Review - Puro Beach Club and Hotel, Mallorca

Oh London Town. I have missed you.

After frivolously (and rather naughtily) deciding to take two back to back holidays, I have returned to you with a darker hue and a mournfully lighter bank balance.

After the glamour and pomp of New York and glitzy giddiness of Mallorca, I have bizarrely developed a sudden yearning for the simple pleasures of London. 

I want to joyfully frolic on Hampstead Heath with a borrowed dog, lazily lounge about on the top of Primrose Hill with good people and pie and sit all day in a beer garden where people applaud the brief appearance of the sun. 

You'll do!

This actually happened yesterday at a pub in Belsize Park. The sun came out for 8 seconds. Everyone cheered. Did this depress me? No. It made me happy. Because I am a true Londoner. It's how we roll.

In spite of all this patriotic malarky, I must say there are two places I visited during my travels that have etched themselves into my mind - Puro Beach Club and Puro Hotel and Spa in Mallorca.

My uber glamorous chum Anseh and I were invited to sample the delights of this ecclectic boutique hotel and trendy St Tropez-style beach club whilst we were holidaying on the scenic Spanish isle.

Our joyous day of luxury sun worship began on the achingly trendy yet tiny rooftop of Puro Hotel in Palma as we sipped zesty cocktails on a sun-drenched four poster bed adorned with billowing white linen curtains.

Model-esque Russian girls in designer sunglasses lounged about, flicking through fashion magazines and a pair of German couples chatted away in a slate grey hot tub behind us - probably reveling in tales of the previous evening's frivolities.

After plentiful girly chatter and taking a ludicrous number of photos (whilst being eyed suspiciously by the Jacuzzi-loving/hogging Germans) we went downstairs where a car was waiting to take us to Puro Beach - the hotel's cooler beach-side sister.




As our lovely driver, Vladimir dropped us outside the entrance and escorted us inside, we were in awe of the stylish beauty of this unique seaside gem.

The decor of the indoor seating area was elegant yet relaxed and led out onto a large azure swimming pool surrounded by mahogany sunbeds padded with crisp white upholstery amidst a bejeweled backdrop of dark, shimmering blue sea.

Ambient house music echoed from the many speakers dotted around and pristinely dressed waiters strutted down the catwalk-style walkway, offering relaxed sun-baskers free fruit juice in cups carved from bamboo sticks.

After a few hours of epic sun loungery we decided to sample the culinary wares of this divinely sun-drenched place. We were rather impressed by the flavorsome offerings which included an exquisite wagu beef carpaccio with rocket and porchini mushrooms and possibly the best chicken quesadillias I have ever had the pleasure of noming.

Do I?!!

After falling into a deep seaside slumber induced by a serious food coma, we woke to the sound of funky house and happy people. A few gloriously tanned models were mincing about, holding various poses for a photoshoot, excitable London girls inspected a golden Buddha swathed in jewels and a man dressed as a Buddhist monk perched himself by the pool, in what appeared to be a deep meditative state.

No beach club is complete without an orb holding Buddha

I felt an urge to ask questions but this quickly dissipated as my laziness took over before dozing off again to a trendy house rendition of Prince's When Doves Cry.

Later, as we watched the sunset, Cafe del Mar style, surrounded by new friends and exotic iced beverages, Anseh and I agreed that we had experienced the best day of our week-long holiday.

Rarrrr!

That evening we made our way to Puro Hotel in Palma, a restored 18th century palace, where we indulged in some much needed pampering in the stylish spa.

Conde Nast Traveller describes this stylish home from home as 'an intoxicating cocktail of modern Marrakech meets Miami meets South East Asia.' Intoxicating it certainly was....

Tastefuly decorated with both modern and ancient artworks, Puro Hotel looked like the ideal venue for a Vouge shoot.

The spa was quaint and minimalist in design with welcoming therapists ready to pummel and preen guests to their jet-setting heart's desire.

I opted for the Purifying Facial which deep cleansed and hydrated my sun-parched skin and left me with a gorgeous, dewy glow.

Anseh, being the tantalizingly hard-abbed, gym bunny that she is, chose the Classic Swedish Massage to relax and revive her weary muscles.

Bed time finally beckoned our weary selves to our luxurious, fashionably decorated suite for the night where we fell into a happy slumber and dreams of laughter, sunshine and bejeweled Buddhas.

purohotel.com

Dr Harry Kafetzidis - teeth whitening and mercury filling replacement

A beautiful smile is the epitome of beauty. We all know that slathering on expensive creams and curling/extending our locks is pointless if our smile is unsightly...and full of toxic metals that could potentially cause serious health problems...

After plentiful research into the molar mavericks of London, I came across celebrity dentist, Harry Kafetzidis, renowned for outstanding smile transformations of the stars.

Known in elite London circles as ‘The Smile Guru’, yoga loving Harry, with his endearingly chatty nature, is highly vocal about the dangers of amalgam (mercury) fillings - the subject of fervent debate recently.

Banned in numerous countries, fillings containing mercury have been linked to fatigue, depression, heart conditions and even Alzheimer's.

It can be debated that these risks are low, but why take such risks when a healthier (more aesthetically pleasing) alternative is available?

I suppose there is always the safer NHS option of gold fillings but as my very witty mummy expressed to me one day, 'if you die and they do a postmortem, they will see your mouth full of gold teeth and think you were a beaten up prostitute.'

This sounds less shocking in Persian. Trust me.

Recoiling from such disturbing discoveries, I booked an appointment at Harry's Harley Street clinic to replace an amalgam filling with a white composite - a combination of glass and plastic. Harry explained that this filling was an equally durable alternative...and a lot easier on the eye too.

My smile transformation was completed with a whitening treatment that I could carry out at home after Harry created a mould of my teeth which I could then fill with the whitening gel to use for an hour each day.

The result: Beautiful, white teeth after seven days...and the relief that my mouth was no longer a ticking time bomb.

Consultations with Harry can be booked at www.finedentistry.co.uk

Thank you Harry!