YOU CAN USE THE SPA…
DOES NOT MATTER WHICH HOTEL YOU OPEN YOUR SUITCASE AT…
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY…
TWO HOTELS WITH DIFFERENT STORIES TO TELL.
Two hotels in less than a one-mile distance apart, so different, its like comparing an orange and a lemon, both hotels; fruits join together to make a tasty fruit drink, which is refreshing in the London hotel market, fascinating difference.
We all associate certain avenues, boulevards and streets with certain types of businesses. If you mention Park Lane, in London, to residents and tourists alike it spells hospitality. It’s the home of the sparking five-star hotels. In January 2016, I visited the London Metropolitan to review the hotel for Spa Canada readers. Park Lane is a dual-carriageway avenue, which stretches from Hyde Park Corner to the south and Marble Arch in the north where Oxford Street begins. During the eighteenth-century, aristocrats saw properties being built along the Lane, “The Tyburn Gallows” is where Marble Arch is today, known as the “Tyburn Tree”, where gatherings took place for public hangings, well I am not going to hang around this particular subject.
They collect there like a “Pride of Lions” all offering that very unique hospitality.
HYDE PARK VIEW AT THE METROPOLITAN
Reception area has palettes of natural colors and fixtures, being next to Hyde Park the room and designs of the hotel capture the changing seasons of the shades of greens, American-style walnut and sycamore with ample views and oversized windows which make it a joy to observe. Taking a walk through the Park should be on any visitor agenda, it is a way to take in London seasons.
Cuisine is called Nobu with Japanese/Peruvian cuisine; that is unique or niche dining. The Met Bar in the hotel was the place to be seen, it was the number one bar in London, this was the first hotel bar to take off, now open to any persons of the public, originally a members only bar, which put the bar and the hotel on the map in London.
REFLECTING SUNSHINE
The company is based in Singapore, which is a luxury holistic wellness brand, with a DNA inspired by the mythological Kingdom of Shambhala, which in ancient Buddhist text denotes a “A Sacred Place of Bliss”, the belief is that everyone can find tranquility with themselves by exploring body, mind and spirit.
Christina Ong owner of Como Hotels Resorts designed Como Shambhala with her own personal views. All staff has to believe in the brand. On the expert panel is Rodney Yee international yoga teaching & fashion designer Donna Karen. The brand was born in Bali where the experts of the brand are based.
SECRET PLACE OF BLISS
Six treatment rooms, two doubles using Como Shambhala and Guinot products. With a comprehensive treatment menu, the spa is located on the second floor where you enter the reception onto a compact area; decor is cream with dark wooden floors and furniture enhanced with dark shutters on the windows. The ambiance is like something you would find in a property in Southern Europe, in my visual eye has gone for the Continental appeal.
Como Shambhala SPA has many different treatments. One of the brands used is Dr Hauschka. The skin-care brand has been offering a certified natural skincare line since 1967, using only pure and ethically obtained ingredients. The holistic products work in tandem with the experienced tough of well-being experts.
DR HAUSCHKA CLASSIC TREATMENT
This head-to-toe therapeutic journey works to balance the skin, calm the mind and relax the body. Tired feet (tell me about it) are soothed with a sage footbath and gentle leg and foot massage. Arms are stretched to encourage deep breathing and relaxation. While the skin is prepared through a combination of aromatherapy and sweet almond meal cleaners before our expert staff applies two purifying masks, gentle lymph stimulation promotes skin health from within.
DR HAUSCHKA HOLISTIC FACIAL
A nurturing deep-reaching facial that can greatly improve your complexion, aromatherapy and lymph stimulation at the heart of this 60-minute skin renewal, your beauty therapist will discuss with you how best to customize this treatment just for you, I am waiting for the moment.
COMO SHAMBHALA WELLNESS
COMO SHAMBHALA LOVES YOU
This bespoke package is the perfect gift for a friend or loved one, or simply to indulge yourself, tailor-made to your wellness experience choosing from massage, facial, nail or body treatment with one of their team, all Como Shambhala Loves.
Your wellness package includes a luxury footbath and Como Shambhala gift box.
