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34 DAYSPA | NOVEMBER 2015 SPA HOPPING London Calling The U.K. capital's new spa playground might just leave the competition in its wake. By Lesley McCave A bracing, blustery walk across the River Thames in the pouring rain and howling wind wasn't quite what I'd had in mind when booking my London spa appointment months earlier, back in sunny SoCal. But I was running late, so I eschewed the Tube and fast-footed it across Waterloo Bridge, the quickest route to my destination. I was on my way to agua Bathhouse & Spa at the Mondrian London hotel, which opened in Sep- tember 2014. I couldn't wait to explore this recent addition to the capital's spa scene, and to see what the up-and-coming South Bank neighborhood had to offer these days. Even before I arrived, I knew I was in for a treat, having plotted my pampering using the spa's website, which described the facility as "A buzzing bathhouse under the waterline, where niche wellness brands and versatile therapies are as expert at treating true prima ballerinas as casual divas… This agua's got swagger. And you're invited to the party." I dove in. ON THE WATERFRONT Agua is part of the Mondrian hotel, located in Sea Containers House, a 16-story Brutalist-style building designed by American architect Warren Platner in the 1970s. The gigantic structure was envisioned as a lux- ury hotel, but when a global recession hit, those plans ground to a halt and the property was converted into offi ces for an international shipping company. That fi rm went bankrupt in 2006, and the building languished until 2011, when planning permission for extensive internal and external refurbishments was sought. Thanks to a collaboration between the Mondrian's parent company Morgans Hotel Group (MHG) and British interior design specialists Design Research Stu- dio, the complex's south wing has been transformed into a 360-room, luxury hotel. At the studio's helm is Tom Dixon, famed for his lighting, furniture and home accessories collections. This is the fi rst hotel he has lent his name to, and the fi rst Mondrian property in London. In other words, it's uncharted territory for both parties. PHOTOS COURTESY NIALL CLUTTON