The Vibe

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental in New York City is located on the 35^th Floor of the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle .  Phenomenal views of the city skyline and Central Park can be seen from both the hotel and spa.  The 14,500 square foot Spa is very spacious and offers both men’s and women’s locker rooms, relaxation rooms, wet rooms and a tea room.  The Spa has a very exclusive and luxurious feel to it.  It is what I consider one of the best spas I’ve been to in the Northeast.

I liked the Asian inspired modern décor; it was clean, crisp and refreshing.  The walls, trim and tiles were light neutral shades and bright colors would only be found in the decorations.  Fresh pink orchids can be found throughout the spa.  There were several alcoves donning vases and flowers.

The Little Things

The Time Ritual.  I was simply booked for 1 hour and 50 minutes of time.  When my service began, the therapist asked me how I wanted to spend this time which could include combinations of a massage, body scrub, wrap and facial.  The Mandarin offers this time ritual because it is believed that has different needs on different days and you don’t know in advance what your body will be craving on the day of your service.  After my therapist asked me questions about how I was feeling that day and performed a “smell test” with essential oils, we determined that I needed detoxifying treatments.  So I chose a body scrub followed by a massage.  I feel as though I were melting away as my therapist scrubbed and massaged me with the aromatic essentials oils.  I became so relaxed that I didn’t want to get up when it was over.  I didn’t even have to get up on my own because the massage table reclined into an upright position.  What a relief!

The Relaxation Rooms.  There were three of them; including a wet room, tea room and more traditional relaxation room with beds, magazines and refreshments.  I spent most of my time in the wet room.  There was a large whirlpool with contoured seating to allow for more relaxation.  When I stepped out of the whirlpool, there were ice cold face clothes infused with essential oils.  I then rinsed off in an open shower with three choices of water speed and lighting: fog with blue light, land rain with yellow light, and tropical forest with red light.  I was like a kid in a candy store trying out each option.  I then continued my relaxation in the steam room infused with calming scents.  It resembled a shrine as it had a domed ceiling, mosaic tiles, an alcove with a large amethyst stone and an urn filled with river rocks in the center of the room.