Entering the five-storey Urban Retreat townhouse in the heart of Knightsbridge, just a stone’s throw from its former residence within Harrods, is like stepping inside an Aladdin’s cave full of beauty and wellness treasure.
The brainchild of Reena Hammer, daughter of makeup guru Ruby Hammer and businessman George Hammer, Urban Retreat is home to a dazzling roster of leading anti-ageing, beauty, holistic and medical practitioners. Her aim is to offer clients a personalised “home from home” experience with each floor dedicated to different beauty and wellness services. In the basement, you’ll find the Khera-Griggs Cleanse Clinic, which specialises in colonic irrigation, manual lymphatic drainage, slimming treatments and wraps and Pilates (taught by Harry Styles’ trainer Gaby Noble), yoga and meditation programmes. Its new cleanse menu for 2020 includes “I Am Lighter” weight-loss, body contour programme; “I Am Healthier” gut reset, detoxification programme, and “I Am Grounded”, conscious breath-work cleanse with breath guru Alan Dolan. No excuses for not feeling zen then!
If you want expert advice on menopause-related issues, you can pop into the women’s health clinic on the second floor, which provides everything from smear tests to hormone screening under the expert guidance of Harley Street’s Professor John Studd.
Natural light floods the first-floor hair salon, where internationally renowned stylist Frederic Fekkai can be found working his magic whenever he visits Europe, and alongside, is the CND Nail Lab for luxe manis and pedis. There’s also a men’s barber, creative body art studio, SumanBrows, make-up salon, IV infusion lounge and treatment rooms offering a full range of facials, including medi-facials.
After browsing the ground floor open plan retail space, which stocks a curated range of classic and niche skincare brands, you can finish your visit with a delicious healthy meal at FlavoUR restaurant.