London’s The Lanesborough hotel, part of the luxury Oetker Collection, is set to open its new 18,000sq ft (1,672sq m) exclusive spa and wellness centre – billed as ‘a lifestyle club for the modern Londoner’ – on 13 March, and has partnered with experts across the fitness, beauty, spa and wellness communities to offer a holistic approach to wellbeing.
Spa consultant Neil Howard has overseen the project, working with interior designers 1508 London, fitness lifestyle expert James Duigan of Bodyism, ‘super-therapist’ and facial expert Anastasia Achilleos, and massage trainer Beata Aleksandrowicz, founder of Pure Massage.
“We’ve been working on this for the last 18 months, and it’s just breathtaking in the ambition and the scope of what we want to create for people,” said Duigan. “...It’s like nothing else, and no expense has been spared.”
Louise Wicksteed, creative director and partner at 1508 London, has reimagined the classical aesthetic of the hotel, with British characteristics including silk wallpapers, wood paneling and leather upholstery.
“We really wanted to create a beautiful extension of The Lanesborough Hotel,” she explained. “It’s such an iconic British hotel, and it has such an amazing quality to it. We spent a lot of time discussing why it’s so successful, and one of the reasons is that it’s sort of a home-from-home – it’s sort of an extension of your personal space, and it feels very personal, so that’s what we tried to bring into the spa design.”
The spa is being constructed in what was a commercial building next door to the Hyde Park hotel, and Wicksteed said they worked hard to bring some of the “amazing quality of design and depth of detail” from The Lanesborough into the spa, creating a hybrid of luxury club and lounge with fitness and spa retreat.
“The language is taken from The Lanesborough – the Portland stone, the very rich timbers and paneling. It’s very rich and layered and detailed...all in beautiful hues of petrol blues and turquoises.”
The spa features two entrances – one from the hotel, and another private members’ entrance. Wicksteed modeled the arrival area after the Roman Bath spa, creating a central courtyard with a mirrored installation that is at the heart of the spa.
Each room at the wellness centre will have its own story and identity, said Wicksteed; the female changing area, for instance, features a story around the lanesborough flower – native to the county of Lanesborough in Ireland – with hand-worked floor mosaics and hand-painted glass both featuring flower motifs.
The male area includes two steam experiences and a sauna, as well as a snug private bar, designed to be a sit-down private getaway for members only. The secret, intimate space features a ‘rare’ theme, incorporating rare whiskeys, rare books and a collection of rare butterflies on the wall.
A shared hydropool features a dramatic cascading waterfall edge, and there is also a shared relaxation space, and five treatment rooms, one of which is a couples’ with a rasul experience.
Industry supplier Barr + Wray provided the thermal cabins, saunas and steam room, ice fountain, experience showers and swimming pool, complete with a water filtration treatment plant.
Skincare brand ila has created a bespoke product range exclusively for The Lanesborough, including a balm and a facial serum, as well as a signature therapy, Kundalini Stillness, a back treatment for exhaustion, stress and chronic fatigue that uses ancient marma therapy and warm herbal poultices along with sound healing and chakra balancing.
The spa will also use La Prairie skincare in its treatments, including the Caviar Lift Facial and the Caviar Body Treatment. Facialist Anastasia Achilleos brings her cranial sacral therapy expertise and facial massage to The Lanesborough, training all the spa’s therapists in her ‘method of excellence.’ Achilleos is also available for one-on-one sessions, priced at £475 for 90 minutes.
Bodyism is taking on the fitness aspect of the wellness centre, offering its Ballet Boxing classes as well as its holistic therapy that incorporates yoga, personal training and nutrition.
Bodyism’s Duigan and Pure Massage’s Aleksandrowicz have worked closely to ensure a bridge between spa and fitness, so that therapists are in communication with trainers, giving clients a more personal and holistic experience.
Memberships at the wellness centre – limited to 400 members in order to keep things at the right level of personalisation – will range from £4,000 to £6,000 per year.
