Best spa in London for: The celebrity treatment
Between occupying one of London’s choicest addresses in Hyde Park and the pedigree that comes with being a sister hotel to the Dorchester, you already know to expect the best before you’re ushered through the shiny revolving doors at 45 Park Lane. The two hotels work in tandem, with Dorchester guests free to use 45’s spa facilities and vice versa. Collaborative efforts have increased further lately. You can now find Dorchester resident aesthetician Uliana Gout, founder of London Aesthetic Medicine, dishing out her award-winning treatments from one of 45 Park Lane’s plush private rooms once a week.
For spa access, you’ll need to be staying at 45 Park Lane or the Dorchester. Guests can enjoy manicures, massages, and Valmont facials in one of just two treatment rooms (book ahead to avoid disappointment), while the scent of rose, clove, and sandalwood floats gently overhead from bespokely created Ishka candles. Despite a subterranean setting three floors down, the designers have done a stellar job playing with light and space. Dappled beams bounce over Liberty print-inspired mosaic walls, and a high-shine ceiling over the pool creates an illusion of great height. Even your voice sounds softer and gentler; honey-toned bamboo beams thread across ceilings, specifically designed to muffle acoustics, preventing any jarring post-massage echoes spoiling the mood.
No room? No problem. Those more interested in the latest and greatest skincare techniques than a back rub and a dip in the pool should ask for Uliana. You’ll be ushered into a huge room with views over Hyde Park, outfitted with a profoundly comfortable treatment bed, a thick, heavy robe to change into, and an expansive coffee table laden with a selection of teas, home-baked treats, and Gout’s tomes on aesthetics—she’s literally written the book on skin treatments. Peruse with a green juice post-treatment at your leisure.
Treatment to book
Dr Uliana Gout’s LAM Luxe Celebrity Facial. “Celebrity” really is the word here: what followed felt straight out of Hollywood—a laundry list of buzzy ingredients and machines working in unison to tighten, treat, hydrate, and smooth my tired London-battered visage (utterly charming Uliana will not rest until you know what exosomes are and has delivered them to your face with well-practiced hands). For 90 minutes, I was a Kardashian. It felt a bit like a whirlwind: an extensive questionnaire covering everything from diet to body image perception kickstarts the process, and two additional therapists stay on hand throughout to attend to the light levels and music volume at your exacting behest—and to fan your face after a particularly tingly exfoliant. Five treatments back-to-back followed. Each individual spot was dutifully found and conquered; a radio frequency wand cranked to your precise tolerance level actually builds collagen under the surface, a brush of exosome infusion hydrates and plumps, and a blast of red LED light therapy banishes acne-causing bacteria. To finish, I inhaled a blast of oxygen a few times from under a face mask. I left in a daze, having had a good chat, new product recommendations for my skin type, having learned some new things, along with a slug of plumping lip salve—a bog standard cleanse and exfoliation this is not.
Insider tip
Dr Uliana Gout’s 45 Park Lane residency is every other Thursday, and across the road at the Dorchester on the following Thursday if the stars don’t align for your stay. Dorchester guests are also free to use 45 Park Lane’s spa—pre-book for a swim followed by cocktails and gooey home-baked cookies, still warm, from the hotel’s kitchen in the relaxation area. —C.W.