Akasha at Hotel Cafe Royal
Piccadilly's Hidden 18,000sqft Sanctuary
Editor’s Take
The hammam ritual is the signature experience — book it on your first visit. The pool is best early morning when it is nearly empty. Ask about the limited membership; it is expensive but the space-to-member ratio is extraordinary. Hotel guests should block a full afternoon for the facilities.
About
Akasha occupies 18,000 square feet beneath the Hotel Cafe Royal on Regent Street — one of London's most storied addresses, which has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill to David Bowie. The wellness sanctuary is built on a scale that most London clubs cannot match: an 18-metre swimming pool, a traditional hammam, sauna, jacuzzi, a fully equipped gym, and a comprehensive spa offering treatments that range from deep tissue to holistic energy work. The hammam is the standout. Modelled on traditional Turkish bathing rituals, it provides a heated marble experience that most London spas approximate but few deliver authentically. Combined with the sauna and jacuzzi, the thermal circuit offers genuine variety — you can spend hours cycling between different temperatures and modalities without repeating yourself. The pool is long enough for proper swimming, not just decorative wading, and the gym is equipped for serious training despite its spa-adjacent location. The membership is deliberately limited. Akasha does not want to be a busy gym — it wants to be a private sanctuary where members feel the space is genuinely theirs. The Hotel Cafe Royal setting adds a layer of heritage and grandeur that purpose-built wellness clubs cannot replicate: the architecture, the service standards, the sense that you are accessing something with history. For non-members, hotel guests receive access, making it one of the best reasons to book a stay at the Cafe Royal. Akasha proves that the best new wellness spaces are sometimes hidden beneath the oldest buildings.
Treatments & Services
Signature: Hammam ritual
Highlights
- ✓18,000sqft wellness sanctuary
- ✓18-metre swimming pool
- ✓Hammam, sauna, and jacuzzi
- ✓Full gym and spa
- ✓Limited exclusive memberships at Hotel Cafe Royal
Best For
Luxury wellness seekers, hotel guests wanting best-in-class facilities, swimmers, and those who appreciate heritage settings for their wellness rituals
Contact & Info
Address
Hotel Cafe Royal, 68 Regent Street, London W1B 4DY
Hours
Mon–Sun 6:30 AM – 10:00 PM (hours may vary for non-hotel guests)
Languages
English
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