TUI Cruises – Champneys Onboard Spa
Spa design, thermal experience & interior design
CRUISE SHIP SPA | INTERNATIONAL
Taking Champneys to sea.
Translating the Champneys spa experience into a new setting, creating a refined onboard destination that felt unmistakably Champneys while appealing to a new audience of TUI cruise guests.
Our role
Spatial planning & spa DesignConcept development, spatial planning and interior design across the 1,500m² onboard spa.
Creating a new thermal journey including an infinity-edge pool, sauna, steam, experience showers and relaxation areas.
Thermal Experience DesignINTERIOR & BESPOKE DESIGNMaterials, lighting, decorative screens and custom detailing developed to carry the Champneys identity throughout the spa.
The brief
Taking an established spa brand into a new environment
Our work with Champneys across its destination resorts led to a new opportunity: taking the brand to sea for the first time as part of the refurbishment of TUI Cruises’ Marella Explorer.
The challenge was to translate an established land-based spa experience into a very different hospitality setting.
The space needed to feel recognisably Champneys, carrying the refined sense of luxury developed across the resorts, while also appealing to TUI guests who could book spa packages alongside their cruise or add treatments and experiences during their time onboard.
The aim was to retain the character and quality of Champneys while adapting the experience to the pace, expectations and commercial requirements of a cruise environment.
What we did
Translating the Champneys experience
Butterscotch Design developed the concept, spatial planning and interior design across the 1,500m² spa, bringing treatment, thermal, beauty, fitness and relaxation together as one connected guest experience.
The spa included 12 treatment rooms, reception and retail, a boutique hair and beauty salon, gym, exercise studio, changing facilities and extensive relaxation and thermal areas.
Working within the refurbishment of an existing ship meant balancing the new concept with the spaces and infrastructure already in place, retaining and reworking elements where appropriate while introducing completely new experiences where they would have the greatest impact.
The result was an onboard spa that carried the familiarity and quality of Champneys into a new setting, while feeling entirely appropriate to the wider Marella Explorer experience.
Planning the spa experience
Creating a clear journey through a complex footprint
The spa was spread across a series of distinct areas within the ship, making careful space planning fundamental to the design. Our plans brought the individual elements together as one coherent guest journey, considering how guests would move between treatment, thermal, relaxation, fitness and beauty spaces.
Each area was planned around its particular operational requirements, while maintaining a consistent experience throughout. The layouts also responded to the constraints of working at sea, balancing guest flow, functionality and efficient use of space within the existing ship.
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![General arrangement plan of the Marella Explorer spa, highlighting the areas developed as part of the refurbishment.]()
TUI Cruises – Marella site plan
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![Detailed plan of the spa entrance and arrival area, including access to the hair and beauty salon.]()
Spa reception plan
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![Detailed plan of the deep relaxation room with individual and double relaxation loungers arranged around the curved space.]()
Deep relax plan
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![Detailed plan of the thermal suite showing the sauna and relaxation area with individual pod loungers.]()
Thermal suite plan
The design
Refined luxury at sea
Building on the refined design language established through our wider work with Champneys, we adapted the spa experience to suit the more compact and energetic environment of a cruise ship.
Natural materials, warm metallic finishes, soft lighting and carefully controlled detailing created a sense of calm and luxury throughout the spa. A bespoke decorative pattern became a recurring element, helping establish a recognisable identity across different spaces.
In the salon, decorative screens helped define and separate areas within the open space. The same language was carried into relaxation areas, where screens created more intimate zones around individual loungers and beds, giving guests a greater sense of privacy without closing the spaces down.
A different kind of relaxation
Nature, calm and views out to sea
A dedicated relaxation room introduced a more immersive, nature-led experience. Sculptural hanging pod chairs and soft seating sit against a forest backdrop, creating a quiet sense of retreat away from the activity of the wider spa.
Full-height glazing keeps the space connected to its setting, with views out across the sea providing a constantly changing backdrop. The contrast between the woodland-inspired interior and the open water beyond created a distinctive place to pause, relax and switch off between treatments and thermal experiences.
The thermal experience
Where the spa meets the sea
The thermal suite became one of the defining parts of the onboard experience. Existing elements were reworked and enhanced alongside new sauna, steam and sensory experiences, experience showers, waterbed loungers and dedicated areas for relaxation.
At its heart was an infinity-edge pool, designed and built as part of the refurbishment. Positioned against the view out to sea, the edge of the pool visually merges with the horizon beyond, creating the impression of the water continuing directly into the ocean.
The outcome
From one ship to two
Marella Explorer introduced the first Champneys spa at sea, taking a brand associated with destination wellness resorts into an entirely new hospitality environment.
The concept subsequently expanded across two Marella ships, extending the partnership and demonstrating how the Champneys experience could translate beyond its traditional resort setting.
For Butterscotch Design, the project built directly on our wider work with Champneys while presenting a very different design challenge: retaining a strong brand identity while adapting the spa experience to a new audience, a new commercial model and the unique setting of life at sea.
Planning a spa or wellness project?
Whether you’re developing a new destination or rethinking an existing space, we can help shape the right experience from the start.