The five best spas in New York City

Five new spas in the heart of the Big Apple to pamper yourself and bring your body back to life.

This article was originally published on 10 October, 2023 by CEO magazine.

 

New York is an exciting but exhausting place to live and visit.

 

Exploring the city’s breathtaking museums, dazzling streets and bustling parks often leaves visitors with sore bodies and tired minds, while locals have packed schedules and typically work long hours.

 

Thankfully, the city has some of the best spas in the world. Here are five new ones that we count among the best.

 

Aman New York

 

The Aman New York opened to much fanfare in 2022, and the minimalist three-level spa is a true oasis in bustling Midtown.

 

As well as a 20-meter indoor swimming pool, fire pits and daybeds, there is a spacious steam and sauna room that accommodates multiple visitors without ever feeling crowded.

 

The highlights are the two private-use spa houses. Each is complete with a double treatment room, private banya and hammam rooms, and an outdoor terrace that provides the luxury of hot and cold plunge pools.

 

Additionally, there is a medical spa with a cryotherapy chamber, seven treatment rooms and a range of health professionals – including a Harvard-trained physician and a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner – all available for consults.

 

Like all of New York’s best spas there is an extensive menu of treatments, but the two-hour signature journey is a great place to start. It includes meditative singing bowls, a scrub and oil application, therapeutic massage techniques and pressure point stimulation.

 

The Ritz-Carlton Spa New York, NoMad

 

The city’s latest incarnation of the Ritz-Carlton brand opened its doors in the NoMad neighborhood last summer. Its 630-square-meter spa makes a great escape from the city.

 

In addition to eight treatment rooms, there are luxurious saunas, men’s and women’s marble steam rooms and a small yet serene relaxation room where a delicious cocoa tea is presented post-treatment.

 

Treatments include Augustinus Bader facials and ESPA massages, but we particularly recommend the signature Rose Quartz Remedy. This involves a full-body exfoliation followed by a body and scalp massage using frangipani, rose geranium and palmerosa oils, with rose quartz used similarly to hot stones for a calming effect.

 

Spa Diane Barrière

 

Last October, the Hotel Barrière Fouquet opened a location that brought Parisian luxury to Tribeca, and its under-the-radar Spa Diane Barrière is one of New York’s best spas.

 

A spacious wet room with a sauna, steam room and large heated hydrotherapy pool is the centerpiece of this marble-clad oasis, and the spa’s five treatment rooms are adorned with compelling works of art.

 

The extensive spa menu features Biologique Recherche facials and body treatments that offer to rejuvenate its guests. We love the Diane Barièrre Signature Body Massage, which combines lymphatic drainage, trigger point and Swedish techniques to excellent effect and is followed by a glass of Champagne.

 

Sisley-Paris Spa at the Dominick Hotel

 

The Dominick Hotel recently renovated and rebranded its seventh-floor spa, welcoming Sisley-Paris as a partner in March. The new design boasts gold walls and plenty of greenery, and facilities include a sauna, steam room and salt chamber.

 

In addition to an all-new menu of skincare and massage services, there are three body rituals and a 90-minute Moroccan hammam experience. The 90-minute session involves a full-body exfoliation on a heated marble slab, a traditional rinse, a clay wrap and finishes with an olive oil soap bubble massage.

 

Dr. Barbara Sturm Madison Spa & Boutique

 

New York was blessed with back-to-back openings of two Dr. Barbara Sturm spa locations last year, one in SoHo and one on the Upper East Side.

 

Thanks to its setting inside a classic townhouse, we’re partial to the latter. It offers all the anti-aging innovations Sturm is known for, plus specialties like intravenous therapies by drip hydration, micro-needling and micro-current treatments.

 

The stylish treatment rooms feature brightly colored and boldly patterned wallpapers, in contrast to the white and minimalist design of its sister location in SoHo. To top it off, there’s even a double treatment room for couples looking for an experience to remember.