FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3 July 2014

Ease Away The Stresses Of The City And Reconnect With Mother Earth Through The Peninsula SPA’s NEW FIVE ELEMENTS LASTONE THERAPY

In the hustle and bustle of modern city life, it is easy to lose touch with the rhythm of nature and the mind-body harmony that goes along with it. Thankfully help is at hand courtesy of the new Five Elements LaStone Therapy at The Peninsula Hong Kong, a holistic therapy that seeks to balance guests physically, spiritually and emotionally while easing tension and bringing lasting relief to stressed muscles.

An exclusive collaboration between The Peninsula Hong Kong and geo-thermal therapy experts LaStone, the Five Elements LaStone Therapy uses stones of alternating temperatures and a treatment ritual that blends LaStone’s unique ethos with the ancient traditions of the East to create an experience that offers maximum stress reduction and deep relaxation.

Priced at HK$ 1,600* for 90 minutes, or HK$ 2,000* for two hours, the Five Elements LaStone Therapy uses a variety of coloured stones that represent each of the five elements as well as Mother Earth herself. Each of the basalt stones is harvested in Mexico, and they are then tumbled naturally to give them a round, smooth finish.

The hot placement stone used in the treatment is red and represents the fire element (heart and vitality), while the warm stone is green and signifies the wood element (liver and will power). The neutral stone, which is at body temperature and is placed against the forehead during the treatment, is white in colour and relates to the metal element (lungs and communication), and there are two cool stones – one marble/beige, the other blue – which represent earth and water (kidneys and emotions), respectively. Finally, there is the hot basalt stone with a high iron content, which is used for melting away tension and stress through massaging and represents Mother Earth.

*Subject to 10% service charge

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Ease Away The Stresses Of The City And Reconnect With Mother Earth Through The Peninsula SPA’s NEW FIVE ELEMENTS LASTONE THERAPY – 2

By using the stones, and contrast therapy which alternates between hot and cold, therapists are able to achieve better results with fewer strokes: one stroke with a hot basalt stone, for example, equates to five strokes by hand, while a stroke with a cool sardoniyx stone is equal to nine strokes by hand. This means that the Five Elements LaStone Therapy achieves more concentrated benefits than comparable therapies in a shorter timeframe. All therapists are expertly trained to the highest standard, meaning that the treatment is safe for all skin types and that guests’ muscles and deep tissue are treated with the utmost care and attention.

The treatment begins with the ritual cleansing of the face and body. Guests then lie on a bed of hot and chilled stones, the former to help relieve stress and the latter to reduce toxins, resulting in a profound sense of lightness and well being. The five placement stones charged with labradorite are laid individually on different parts of the body for energetic connection, which helps to release the tension and inflammation in the muscles. Hot basalt stones, which are Yang in nature, and alternating cool nephrite stones, which are Yin in nature, are used to massage the legs, arms, back, waist and face. Therapists then employ special deep massage penetrating techniques such as tapping, spinal spirals and cocooning to bring about total relaxation, a greater mind-body balance and an energetic connection between the stones, the guest and the therapist.

About LaStone

LaStone was established in 1993 by Mary D. Nelson, a massage therapist from Arizona in the US. Finding that giving deep tissue massages to her clients every day was having an adverse effect on her own body, she began to explore the possibilities of geo-thermal stone therapy.

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Ease Away The Stresses Of The City And Reconnect With Mother Earth Through The Peninsula SPA’s NEW FIVE ELEMENTS LASTONE THERAPY – 3

Taking her first stones from a malfunctioning sauna, which was just the right temperature to apply to bare skin, she discovered that the heat and weight of the basalt stones was perfect for melting away tension and stress within the body. She then began to use the hot stones in combination with cooled marble, which relieved pain and inflammation, and LaStone was born.

Nelson has continued to experiment with geo-thermal therapy ever since, perfecting the use of hot and cold stone massage in eliciting a chemical, emotional and spiritual response from her clients. This has resulted in the creation of a complete therapy system around a central philosophy based on the use of opposite extremes to achieve balance. These include hot and cold, relaxing and invigorating, Yin and Yang, sun and moon, active and passive, and Mother Earth and Father Sky.

Building on continued research and development in geo-thermal therapy, LaStone has trained more than 15,000 therapists over the past 20 years, and continues to expand around the world.

About The Peninsula Spa

Occupying two floors of The Peninsula Hong Kong’s three-floor health and fitness facility, The Peninsula Spa comprises 12,000 sq ft (1,116 sq m) dedicated to relaxation, wellness and therapeutic treatments. Blessed with sweeping views of Victoria Harbour, The Spa fuses traditional Chinese design elements with contemporary touches such as marble, aged wood and textured granite to create an oasis of calm in which guests can renew themselves in mind, body and spirit.

Facilities include 14 state-of-the-art treatment rooms (including six rooms with floor-to-ceiling harbour views and two private spa suites that are ideal for couples), Thermal Suite with Crystal Steam Room, Sauna with harbour views, Asian Tea Lounge and Relaxation Areas. Guests are encouraged to arrive at The Spa 60 minutes prior to their treatment time in order to make use of all The Spa facilities.

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Ease Away The Stresses Of The City And Reconnect With Mother Earth Through The Peninsula SPA’s NEW FIVE ELEMENTS LASTONE THERAPY – 4

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About The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH)

Incorporated in 1866 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00045), The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited is the holding company of a group which is engaged in the ownership, development, and management of prestigious hotels and commercial and residential properties in key locations in Asia, the United States and Europe, as well as the provision of tourism and leisure, club management and other services. The Peninsula Hotels portfolio comprises The Peninsula Hong Kong, The Peninsula Shanghai, The Peninsula Beijing, The Peninsula Tokyo, The Peninsula New York, The Peninsula Chicago, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, The Peninsula Bangkok, The Peninsula Manila and The Peninsula Paris (expected opening in 2014). Projects under development include The Peninsula London and The Peninsula Yangon. The property portfolio of the group includes The Repulse Bay Complex, The Peak Tower, The Peak Tramways and St. John’s Building in Hong Kong; The Landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; the Thai Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand, and 21 avenue Kléber in Paris, France.

For further information, please contact:

Ms Winvy Lung

Director of Public Relations

The Peninsula Hong Kong

Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Telephone : +852 2696 6608

Fax : +852 2696 6633

E-mail :

Website : www.peninsula.com

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