We’ve Worked Out a Way to Hang Out at Ireland’s Most Luxurious Gym and Health Club
EDEN ONE HAS TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED …
by SARAH HALLIWELL -13/03/2020
NB: ANY PRICES QUOTED IN PRESS ARTICLES WERE CORRECT AT TIME OF PUBLICATION. CURRENT PRICING AND SERVICES MAY VARY.
Ballsbridge’s €12m member’s club, Eden One spa and gym, opened for six weeks at the beginning of 2020, only to have to close due to restrictions. It’s now open again, with the moniker “Ireland’s most expensive gym” – and we were curious to see what this money gets you. How good can a gym be? And since this year hasn’t been great for anyone’s waistline, is a mighty investment in getting fit worth considering? …
Eden One’s setting is subterranean – you enter via a street-level concierge desk and descend into a different, far plusher world, where everyone is smiley and healthy and toned. Everything is filtered, from the air to the drinking water – there are no impurities here. There’s ambient music everywhere and the design is textural and tactile, from the smoothness of the green marble bar in the sleek lounge to smoothed wooden staircases. Most notably, for the time that’s in it, concerns about distancing and safety are dissipated here – the place is so big that you just don’t come into contact with people, and numbers are carefully controlled to reinforce this. If you want to continue working out safely at the moment, this is a key consideration.
Personally, I’m not a huge gym fan: I’d rather swim in the sea, or walk the pier in old jeans than brave a sweaty weights room or a class full of people watching themselves in the mirror. But I can see the appeal here. The machines are state of the art, naturally (Technogym ARTIS Strength and Cardio equipment, for those who know about this stuff), more than 80 classes a week and rooms with space-age lighting for high-energy classes through to peaceful spaces for yoga.
Everything here is heightened. In the spa, the range of hot and cold experiences is second to none (superior to several five-star spas I’ve visited), with experiences themed by Fire, Water and Ice, including saunas, steam room, dry salt room and rain showers. The thermal pool jets are more powerful than any you’ve ever experienced, and will properly pummel your tired shoulders. There’s even snow falling from the ceiling – a special snow shower feature. Only in a Michelin-star level spa. Again, a huge appeal is the sheer scale – I’ve never seen such a capacious sauna (overlooking the pool). The pool isn’t massive – maybe six long strokes long – but big enough for a decent swim.
Standout features include a strip of “fire” down the middle of the pool; a smart bar/lounge serving delicious healthy food from porridge to acai bowls (though beware smug members plugged into their phones being showily important). I had a pang over the utterly beautiful changing rooms, all white marble and elegant lighting and a black Dyson at every mirror. It will be hard to return to the hair-clogged showers and grotty lockers elsewhere (one changing room I know has a grim sign beseeching: “Please refrain from using hairdryers on body hair”). And who doesn’t love a gym that serves excellent coffee and has an award-winning cocktail maker at the bar? I mean, priorities.
Honestly, I was sceptical that the treatments would live up to the luxe billing – fancy surroundings don’t always guarantee the best, and I’ve found brilliant treatments in the most humble settings (the best masseur I know has a room in an office block in Dun Laoghaire). Here, I had a massage and facial with Yuka, who has previously worked at five-star hotels including The Merrion. You know instantly when you’re in expert hands; there’s no need to tell her where your aches and pains or tensions are as she will find them immediately. The Japanese shiatsu massage will transport you and eliminate every spot of tension and tightness in your body. And that night you’ll sleep better than you ever thought possible. It was a superlative treatment, and I don’t say that often. Even the music isn’t annoying – more on the atmospheric side, with waves washing over you. Manager Harry Murray tells me they have lots of repeat visits for treatments and after this I’m not at all surprised – I will definitely return, for Yuka’s massage skills alone. The spa range includes Spanish brand Natura Bissé, who are currently providing free massages for workers from care homes in Ireland (and elsewhere).
The staff are universally lovely, warm and friendly and not intimidating even if your Lycra is a long way off Lululemon; Harry, Debbie and their team are impeccable, really warm and professional. It feels like being a star guest in a five-star hotel, rather than (as is often the case) being made to feel lucky they let you in. Many of us will still feel self-conscious here – everyone is so toned! And groomed! Also, if I joined, I’d be having no social life or indeed seeing my children as I’d be practically living there to get my money’s worth (and who wants to breathe the polluted air of the real world outside anyway?).
Ok, the cost. Off-peak membership (9am-4pm weekdays) starts from €150 per month at the moment (current discounted rates) or weekends only from €120 a month (and you can set this rate for two years). Full membership is closer to €200 a month. Only a select few can pay this kind of money, so you might think it’s a non-starter. But Eden One is not entirely beyond reach. I hadn’t realised that you can visit for just a single treatment, or else for a spa day. A day visit would make a fantastic gift, particularly at the moment. A day submerged in this subterranean parallel universe of glowing health is as good as a spa break away, minus the car journey. Book a 30 or 60-minute treatment (from €75) and pay an extra €55 for spa access; or book a 90-minute treatment (from €155) for which also includes full spa access. For €220 you can have a personal training session and fitness analysis, one-hour massage, lunch and full access to the spa facilities. On a rainy autumn day, Eden One is a haven close to home.
NB: ANY PRICES QUOTED IN PRESS ARTICLES WERE CORRECT AT TIME OF PUBLICATION. CURRENT PRICING AND SERVICES MAY VARY.
