USP Pocket-sized hotel spa housing an authentic marble Turkish hamam
that is as luxurious as it is diminutive. One to one attention and the
promise that even if you aren’t the only person in the spa it will feel like
it.
AMBIENCE Lavish. Décor is Ottoman-inspired – acres of marble,
gold mosaic tiling and hand-painted walls, low-lighting and rows of tea
lights flickering along every wall. A relaxation area has plump chaise
longues and the changing rooms are lined with dark wood and have gold taps.
EXPERIENCE After a muddling start (each floor of the hotel has a
private spa lift for guests to maintain its "exclusivity" but for
non-guests this means a labyrinth of corridors and stairs to get to a lift)
the doors open to a pleasant reception area and I am greeted by the spa
manager, Bhavna, who is knowledgeable and attentive. A short tour of the
very well-appointed surroundings precedes a Turkish haman treatment. Having
recently been to Istanbul and had the unforgettable experience of a Turkish
bath there, I’m interested to see if this one measures up. The hamam is tiny
but classically elegant with delicate marble pillars and gold taps. I change
into the haman towel and step in, carefully avoiding the lethal
diamond-shaped holes in the floor where the steam pours into the room.
Sitting on the heated marble table is uncomfortably hot at first but after a
minute or two I am flat-out on the towel, muscles unravelling and cares
melting away.
After five minutes I pop outside to cool down on a chaise longue where bananas
and honey and mint tea are laid out. Then it's back into the hamam for the
treatment.
I’m rubbed down with authentic Turkish olive oil soap in a goat's hair glove,
which is nicer than it sounds, followed by an invigorating mint scrub - a
less authentic addition to exfoliate sluggish cold-climate skin. Finally, a
rinse with shockingly cold water that captures the mix of pleasure and
discomfort that characterises a Turkish bath. I come out with smooth,
tingling skin but feeling slightly exhausted because of the heat.
Next is a Karen Herzog oxygen facial. The company holds a global patent for
encapsulating oxygen in an emulsion and celebs like Kylie Minogue are fans
so I’m in for quite a treat. Although I have already agreed to a Pore Draw
facial for my dull winter skin I am given a consultation. I tell the
therapist about my congested T-zone and she suggests the Smoothie
Exfoliating facial with fruit enzymes but then customises it with a
chocolate cleanser. Cocoa-buttery deliciousness wafts up my nose and if my
eyes hadn’t already been closed they probably would have rolled in their
sockets.
Finally an equally exquisite-smelling smooth fruit exfoliator – exfoliating
with fruit acid as opposed to round particles. A special oxygen cream is
applied to my skin to sterilise and open the pores without steaming before
extraction and a 15-minute mask. The end result is smooth, glowing skin with
a noticeably finer texture that lasts all week. Four and a half hours later,
I swan out of the spa feeling shiny and gorgeous and get completely lost in
the hotel. Pay close attention to the route you take on the way in!
FOOD Bananas and honey, biscuits and herbal tea are complementary with
treatments. Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea is available upstairs at
Peridot, cocktails at Malachite bar and an award-winning grazing menu for
dinner at 1880.
IN CROWD West London ladies-who-lunch and like their manicures and
facials and a healthy contingent of men who can’t get enough of the hamam
treatments.
WALLET WATCH Hamam treatment £70 for 45 minutes; Karin Herzog Smoothie
Facial £90. “Lunch hour” Glyco rose peel facial £55; Chocolate oxygen facial
£90; Jetlag treatment of exfoliating scrub and detoxifying massage £120
NEED TO KNOW Le Kalon Spa at The Bentley Kempinski Hotel, 27 – 31
Harrington Gardens, South Kensington, London SW7 4JX (0207 244 5555; www.thebentley-hotel.com)
Email: spa@thebentley-hotel.com
