Guerlain will unveil its latest and largest spa at the newly renovated 375-room Waldorf Astoria New York this summer.
After years of renovations, the Waldorf Astoria New York will reopen its doors this spring with the new Guerlain Wellness Spa to follow in the summer.
Guerlain boutique at the Waldorf Astoria New York.
“By partnering with Waldorf Astoria New York, we’re creating a revolutionary wellness destination featuring our Guerlain skilled experts paired with our innovative technology,” said Diane Davody, international spa business director of Guerlain, in a statement. “Our bespoke wellness programs are designed to provide New Yorkers, guests and residents profound renewal and total well-being for body, mind and soul.”
There will also be three Guerlain retail boutiques in the spa, lobby and on 50th Street. Prior to this renovation, Guerlain was the hotel’s spa partner, but with the reopening, it has undergone major updates, focusing more on wellness and longevity now.
“This is going to be the largest wellness center that Guerlain has done out of their portfolio,” said Luigi Romaniello, managing director at Waldorf Astoria New York. “It’s going to be a true destination spa, and it’s going to be an urban escape for New Yorkers, for our residents that live with us and also for all the guests staying with us.”
Guerlain Wellness Spa at the Waldorf Astoria New York.
The 30,000-square-foot space includes 16 treatment rooms and covers an entire floor. Across the Waldorf Astoria, with interiors designed by Jean-Louis Deniot, and Guerlain Wellness Spa, there are Art Deco design elements infused, tying the two brands together. Guerlain will also introduce a new exclusive version of its Bee Bottle (ornate bottles of its signature fragrances) for the Waldorf Astoria designed by artist Ian Wenstrand. As with all of Guerlain’s spas, the new space and offering is completely bespoke and inspired by core elements of the Waldorf Astoria.
In particular, the new spa menu will include core treatments like the Spirit of Achievement, a combination of massage and breathwork named after the statue that stands above the Park Avenue entrance; the Rhythm of Wellness, which combines treatment and piano notes inspired by composers like Cole Porter, who visited the hotel, and Like Clockwork, a sound bath treatment inspired by the famous clock at the hotel. It will also include signature massages, facials and seasonal treatments.
“Understanding the essence of Waldorf Astoria and then translating it into the wellness space, it was a great marriage for the both of us,” Romaniello said.
In addition to these unique treatments, the spa will offer more targeted exclusives including wellness programs that can last from three to six months and target specific goals such as sleep improvement or fitness optimization and one-hour power treatments that can address a certain issue for those with a shorter amount of time. With this, the new spa will offer an array of diagnostic tools to best assess what a guest needs.
“It can be either just one tailor-made treatment based on on what we learned but also go much further because one treatment is great, but to change habits we need a lot of repetition, so it allows us to create specific wellness programs [that] are fully customizable,” said Amélie Demange, international spa aesthetic and wellness creation director.
Across the treatment offerings, whether it be a 12-month program or quick one-hour treatment, Demange said everything is focused around four key pillars: nutrition, movement, mindfulness and sleep.
“The idea is really to [have] experiences that are unforgettable, magical and truly unique to the destination,” Davody said.
Pool at the Waldorf Astoria New York.
With this, Guerlain will implement other wellness touch points throughout the guest’s experience, including a bedtime ritual to boost restful sleep. There are other wellness elements infused throughout the hotel as well, including a 25-meter pool, fitness center and personalized nutrition and wellness programming for residents.