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After a yearlong renovation, the opulent twelve-room spa on the 21st floor of the Peninsula reopened in January 2009. Designer Alexandra Champalimaud swathed the space in rich scarlet and earth tones, incorporating nature-inspired details: teak-tree sculptures, thronelike chairs in the pre-treatment tea lounge carved from salvaged acacia trees, and waterfall or tropical-rain shower settings (plus jets, for a welcome modern touch). The aromatherapy steam room and sauna in each changing room is tiled in gold, white, and brown stripes, with a basin of ice chips nearby for cooling down. The spa menu runs the gamut, from prenatal massage to a detoxifying algae foot mask. Sixty- and ninety-minute deep tissue, Swedish, Thai-inspired, and hot-stone massages incorporate a personalized blend of spicy, fresh, or floral oils, while the decadent two-hour massage ceremonies include extras like a raw-ginger foot scrub, marine-mud scalp treatment, or aromatic-linen body wrap. The popular 90-minute repairing facial uses plant oils and phyto-active extracts to rebalance city-ravaged skin, while specially tailored hour-long facials incorporate customized potions including meadowsweet, tea tree and white thyme oils, and plant extracts. Post-treatment, separate male and female relaxation rooms feature plush, semiprivate beds stocked with individual headphones and a self-controlled music selection, a stack of current magazines, and a spread of dried and fresh fruits, nuts, and coconut milk. — Lauren Murrow

Clients who book treatments for two hours or more gain access to the 42-foot pool and fitness center with sweeping views of Manhattan; the sun-drenched yoga studio is enclosed only by panes of glass.

Bridal

This spa occupies three floors of the historic midtown hotel of the same name, replete with Finnish steam rooms, a fountain, and a glass-enclosed pool with spectacular city views, plus treatments that fuse Asian, Ayurvedic, and European methods. The Bride-to-Be package includes a salt-and-oil full-body exfoliation, followed by a massage and wrap ($585).

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