S’Thai: Aitor Ocio’s Balinese spa museum in Bilbao
S’Thai: Aitor Ocio’s Balinese spa museum in Bilbao
S´Thai is a Balinese spa and museum founded by former soccer player and now businessman Aitor Ocio. The establishment is located in the heart of Bilbao, at Calle Colón de Larreátegui 41, in one of the only modernist buildings of the capital of Biscay: the Montero House, popularly known as the Gaudí House due to the similarity of its style with that of the Catalan architect. This historical and artistic monument designed in 1904 by Luis Aladrén (also the creator of the Bizkaia Provincial Council Palace) is the home of S’Thai.
The same space that now is occupied by S´Thai once housed, for decades, La Casa del Libro, a historic bookstore considered to be the most beautiful in the city. In fact, two of said establishment’s most representative identifying features have been kept intact in the building: the central staircase and the balustrade. During the renovation, the original stone columns that lined the building’s courtyard were also recovered, whose architectural beauty and historical value can be admired in the current tearoom and in the two adjoining suites.
Every corner of S´Thai showcases the desire to preserve and merge the historical and cultural legacies of the space, integrating them in a respectful and harmonious way with the spirit of the Far East, omnipresent in the sculptures, paintings, and handcrafted furniture consisting of unique pieces imported from Indonesia.
Disconnecting from the noise that surrounds us and reconnecting with our body and mind through an evocative sensory journey to the Far East (thanks to the ancient techniques performed by native therapists trained in the best schools in Malaysia and Indonesia) represents the essence of S’Thai (Art – Tradition – Spa).
The establishment offers body treatments (traditional Balinese and Thai massages, hot stone massages, bamboo cane massages, and aromatherapy), beauty treatments (body scrub, Sarawak pepper treatment, facial treatments), specific foot treatments (reflexology, foot scrub, feet calm), combined treatments (massage and beauty), as well as exclusive treatments designed entirely by the team at S’Thai, like the Santai Ritual, the Couples Ritual, the Ibu Ritual (designed for future mothers), and the relaxing Dreamland massage.
Thanks to his holistic way of looking at things, Aitor Ocio has been able to use S’Thai to bring together art and tradition, combining them with the idea of a spa to create a temple that has changed the rules of the wellness game in the Basque Country.
S’Thai
Calle Colón de Larreátegui 41, Bilbao.
Tel.: +34 944 247 772
