DESTINATION OAZIA: For All Things Beautiful

DESTINATION OAZIA, a new lifestyle space due to open its doors in Canggu early 2012, will include a fashion design studio and showroom, an architectural design studio, but most importantly – a SPA VODKA BAR AND KITCHEN, something beyond the common logic, that already has stirred up a lot of heated discussions around it.  We realize we are stepping on a shaky ground, but we are having way too much fun to stop now.

So why vodka bar and how did the bizarre idea to combine spa and vodka come about?

We are in the spa resort business, and holistic lifestyle to us means balance in all areas of one’s life. It is important that one looks after their body, but that will remain superficial unless you work on your mind, as well as your soul. At times, no meditation can be as healing to the soul as a night out with friends or a good conversation with a stranger. Therefore, we are strong believers in living life to the full, avoiding extremes in either direction and not taking yourself too seriously.

We live in Canggu area, and, like everyone else, we have been complaining about the lack of loungy bar-type venues with good music where you could hand out with friends, or even come alone and not feel uncomfortable, before it’s time to head for a night out. It also is common knowledge that the quality of alcohol is a big question mark in bars on this island, so if one does have a few drinks, they are bound to end up with the hangover disproportional to their drinking habits.

So here we come to the rescue! ;) Our passion for beauty in all its forms, appreciation of the joy of living and our love for hosting friends and other good people is what lead us to conceive the idea of a beautiful place filled with beautiful people (here we are referring to the inner beauty, of course ;), interiors, music, food and yes, a bit of drinking included. Is drinking healthy? Probably not, although there are schools of thought that argue that when consumed in moderation, alcohol does have some health benefits. But without even going that far – here is our logic. If you are a tea-total – you will come, take in the laid-back pleasant environment, eat good healthy food, drink yummy virgin cocktails made with the finest organic fruits and vegetable and be surrounded by the pleasant company. If you do choose to have a few drinks – great, you can be sure that we use only the best possible ingredients that won’t lead to the whole next day being wiped out of your life. Why are we playing with the word spa in this context? Because we will bring our spa expertise to the table and popularize the concept of spa to the hip crowd that share our philosophy of living life to the full. It will be through the healthy foods, healthy non-alcoholic drinks, through creating an environment that is truly healing to the soul and through small perks like a head and shoulder massage right at your table or a “sober driver” service to take one home in your own vehicle if they have had one spa vodka cocktail too many.

 And one last but important point: why focus on vodka for our alcohol menu? Does not only have to do with our Russian origin – although inevitably we will add a touch of Russian culture to the place by just being who we are. At the end of the day, vodka is the purest of all alcohol, hence is least likely of all alcoholic drinks to give you a hangover, as it is free of preservatives, congeners and colouring. One scientific analysis found vodka had only a tiny amount of the toxic alcohol methanol, so is less likely to cause the unpleasant after-effects of drinking too much. So the choice is quite obvious.

It is important to note that we are not creating a rustic Russia-themed place for the nostalgic Russian expats. It will be an eclectic cosmopolitan environment taking the best from the places we’ve visited throughout our extensive travels. The setting is a private gated environment, a designer bamboo complex tucked away in the little alley near the river in Jl Sahadewa, Br Anyar, Canggu. The music will be Mediterranean beach cafe style, the decor in signature OAZIA style – dreamy and light with a touch of Bali magic, the food – simple yet delish and made from the freshest ingredients, tapas-style, and of course an extensive virgin and vodka-based drinks menu – all reasonably priced, above your local warung but below the fancy Seminyak restaurants. Despite the vodka and the bar we don’t expect crazy parties and dancing on the tables, at least not all the time. We expect to attract people like us – those who appreciate a place with a soul, who like to eat and drink well and who like to socialize in a laid-back tasteful atmosphere, where the Bintang t-shirts would look out of place, just as well as heals might ;)

We plan to open soon with a series of private tasting events, so starting early next year the Canggu life will never be the same....