Chocolate heaven at the Montcalm

This week, I swam in chocolate. Well, that’s how the Hot Chocolate Body Wrap treatment at the Montcalm Spa felt anyway.

The Montcalm Hotel is perfectly situated on a quiet crescent just north of Marble Arch (there’s a poignant statue to Swedish WWII hero Raoul Wallenberg right in front which is worth a look).

You enter the chic boutique hotel through a glittering lobby, all cool white marble and twinkly chandeliers, and descend to the spa (why are hotel spas always in the basement? Beats me…)

First you choose which oil and salt you’d like to have used in the treatment. There are two detox oils available – lemon myrtle to cleanse and boost, or a stimulating pink oil, which I went for – and a choice of lemon myrtle sea salt or wild rosella sea salt (my pick).

The oil is slathered all over your skin and followed by a bracing scrub with the salt to slough off all dead skin. This was particularly handy for me as I’ve been plagued by dry, peeling skin ever since a foolishly enthusiastic sunbathing session the other weekend (you know the one – everyone was sporting ridiculous tan lines and pink tender flesh on the Monday!)

And then… it’s time for the chocolate. Oh yeah… Seriously, warm, melted chocolate, smeared – nay, smothered – all over the body. Sheer unadulterated heaven. The smell was unbelievable, and the chocolate is actually used for its hydrating properties and anti-oxidant properties.

You’re then swaddled in towels to let the chocolate do its thing (this is not for the claustrophobic as you are literally mummified, but a relaxing head massage distracts you from the fact you can’t move), and then unwrapped and told to shower off the choc. A final – blissful – touch is an all-over massage with chocolate-orange mousse cream. Sigh, my mouth’s watering just thinking about it.

The spa itself is lovely too – there’s a roomy Jacuzzi (which I had all to myself), exercise pool, steam room and sauna plus a relaxing area with plenty of mags and Elemis goodies in the changing rooms. Hotel spas are a clever choice if you’re in a new city – they tend to be quieter than the most popular day spas, but still offer the same level of service. And if you’re a chocoholic, this treatment is a seriously indulgent treat.

The Chocolate Body Wrap costs £85 for 60 minutes. Montcalm Hotel, 34-40 Great Cumberland Place, London, W1H 7TW 020 7958 3200

written & originally published by phoebe frangoul – beauty editor at cultbeauty.co.uk

room with a “view”

It is just like the old saying – Just when you think you’ve seen it all a hotel goes and puts a magic window in their bathrooms! Jinkies, the amount of times I hear that scoob. The recently regally refurbed (say that after midnight) the Montcalm hotel in London’s West End really hits the mark (who’s this mark?) on soooo many levels!

I could for instance mention the Vetro Italian restaurant, or the Bar Noire (super sexy & definitely VERY Noire by the way), or the way you feel you’re walking through a film-set when you stroll in there.

I could harp on about the truly amazing spa that do special full body hot chocolate body wraps (choccy without the calories you see!), and of cccouurse I could go on about the afternoon teas, the free wi-fi, the uber-chic decor, the large spaces of the bedrooms (in London sir?!), but really, and I think you know where I am going with this…. I want to talk about the bathrooms! (I know, that’s just me though)…

So let me set the scene, you’re in the bathroom, you’ve turned on the cold tap – it is lit with a blue light that glistens into the sink, you change to the hot tap and the water is lit with a lovely red tint, I know what you’re thinking – this is the future and finally I know what my life is all about! But then wait, that is not all my little china….

There is a button. Ohhh yes, a button, well a swtich to be precise (and apparently with some you can just clap your hands!), you flip the switch and ker-blammo – you can see into the bedroom (from the bathroom)… or maybe more accurately put, the occupants in the bedroom can see YOU in the bathroom, or of course if there are no occupants you can see, errr, the bedroom, brilliant! Ohhh we love it.

More quirkiness like this please london hotels! oh – and it’s a fab luxury hotel too that’s brand new – still with great opening rates and packages! Huggggellly recommended – tell them I sent you of course, for a free hand massage (what?).