New York’s bustling borough of Brooklyn has become home to a brand new 50,000sq ft (44,645sq m) day spa offering an array of global bathing practices.

The newly-launched facility features one of the largest co-ed hydrothermal bathing areas in New York and offers bathing practices from across Europe, Russia, Turkey, Finland and Japan.

Development companies BK Developers and RYBAK Development co-created the destination, with the World Spa team collaborating with Feng Shui consultants and Design for Leisure on the conceptional and planning designs for the hydrothermal features. The three-storey urban wellness facility has been realised following the transformation of a disused parking lot and more than a decade-long project.

Thermotherapy experiences are at the heart of the World Spa’s offerings which include a Moroccan hammam, a Turkish hammam, a grand banya, a petite banya, an event sauna, a clay and hay sauna, an infrared sauna and an aroma sauna.

Guests can also cool off in a snow room and visit a Himalayan salt room, private cabanas, a hydrotherapy pool, vitality pools and onsen pools.

Visitors can enhance their experience with a selection of spa treatments ranging from massages, wraps, scrubs and facials to private hammam experiences and couples rituals.

In addition, the facility features a special treatment room, named the Theater Room, where guests receive treatments on a zero-gravity lounger complemented with calming audio and visual content to create a deeply multi-sensorial experience.

Spa treatment partners include Charme D’Orient and HydraFacial.

All treatments booked online automatically allow guests two-hour complimentary use of thermal facilities.

A modern interpretation of traditional wellness
World Spa says the design mandate was “for total authenticity, which meant sourcing and importing both the building materials and the equipment to run each experience directly from the original source”.

In a nod to this, the hammams are bedecked with eye-catching handmade Moroccan and Turkish tiles while Kelo pine was shipped over from Europe to create the saunas and banyas.

The urban bathhouse offers daily entry at the following rates:
• US$85 (€80, £69), Monday - Thursday entry before 4 PM.
• US$100(€95, £81), Monday - Thursday entry after 4 PM.
• US$115 (€109, £94), Friday - Sunday.

To offer an exclusive experience, World Spa has launched with a private members-only club. The service costs US$5,000 (€4,732, £4,071) plus a US$1,000 (€946, £814) admin fee.

Applicants must submit a form to be considered as well as payment for member dues. If approved, they will then receive an email welcoming them into Birch & Oak.

The day spa has also been completed with a suite of dining options. Guests can tuck into healthy cuisine at either the World Spa Lounge or let Michelin-starred chef, Shaun Hergatt, delight them at REN Restaurant.

A third dining venue is available in the members-only Birch & Oak section. This exclusive indoor-outdoor space has been designed to offer a premium club-like atmosphere.

Private spaces
Extra facilities include two private event lodges for meetings and private dinners. The largest, called Dacha, is designed for 25 people and spans 15,000sq ft, including its own banya and treatment space. Meanwhile, the 500sq ft Chalet room accommodates 26 guests and is home to a Finnish sauna.