It should be no surprise to find votive candle-lit staircases and hammam relaxation beds in London, with its sizeable Asian population, but somehow it's not what I expected at the marble-clad May Fair hotel in the middle of...yes, Mayfair. But steps from hectic Piccadilly, the bustling boutiques of Old Bond Street and the quintessentially British Burlington Arcade, the heart of Mayfair may be just the spot for the Asian-inspired tranquility of the May Fair Spa.
One aspect of the serenity aesthetic of the year-old, $1 million spa on the hotel's lower ground floor is to suggest guests come an hour early to unwind with what is called an indulgent heat sequence.
Offered with all treatments, this includes a traditional sauna filled with the scent of fresh fruits and herbs roasting on a cast iron plate; next to it a fountain with crushed ice, the British equivalent of jumping into a frigid lake; and an herbal steam room suffused with the aroma of essential oils. There are also several shower options: a waterfall shower, bucket douche, and a multi-sensory storm shower with mint and menthol or papaya and coconut aromas. Then guests, wrapped in big robes, move on to the chocolate-colored relaxation room to rest on gently heated contoured marble hammam beds while awaiting their treatments.
This is all part of the spa's comfort culture. Our ethos centers around creating a nurturing and relaxing environment, where guests can achieve real and visible results, steps from hectic Piccadilly, the bustling boutiques of Old Bond Street and the quintessentially British Burlington Arcade, the heart of Mayfair may be just the spot for the Asian-inspired tranquility of the May Fair Spa.
said Spa Manager Stacey Spooner. We remain focused on these basics and every aspect of our spa and therapies revolves around this concept.
Paying close attention to guest preferences, May Fair just retooled its spa menu, making it more user friendly with both hour-long treatments for lunch breaks and busy visitors, and combination packages for more leisurely spa goers. One of its seven treatment rooms has been newly outfitted with twin tables for couples.
The wide variety of treatments includes facials, microdermabrasion, scrubs, massages, and body wraps. Most therapies utilize either Pevonia Botanica products, named after an ancient flower that, according to ancient Greek legend, cures the skin of its ills, or mineral-rich Algotherm lotions and balms, based on seaweed extracts to revitalize and nourish the skin. It's the holistic version of one-if-by-land or two-if-by-sea skin care.
The spa is currently introducing a third line and unveiling a new signature facial, Kimia Life Cycle Facial Treatment (90 min, 120).
We are the first spa group to feature Kimia products and a signature Kimia treatment, said Spooner enthusiastically. Kimia was just launched in England.
According to the spa, Kimia's powerful serum, extracted and blended from natural ingredients, combats, perhaps even reverses the signs of ageing. Its several steps start with comforting motions to relax and calm; then deep massage to increase energy flow and circulation, and eliminate toxins; next soothing massage for complete relaxation; finally deep finger muscle massage that tightens and lifts the skin attached to each muscle.
The spa has a particularly broad menu of facial treatments, all of which start with an advanced UV analysis of the client's skin so therapists can prescribe appropriate treatments. All are 60 minutes long ( 90).
The Pevonia Facial Therapies include:
- Ultimate Deep Cleanse, a purifying facial ideal for oily, congested, blocked, acne skin
- Aromatherapy Facial, a more holistic approach to skin harmony
- Plantomer Facial, to calm sensitive, skin, stressed with redness or hormonal breakouts
- Floracide Facial, an advanced deep exfoliation to treat stubborn pigmentation, thickened or congested skin, and
- the Men's Facial, designed specifically for the male skin, shaving irritation and refining open pores.
After a Pevonia facial a Galvanic Facial, utilizing an electrical current, intensifies the results by helping the skin absorb highly active concentrates.
The assortment of Algotherm facials includes the Biomorphose Moisturizing Facial to plump out fine lines and smooth wrinkles and Oxygenating Treatment, a booster for purified smooth and radiant skin.
The Ayurvedic Facial Ritual focuses on aromatic concentrates and traditional Ayurvedic massage techniques for deep cleansing and relaxation to clear blocked energy and revive the skin's natural glow.
A selection of beauty pick-me-ups offers eye treatments for wrinkles, for puffiness, or for dark circles, a lip smoothing, or a neck treatment (each an extra 15 minutes, 20; your choice of three for extra 45 minutes, 50).
