At Your Service
The most luxurious hotels in New York and Paris are opening over-the-top spas to match, like the Guerlain Spa at the Waldorf Astoria (above).
NEW YORK:SENSE SPA THE CARLYLE Roger Federer has his own suite (there’s a plaque on the door, room 1601); the Cruises were recently in residence; Eartha Kitt was a frequent guest. And now, with the addition of Sense Spa, the Upper East Side’s chicest address (who doesn’t stay there?), just got chicer. Echoing the hotel’s Art Deco roots, the space is all black-and-white lacquered walls and crystal chandeliers. Upstairs there is a Pilates and yoga studio, and cutter Yves Durif (who tended to Carla Bruni while she was in town this past summer) holds court in a jewel-box salon. A platinum-tiled, barrel-vaulted staircase leads down to the four treatment rooms: In one there is a Carrera marble multi-sensory steam shower in which the jets are syncopated with music from iPods (loaded with Café Carlyle classics—think Bobby Short and Mme. Kitt); in another, the plush massage bed has a pedicure tub built in it, for paraffin pedis en repose. Signatures like the two-hour Le Soin Sisleya Anti-Age facial are powered by Sisley’s suitably luxe skin care. 35 East 76 Street, New York, NY. Tel. 212-660-7560. Treatments from $195.
GUERLAIN THE WALDORF ASTORIASeventeen floors above Park Avenue sits Guerlain’s tribute to over-the-top glamour: 14,000-square feet of Calacatta Luna marble floors, Bisazza tile corridors covered in icy, silver-and-white mosaics of lush winter flowers, and tangled crystal chandeliers that look like they were crafted by jeweler Tom Binns. The 16 treatment rooms—all with banks of windows—are the size of studio apartments; the Vichy “wet room” is appropriately decorated with Philippe Starcke’s clear Lucite table and chairs. Classic Guerlain scents like Eau Impériale (commissioned in TKyear by Napoleon III) are incorporated into the massage oils, and the facials, fueled by Guerlain staples like the Orchidée Impériale serum and cream, are divine (ask for head aesthetician Maria TK-name). 301 Park Avenue, New York, NY. Tel. 212-872-7200.
SHIBUI THE GREENWICH Robert de Niro must know a thing or two about relaxing because he has gone to extraordinary lengths to create one of the city’s most unique and promising new spas in his eight-month-old Tribeca hotel, The Greenwich. Shibui—Japanese for “a subtle and unobtrusive approach”—boasts four distinct treatment rooms: In the Japanese Room, for example, services are performed “the geisha way,” on tatami mats and in a black stone soaking tub, where ritual mud baths are on order; the Shiatsu Room is equipped with two wooden bars in the ceiling—which resident guru Thuyen Ngueng hangs from while he gingerly tip-toes on his clients’ backs. Standout treatments include Sake Ki, massage incorporating Kiko compression and hot towels soaked in sake, and the Watsumi Algae wrap, which nourishes skin with rare, fluorescent-green algae. DeNiro’s own trainer, Dan Harvey, runs the bright, 1,000-square-foot gym. And then there’s the pool—framed by beams from a 250-year-old Kyoto farmhouse. The bad news: It’s only open to hotel guests. For now. 377 Greenwich Street, New York, NY. Tel. 212-941-8900.
Treatments from $110.
CAUDALIE THE PLAZA Spa goers who’ve had enough green tea and water-with-cucumber-slice are in luck: Mathilde and Bertrand Thomas, the owners of Caudalie, have installed a full service wine bar (dress code: terry robes) in their spa at the recently reborn Plaza Hotel. After all, the magic in Caudalie’s cult skin care comes from patented grape polyphenols and resveratrol from Château Smith Haut Lafitte, the family vineyard in Bordeaux. Caudalie was the first to conceive of vinotherapy, and the antioxidant grape seed-, leaf-, and vine-based treatments are alive and well with their Merlot Wrap, Cabernet Scrub, and Wine Maker’s Massage. The VIP room boasts its own barrel bath—bubbling with vine extracts. 1 West 58 Street, New York, NY. Tel. 212-265-3182. Treatments from $45.
PARIS: SPA VALMONT THE MEURICE Directly across from the Tuileries and in-between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, the 173-year-old hôtel Meurice is one of Paris’ most bustling spots. But thanks to its newly christened Spa Valmont, it may now be one the French capital’s most private hideaways, too. It’s easy to feel pampered when there are just three treatment rooms—Naomi Campbell, Salma Hayek, and Beyoncé have all been in for a visit—not to mention a marble Jacuzzi, hammam, and a sun-splashed garden perfect for having a light lunch, or letting your toes dry. Deluxe facials like the Glacier Regenerating Vitality Treatment star products from Valmont, the Swiss line known for its use of mineral-rich glacial water. And when you’re all done and its time to hit nearby Place Vendôme, there is a By Terry makeup artist on stand-by. 228, rue de Rivoli, Paris. Tel. 33 1 44 58 10 10. Treatments from €90.
DIOR INSTITUT PLAZA ATHENEE In 1946, Christian Dior moved his atelier to the avenue Montaigne so he could be closer to the Plaza Athénée and its glamorous clientele. With Dior’s gleaming new institut, focused on results-oriented skin care—it’s not just a spa, they insist—the love affair continues. With its quilted walls, caning details, and mauve-white-and-gray color scheme, the space looks like Dior packaging come to life. All treatments start with a massage designed to align the spine (posture is just as important as good skin at Dior); the L’Or de Vie facial uses an entire jar of the house’s star skin cream, infused with cell-renewing antioxidants harvested from the shoots of vines at Bernard Arnaud’s winery, Château d’Yquem. 25, avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris. Tel. 33 1 53 67 65 35. Treatments from €120.
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