When a place is called the city that never sleeps, that’s a good indicator that people there might need to focus on their wellness needs every once in a while. Luckily, New York City has some incredible spas offering relaxing and restorative therapies amid plush settings, whether you’re just visiting or a resident New Yorker. Like little oases dotted around the city, these elegant boutique retreats represent some of Manhattan’s best spas. It’s time to pamper yourself!
Hotel Chelsea Spa (Chelsea)
As the former home to gritty rock and rollers and artists, Hotel Chelsea has slowly been reinventing itself since reopening under new owners. The charming spa recently opened on the top floor. Entering transports you to the English countryside: Light streams in from skylights, a brick terrace with English garden-style furnishings and plantings beckons, and the an old brick fireplace is in the lounge. Treatment rooms boast incredible city views, with marble foot-washing stations by the window. Treatments include craniosacral and polarity therapies in addition to massages and facials.
Shibui Spa at the Greenwich Hotel (Tribeca)
Shibui Spa’s design, philosophy, and technique all pull from Japan, and you’ll quickly forget you’re in NYC. You can enjoy treatments like shiatsu performed on a tatami mat, onsen bathing rituals, and ashiatsu, where a therapist uses wooden bars above the massage table to deliver deep pressure via their feet and body weight. Arrive early to use the lantern-lit indoor pool surrounded by a 250-year-old wood and bamboo Japanese farmhouse.
Spa Diane Barriere at Fouquet’s New York (Tribeca)
This marble-clad sanctuary inside is anchored by a wet room with a sauna, steam room, and large heated hydropool with features like a bubble chair, jets, and fountains. The five treatment rooms host Biologique Recherche and Les Huilettes facials and body treatments, including the Spa Diana Barierre Signature Body Massage that combines lymphatic drainage, trigger point, and Swedish techniques.
Sage + Sound (Upper East Side)
A 5,000-square-foot haven on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, this mindfulness oasis offers group meditation, breathwork, and sound bath experiences in a chic and comforting pillow- and plant-filled studio, as well as personal services including facials, lymphatic massages, acupuncture, and energy healing like reiki. There’s also a non-toxic nail salon and a healthy market and café attached to the spa.
THE WELL (Union Square)
The 13,000-square-foot facilities of THE WELL include steam rooms, dry and infrared saunas, and cold plunges; a beautiful meditation dome; and relaxation areas where you can get a foot rub or IV drip. Their East-meets-West offerings include acupuncture and vibrational healing, and their integrated medicine health coaches guide your personalized wellness journey. Three studios host classes like yoga and barre, plus there’s a café and well-stocked shop.
Bathhouse Flatiron (Flatiron)
The original Bathhouse in Williamsburg quickly outgrew its small space and often feels crowded. The new 35,000-square-foot Flatiron location allows more New Yorkers to enjoy the sleek facilities of this modern bath house. There are multiple pools in various temps, two large saunas (try to experience a traditional aufguss rituals), and a steam room, plus a sizeable treatment area where you can get scrubs and massages. Best of all, they’re open until midnight.
Naturopathica at Nexus Club New York (Chelsea)
Naturopathica has a standalone location in Chelsea (and East Hampton, the original), but the newest one inside the private Nexus Club is chic and luxurious. Although Nexus Club is private, anyone can book a treatment and enjoy the facilities that include a sauna and steam room. Known for their facials, the signature Defy Facial combines their classic botanical ingredients like manuka honey and celdendula with a bit of technology via HydraFacial.
Aire Ancient Baths (Tribeca)
One of the most romantic places in NYC, this Roman-inspired bath house is located inside an expansive old textile factory. The European import transformed the lower level into a softly lit space dotted with lanterns and candles that’s home to various hot and cold baths, as well as saltwater float pool. Private treatment rooms line the edges. And good news: an Upper East Side location opens this spring.
Casa Cipriani Spa (FiDi)
Inside one of the city’s most exclusive membership houses, Casa Cipriani Spa is as luxe as it gets. Nestled within the waterfront’s Battery Maritime Building, the spa’s minimalist décor features blond wood and gold accents. There’s a range of massages, facials, and scrubs, plus Eastern-inspired therapies like reiki and acupuncture. In wintertime, the Body Detox with Scrub will rejuvenate dry and tired skin with healing salts, aloe, shea butter, and plant extracts.
Spa de La Mer at Baccarat Hotel New York (Midtown West)
The crystal-filled Baccarat Hotel is home to the country’s sole dedicated La Mer spa. The intimate, marble-clad is where you can luxuriate in facials including the Baccarat Red Carpet Facial, the Miracle Broth Facial, and the signature La Mer Baccarat Facial. Massages use techniques like Swedish, four hands, aromatherapy, and deep tissue. The adjacent indoor pool is one of the city’s most beautiful.
