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Berkeley Spa, Knightsbridge - 4 bubbles
We were invited to The Berkeley in Knightsbridge to enjoy the seventh-floor treats and treatments. We loved the views over Hyde Park, the "perfect retreat" and the poolside lunch. But some children reminded our Spy that this was a hotel, rather than a dedicated spa.
First impressions?
How did they welcome you?
What happens next?
Which treatments did you have?
What were the treatments like?
How did you feel afterwards?
What happens afterwards?
Long-term effects
Was it worth it?
What else could you have?
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
Any special features?
Who do you think would like it?
Why did you give the spa this rating?
Would you go again?
First impressions?
The Berkeley is a posh yet understated hotel on the corner of Knightsbridge and Wilton Place, just across from Hyde Park and very handy for Harrods. You can squint at the brass name-plate just to be sure you've pitched up at the right place before the bowler-hatted doorman whizzes the revolving door so you can slide inside with minimal effort on your part.
As soon as I was in the flower-laden lobby, one of many helpful hotel-people wandered by and I took the opportunity to enquire as to the whereabouts of the spa. The customer-service person took me to the lift, told me to press the button for the seventh floor and turn right when I got there. Spot on for service.
Seventh floor! In so many hotels, the spa is always down, in the basement. It was such a pleasure to be going up in the world! I arrived on the seventh floor, turned right along the carpeted corridor, and found myself up against a reception desk.
How did they welcome you?
Efficiently. I gave my name and the receptionist was expecting me (hurray!) and had my treatments all sorted.
What happens next?
The receptionist explained the locker system. It involves keying in codes to lock and unlock, though they have a master key in Reception should your massage leave you so spaced out you ditch your short-term memory. She left me to change into my robe and spa slippers -- in the locker -- and asked me to return to Reception once I was suitably robed. I did so, and she showed me through to a small waiting area outside the treatment rooms. I noticed that the doors had gold handles shaped like a seashell, which is a theme they could do more with. There were organic teas and water on a table. I couldn't resist the Numi Jasmine Green Tea, partly because it said on the packet: "I shall be a cloud, you the moon, and this is our tea." A sentiment I don't think I have ever experienced with Tetley.
Tea to hand, I filled in my health consultation form and avowed, amongst the usual health questions, that I was under the influence of neither recreational drugs nor alcohol. Was just being a cloud...
Which treatments did you have?
I had the Perfect Retreat (£195 for 120 minutes). This comprises a full-body scrub, an aromatherapy back, neck and shoulder massage, and a DDF facial. The package is described as "the MOT for your body". Ideal, then.
What were the treatments like?
My therapist, Laura, took me into the treatment room and asked me to take off my robe and don some paper knickers in readiness for being scrubbed.
The body scrub involved Laura applying shower gel and olive-pip exfoliant to each of my limbs, back, and what we had best describe as my decolletage. Laura was very thorough and the olive pips gave a pleasant, tingling sensation.
Once I was suitably exfoliated, Laura assisted me back into my robe and led me through to a shower in the changing rooms to wash off the exfoliant. I imagine this must have involved much entertainment for anyone sitting in the steam room, as my shower was right next door and I was entirely visible while I attempted to make the shower work clad only in my paper knickers. Laura had issued me with no instructions so I did a little dance while the cold water ran. Eventually, I figured out the controls and showered myself soft.
While I was showering, Laura discreetly took away the exfoliant-enriched robe and paper knickers, and set out a new robe and some towels. The Berkeley's spa brochure advises guests to "please be aware of the environment and use as few towels as you can". I'd only been there 20 minutes and I was onto my second towelling robe! That didn't feel very green -- but it did feel very soft.
As instructed by Laura, I returned to the treatment room through the door marked "Fire Exit Only", which did have me slightly concerned that I was going to set alarms off. I can see why the spa needs to do this, having no shower facilities within the actual treatment rooms, but it is a break in the treatment that won't appeal to everyone.
The aromatherapy massage was extremely relaxing. Laura used lots of long, sweeping strokes that soothed and smoothed, and I enjoyed it very much. I started feeling relaxed all over again.
The DDF facial: I had questions about this for Laura. First of all, what is DDF? It stands for Doctors Dermalogic Formula and claims to be "the most advanced anti-ageing skincare without a prescription". It isn't offered in many places in the UK, so was a first for me. While including the usual exfoliation and cleansing, the facial also involved extractions, and lots of massage. I am a firm believer in facial massage and think it is one of the best things we can do for our daily skins. I could feel myself drifting off while the mask worked its goodness but, nicely, I was never left alone. I woke-up with a charge of cold gel that was obviously toning my skin, and tingling me awake.
How did you feel afterwards?
Drifty.
What happens afterwards?
