimum. Then I can take on a new project. If I had an unlimited resource of professionals ready to take responsibility, I would launch a new project every month.
Recently, we organised a project — a family retreat. Having been to several similar events, I wanted my children to receive knowledge about how to correctly and harmoniously spend time together with family and friends. In March, we held a mini retreat in Bali for my friends with children. Now we have launched a seven-day program in Turkey, open to all comers. It is gratifying that you can see the result: children learn to communicate with each other, and mothers learn to talk to children correctly, without shouting or being manipulating.
The next project is the opening of the Santa Park in the UAE. It will be a place where everyone can believe in a miracle and understand that the main magic always happens inside a person. I want people of different nationalities coming to the Emirates to be able to revive their belief in miracles and realise the power of dreams.
My motivation and dream is faith in the best and the desire to make the world more beautiful. I am true to this inner attitude, despite the fact that at 23-24 years old, faced with the dishonesty of people in business, I realised: with all the dreaminess and trust, you need to take responsibility for yourself and take into account that others look at the world differently. I had to come down from the clouds a little and start controlling all processes. But I am absolutely sure — no matter what happens, you need to move on and see the beauty of life. As my grandmother loved to say in childhood: "Life is stormy and unpredictable, but it is still beautiful."
