Why I Went to Berlin—Yes, Berlin—For a Wellness Break

In my mind, Berlin has always been synonymous with partying. It’s the kind of city whose nocturnal world feels repeatedly discoverable no matter how many times you go—like you might turn a corner, follow a neon light, and end up having the most transcendent night of your life. That’s why, as we do once a year, my partner and I had booked to go to Berlin for a week of after-dark exploits in the spring. Shake off the winter! But as the date of our getaway approached, I was scheduled for a small surgery which took clubbing quickly off the cards. We were on the brink of canceling our trip, until we set ourselves the challenge of discovering a different side of Berlin: one of rest and relaxation. Words I have never associated with the city famed for the best nightlife in the world. 

Instead, our word of the week became convalescence, and the mood board for this trip was less wearing Rick Owens at a defunct power station, and more glamorous Golden Age movie stars post-facelift peeking through expensive curtains as a ray of sunlight blazes into their suite. This was the kind of wellness we were looking for—one which aided actual recovery. Not one of less, but one of more.

We began with three days in Grunewald—a leafy area on the outskirts of the city we’d never been to that felt more like a picturesque German suburb than the Berlin I’ve always known. On the recommendation of a friend, who explained that this would be the perfect area to start the week of recovery, we booked a stay at the Schlosshotel by Patrick Hellmann. Tucked away among leafy, residential streets the hotel, which was built in 1911, felt more like the villa of a very close family friend (if only!) who invited you to stay on their grounds while they were away for the summer. 

It helped that we arrived on the first sunny day of the year. Upon entry, the Schlosshotel is grand: high, coffered ceilings, a crisp white breakfast room bathed in light, and a rich mahogany-lined ballroom where we were seated for dinner. As we paced around the grounds and the neighboring Grunewald forest, it felt like we were both in the city and far away from it. There was everything we needed to relax: plenty of space to walk, enormous cloud-like beds on which to sleep, and a sprawling spa complex and pool all within the hotel’s grounds.