It had seemed downright odd that The Waldorf=Astoria didn’t have a spa, but when we stepped off the elevator onto the 19th floor into the sea of white that is the Guerlain Spa’s reception area, that thought vanished, just like a bad dream. In fact, all we can say now is that the lavish pampering facility, which opened last September in the Waldorf Towers, provides a Manhattan experience your very best clients won’t want to miss.
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The Guerlain Spa reception area. |
It all starts with a seamless check-in experience (note: clients may be reminded that this is a no-tipping facility; therapists, we hear, are competitively compensated). Then it’s off to one of 16 treatment rooms for a variety of treatments: massages, couples’ programs, eyebrow tinting, facials, fitness, hand-and-foot treatments, hydrotherapy and makeup applications. The accommodations are to die for, as you’d expect; in fact, our quarters included a full bathroom with a shower, a sitting area and a locker, which wasn’t really necessary, considering the space was all ours, at least for an hour.
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A spa therapist works a client's tired feet; the spa offers an assortment of treatments from hydrotherapy to facials. |
Most treatments come with a ritual footbath, which gives your therapist some quality time to ask about any conditions or preferences that need tending to (customization is big at the Guerlain Spa). Then the real fun begins. We are told that time-deprived clients tend to ask for the two-hour, sensory-renewal Waldorf Impériale treatment, which combines a little of everything, including a body massage and a facial, using Guerlain products. Even more deprived than most, Luxury Travel Advisor opted for a custom facial, a take-no-prisoners event wherein every pore on our face was fastidiously examined. At the end of it all, however, we walked away feeling absolutely rejuvenated and ready to go for a big evening ahead of us.
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A Guerlain Spa couples' room is ideal for escaping the bedlam of the city, together. |
Reach out to Spa Director Ryan Bedford ([email protected]) with any questions, whether your client is flying in from overseas and will need a posh pick me up, or is a savvy New Yorker who wants to try out one of the city’s most buzzed-about hotspots.
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Water therapy has become quite the trend, as spa goers look to aqua rejuvenation. |
Note: The facility, which is operated by Spa Chakra, provides a number of fun options for clients, including “Totally Transforming Day Experiences” and a Guerlain makeup play room. If you have luxury groups headed to Manhattan, consider booking them for private functions for the day or evening.