Disclosure
Jade Peak writes about places, experiences, and the people behind them, so hotels, operators, and companies come up often. We have no financial relationship with any entity named in this article. If that ever changes, we'll say so plainly, right here at the top.
The Self Love Lab
Zehra Ibrahim calls herself the Head Scientist, and the framing holds. She built The Self Love Lab as a living experiment in 360-degree wellbeing, where the physical, emotional and mental sides finally meet at the same point. Everything leads to something, and that something is community.
What happens: cacao ceremonies, sound baths, Pilates with a twist, painting and breathwork. Sound healing here means Tibetan bowls and gongs that you feel in your body—this isn't background music. This isn't a trendy thing; it's a comforting one, so bring comfortable clothes.
Two things make it unusual. Coming alone is the norm, not the exception. As the co-founder of Jade Peak and an independent female solo traveller myself, I really appreciated that. And there's no permanent address. The sessions rotate through spaces around London, each chosen individually, so check the location before you book. Any session can also be joined over Zoom.
The longer experience is their retreat. Their previous one took place in an adults-only hotel by the sea in Crete: morning movement on a boat, mindset workshops, sound healing, and afternoons deliberately left empty. Zehra co-leads it with movement teacher Emily Lisanti. The next retreat is planned for Bali in 2027.
Lie Down and Listen
You lie on a mattress. Someone plays Bach. That simple proposition has taken Christina McMaster's company into the Painted Hall at Greenwich, Highgrove House and Trinity College Dublin.
McMaster is a classical pianist and the founder, which explains the format. It isn't a concert you attend or a meditation class; it's a guided Tibetan bowl session with live classical music layered over it. We have to give special mention to the venues, because the room matters just as much as the programme. They carefully choose heritage spaces for both their acoustics and the feeling of lying beneath a four-hundred-year-old ceiling.
Sale e Pepe Terrazza
Sale e Pepe has been one of London's classic Italian restaurants for decades, but this summer it's doing something a little different. The team has opened a huge new terrace in the West End, transforming more than 5,000 square feet into an Italian-inspired outdoor space together with Unopiù.
The menu is exactly what you'd hope to eat outside on a warm evening: crispy calamari, truffle arancini, zucchini fritti, Italian cured meats and beautiful pizzas. Right in the middle sits a dedicated St-Germain Bar serving refreshing Aperol Shakeratos.
The terrace is designed for the kind of afternoon that turns into an aperitivo without anyone checking the time, just as people do around the Mediterranean. If you're visiting London this summer and fancy a long Italian lunch, or you're simply craving that Mediterranean feeling, this is for you. We should also mention that the terrace is available for private events.
Originally published at jadepeak.com.
