Amida Sets The Standard

Harpenden, UK 9th September 2004

“Out of this world and beyond your imagination” is how Stax Leisure describe their latest £21m Racquets and Fitness Spa purpose built within 70 acres of parkland in Hampton, Middlesex.

Designed by Corporate Edge and built at a cost of £21m, more than double the average, it has already been described as the ‘best club in the world’ and has set a new standard for wellness clubs within Europe. Hampton is the second of the Amida Total Wellbeing Clubs with the first being opened in Beckenham, Kent in November 2001. In fact Amida is Japanese word for total wellbeing.

In just three years, Stax Leisure has made its mark in the notoriously competitive market for health clubs and spas. Amida at Beckenham was awarded the prestigious UK Best Day Spa of the year award at the 2003 Professional Beauty Awards; the first time that a health club, not a dedicated spa, has won. 

“Amida has been designed to provide a luxurious yet relaxing environment, within which discerning individuals who really appreciate style and quality can experience ‘total well-being’, something that ordinary health clubs just do not deliver." says Chief Executive of Stax Leisure, Graham Thomas. 

The 3,500 square metre gym has been installed with Technogym’s innovative Wellness system including the Excite range with built-in flat-screen entertainment systems. Each fitness station in networked across an Ortronics Gigabit LAN and integrated to the clubs MemberTrack administration system. Rather than being issued with a traditional card, each member receives an intelligent plastic key which when inserted, automatically resets the station to the users fitness program. This key is also used as a proximity device to allow entry to the club, as well as giving access to touch screen terminals in the hub for the clubs intranet and members internal e mail system. 

When choosing the telephone system, Stax Leisure turned to industry specialists iP Technology who had previously installed a Telrad Connegy system at their first Amida club in Beckenham.

Amidas General Manager, Miles Hill said “We have used the Telrad system at Beckenham since we first opened there. The system has proved to be extremely reliable and the service and support from iP Technology is excellent.  It seemed logical to install the same system in Hampton”.

Grahame Stewart, Managing Director of iP Technology said  “The requirements of a healthclub and spa are not dissimilar to any other organization where the customer comes first. They are looking for an industry proven system that is user friendly and able to deliver their members and staff a professional and reliable service. The clubs philosophy is based on providing a special ambience and dedication to service which is second to none, and members come to expect this whether they are being served face to face or over the phone. The Telrad Connegy system has almost become a standard for the leisure industry. They are installed in virtually all of the David Lloyd clubs and many of the Holmes Place clubs.”  

A rack mounted Telrad Connegy Unite IP128 system was fitted at the club supporting 30 channels of ISDN, 48 digital extensions and 12 analogue extensions to cater for PDQ machines and fax machines. The emaGEN unified messaging platform supports all the users and provides a back up attendant system to direct callers to the bookings department, racquet club, spa, gym reception or membership enquiries. Calls are answered initially at the club reception but when the receptionist is busy the attendant cuts in and routes the caller automatically. 

“It’s important to us that calls are answered by a staff member where possible” said Miles Hill, “the attendant now means that calls are answered quickly even when reception is busy” 

The system is running Callview Wizard MIS in conjunction with its built in ACD system to support the clubs twenty administrative staff and management. The live reporting provides essential management information and allows any missed calls to be followed up.  

“We operate within a highly competitive industry” continued Miles  “it is imperative to know that we continue to offer the high levels of service that our members demand. The Callview system allows us to monitor our performance closely and highlight any shortfall in performance ” 

The Telrad Connegy Unite IP system is also capable of supporting Voice over IP which is important for Amida as the amount of clubs continues to grow. 

For more information see www.amidaclubs.com or call iP Technology on (01279) 603030.