Cocooned in style at the Ritz’s Salon
THE Salon is a little known part of the Ritz, up on the seventh floor. It’s a surprisingly unguilded haven – plainly decorated, and quiet but for the civilised murmur of ladies having their hair and nails done and the odd door closing softly behind someone going in for a treatment.
Into this rarefied atmosphere I strolled one recent Friday, seeking a wind-down after a busy week. The Salon recruits unusual treatments; last time I was here it was for a gold manicure with Orly, which involved nail art in a glittering bronze colour. This time they’ve got in Comfort Zone, a rather lovely range of products from Italy and not – until now – used in the UK. The Salon has collaborated with Comfort Zone to create three long-named treatments: a facial (The Ritz Signature Precious Pearl Face Ritual), a body treatment (The Ritz Signature Precious Pearl Body Cocoon) and a facial plus body treatment (you can guess).
I had the latter. And it was absolutely lovely. The treatment bed is comfortable, for a start, which cannot be said of all flashier spas. So, as I lay face down, within five minutes of the soothing yet firm strokes of the therapist’s exfoliating brush I was nearly asleep: remarkable given the hyperactivity of my mind beforehand.
It’s too nice to sleep through, though. The products smell divine – almonds, honey and flowers in one and evidently they are laced with pearl powder. The combination of exfoliation, body polish and massage is wonderful and your relaxation is uninterrupted by anything so troubling as having to go and wash either the exfoliating scrub or the body mask off. The therapist – in my case the lovely Anna – expertly manages the whole thing for you.
The facial includes a terrific pressure point massage – in my view the high point of a face treatment (how many creams can you rub in a circle, after all?). The wholeness of this treatment is what makes it so satisfying – “cocooned” is just the right word for how I felt when the feared final moment of the treatment arrived. £140 for 90 minutes. To book, call 020 7300 2435 or email [email protected].