In bed with Brad

IT'S a hard life when the biggest decisions to be made are whether to rip open the Maltesers or popcorn, order a champagne or vodka-based cocktail and curl up in bed with Brad Pitt or Leonardo Di Caprio.

And to think I'd come to London's Berkeley hotel for a bit of R&R (if you don't know that means rest and relaxation, then you definitely need some).

With my twin sister Yvonne in tandem, we checked in to the five-star Knightsbridge hotel for its new Girls' Night In package. Available on Friday and Saturday nights only, it is a passport to pampering paradise.

On arrival, you are whisked to your luxury room, which will be your playground for the next 24 hours.

A mini-manicure can be carried out in your room while you sip a cocktail straight from the hotel's celebrated Blue Bar, reputedly Madonna's favourite watering hole in the capital.

Next, a hamper of goodies is delivered to your room, crammed with enough sugary treats to stock a tuck-shop: popcorn, chocolate and sweeties. Also packed in there is a bag of body products from top brand Bliss, an aroma candle from the Diptyque range, and a CD - to help get the pampering party started.

A pink top hat (yes, really) full of 'chick-flick' DVDs is just a phone-call away. And if you can't face watching Titanic or Love Actually again, you can switch on the hotel's in-house entertainment system to catch one of a host of recent movies.

Although it is not obligatory - but definitely recommended - you can leave your hotel room to visit the spa on the seventh floor, which hosts a sauna, steam room and quaint roof-top pool with sun room. A range of massage and other treatments can be booked in advance for an extra charge.

Keen to wear our white fluffy bathrobes and matching slippers, we opted to have our manicures at the spa and follow this with a swim and steam.

In the treatment room, another tricky task beckoned. I had to chose a nail varnish from a range of more than 100, all by Christian Dior. It must have taken me about ten minutes to select my favourite - and by that time, the chatty beautician had filed and buffed my fingernails, ready for painting.

Next I re-joined my sister by the open-air pool, where we sipped herbal tea and enjoyed unrivalled views over Hyde Park.

Nails dry, we enjoyed a 15-minute swim in the small, but ample, pool, then retired to the steam room for a well-deserved rest.

Back in the room, it was definitely time to try out the hotel's whale of a bath - and all those beauty products from the hamper.

While it filled, I ordered up our cocktails from the Blue Bar, lit my Freesia-scented candle and found some bath-time reading: the room-service menu.

Being the Berkeley, dining and drinking ain't cheap. Helping yourself to a Jack Daniels with coke from the mini bar would set you back close to £12, while a half-bottle of champers is £23.50. A fish dinner, featuring Dover sole, is £32, although you can order a pizza for under a tenner or a pasta for £14.

But it is the Berkeley, and you are having the poshest pyjama party ever, so why not indulge yourself and live like a pop star for the night?

In fact, you are positively encouraged to act like a Prima Donna (or should that be Madonna?).

A note in your room reminds you to keep the staff at your beck and call.

"Your selection of Ben & Jerry's ice cream is available from room service, Simply call and say 'This is a Girls' Night In and we'd like our ice cream'."

Ditto for cocktails, DVDs, and any other thing you need to keep your Girls' Night In on track.

We did just that and settled down, snug in our fluffy robes and Princess-like on our superking-sized bed, to stuff our face with Butterkiss and enjoy the company of Brad Pitt for a few hours. Well, Troy, was one of the films on offer and what girl would kick Brad out of bed?

Fact file:

The Girls Night In at the Berkeley costs £295 for the entire package. For more information, telephone 020 7235 6000; visit the website: www.the-berkeley.com, or email info@the-berkeley.co.uk

Maxine travelled to London with GNER. For train times and ticket prices visit the website: www.gner.co.uk

Updated: 08:43 Saturday, September 11, 2004