To track down the best day spas in New York, we polled dozens of spa-savvy New Yorkers including designers, executives, and artists. There is no shortage of spas in the city, so our list includes only the very best — those with unforgettable multipart ritual treatments or a bathhouse with a stadium seating in its sauna and a spa on Governors Island that truly feels like a destination.
For an Onsen in Tribeca
Shibui Spa at the Greenwich Hotel, 377 Greenwich St.; thegreenwichhotel.com
Framed with wood from a 250-year-old Japanese farmhouse (lanterns light the pool and lounge), Shibui Spa has been a favorite of privacy seekers for over 15 years. Laura Kim, a creative director of Oscar de la Renta and Monse, has tried every one of the spa’s treatments. Her favorite is one of the multipart Onsen Rituals ($430), which includes a mineral-salt bath followed by a “guided inhalation” body massage and a warm mud mask and scalp massage. Julia Horn, Intermix’s director of merchandise planning, likes that guests are provided with traditional yukata robes and slippers and especially appreciates that the aestheticians tailor facials to skin type. Lily Galef, co-founder of wellness company Hilma, enjoys the “luxe but subtle” atmosphere — all three women noted that though the place is extremely popular, they somehow never see more than two or three people in the pool area at once.
For No-Frills De-knotting
Oasis Day Spa, 1 Park Ave.; oasisdayspanyc.com
At the bottom of Park Avenue, Oasis Day Spa lures guests in with massages starting at $95 — it’s just a simple, effective day spa. “When I get routine beauty treatments, I want good quality and affordable prices. Oasis is exactly that,” says Google designer Arielle Royston. After a recent month of weight lifting, running, and surfing, she visited the Manhattan branch (there’s also a Westchester one) to soothe her sore muscles. “My arnica aromatherapy massage and hand-foot treatment ($205) were spectacular,” she says. “My masseuse used oil to loosen me up, then dug into my knots in a way that left me feeling limber afterward. Her hands were soft yet powerful, so mission accomplished.”
For Hangover Relief
Remedy Place, 12 W. 21st St.; remedyplace.com
Already known for its L.A. flagship (a favorite of Drake’s and the Kardashian clan’s), the “wellness social club” Remedy Place opened in the Flatiron District in September complete with ice-bath breathwork classes ($50) and vitamin shots (from $50). Nate Brown, co-founder of Rosaluna mezcal, goes frequently. He’ll either opt for the breathwork and ice-bathing treatment, “where you lie on your back on this luxurious cushion next to your ice bath doing a series of guided exercises to prepare you for it,” or make a beeline for the Contrast Suite’s sauna and ice bath, where you “circulate for an hour. It just tends to reset everything and is an amazing hangover cure. You truly feel immortal when you’re finished.” The full menu of “remedies” includes acupuncture, cupping, vitamin IV drips, lymphatic compression, an infrared sauna, cryotherapy, and even chiropractic movement for muscle and joint pain.
For Stadium Seating
Bathhouse Williamsburg, 103 N. 10th St., Williamsburg; abathhouse.com
Near McCarren park, Bathhouse is the rare high-end spa that can fit large groups. Style consultant Kathleen Ma has purchased a $55 day pass often since the spa opened in 2019, even celebrating a birthday there with 41 friends (as the sauna, Ma says, is “the biggest I’ve seen in NYC, with stadium seating”). Anna Zahn, founder and director of the Ricari Studios spas, is a regular; she appreciates “the quality treatments, amenities, and delicious food — like the Bathhouse borscht — to keep me nourished after detoxing” and recommends a steam followed by a 50-minute pro hammam scrub, which finishes with a full-body CBD moisturizer.
For (Multiple) Underwater Massages
QC NY Spa, 112 Andes Rd., Governors Island; qcny.com
The first U.S. location of QC Spa (the other ten are mostly dotted across the Italian Alps), set in a former barracks, feels “like visiting a grand house,” says content strategist Clare Palo. The grounds feature pathways and heated pools with underwater massaging hydro seats, all facing the Manhattan skyline. The multilevel indoor spa includes eucalyptus footbaths and stone beds for waterfall massages, and both Palo and astrologer Alice Bell noted the expansive, outfitted changing rooms, down to the Dyson hair dryers.
For Mid-Massage Meditation
The Well, 2 E. 15th St.; the-well.com
The 13,000-square-foot wellness complex the Well includes a café, a shop, and an event space (Ayurvedic teas and umami-broth soups are served; Lunar Gong Baths are led by the center’s director of vibrational energy healing). There are plenty of standard, luxurious treatments (a facial using Biologique Recherche products, for instance). But what really makes the place stand out, says designer Courtney Kiersznowski, are the services that incorporate wellness elements. She comes a couple times a year for the hip-pain-alleviating deep-tissue massage ($235), which can include breathing exercises and meditation. Also offered: integrative energy sessions, craniosacral therapy, and Reiki.
For Swimming With Skyscrapers
Peninsula Spa, 700 Fifth Ave.; peninsula.com
“It’s the archetype of the city day spa,” says art-history researcher Kayla Dalle Molle, who was introduced to the place several years ago by the model RJ King. Located on the Peninsula Hotel’s top-two floors and accessed via its marble lobby, the upper level has a gym, an outdoor sun terrace, and a 42-foot pool with views across midtown; the spa level below has private men’s and women’s relaxation zones and 12 treatment rooms for facials and massages. For special occasions, Dalle Molle recommends the two-hour Renew and Revive Journey ($625) — an aromatherapy soak followed by a vigorous full-body salt scrub, then a massage in a heated bed that’s a “hybrid treatment: part lymphatic drainage, part bodywork, tailored to address specific aches or trigger points” — but she also enjoys it as a place to catch up on her reading over macarons and tea. The staff, she adds, are all consummate professionals with a “prototypically midtownian efficiency” working in step across the facility to appear with a cold towel and bottle of water mid-workout or a hot tea and bowl of almonds between treatments.
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