Dr. Nichaolas V. Perricone is considered to be one of New York’s leading dermatologists and is known for his decades of research into cellular-level ageing. In this exclusive collaboration, the facial treatments combine the skill of Como Shamvbhala’s expert aesthetics’ with Dr. Perricone’s clinical skincare range. The products include patented nutrients for skin health, resilience and radiance. The treatments revitalize the skin and reduce the stress of modern lifestyles.
PERRICONE MD
PERFORMANCE FACIAL
The Performance Facial is deep cleansing, nourishing and firming facial therapy that is ideal for congested, sun-damage or mature skin that has lost its resilience. It uses two of Dr. Perricorne’s most potent topical therapies. Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) and Vitamin C Ester to protect against free radicals facilitate the production of collagen and minimize wrinkles. The treatment incorporates a specially designed light lymphatic massage.
PERRICONE MD
NUTRIENT FACIAL
The Nutrient Facial uses the range of products based on Perricone’s olive research. This cleansing, hydrating and nourishing facial is ideal for dry and sensitive complexion and can minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, helping skin to appear more luminous and vital.
The treatment includes customized fluid massage using a small amount of pure extra virgin, cold-pressed organic olive, rich in oleic acid, which is nourishing essential fatty acid.
YOU CAN SUITE YOURSELF WHERE TO STAY
There are a number of different types of rooms, 45 deluxe City Rooms, 33 long mirrors adorn the walls making the already large space expand around you. The king-sized bed seems to float above the light tones of the carpets. Views seep in through the large windows as you relax in a curved armchair; there is a large work area in pale walnut, and a very modern bathroom in cream stone tiles.
Eight Park Suites, step into a spacious and stylishly appointed one-bedroom suite, floor-to-ceiling windows offer dynamic panoramic view of London’s lush Hyde Park. A large comfortable sofa begs you to relax amidst the rooms gently earthy tones, while bathrooms, feature creamy stone interiors Como Suite is the pinnacle of Como Living, reflecting the clear, pared-base style that is the hallmark for the group. The wall of windows, commanding the specular view of Hyde Park are dressed with both a continuous voile drape as well as blinds, the dining space – room for six people, as well as up-to-date appliances.
With 19 apartments they are ideal for those wanting a temporary base in London, for business or for pleasure. Alongside the hotel, you can use the hotels amenities, the hotel prides itself on the place to be for weddings, fashion shows and interviews, in which they have five.
HALKIN HOTEL A BEST-KEPT SECRET IN BELGRAVIA, LONDON
Halkin Hotel, of which I had never visited before, is as the General manager, Andrew Thomson said, South West London’s best-kept secret. It is hidden away just off Belgravia Square, embassy land in London, with the most expensive real estate in London and possibly in Europe. I walked by assuming it was an embassy with the flags flying above the entrance in the London breeze.
The 41 guest rooms and suites are designed by, Aboratorio Associati of Italy. There are 6 king double rooms, 6 king suite rooms, 10 de lux rooms, 56 studio suites and 9 Belgravia suites.
Discreet is the word, with its award-winning and Asian influence style with 41 contemporary suites and rooms, on the second floor, I found this most fascinating corridor with a bend to break-up the space. It was designed so as to not have a very long corridor. You will find some hotels can be intimating with their never-ending walkways. Black walls give the walls a very corporate image, but is far from it as far as hotels go.
FLAVOUR HAVE BASQUE IN LONDON
One Michelin Star only Basque restaurant Ametsa with Arzak instruction headed by a team that includes chef Elena Arzak voted Vevle Clicquot world’s best female chef. This is the only Basque restaurant in Britain, and the only one out of the Spanish area. There is a nice touch, complementary meals for children aged up to 12, when dining with parents. A real niche dining experience. Freshly locally sourced and organic product from land and sea are Ametsa’s building blocks.
The Como Hotels and brands have hotels in Bangkok, Miami Beach on the famous South Beach, Parrot Cay Turks and Caicos and the Maldives.
Within Easy reach of Heathrow and Central London.
Rocco Magnoli of Spatiur Italian Architectural Studio with his partner Lorenzo Carmellini has transformed modest buildings into distinctive hotels, which have Italian style and elegance on their passport.