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Tara Lendener opened this spa "so Queens residents no longer had to travel to Manhattan for a good facial or massage." Staff and patrons tend to live locally, and a first-name approach is enhanced by the compact reception area, mani-pedi space, and facial and bodywork rooms. Seasonal decorations add to the neighborliness. Dedicated to all-natural, hands-on treatments, Lendener believes that lasers and dermabrasers "strip off your skin instead of healing and nourishing it." Accordingly, facials at Ascend utilize organic Eminence balms made in Hungary from antioxidant-filled fruits, vegetables, and herbs—the tingly, circulation-revving paprika mask is no demure French floral smear—and deep-cleaning facials are so thorough that the aesthetician will de-blackhead your ears. Bodywork is likewise vigorous: Crocodile skin and cellulite are attacked with old-fashioned elbow grease, plus natural exfoliants and emollients like Dead Sea salt, Brittany mud, and Baltic clay. All body treatments conclude with a moisturizing rubdown. Painstaking manicures and even pedicures attract a surprising number of male patrons who visibly relish donning their sneakers afterwards—possibly grateful that in Kew Gardens, no one calls them metrosexuals. — Karen Tina Harrison

Economical three-hour packages combine a deep-cleaning facial, Swedish massage, and mani-pedi.