Saint Haven stands down staffer after ‘extremely inappropriate’ message

A millionaire entrepreneur has doubled down on criticism of an exclusive wellness clinic as it revealed a staffer was stood down over a leaked text exchange.

A staffer at an exclusive spa in Melbourne has been stood down after management became aware of an “extremely inappropriate internal team message”.

Saint Haven, a private members wellness club, made the announcement to clients on June 13 as it continues to face criticism from millionaire entrepreneur Christopher Shao.

Mr Shao this month publicly accused staff of singling out his mother for carrying her phone in a club bathhouse, and has since doubled down on claims of racism.

Melbourne millionaire Christopher Shao has been locked in a feud with the exclusive club.

Saint Haven has said its staff were “committed to gently upholding” its policy of a ban on taking phone calls or using laptops in public spaces.

In a joint statement to members on June 13, Gurner Group executives Ahmed Fahour and Peter Crinis referenced Mr Shao’s complaints saying “this matter involved the application of our strict no-phone policy — a rule in place to protect the privacy and comfort of all members”.

“Based on our initial review, no wrongdoing has been identified on the part of our team.”

Their missive continued to state that “in the past 24 hours, we have become aware of an extremely inappropriate internal team message sent by a team member”.

The message sent earlier in the year was “unrelated” to Mr Shao’s complaint, the letter said, and “does not reflect our values or the expectations we uphold”.

“This behaviour is not acceptable and goes against everything we stand for. The team member has been stood down pending a full investigation.”

Saint Haven has sites in Collingwood, Toorak and South Yarra. Picture: Supplied

The executives said Saint Haven and its sister club Saint “have zero tolerance for racism, or any conduct that undermines the dignity, safety or wellbeing of others”.

“We hold both team members and members to the same high standards, and we take all matters of this nature extremely seriously,” they said.

Saint Haven’s media representatives declined to make further comment when contacted by news.com.au.

Mr Shao had posted a series of images to his Instagram stories on Thursday night, with one purporting to show texts in a staff group chat.

That text exchange appeared to show one staff member making insulting comments about Indian members.

He also shared images of staff LinkedIn profiles and the costs of Saint Haven memberships – revealing the “ultimate” package set back members $499 per week.

Mr Shao spoke with the Herald Sun last week claiming he had been contacted by ex-staff since making his public complaints.

Christopher Shao claimed this text exchange was made by staff.

He has been regularly posting about the club on social media. Picture: Supplied

“Since speaking out a significant number of former Saint Haven staff have contacted me to share their own experiences of the club’s toxic internal culture, it’s clearly not an isolated issue,” he said.

“They don’t necessarily have money to back it up and, you know, these people have lawyers and legal teams. They are too scared to speak up.”

Saint Haven is owned by the Gurner Group, headed by Melbourne property mogul and almost-billionaire Tim Gurner.

The clubs boast a range of wellness and anti-ageing offerings such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy and IV drips, and more common health facilities like gym, meditation, yoga and sauna.

Mr Gurner recently announced a Sydney expansion, with a new spa set to crop up in Bondi next year, saying it would be “an unparalleled sanctuary for those who demand more from life”.