[ Spa design · Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the UAE ]
Spa Designer in Dubai and Abu Dhabi: Spa Design for Hotels and Villas
Since 1987 we have designed and built 5,000+ projects in 41+ countries. In Dubai we design the spa, then make and install the rooms ourselves.
A spa designer in Dubai plans the zoning, the thermal rooms and the services a spa needs before anything is built. Sauna Dekor designs spas as the company that also manufactures the rooms: our 3D models and drawings come from the same team that builds the sauna, steam room and hammam in our Istanbul facility, and projects across the UAE are coordinated from our Dubai office at Latifa Tower, World Trade Centre.
Deliverables
What does a spa designer in Dubai deliver?
Six documents. Each one is checked against the rooms we will later manufacture, so the drawing and the build do not drift apart.
Concept and zoning
The space programme and the guest route: changing, hot rooms, cold rooms and rest areas in one direction, with the wet and dry zones kept apart.
Thermal room specification
Each room with its working range: a Finnish sauna at 80–100 °C, a steam room at 40–50 °C close to 100 % relative humidity, hammam room air at 40–50 °C, cold plunge pools built for water from 2 to 15 °C, and a snow room at about −10 °C (TechnoAlpin).
3D models and layout drawings
We draw the rooms in our own 3D models, so benches, heaters, door swings and ceiling heights are fixed before the shell is built.
MEP load schedule
Power, water, drainage and extract for every room, written as a schedule the MEP engineer can size the building services from.
Equipment named by maker
Heaters, steam generators and controls are named by manufacturer and model, for example EOS heaters and Condair steam generators. Their certificates belong to them; the room around the equipment is ours.
Tender package
Specification and bill of quantities that a contractor can quote against line by line, with a written scope split between us, the MEP contractor and the main contractor.
Roles
How is spa design different from spa fit-out, contracting and development?
Four words for overlapping jobs. The table shows what each one owns and where to read more.
| Role | What it owns | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Spa designer | Concept, zoning, room specification, MEP loads, tender drawings | This page |
| Spa fit-out contractor | The interior build inside an existing shell: wet-room construction, finishes, services connections | spa fit-out in Dubai |
| Spa contractor | Manufacture, installation, testing and commissioning of the sauna, steam room, hammam and pools under one contract | spa contractor in Dubai |
| Spa developer | The whole project from brief to handover, design and build together | spa developer for the Gulf |
On many Dubai projects one company holds two or more of these roles. We hold all four: we design, manufacture, install and commission.
Process
How does a spa design project run, from brief to handover?
Brief and survey
Your drawings or a site survey, the guest numbers, and what the spa has to do for a hotel, a club or a villa.
Concept and zoning
Room list, areas and the guest route, presented in 3D before any number is fixed.
Engineering
Room-by-room specification, MEP load schedule and equipment selection.
Tender package
Drawings, specification and bill of quantities; if you have an architect or interior designer, we work as their design subconsultant.
Manufacture
Saunas, steam room enclosures and hammam elements are made in our own facility in İkitelli OSB, Istanbul.
Installation and commissioning
Our teams install, test and commission the rooms, then hand over with operating instructions. On site this takes about 2 weeks for a single sauna and up to 6 months for large projects.
Gulf conditions
What does the UAE climate change in a spa design?
The rooms are the same as anywhere. The building around them is not.
Moisture in a cooled building
A steam room or hammam sits next to air-conditioned space. Vapour control, the sloped steam room ceiling and the extract route are designed together, not left to site.
Plant space
Steam generators, chillers for cold plunge pools and pool filtration need a plant room with access for service. We size the space in the design, not after the walls are up.
Approvals
Electrical load and water connection go through DEWA in Dubai; fire and life safety through Dubai Civil Defence. Other emirates have their own authorities, and the cover sheet has to name the right one.
Timber for the climate
Our standard sauna timbers are ayous, thermo-ayous, aspen, thermo-aspen, pine and thermo-pine; we use low-resin pine. Hemlock, red cedar and alder are available on request.
Projects
Which spa rooms have we designed and built in Dubai and the GCC?
Real rooms from private villas in Dubai, Doha and Riyadh and a club spa in Doha. Private clients are not named.
More rooms on our projects page.
Abu Dhabi and the UAE
Do you design spas in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere in the UAE?
Yes. We have no office in Abu Dhabi: projects there are coordinated from our Dubai office at Latifa Tower, World Trade Centre, designed and manufactured in Istanbul and installed by our own teams. Al Parimar is our representative in the UAE. Read more about our work in Abu Dhabi.
For hotels we follow the same sequence on every project; our page on hotel spa design covers space planning and build sequence. For homes, see the private spa page. If you want the general picture first, read what a spa designer does.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What does a spa designer in Dubai do?
A spa designer turns a brief into a spa that can be built: the room list and areas, the guest route, the specification of each thermal room, the power, water, drainage and extract each room needs, and tender drawings a contractor can quote against. Sauna Dekor does this as the manufacturer of the rooms, so the design is checked against what we will build.
Is Sauna Dekor a spa design company or a contractor?
Both. We design the spa, manufacture the saunas, steam room enclosures and hammam elements in our own Istanbul facility, and install and commission them. Heaters and steam generators are made by their manufacturers, for example EOS and Condair, and we fit them.
Can you work with our architect or interior designer?
Yes. On many hotel projects we are appointed as the design subconsultant for the sauna, steam room, hammam and cold rooms, and the architect or interior designer keeps the overall design.
How long does it take to design and build a spa in Dubai?
It depends on scope: about 2 weeks on site for a single sauna, and up to 6 months for large projects. A hammam takes 3–8 weeks in a home and up to 12 weeks on a large project. Design time comes before that and depends on how complete your drawings are.
Do you design spas in Abu Dhabi?
Yes. We have no office in Abu Dhabi; projects there are coordinated from our Dubai office at Latifa Tower, World Trade Centre, with design and manufacturing in Istanbul and installation by our own teams.
Is there a spa designer near me in Dubai?
Our Dubai office is at Latifa Tower, World Trade Centre. Site visits in Dubai and across the UAE are arranged from there; call +971 58 558 1295 or use the contact form.
What warranty applies to spas Sauna Dekor builds?
24-month warranty on workmanship and manufacturing; 24-month manufacturer's warranty on electrical and mechanical equipment; 5-year warranty on structure and waterproofing.
Related pages
Where does the build continue?
Dubai office
Planning a spa in Dubai or Abu Dhabi?
Send drawings or a short brief; we reply within one business day from our Dubai office at Latifa Tower.
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