Guests unwinding in the gilded splendour of the Corinthia Hotel in London would not generally expect to be asked if they wanted to have their heads examined.
Another glass of champagne, perhaps; an appointment in the Daniel Galvin hair salon, maybe; dinner in the deliciously opulent Massimo restaurant, absolutely.
But to these options, as of today, has been added a range of offerings designed specifically to enhance the workings of the brain. These include black-out blinds and sleep-inducing lavender sprays in the bedroom, mindfulness massages in the award-winning spa and a ‘Brain Power Menu’ featuring a range of dishes that in addition to being healthy – think raw kale salad with beetroot, green tea veal paillard with spinach and cognition-boosting coconut oil – actually get the mind moving more effectively.
The new offerings come courtesy of Dr Tara Swart, a trained doctor, psychiatrist, leadership coach and author who has this week taken up a year-long post at the Corinthia as 'neuroscientist in residence' – a global first in the hotel industry.
As a trained neuroscientist, Dr Swart has spent some years assisting extremely successful business leaders to make the most of their mental powers by devising for them relevant exercise, dietary and sleep programmes that quite literally have them firing on all cylinders – even if they have just flown half way around the world.
But the techniques she has developed and introduced into the core of the Corinthia will have far wider applications.
“The lifestyle patterns I am promoting are not just for business leaders,” she says. “They can be applied to how you lead your life much more broadly and how you are at home with your family. The aim is to help people maximise their potential both at work and at play.”
But where to start? At first it all seems a bit daunting. We should sleep more (for nearly all of us the ideal is between seven and nine hours a night); we should eat more healthily; we should exercise more; we should drink less alcohol; ditto caffeine; we should be more mindful.
Many of us have been trying to do one or more of the above for years (with varying degrees of success). What Dr Swart has done has brought them all together as part of a coherent package underpinned by the findings of neuroscience and with the overriding aim of helping us use our brains as well as we can.
Instead of trying to change our lives in one radical step, she suggests a piecemeal approach. “It is better to change 10 things by one per cent than one thing by 10 per cent,” she suggests.
And of course, everything should be voluntary. Guests at the Corinthia will still be able to enjoy that glass of champagne in the Bassoon Bar – but should they prefer they will be able to opt for one of the newly created non-alcoholic 'mocktails' that feature on the Brain Power Menu and dine on fat-rich avocado and salmon and magnesium-rich nuts and seeds. They will be also able to check into a room in which every aspect has been tailored to induce a better quality, more restful sleep, or sign up for a range of treatments in the spa specifically designed to stimulate both body and brain.
During the course of her residency, Dr Swart will also be giving a series of talks, holding one-to-one taster sessions with some of the hotels most highly valued VIP guests, offering specific advice on how to minimise the disruptive effects of travel and, perhaps most radically, she will be conducting an in-depth study of the mental resilience of 40 selected members of staff. At the end of the year she will be publishing the findings of her studies.
After years of hosting artists in residence, opera singers in residence and actors in residence, the appointment of a neuroscientist in residence at the London Corinthia represents a brave new departure within the hotel industry.
Is it an idea whose time has come? That’s a no-brainer.
The Brain Power Residential Package including an overnight stay in a Superior King Room, dinner and breakfast from the Brain Power Menu and a mindful Massage with Yoga Nidra costs from £618 per person. For non-guests, the Brain Power Day Spa Package including a two-hour Brain Power Ritual, costs from £280 per person. For more information and to book, see corinthia.com/london. For more information about Dr Tara Swart, see taraswart.com.
The Brain Power Residential Package including an overnight stay in a Superior King Room, dinner and breakfast from the Brain Power Menu and a mindful Massage with Yoga Nidra costs from £618 per person. For non-guests, the Brain Power Day Spa Package including a two-hour Brain Power Ritual, costs from £280 per person. For more information and to book, see corinthia.com/london. For more information about Dr Tara Swart, see taraswart.com.
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