Wellness at The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin

A grand hotel on Potsdamer Platz in the Beisheim Center

The Ritz-Carlton sits at Potsdamer Platz 3, one of the few Berlin addresses where you step from the platform into a hotel lobby in a matter of moments: the suburban and underground station lies directly outside, with regional and long distance services as well. Around it stand the Sony Center, the arcades and the cinemas, the Tiergarten begins to the north and the Kulturforum with the Philharmonie and the Gemäldegalerie lies to the west. The house opened in 2004 as part of the Beisheim Center, whose overall design goes back to Hilmer & Sattler und Albrecht and which also involved David Chipperfield, Modersohn & Freiesleben and Bernd Albers. The architecture translates art deco into a restrained contemporary language with echoes of the nineteen twenties. Today the house counts 303 rooms and suites. In 2019 it was fully renovated for forty million euros, and the wellness area was part of that work. Rooms, suites and lobby were redesigned at the same time.

Indoor pool, two saunas and treatments made to measure

The wellness area at the Ritz-Carlton carries no brand name of its own, which suits its character: this is not a staged spa world but a solidly equipped floor for guests of the house. At its centre is a heated indoor pool that doubles as a lap pool, with towels provided. Two saunas follow, one of them Finnish, along with a steam bath, a hot stone area of its own and a generous quiet zone with changing rooms and lockers. The fitness centre is broadly stocked, with cardio machines, cross trainers, ergometers and treadmills as well as strength machines, free weights, benches and tools for skill and agility work. The treatments are delivered by an external spa specialist with a menu of her own, running from a classic aroma massage through deep tissue to a Lomi Lomi ritual. A bespoke massage starts at 160 euros and the ninety minute Lomi Lomi ritual costs 250 euros. Facials, body treatments and in-suite massages complete the list. No day rate for pure spa access is published.