The Tamesis
Photo: Courtesy of Royal Mansour Collection
How is the atmosphere?
Simply put, this is one of the most stunning spa interiors I have ever seen in my life. Stepping through the small wooden doors of one of the hotel’s signature pink plaster buildings, I feel like I’ve entered Narnia: What opens before me is a soaring, three-story atrium, with natural light pouring in, giving the all-white space a divine, otherworldly glow. As I was offered a cup of mint tea and led to a lounge chair, the sound of gently flowing water from a nearby fountain and the scent of orange blossom and roses made the space feel almost comically idyllic. (As a friend who traveled with me observed—jokingly, but also not: “It gives heaven.”)
And that’s just the lobby: Head into the basement and you’ll find a state-of-the-art fitness center, as well as a nail salon helmed by pedicure guru Bastien Gonzalez, once described in the pages of this magazine as the world’s foremost “master of the art of the foot.” Upstairs is a private spa suite with its own hammam, plunge pool and sweeping views of the hotel’s palm-fringed estate, and a blissful relaxation area with cocoon-like pods complete with down comforters for napping. (Why don’t more spas let you do that?) But for me anyway, the crown jewel is the 22-metre indoor swimming pool, which sits beneath an elegant, Moorish arch-shaped orangery-style conservatory. The fact that you are only a few hundred meters away from the dust and shouts of the souk feels almost ridiculous.
Photo: Courtesy of Royal Mansour Collection
