As photos emerged over the weekend of Pippa Middleton emerging from the UK’s premiere wellness destination, Grace Belgravia, it has merely served to raise the profile of a place already very well known amongst some of the world’s most well placed insiders. London’s leading health and wellbeing club for women, Grace Belgravia has launched a new series of Cleanse and Weight Loss programmes for the ultimate City detox. It’s a full-body, bespoke, luxury experience I was privileged to sample, which included the best of traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, fitness, spa treatments, and nutritional advice and menus as part of a glorious three day cleanse.
An MOT of sorts, this bespoke cleanse offers those seeking to overhaul their lifestyles a nudge in the right direction. I began with a wonderful Pilates class with Marilyn – who helped me begin the initial steps of regaining fitness following the birth of my baby 5 months ago. This was followed by a breakfast of chia seed and blueberry pudding in the club’s inviting dining room. Indeed, over the course of three days I would sample a selection of delectable salads, soups and meals at Grace Belgravia, all healthy and all extremely low calorie. This just confirmed something that I’ve always suspected- if done extremely well – even the healthiest of diets can be imminently enjoyable.
I particularly liked my Hamman Hydrotherapy – water, steam, sea salt and essential oils all combined in a mixture of hot and cold temperatures. It began with a bone warming sauna after which I stood under at 15-foot Vichy Shower on the ‘cool fog’ setting. This shock to the system was followed by the loveliest white marbled, scented steam room I’ve ever seen. The treatment continues with a sea salt scrub, and a spirulina body wrap. It ends with a shower therapy where jets of water sway up and down from the ceiling on top of me, offering a delightful water massage.
The women-only Knightsbridge club and spa is also home to the famed Capri Palace Leg School, which uses a method of treatment involving mud packs, bandages, hot and cold water and stone massages pioneered designed to give you great legs. Created by Italian anti-ageing guru Professor Francesco Canonaco, who is known as the ‘world expert’ on legs, and counts Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Christina Aguilera amongst his star studded client list.
My charming French-accented therapist Eloudie did warn me about the ice bandages and ice massage – but after all that warm heat I found the treatment jarring to say the least. However, in terms of cellulite reduction – it’s worth it. As promised, I saw a difference after just one treatment – my legs felt light, fitter, smoother and looked smoother.
I enjoyed a stunning aromatherapy massage which helped me find a place of true peace, particularly in the beautiful relaxation room Grace provides, covered in a soft, sky blue blanket sipping herbal tea and pretending that it might go on forever. The third day began with colonic hydrotherapy under the expert care of Grace Medical therapist Kara Mia. It was a fantastic finish what is ultimately an opportunity to re-set your health in order to climb higher heights of wellness.
One note – as a woman who has a significant amount of pregnancy weight to lose – joining a women’s only retreat where many of the women are picture perfect (indeed I lunched next to a Strictly Come Dancing star and two Estonian supermodels) despite the lithe limbs surrounding me, I felt completely supported and encouraged the entire time, by every guest. Rather than judgmental glances, there were understanding smiles and a general feeling of love and support that permeate the place. Grace Belgravia Founder and visionary Kate Percival has truly created an environment that shows what a powerful force it is when women support other women to be better versions of themselves.
Following my three day cleanse,I lost 4 pounds, my skin was radiant and I found myself standing taller. I inexplicably found myself running up an escalator for the first time in 4 years. My experience at Grace literally put the spring back in my step.
The Grace Cleanse and Grace Weight Optimisation Programmes are all designed to take the stress out of an individual’s health needs and enable the best results within a timeframe to fit any type of lifestyle. You don’t have to go away to a retreat overseas to experience true bliss and still go home to put your kids to bed.
The Grace Cleanses range from one to ten days and include a personalised consultation with their in house detox expert as well as a choice of four bespoke treatment plans:
• Cleanse Me – 1 Day Package: This is an essential one-day detox experience. Priced at £295 for members and £370 for non-members.
• Pure Cleanse – 3 Day Package: A short but effective retreat ideal for those with busy lives. Priced at £1,250 for members and £1,400 for non-members.
• Power Cleanse – 5 Day Package: A deeper detox experience. Priced at £1,850 for members and £2,075 for non-members.
• Deep Detox – 10 Day Package: This is the ultimate intensive cleanse programme which achieves significant results and helps long term diet and lifestyle changes. Priced at £3,500 for members and £3,875 for non-members.
