UNDER THE BANYAN TREE Jan-Jun 2016 | Page 50

HANDMADE JOURNEY HIBERNATE IN STYLE R E D E F I N I N G L U X U RY T H R O U G H I N N O VAT I O N , B A N YA N T R E E ’ S F O U RT H B R A N D , D H AWA , I S SET TO OPEN ITS DOORS — AND GUESTS ARE IN FOR A SURPRISE PHOTO: CORBIS (MAIN) CAUGHT IN TIME U N D E R T H E B A N YA N T R E E 01/06 2016 Luo Yang is home to some of the most impressive carvings in China. There are believed to be around 10,000 statues carved out of the rocks in some 1,400 caves, each statue ranging from 25 millimetres to 17 metres in height and are believed to have been started around 400AD. The area is now a UNESCO world heritage site In an increasingly interconnected world, the lines of work and leisure are often blurred. Writing emails on a laptop in bed, shopping online or downloading movies, the room that was a place of solace has now become an extension of our everyday life. Recognising that travellers today want to do what they want, when they want and where they want, Banyan Tree’s new brand, Dhawa, gives guests absolute choice in a compact, casual and creative hotel that makes them feel utterly comfortable with whatever they decide; whether they choose to hibernate or mingle. Marry this up with design excellence and sustainable business practices and this is an intriguingly different brand, and one that guests cannot help but recognise boasts a spark of chic originality. The Dhawa brand — named as all the Banyan Tree brands are, after an Asian tree — builds on Banyan Tree’s reputation for redefining luxury through innovative thinking. Dhawa appeals to the designdriven, digitally fluent and tech-savvy customer; one who appreciates a point of difference. Today’s travellers don’t have time to settle in; they expect seamless integration, and with the atyour-fingertips experience of Dhawa, those expectations become reality. The Dhawa concept appeals to a younger market, interested in the world around them and the new 49