Q! Spa at Hotel Q! Berlin

A design hotel between Kurfürstendamm and Savignyplatz

The Hotel Q! sits at Knesebeckstrasse 67 in Charlottenburg, between Kurfürstendamm and Savignyplatz and therefore in one of the densest quarters of the City West. Uhlandstrasse and Kurfürstendamm stations are a few minutes away, as is Savignyplatz. In neighbouring Fasanenstrasse stand the Literaturhaus and the Käthe Kollwitz Museum, and the Theater des Westens is not far either. The house was designed by the Berlin practice GRAFT and completed in 2004 across some three thousand two hundred square metres. It is conceived as a single work, with flowing lines, organic forms and natural materials. Its defining motif is a set of tub-like elements sunk into the floor in the middle of the room, meant to recall hot springs. In all the house counts 77 rooms and suites, among them four studios and a penthouse. The Q! Spa picks up that design language and stays deliberately small rather than simulating a large wellness floor.

Sand room, Japanese washing and a head spa line

The Q! Spa describes itself on its own pages as the small but exquisite wellness area, and that is exactly how it is cut. The centrepiece is a heated sand room modelled on a South Seas beach, intended as a private beach in the middle of the city. Beside it lie a Finnish sauna at ninety degrees and, directly attached, a steam bath. Unusual is a Japanese washing area where traditional washings with essential oils take place. The quiet area combines modern design with an Asian atmosphere, and for movement there is a compact section with a cardio bike, a rowing machine, adjustable dumbbells, a pull-up bar and yoga mats. There is no pool, which is consistent for a house of this size. Massages cost a flat 99 euros over sixty minutes, with a fuller version over ninety minutes at 145 euros. The head spa line is the real speciality, running from a calming scalp treatment to a premium version with facial and foot massage. The menu expressly names purely natural ingredients.