The Dover Street Arts Club unveils new Lanserhof spa

It is an unlikely coupling: one is a louche Mayfair private members’ club famed for its bars and nightclub, the other an austere Alpine health retreat best known for its strict regime of “intestinal cleansing”.

But today The Arts Club in Dover Street — where Simon Cowell is a member and guests have included Beyoncé, Prince Harry and Lily James — is unveiling a tie-up with the Lanserhof group of spas in the Austrian company’s first foray into London. It will open a “medical gym” in the former Dover Street Market building opposite the 155-year-old club.

The facility will provide access to a team of doctors and specialists versed in the theories developed by Austrian physician Franz Xaver Mayr around 100 years ago. Visitors to the Lanserhof retreats in the Austrian and Bavarian Alps — “the spas where billionaires and Hollywood royalty go to detox” — have included Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and models Cara and Poppy Delevingne.

Treatments are inspired by Dr Mayr’s “gut detox” teachings, which include being made to chew every mouthful of food at least 30 times, pre-dawn stretching exercises in the forest and a dose of purging epsom salts before breakfast.

Lanserhof at The Arts Club will not be a residential centre but the same teachings will underpin its treatments. A club spokesman said: “The specialists at Lanserhof will be able detect potential illnesses before they even become an issue. It’s all about healing and prevention and helping people extend the quality and length of their lives.”

As well as consulting and treatment rooms, Lanserhof at The Arts Club will have cryotherapy chambers — where users are briefly exposed to temperatures as low as minus 90C — a gym and studios for classes. The facility is expected to be open towards the end of this year. Members of The Arts Club can pay an extra fee to join Lanserhof at The Arts Club or a separate membership is an option. Prices are yet to be set.

Alice Chadwyck-Healey, executive director of The Arts Club, said members had been asking for a health and fitness facility in the London club and that the Dover Street Market site was the perfect location to open in partnership with Lanserhof.

Dr Christian Harisch, chief executive of the Lanserhof group, said the medical spa was looking forward to bringing its “world-class knowledge to London”.