Take A Synchronized Swimming Class London’s The Berkeley Hotel

Put on your flowered swim cap and get ready to practice those pirouettes, because London‘s The Berkeley hotel has announced a new synchronized swimming package that will surely bring out the competitor in us all.

Just in time for the Olympics, the hotel has partnered with Aquabatix, an award-winning synchronized swimming team. Aquabatix will host a weekly 90-minute master class during the months of July and August in the hotel’s open-air pool.

This unique mix of swimming and dance started in the 1920s and reached fame in the ’30s and ’40s, but is still practiced today.

Swimmers will learn several key skills including the “egg beater kick, a form of treading water that allows for stability and height above the water while leaving the hands free to perform strokes, as well as “sculling,” hand movements used to propel the body which are the most essential part to synchronized swimming. The session is completed with a choreographed routine with accompanying music.

We’re mostly interested in the chance to take in the pool, which boasts panoramic views of the city’s famous Hyde Park. And, at £125 per person, the price isn’t too bad either, considering the class also involves a show by the famed team. At the very least, it’s a lot healthier than lounging by the pool with a cocktail, which is what we’re normally wont to do.

London hotel gives guests an iPad during stay

You can buy an iPad for $499, or you can rent a suite at The Berkley in London for £1,850 (approximately $2,800 USD) and get to use an iPad during your stay.

Let’s break that down a bit:

One iPad at $499 to own and use whenever you want or
The use of an iPad for one night when you rent a suite in London for £1,850
£1,850 = approximately $2,800 (as of the date of this article)
$2,800 will buy you 5 iPads (plus tax and shipping, if necessary)

The draw here is that the iPad isn’t available in the UK until later this month, so the London hotel is tempting guests with the coveted iPad for use during their stay. The Berkley’s in-suite iPad will include a variety of games, videos and comics for children as well as downloads of several newspapers, ranging from Le Monde to the Wall Street Journal. The hotel iPad will also come complete with guided tours of London and plenty of Apple iPad applications to help guests plan their London itinerary.

You have to stay in a suite to get use of the iPad. Or, you can just buy your own iPad.