• Le Parker Meridien

  119 W. 56th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-708-7340

  Though it’s known for its stunning rooftop pool, it’s what’s happening underneath the hotel that’s turning Le Parker Meridien into the city’s unrivaled top-shelf pampering destination: a brand-new basement-level, 20,000-square-foot spa-café-gym-salon hybrid. The spa, Moonshine, is decked with Louis Vuitton trunks and Turkish rugs, but the spare menu of only waxing, facials, and massages is tailored to specific problem areas: lower-back pain, for example ($120 per hour). Meanwhile, the ten-chair Drybar offers an illustrated menu of $40 blowouts, from stick-straight to full-bodied curls. Next door, slick nail salon Tenoverten will soon bring its immaculate manis and pedis to the premises, enlisting the long-lasting polish brands (Chanel, Nars), personal iPod docks, and limestone-slab mani tables that made their Tribeca location a hit. And the Petit Blue Dog Café will, come spring, serve sandwiches, salads, and smoothies, convenient for breakfast blowouts or a pick-me-up after Gravity Gym’s ­“AssKicker” class down the hall.

From the 2012 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine