The credentials:
I’ve been lucky to have been spoilt at some of the most luxurious spa hotels on the planet. Gorgeous Begawan Giri (now Como Shambhala Estate) on the emerald green terraces of Ubud in Bali; Ananda in the Himalayas, breathtakingly set in a former maharajah’s palace; and sumptuous Amangalla, in the Unesco World Heritage site of Galle Fort in Sri Lanka. Now I can add Barvikha Hotel and Spa near Moscow, part of the Leading Hotels of the World group, to my best luxury hotel memories.
We were collected at Moscow train station by our chauffeur, Lev, and whisked off in ‘Bentley’ (Barvikha’s staff refer to their swish guest car thus as if it’s a character—which, in a way, it is). Thirty minutes later, we reached the leafy suburb of Rublevo-Uspenskoe Shosse and pulled into Barvikha Luxury Village. Owned by two Jewish Russians with a background in high fashion, luxury cars and jewellery, Barvikha Luxury Village is a mall of high-end stores dedicated to Prada, Alexander McQueen, Chopard, Dolce & Gabbana, Tom Ford and so on, and car showrooms for Maserati and Ferrari.
At the end of the long drive is Barvikha Hotel & Spa, a superbly minimalist, modern set of buildings created by Italian designer and architect Antonio Citterio. While favouring earthy tones, natural stone and fine woods, Citterio has pulled off a delicate balance between a hotel as theatre-set piece and an intimate environment that wraps around you as soon as you arrive. The hotel has won awards for design and hospitality, including an award from Conde Nast Traveller.
Sleep:
I informed the hotel in advance that I would be on honeymoon during my stay. On entering the Lifestyle Spa Junior Suite they had allocated us, we saw that our kingsize bed (though it seemed more like a European superking—maybe everything is bigger in Russia) was strewn with red rose petals in a huge heart shape. Sweet. At 103 square metres, the Lifestyle Spa Junior suite was bigger than the average London two-bed flat, and had a definite luxury apartment feel. Sliding doors opened onto a 40 square metre terrace, with B&B Italia style furniture and bamboo screens for privacy.
The bathroom was the piece de resistance: walking from one end to the other was a workout in itself and it had a separate massage room for ex-spa treatments. The roomy shower room with bench also doubled up as a steam room. We enjoyed the 40-inch flatscreen plasma HDTV, Bang & Olufsen DVD/CD player, and climate control system with air ionisation (isn’t that just air conditioning?) and humidification. There was also a ‘pillow menu’—the anti-ageing pillow to keep your skin ‘hydrated and relaxed’ during sleep, and a special casing to reduce hair breakage, while the ‘men’s pillow’ promised ‘optimal support to prevent tension and headaches while stimulating oxygen flow during sleep’ (though why that would be a male preserve is beyond me).
Dine:
Barvikha’s A.V.E.N.U.E restaurant aims to offer haute cuisine a la Escoffier (care of its consultant chef, Frenchman David Desso), with dishes such as confit de canard and sole au vin blanc. However, more memorable was its traditional Russian fare such as borscht beetroot soup and blini pancakes. Also welcome was the Bio-light menu for health watchers, from which I ate a delicious—though miniscule—saffron risotto with sun-dried tomatoes and rocket salad. Also, amazing breakfasts (see below).
Who goes there?
Russians in the main, judging by the doctor at Barvikha’s Espace Vitalite Chenot Wellness Spa, who mostly only speaks Russian. However, Oxana, the delightful spa manager who oversees consultations, has a good command of English, and she told me Barvikha is attracting more guests from Britain, France and Italy, especially converts of the principles of Dr Henri Chenot, who directs Barvikha’s spa programme. Chenot runs the palatial Chenot Palace Merano in the Italian mountains, where his treatments are far more expensive than at Barvikha.
Out & about:
The hotel is set in the upscale Rublevo-Uspenskoe Shosse suburb, close to the Moskva River, which is great for riverside hikes. However, Russia doesn’t have public rights of way as we do here—around the cities land is generally privately owned estates and sites of dachas—so hiking opportunities are limited. But there are plenty of nearby attractions to visit, such as Arkhangelskoye Palace and Meyendorff Castle, three golf clubs, yacht clubs, a year-round ski resort and an ice rink.
The worst thing:
The location—Barvikha is five miles outside Moscow, and the traffic jams out of and into the city can be horrendous. But when you’re being chauffeured in ‘Bentley’ to and from the capital, and any other places you fancy, with in-car Wi-Fi, drinks and glossy magazines, who cares?
The best thing(s):
- The breakfast—a foodie paradise, featuring literally banks of top-quality comestibles: myriad tropical fruit, salmon and grains every which way, red salmon caviar, eggs and all the trimmings cooked to order, bespoke squeezed juices, plus interesting local dishes such as millet porridge.
- The five-star spa—at 2,000 square meters in size, the Espace Vitalite Chenot Wellness Spa is a World Luxury Spa awards winner. Designed around directives from Dr Henri Chenot, it has a swimming pool, saunas, steam rooms, hot and cold water plunge pools, a rain shower (very tropical!), beauty salons and gym.
We had 30-minute consultations with Dr Antonilla, who took a medical history then prescribed four treatments: a jet bath with relaxing and detoxing elixirs, an algae body pack, a stimulating spray-down with a power hose and finally a lymphatic drainage massage (approx £150 for the four). The spa offers three- and six-day recovery programmes (Chenot majors in detox, weight loss and rejuvenation). - The six-star service. Barvikha has won a tranche of gold stars for hospitality and we really felt the staff across the board fell over themselves to accommodate our every wish. Very happy honeymoon bunnies.