I went upstairs to the pool to have lunch and a swim. I had done this all the wrong way round -- I should have had the swim first. But you go with what you get. The pool is upstairs from the spa reception and treatment rooms, and is a light, bright area, with windows on three sides, the entrance to the gym on the fourth, and potted palms. One windowed wall looks out onto a patio garden, the other two over Knightsbridge and Hyde Park. There are loungers around the pool, tables and chairs for when you're eating, and various papers and magazines to read. It is one of the few rooftop swimming pools in London, and has a very peaceful, relaxing atmosphere. I could happily have moved in.
I ordered a club sandwich, which arrived promptly, with ketchup and small fries. It could have won a competition for getting the most ingredients in a sandwich. It hit the spot perfectly. I also had a veggie smoothie - lots of carrot and absolutely delicious. You can book lunch in advance but our advice would be to go for what you feel like on the day -- whether this is a salad or a burger. I ate my lunch while a man with a mobile phone shouted into it for a while, then disappeared into the gym, which is next to the pool. I am a gym bunny, but I didn't get the opportunity to try this one. From peering in, I can report it is the only running machine with a view over Hyde Park that I have ever seen.
I read the provided papers for a while, then reckoned it was time for a swim. The pool was a welcome antidote to London. While you can't actually see the views when in the water, you can see sky. It's like swimming past a series of Magritte windows, each with a different celestial panorama. The pool isn't huge, but you can get some proper swimming done. I was feeling quite celestial myself until some shouty children and their dad arrived. He had that look of someone who has been told to keep them occupied for at least half an hour. Although they were under 16, they were being chaperoned by an adult and were obviously guests in the hotel, thus meeting all the entry criteria, so I had to begrudgingly allow them in. Then the fire alarm went off. Then some more children and their mum arrived. I breathed deeply and restored my inner equilibrium by admiring some personal training that was going on in the patio garden, where a trainer was teaching someone how to box. That's something you don't see in a patio garden every day.
I went down to the changing rooms and rounded my day off with a steam and a sauna. Because these are within the changing rooms, the sauna and steam room are single-sex. The steam room is wonderfully hot and a good size for a hotel heat room. The sauna wasn't quite so overwhelming temperature-wise, but was still effective. I then washed everything away with a hot shower. Loved the Aromatherapy Associates products available: conditioner, moisturiser, everything you needed.
Long-term effects
I could already tell my massage had done me some good when I went for my swim. My neck was quite painful when I was doing my backstroke in the pool. This is a good thing! It meant I was actually a little more in alignment than my laptop shoulders usually allow. So I knew it had done me good immediately, and I continued to feel the good effects over several days.
Was it worth it?
The Berkeley costs rather more than the average pound-a-minute for spa treatments. The day packages are pricey considering your spa experience might be interrupted by children and men on mobiles. But individual spa treatments might add up to value in your book.
What else could you have?
The Berkeley offers a wide range of individual treatments and specific spa days. The DDF facials cater for a variety of dermatological needs, including microdermabrasion, acne treatments, lightening, and the platinum facial, that utilises growth hormones and peptides. You can also have Aromatherapy Associates massages, with some specifically designed to get you into the right time-zone (a must for the hotel's travellers, obviously) as well as hot-stone massage and Balinese massage (it works along the meridians).
There are also Mama Mio treatments designed for the nine months of pregnancy, so you can be massaged without a care, and a gamut of treatments specifically for men from facials to manicures to feet, all using The Refinery masculine products. You can perfect yourself with manicures and pedicures using Essie nail care, waxing, and eyebrow shapes and tints.
The day package that I had, the Perfect Retreat is just one of several, including days for men, for mums-to-be, for those about to bare their bodies on a beach, and -- perhaps my favourite -- the Silver Spirit day, which includes a body scrub, facial, eye treatment, aromatherapy massage, lunch, and a chauffeur-driven limousine ride home. Although I'm also bewitched by the Javanese Lulur treatment, which is a bridal ritual from Bali involving massage, a body mask, and a flower lotion.
What do you wish you'd known before you went?
To have the steam and swim before my treatment, not after. I should have checked this out with the spa in advance.
Any special features?
The view. The fact that you can sit at your poolside table and feel so removed from real life is a real bonus.
Who do you think would like it?
People staying at the hotel. Local health-club members, who can make the most of the Berkeley's charms with the use of facilities. Anyone who fancies being really, really kind to themselves with a spa day.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
We gave The Berkeley 4 bubbles. The treatments were good, the pool is heavenly (though a hotel pool and not a dedicated spa pool) and the experience as a whole was extremely relaxing and pampering. What kept it from that precious fifth bubble? Having to negotiate the shower in the changing rooms in the middle of a treatment. The fact that your drifty post-treatment bliss is interrupted by children. And the lack of a relaxation room. When you're spa'ed out, you need a wicker lounger and some glossy magazines.
See more on how we rate the spas.
Would you go again?
There's a lot of competition in the London hotel spa market, but I would go back to the Berkeley just to sit at the edge of that seventh-floor pool and feel that I was above all my cares for a while.
We visited The Berkeley in April 2008
See also:
* Contact Details for Berkeley Spa
* Our Spa Spies review Aromatherapy Associates products
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