One of the spa's hits is The Executive Hour, offering four advanced non-invasive cosmetic enhancements that couple facial therapies with spa pedicures. They use a specially designed pedicure chair, which gently massages your body as one therapist works on the feet, and another on the face for a 60-minute makeover.
Microdermabrasion, Oxygen Facials and a CACI Non-Surgical Face Lift (60 minutes, 140) are among the half hour and hour-long treatments offered. Body wraps also get a lion's share of attention in the revised spa menu. Most of them add a relaxing scalp massage while you are cocooned in the heated wrap of your choice and the spa's Marine Mud Wrap soothes tense muscles and joints, leaving body recharged with minerals.
Mud also features in one of the spa's most popular body treatments, the Cleopatra Bathing Experience. Mud draws toxins from the body, exfoliating and nourishing the skin, and the subsequent shower or sauna flushes away those impurities. May Fair Spa gives it a playful twist. A therapist applies toning muds and natural salts to the body in a private steam chamber lit by tiny fiber-optic ceiling lights as cleansing steam jets out of a crystal ball; or, you can substitute a partner of your choice for the therapist (mud bath for one, 45 minutes, 50; for two, 45 minutes, 80).
Two people can also choose from the spa's regular massages for a double header couples therapy (60 minutes, 130). In the new twin-bedded couples room two therapists do the treatments simultaneously; participants don't have to select the same treatment.
Massages
In contrast to the generous facial and wrap menus, the massage offerings seemed somewhat limited, featuring traditional Swedish Massage (60 minutes, 90, 90 minutes, 120), an Aroma Massage (60 minutes, 90, 90 minutes, 120) and an Ayurvedic Massage Ritual (90 minutes, 120).
Hot Stone Massage (90 minutes, 120) erases tension with heated black basalt stones and deep massage. Add an aroma salt glow (extra 30 minutes, 35).
I booked the Hot Stone massage, which has become my favorite form of therapy. With back problems and a torn rotator cuff, it lets me avoid hands-on deep massage and feel safer with the smooth strokes of flat stones than energetic fingers probing muscles and disks.
As my therapist, Liandi, took me to one of the seven treatment rooms, she said, We use basalt stones and hot grapeseed oil. With the stones I can go six times deeper than a normal massage. It's very detoxifying.
It was also very soothing.
At one point, working on my neck and shoulders, she said, I use arnica oil on tension areas.
After my treatment I returned to the candle-scented relaxation room and a heated hammam recliner for freshly squeezed juice, a fruit sorbet, and herbal tea. The spa likes to serve herbal teas that reflect the treatment, serving jasmine tea, for instance, if a guest had a jasmine oil-based treatment.
Spa packages, called Lazy Days, feature interesting therapy combinations.
The first package many weary arriving travelers choose is the Jetlag Reviver (2 hours 45 minutes, 200), which is designed to reverse the negative effects of long haul flying and a high altitude atmosphere. A Biomorphose Moisturizing Facial targets dehydration, a Remineralizing Mud Wrap works on puffy aching legs, while a neck, shoulder, and scalp massage eases tension, and the Cleopatra Bathing Experience finishes the treatment.
The Health Club, with cardiovascular equipments, resistance machines, and free weights, is open to hotel guests 24 hours a day. An added perk is complimentary laundry service for your workout gear.
May Fair Spa is one of the jewels in last year's $150 million refurbishment of the May Fair hotel. First opened in 1927 by His Majesty King George V, the historic hotel now has a spacious contemporary lobby swathed in marble and furnished with sofas and chairs by Fendi, chandeliers by Baccarat, and unique pieces of art. The 406 stylish rooms and suites have handsome Italian leather beds and furniture, complimentary Wi-Fi, and triple-glazed noise-proof windows, large bathrooms, many with separate open showers.
The May Fair
Stratton Street
London W1J 8LT , England
Tel: 800-333-3333
Check the hotel website for corporate rates and special offerings
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[...] Not to ignore the palate: during the holidays the hotel’s restaurant, Bolo s, provided the lobby with a detailed gingerbread version of the Alamo. Year-round yummies include juicy apples in every color in glass bowls at the front desk, and fine chocolates of several excellent varieties could appear in your guest room after turn-down service. Fresh juice and water is available in the fitness room. I was impressed not only at the availability of snacks, but at the healthy nature of them. (If you don t believe chocolate is good for your, check out:My fair Lady). [...]