Overnight flights coupled with the stress of flying leave me, like so many others, exhausted upon landing. Recently, I’ve started booking my arrival-day spa treatment at mid-morning instead of late afternoon, to make better use of the wasted hours waiting for a room key. Is there a more appropriate time to focus on wellness or a more fitting place than a quiet, calm retreat? The service feels so welcome that, once refreshed, I’m ready for the day. Looking radiant is just an ancillary perk!
Spa by Omnisens at Château des Fleurs, 8th
Flowers outside Châteaux des Fleurs reflect its name, and I entered the corner location off Avenue George V, just footsteps from the Champs Élysées, by 10:00 am and left my luggage with the valet. The recently launched, 37-room néo-art-nouveau-inspired boutique hotel boasts an interior design by the Quintana Partners from Barcelona who created the fresh interior design with curvilinear lines, wooden balls, fringed chairs, and Persian carpets.
Spa by Omnisens at Château des Fleurs
An elevator brought me to the lower level with its fitness area—NOHRD equipment and a punching bag—and small spa. The spa specializes in individualized treatments by Omnisens, a French brand with a variety of organic products, including eye cream, cleanser, and lavender oil.
Nathalie Benisty, an Omnisens expert, performed my Pro-Youth Rejuvenating Facial Treatment which promised to be a transformative experience to soothe and comfort. It began with an anti-stress “Escape Parenthesis,” combining the sound of a chime and the fragrance of Reflets de Soie Ambiance Mist. After a skin diagnosis, the esthetician chose mild products for my cleansing ritual: Douceur Sublime Light Cleansing Oil and a gentle touch of an oshibori to prepare the skin. To exfoliate, she used an enzymatic scrub: Poudre de Douceur and followed that with the Omnisens anti-aging roller to stimulate collagen.
She continued with Manual Lifting Anti-Wrinkle Facial Maneuvers—continuous finger manipulations—infused with Organic Lavender Oil from Provence, and facial reflexology that incorporated anti-aging and lifting Facial Cupping techniques. The treatment continued with eye and lip masks that soothed, moisturized, and brightened, plus a caviar alginate mask for the neck and face. At this step, she covered my eyes with a Rooibos eye patch to provide natural UV protection. The diverse maneuvers ended with another sound of the chime and an aromatic spritz. It was the best way to start my Parisian journey.
Spa Guerlain at Le Relais Christine, 6th
Hidden behind a grand wooden doorway, the super-luxe Relais Christine was transformed from a Hôtel Particulier (a grand urban mansion) to a 48-room-and-suite hotel facing its private courtyard. The Relais & Chateaux affiliate is tucked away on a narrow, Left Bank lane that connects boutique and café lined streets in the vibrant Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood.
The Spa Guerlain, on a lower level under the vaulted ceilings within the ruins of a 13th-century abbey, is one of only two Guerlain spas in Paris. Interior Designer Laura Gonzalez redecorated the large lounge space within its ancient limestone walls and added upholstered chaise lounges, comfortable chairs, and lady’s dressing tables where guests may sit to sample Maison Guerlain’s full beauty and fragrance line at their leisure. Before the service, I also spent time in the Bien-être or Well-being suite, with its dry sauna, oversized whirlpool tub, and gym, which is outfitted with treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine, bike, free weights, and a weight-lifting machine.
The subterranean Spa Guerlain features vaulted ceilings within the ruins of a 13th-century abbey.
Maison Guerlain’s top products combine artisanal know-how and cutting-edge technology. My two-hour signature service—Dédicace Guerlain—took place in one of the two spacious treatment cabines (the beautifully outfitted couples suite with a private bathroom), where Marine, the Guerlain-trained esthetician incorporated Guerlain facial treatments into the full-body massage experience and, because I had a choice about how to use my time, divided her efforts equally between a facial and a massage. With my face in the cradle, she focused on a back, shoulder, and leg massage and, when I turned over, she concentrated on my face. Forget about wishing to be touched, while a face mask does its magic; during this treatment, Marine’s nimble fingers provided sensory body care while the mask was on my face. Afterwards, I felt revitalized and looked brighter.
Chi, The Spa at Shangri-La Paris, 16th
This Monument historique, with its cast-iron gates, imposing porte-cochère, domed foyer, and grand stairway is a true Palace hotel, one of only 12 in Paris awarded that distinction. The restored 100-room hotel was originally built in the 19th-century for Prince Roland Bonaparte, the grand-nephew of Napoleon I, and showcases its original hand-carved mahogany, stained-glass windows, and authentic floorboards.
The pool at Shangri-La Paris; photo by Marcelo Barbosa
Bonaparte, the world traveler and passionate botanist, established the world’s largest private herbarium with 100,000 types of herbs among his 2.5 million dried plant specimens. Today, drinks at Le Bar Botaniste and treatments at Chi, The Spa incorporate herb-based ingredients.
Chi, The Spa exudes an Asian heritage combined with French sensibilities to achieve a classic feeling of bien-être, or wellbeing, with brightening, detoxifying, and lifting facials and body treatment rituals, including Thai massage and jet lag services. The recently redecorated space features two elegant treatment cabines on the mezzanine level, which overlooks the exquisite, column-bordered, 175-square-foot, heated swimming pool and the view of the outdoor terrace through a glass wall.
My sound treatment, the SPANDA® Singing Bowl Massage, was designed for calmness; it incorporated the harmonious sounds and vibrations of Tibetan bowls to achieve deep relaxation. Although not a “massage” in the hands-on sense of the word, the unique psychophysical and emotional experience is claimed to “help balance your chakras emotional state” and, “to act on the brain, organs, tissues, and cells, guiding you to a state of liberation.” Some assert that sound lowers the heart rate and increases Alpha brainwave activity.
The light-filled, state-of-the-art, fitness area located within the original stables is accessible with a day package and includes two cycling machines and treadmills, an elliptical trainer, a stepper, a Vario cardio-training machine, a multifunctional exercise machine, and an area for weightlifting, mat exercises, free weights, and Kinesis strength training. The airy, all-day restaurant, La Bauhinia, (the name of the iconic flower on the Hong Kong flag) serves healthful, vegetarian and vegan menu options and overlooks a garden backed by the Eiffel Tower.
Irvina Lew
Irvina Lew is an award-winning freelance contributor to a variety of travel books, lifestyle magazines, and websites. As a dedicated spa aficionado, the Long Island, New York native has been introducing readers to the world’s best spa venues and experiences for decades. A Travel Classic alumnus, Lew is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Society of American Travel Writers. Readers can find many of her published pieces posted on her website: irvinalew.com and by following @sipsupstayspa.