London: Tea Time in Wonderland

As I was telling you recently, One Aldwych is a wonderful haven of peace where you can forget all about the outside rushed life. The rooms are ever so comfortable you will not even feel like leaving them. Unless you hear about their spa and swimming pool.

As soon as my 6 year old daughter heard about the latter, she packed her swimming suit and pink armbands. It is, you see, very unique: put your head underwater and you will hear music. In her world, this is very close to magic and I had to swear ten times I would take her.

I barely had the time to sip my tea that a little voice reminded me of my promise. Smiling widely, she was all ready, bathrobe and slippers on. Louis*Anne would have, given a chance also spent quite a lot of her time in the lift, which changes colours constantly: which tint will it be this time, she would wonder in amazement.

The changing room is the most wonderful I have ever seen so far. You will be given the softest towels as soon as you arrive. Each locker is organised with two shelves: a small one for shoes, a larger one for your handbag. It also contains a vertical space with a hanger. On one side of the room is a mirrored space with cotton balls, cleanser, toner, face lotion and a hairdryer. Very practical, a machine will reduce the amount of water in your swimsuit before your leave and plastic bags are also available to wrap it away. So many clever attentions.

The swimming pool is a London gem indeed. Exotic blue. On the front wall are projected soothing images and landscapes. It also is wide enough for four swimmers to enjoy side by side while keeping a reasonably large space. Even better – for people like me who always find the water cold, the temperature is just ideal, you can enter it at once and not inch by inch. A real pleasure – chlorine free it will not even dry your hair and skin. Louise*Anne never wanted to leave and I had to prove very imaginative to convince her to go back to the room.

Guests can also enjoy a steam and sauna room as well as the gym. Seduced? Ask about their membership.

On the same floor is the Natura Bissé spa. This Spanish brand offers an avant-garde range of beauty creams. Once tried, the words pioneers and revolutionary spring to mind… But here, pampering is an art and you will struggle to choose a single treatment -  you will want them all. Floral massage? Oxygen facial? Bamboo scrub? Even mums-to-be have a dedicated one to ease their tired legs and bring that smile back on their face no matter how tired they felt on arrival.

Since January is a detox month meant to give your energy back, I decided on the Citrus drench, a one hour treatment/bliss based on the Vitamin C range which promises to rejuvenate the skin. Just the time to enjoy a glass of fresh water (there also is a choice of orange and cucumber infused) and I am given a detail form to fill -  what do I expect from the experience? Are there any sensitive or tense areas in the body that would need special attention?

The cocooning begins. The treatment works in three phases. First a citrus scented scrub, very gentle, doubled with a massage. Although my idea of heaven often is a nap under a fig tree in the South of France, I can now replace this picture with one of an orange tree orchard in Florida. Gorgeous aromas! Once rinsed and cleansed of dead cells, the skin is ever so soft and seems to really breathe. Follows a second application that leaves me very dreamy. Imagine an apricot coloured whipped cream, very light, divinely fragrant. Would you leave it on a table, people would dip their finger and taste it. Irresistible. Yet this is nutrition for your skin only and you will be painted all over then wrapped in a film, covered with a blanket. The bed also is warmed from under the mattress and with the dimmed light you, well, totally fall asleep.

Last but not least, a massage that will make any tension left in your back disappear (and if you are used to carrying a toddler, you know just what I mean). With this is applied a serum that will redynamise the cells, leaving you silky, radiant, boosting with energy. It is a fantastic feeling -  as if  you had as much energy as a 20 year old again! You suddenly want to go dancing, wear a summer dress, go to the beach, party. It makes you deliciously more beautiful and cheerful -  the perfect beauty tip to illuminate winter.

I left humming to myself, smiling at the mirror, a few samples in my bag to discover the other Natura Bissé products, taking note that some of the treatments can be done in 30mn – fitting perfectly in a lunch break…

Two energetic kids waiting upstairs? Bring it on.

(To be followed -  One Aldwych also is the perfect place for gourmets!)

One Aldwych
London
WC2B 4BZ

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