by Chrissy Iley
I have spent a lot of my life undervaluing the importance of sleep and now I’m plagued by constant jet lag. I never have enough of it.
When I head about The Sumptuous Sleep Retreat at the Corinthia Hotel I was bordering on the desperate to try it.
It had been a week of not sleeping before 5am. The idea of sleep and luxury: totally unmissable.
The Corinthia have developed their programme with medically trained experts and nutritionists. Nutritionist Jeanette Hyde designed a sleep menu along with the glorious hotel chef Garry Hollihead. Sleep advice comes from psychologist Dr Guy Meadows and the experts are available for consultations.
I have visited the Corinthia for various celebrity interviews. Hung out in a suite with Stevie Nicks, Nancy Dell’Olio and various others. This time Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt were in the hotel while I was sleeping.
The bedrooms are so luxurious and inviting and also incredibly functional. Who wouldn’t want a bubble bath with a TV at the end of it? And not to waste energy trying to find things in a cramped closet. The Corinthia is all about the walk-in.
The Sleep Retreat comes with wonderful treatments at the Espa Life, the amazing spa within the hotel. It is a six star hotel with top hair stylists and manicurists on hand as well. The spa is all about that extra star.
The treatment rooms are all circular because it is more positive energy. First off you get a light lunch from the sleep menu in the lounge and then you could opt for a 120 sleep ritual massage. Or in my case 120 minutes of snore ritual. Almost from the minute I was touched on my stomach and thigh – you lie on your back first – I was unwound into snore zone.
Then you can steam and sauna and unwind into one of the hotel’s famous sleep pods: your own little haven of quiet and comfort.
The sleep menu for dinner had a delicious spinach and roast garlic soup with amazing textures and flavours. Other options were warm asparagus with orange hollandaise, roasted sunflower seeds and golden berries. Or Loch Var smoked salmon with baby spinach and walnut dressing.
For the mains you can get a turkey burger with Beenleigh blue cheese and baby spinach. Or poached duck eggs with fondant potatoes, wild mushrooms and new season garlic, or roast hake with spring onion risotto and curried volute. Or a Goosnargh chicken Caesar salad which came with the crunchiest lettuce and the tastiest most succulent most juicy of chicken breast. All of it gorgeous and made with sleep inducing ingredients.
I had the dessert of malted milk panna cotta with ice cream and caramelised bananas. I was already so tired I had it delivered to my room where I followed it with valerian tea.
A breakfast of a blueberry protein shake with flax seeds, almonds and Brazil nuts was delivered to my room along with some Bircher muesli and ginger tea.
That afternoon I had an ancient Indian Shirodhara treatment at Espa Life. I had no idea what this was. I could have had a personalised osteopathy consultation or acupuncture session but I thought I would try something I’m unlikely to get anywhere else.
First of all your feet are bathed and lightly massaged and then warm oil is dripped on to your forehead slowly and painstakingly. As it drips you drift off and then comes the most wonderful head massage which lifts you into the clouds.
That night my terrible insomnia reversed. I slept soundly and peacefully at last. I felt like I’d been on holiday for two weeks but hadn’t suffered any of the stress of airports, flight or travel.
The Corinthia is filled with innovative luxury. Garry Hollihead’s restaurant Northall is exquisitely delicious. The spa is the best in London.
Apparently Julie Andrews was staying there art the same time as me. I wondered if I would bump into her or hear her singing ‘These are a few of my favourite things…’. Certainly the Corinthia is one of my favourite things. Purveyor of gorgeous food, incredible spa treatments and sublime luxury. The Corinthia gave me what no other hotel has ever done – sleep.
The Corinthia Hotel, 1 Whitehall Pl, London SW1A, 020 7930 8181.