Harrods hosts BNC beauty afternoon

Harrods is a great British institution, surrounded by tradition, and because of that you would expect there to be many rules and regulations regarding events at its day spa, Urban Retreat. But that’s quite the opposite, as eight BNC members found out one fascinating June afternoon

It is no secret that everyone is out to look good these days. Face packs, fancy nails and foot scrubs are no longer the entitlement of ladies who leisure or those in the know. Everyone who’s anyone is signing up for gym and healthcare memberships and hours of delicious pampering at the hands of trained beauticians. Realisation has hit that if we look after our skin, our hair, our hands, our muscles, our feet and face we feel better and ultimately, we relax better, laugh more and return to work and the daily grind with a more positive outlook.

But beauty salons have come a long way since the age of the face pack, hair in curlers and cucumbers on the eyes scenario. Salons, or day spas as they are now known, are places of quiet relaxation where the senses are thoroughly stimulated and where you are treated to an overhaul from top to toe or can be made anew in  lickety-split time thanks to the ingenious idea of mini-makeovers for the pressurised executive.

City-based salons and day spas are on the increase and the epitome of those has to be the Urban Retreat day spa nestled nicely on floor five of her royal highness of all shops, Harrods. Enter via the separate door or wind your way through London’s greatest emporium and there a whole new experience awaits.

We had a BNC event there on 21^st June. Eight Club members were picked out of the hat from scores who had responded to the invitation which included a tour, a personal treatment, a parfumerie tour plus champagne and canapés.

The Harrods Urban Retreat events and marketing, team dressed in elegant black summer suits and dresses made us feel very welcome and looked like regular healthy, fresh young women, not like some of formidable mannequins you can find in some spas. Their hair was immaculate but in a natural, non coiffured way; their skin glowed and showed delicate hues of make-up; their nails shone.

They make up part of a team of 130 and those that we met had ready smiles and sat amongst us when giving a short and friendly overview of Harrods Urban Retreat’s corporate event capabilities, which included meetings and events in the comfort of the Black Crystal room, where we were seated.

The Black Crystal room is the finest chill-out room in existence. The air feels extra cool and quite superior and it is here that you can achieve total calm and focus – even on a busy, bustling hot London day. The décor and furniture is sleek, shiny and black with lines of shimmering crystals hanging elegantly, stepping up the glamour in a room that can be used for meeting, social events or as a pre-treatment waiting room, as we used it that day.

From here we each went off to our appointments. Those of us that had pedicures (many for the first time) found the beauticians very friendly and professional. Other had facials, manicures and those who had hair cuts (how lucky) had a new, fresh elegance about them. One even wrote in to The BNC to say afterwards, ‘At last, I’ve found a great hairdresser in London!’

When the pampering was complete we gathered for champagne and canapés in the exclusive Roja Dove Parfumerie. If the previous hour wasn’t enough, we are led into what seemed like a secret chamber of indulgence, this time for the sense of smell. In this room is wall to wall perfume paradise. For a women who knows her Givenchy from her Guerlain this will blow her mind.

Roja Dove, the world’s expert on scents, has created what seems like a vault of the finest perfumes ever produced and within this mirrored cave of treasures you can make your own scent, find discontinued favourites, buy personalised crystal bottles and more plus the room can be used exclusively for perfume presentations and special gatherings.

In fact, the whole spa is extremely flexible in what it offers groups. Harrods can keep open door number five open until 11pm and spa days can coincide with a Harrods fashion show or personal shopping consultations, to name just two possibilities.

Events can be tailored by product, such as Aveda, and there can be any atmosphere given to an event. A popular one is where guests can receive mini treatments and lots of advice on beauty and healthcare – a sort of holistic healthcare evening. ‘We can set the salon up differently,’ says Amanda Coveney, Business Manager. ‘We can have a hair station, a nutrition station, a make-over station and around those people can relax, network, and enjoy champagne and canapés.’

The whole floor can be hired, as well as the café and here, at this, the biggest day spa in Europe, anything is possible. ‘We will think of a way round to make it work,’ continues Amanda. ‘We really can take any budget and give your groups an amazing time. Bespoke events are what we are good at. Your groups can have anything from a just a facial to a complete top to toe and from wine and olives to Magnums of champagne or experience the Georgian Restaurant or choose smoothies from the organic café. You bring us your budget and we’ll give you a very memorable event.’