CLARIDGE’S NEW SPA

The Art of Rejuvenation

Photograph by

NORMAN PARKINSON

A new frontier for wellness will open this year with Claridge’s decadent new spa. Inge Theron, one of the visionaries behind it, talks to Katy Young

As a British journalist, I am cynical by nature and profession. But if ever there is a time when I have to hold my hands up and say, ‘Fair cop,’ this is it. Interviewing Inge Theron – founder of FaceGym and former Financial Times ‘Spa Junkie’ columnist – on how she worked with Claridge’s on a new spa concept for the hotel feels like quizzing Monet on his colour palette for water lilies. But I have always believed that masterpieces are better enjoyed when you know the story behind them. ‘I’ve just been testing a treatment,’ says Theron. ‘Less than ten minutes ago I was lying naked, surrounded by therapists pumicing my skin. I’ve never had one like that.’

It dawns on me why the wonderfully warm Theron was chosen to help create Claridge’s new spa: there aren’t many ‘spa-chitects’ who will try, try and try again their own treatments to get it just so. ‘The attention to detail at Claridge’s has always struck me,’ she notes. ‘Everything here is so considered. And when you visit the spa, you’ll see the same kind of detail was our priority - even the placement of the pillow! I am fanatical. There isn’t a stone left unturned; not one element that hasn’t been customised. It has taken months to develop each treatment. ‘Claridge’s just knows what you need, even before you do. We wanted the spa concept to be just as intuitive. You can come in and say how you feel and leave the rest to us. You don’t even have to open the menu. That’s how everyone is trained.’

From left to right: Inge Theron, Harriet Westmoreland and her nailwork

Once guests waft into the warmly lit Claridge’s spa, the soothing music, the warming incense and the Japanese omakase will fulfil your weary soul’s need. No doubt someone will pass you a glass of crystal-infused water if you so much as lick your lips. Designed by André Fu, the space, which centres around a limestone-clad swimming pool, has been created to instil calm and a sense of slowing down, which it does; despite, I imagine, a rush to book one of its six treatment rooms, relax in the cabanas, try the steam room, sauna or the heated spa pool when the doors open. The ceramics, cushions, and treatment trolley are all custom-made by artists. Treatments will begin with foot-massaging inspired by Koh-do ceremonies, with healinghand movements to absorb negative emotions. Treatments aside, I’m also positive that bathing in the pool with its undulating ceiling and sounds of trickling water, followed by some time out in one of the private pool cabanas would go some way to washing off any bad juju.

For Theron, it’s ‘a serendipitous homecoming’. During lockdown, she decided to step back from her skincare brand FaceGym after six successful years. ‘I wanted to free up gigabytes for something new,’ she says. ‘That same month, I got the call from my most favourite hotel in the world. For many years, when I started my career, my office was in Hanover Square. Claridge’s was the bar, the place.’

Inspired by Fu’s Asian architecture and her travels during her time as the ‘Spa Junkie’, Theron looked to Japanese wellness culture to deliver energy healing. Incense cones and ceremonial bells punctuate treatments, koji poultices are made on site and in one treatment towels are soaked in sake, known for its gently exfoliating properties. An Ikebana master (of the art of Japanese flower-arranging) creates seasonal displays to assist your floral meditation (sweet cherry blossom in spring, earthy maple leaf in autumn).

‘This is our version of what energy healing means in 2022, in London,’ Theron declares. ‘If you’ve just landed from a longhaul or had a tough meeting, we’ve got it covered: we could give you a sculpting treatment, a blowdry, a facial workout or manicure. We can energetically cleanse you and make you feel like the best version of yourself. Nothing is too much for us.’ There will be a trio of signature treatments, with the Bamboo and Silk Ritual set to be the standout. It is a deep-tissue treatment that opens up muscles with hot poultices and bamboo sticks, and finishes with a silk thimble facial massage. If you would prefer, the sculpting detox treatment will include lymphatic drainage, infrared, ice facials and gua sha massage. One treatment will also see guests receive a full body cleanse, scrub and massage with charcoal and cypress treatments in the floor-to-ceiling pink onyx room - according to Theron, ‘Trying is believing.’

Claridge’s have carefully gathered a resident dream team for hair (Josh Wood), nails (Instagram sensation Harriet Westmoreland) and acupuncture (Ross Barr) plus facials by Augustinus Bader. ‘These experts have changed my life,’ Theron declares. ‘I even moved to Holland Park to be closer to Josh Wood.’ The latter is a colourist who will have an exclusive mini salon at Claridge’s. ‘He spends a lot of his time at the suites in Claridge’s, from the royalty of Hollywood to real royalty,’ she enthuses. ‘If you need your colour doing at midnight because your flight was delayed, he gets it. He’s just used to running at this speed.’ And if that flight was delayed, you might like the neck massage or FaceGym sculpting that can be done while your hair is washed. ‘Good skin starts in your scalp,’ Theron explains. Resident acupuncturist Ross J Barr can practise his art while you’re lying on the massage table. ‘Give me your body for ninety minutes and I’ll return it to you feeling fabulous,’ Theron promises. After all that, you can test your newfound energy in the

state-of-the-art-gym. There’s even a pair of Peloton exercise bikes for healthy competition.

This is a new frontier for hotel spas: a totally holistic approach, focused on wellness and longevity. ‘Claridge’s is so much more than a great meal, a beautiful bar and a comfortable bed,’ Theron urges. ‘Now they can give you the best version of yourself in the spa too. Claridge’s don’t talk about hangovers – because they’re so good at making cocktails – but give them your body the morning after and they’ll put you back together, so you can do it all over again.’

Claridge’s Spa will open June 2022. Follow @claridgeshotel on Instagram for updates.

Josh Wood

MEET A-LIST COLOURIST

Josh Wood

‘Claridge’s and I are old friends,’ explains Josh Wood, renowned colourist and founder of his eponymous West London Atelier. ‘I’ve been staying here since day dot, having had my first drink at the bar when I had just qualified at Vidal Sassoon.’ Since then, Wood has become one of the world’s most famous names in hair, having been flown around the world by both his high-profile clients (who aside from Laura Bailey and Kylie Minogue remain heavily under wraps) and international fashion brands, including Celine and Gucci, who enlist his wizardry for their campaigns and runways. ‘This is the next frontier for me,’ says Wood of Claridge’s Spa, which for the first time will see him bring the same creativity and quality of service synonymous with his name to a hotel. ‘My clients have always felt that when they get their hair done in hotels it’s just not modern or personal, so I’m infusing my Atelier feel into a residence at Claridge’s.’ And he’s doing it beautifully.

Wood describes his space – which will offer everything from blow dries, to cuts to styling – as a ‘haven of calm’ having decided to install only two chairs, ‘so that the services feel private and tailored. It’s not a small space but it isn’t about churn or volume, it is about getting every strand right. The best of the best, there’s nothing that’s too much to ask.’

Odds are appointments will go fast, but Wood is avoiding a waiting list; ‘if our salon is busy we will come to your room. If we can’t align times, we will get a driver to take you to our Atelier – this is our home within Claridge’s home and I want to extend that feeling through everything that we do together.’ M