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Spa Butterfly is following the marketing dictum, “give the customer something different.” Its twist is to propose the usual spa treatments amid exceptionally alluring surroundings and genteel service. Uniting the understated elements of bamboo, stone, wood, frosted glass, and miniature cacti arranged like desert bonsai, the spa’s décor would do justice to a top-shelf Asian restaurant. Most of its airy street-level space is devoted to manicure stations and cushy pedicure thrones, where basic nail services do the job, at a corner-manicure price; add-ons like aromatherapy balms, massages, and paraffin masks cost extra. In seven treatments rooms, which feature contoured chairs and soft, wool pashminas, clients are personally and respectfully addressed by mainly Korean technicians who offer skin analysis and solid advice. Facials utilize French balms from Sothys and G.M. Collins and include gentle cleansing, extraction, massage, and a customized mask; different styles of massage are also on tap, along with hydrotherapy baths, airbrush tanning, waxing, lash tints and extensions. Treatments are offered in full-length and express versions, with various “office break” deals available so clients can mix and match services. Cosmetologists are sometimes called “estheticians,” and in this gracious citadel of fine design, the term is more than accurate. — Karen Tina Harrison