There’s something utterly blissful about floating on a lilo. Sure, it helps that this pastime usually takes place beneath the sun on holiday, but you can’t beat that unique feeling of weightlessness as you slowly drift around the pool, carried by the natural ripples of the water. So it makes sense that this deeply relaxing experience is now being reimagined as a wellness treatment, known as floating sound therapy. Bucking the trend is five-star hotel Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, a sleek hotel in Hanover Square known for its spa. I was among the first to try the hotel’s newly launched experience, The Art Of Reset, created in partnership with Laura Dodd, founder of online yoga studio The Yoga Class.
Review: Floating Sound Therapy At Mandarin Oriental Mayfair
After battling through the crowds of Oxford Street, I arrived at the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair a little flustered, but a sense of calm washed over me as soon as I stepped inside the spa – set below street level, it feels like a real haven tucked away amid the chaos of central London.
The first question floating around the group was: what to wear? Would we be getting wet? What if we are lulled to sleep and fall into the water? But all worries were quickly quelled. My fellow sound bathers and I were assured we wouldn’t be entering the water during the experience, and instructed to wear whatever we felt most comfortable in – with fluffy gowns given to keep us all cosy, and eye masks to block out the world. It’s really warm in the pool area, so I’d recommend opting for something light under your gown like swimwear or shorts and a sports bra (I wore activewear and ended up wriggling out of the gown at the start of the experience).
The sound bath takes place on large mattress-type inflatable lilos in the hotel’s twinkling 25m pool – the longest in Mayfair, surrounded by starry lights which cast an atmospheric glow on the water. Another concern amid the group was getting onto the mattress without falling in, but thankfully a kind helper was on hand in the pool to make the transition smooth and ensure no splashing ruined the zen vibes.
After a short breathwork session to get us in the zone, we were treated to a dreamy 30 minutes of floating, soundtracked by crystal bowls, gongs and therapeutic instruments, guided by the soothing voice of the practitioner. All sound baths have a sort of enveloping effect, but being on the water added a new zero-gravity dimension, creating a cocoon-like, multi-sensory experience – you don’t just hear the sound, you physically feel it reverberate through your body.
I am generally not great at relaxing and always struggle to quieten my mind during holistic classes, but here I found myself drifting into that lovely liminal state between being awake and being asleep. For this reason, I can’t remember the specifics but I know we were taken on a meditative sound journey which combined ethereal chimes with high-frequency crystal bowls and powerful, reverberating gongs – all of which work to calm the parasympathetic nervous system. Since getting an Oura ring I’ve become increasingly aware of my stress levels and am constantly looking for ways to bring them down, and sure enough during the floating sound bath I shot down to ‘restored’ levels. In fact, my ring logged it as a nap, and congratulated me for reaching a state of calm after a hectic day.
If you do drift off, there’s no need to worry: multiple practitioners are there watching you all like a hawk to ensure maximum safety. There’s also someone in the water, maneuvering the lilos round so you aren’t crashing into one another, further allowing you to forget about everyone and everything around you. In fact, as I settled into the experience I felt like I was the only one there. Afterwards, as I drifted back out onto the streets of Mayfair, the whole thing felt a bit like a dream. But I felt noticeably calmer than I had when I’d arrived, and that night I slept like a baby.
What Are The Benefits?
A key benefit of floating sound baths is their ability to soothe the nervous system, says Dodd. ‘Water removes gravitational load from the body, and sound travels through it more efficiently than air, so the experience isn’t just heard, it’s felt. That’s what allows people to move into deep rest so quickly. Sound has a unique way of bypassing the thinking mind. In water, those vibrations are felt throughout the body, which allows tension and emotion to release.’
She adds that, in our high-stimulus world, floating sound baths offer something ‘genuinely restorative… they guide the brain and nervous system out of alertness and into slower states associated with deep rest, emotional processing, and better sleep.’
The science is there to prove it: plenty of studies have shown sound therapy can help with stress reduction, improving sleep and enhancing mental clarity – as well as offering a safe space to release emotions. Meanwhile, the weightlessness of floating allows the body to fully relax the muscles, while also lowering cortisol levels.
Where Can You Try It?
An emerging trend, we’re beginning to see floating sound therapy pop up at spas and hotels across the UK. As well as the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, floating sound therapy is offered at Beaverbrook in Surrey, where treatments run monthly in conjunction with the new moons, and Park Hyatt London River Thames, which has a couple coming up this February, led by The Self Love Lab. Look out for events at The Grove in Hertfordshire too, which recently hosted a floating sound bath with Float Studio.
BOOK IT
The Art Of Reset is available to book at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair for £90pp, upcoming dates include 28 February, 28 March, 26 April and 30 May 2026. mandarinoriental.com
