New Concept: The Spa/Nightclub

Had a fun outing with three friends last evening to the new G Spa & Lounge in the meatpacking district of Manhattan. G Spa is the new underground space at the Gansevoort Hotel that is a spa by day and a “hot” nightclub at night. Hmmmm, that means Gansevoort is generating income from a basement 22 out of 24 hours a day. Clever.

Mary Elizabeth Gifford (of Jurlique and formerly RLP and Golden Door), Bob Henry, spa architect (G Spa was his baby) and author, and Stacey McLoughlin (corporate travel director for Spa Finder) were with me – all new to each other.

We had a tour of the sexy gray-and-red space with Rachel Lang, the new spa director, who is extremely impressive. She “gets it” about the edgy G philosophy and is creatively putting together some very unique concepts that she will add to this already groundbreaking concept.

At 7:00 in the evening G Spa was a spa – contemporary look; red glass walls and signage; reception desk with spa products; fully stocked bar and lounge with waters, juices, and teas (to which they add liquor upon request); locker rooms; steam room; hair salon; three treatment rooms for massages and facials; and cool lounge chairs overlooking three hydro-pools where several women were receiving manicures and pedicures.

We headed for dinner at Ono, the multi-level indoor/outdoor hip Japanese restaurant and bar lined with Himalayan rock salt, where we sampled amazing cuisine and swapped spa stories. At 11 p.m. Bob suggested we check out the night scene at the G Spa. After a bit of rigamarole, we were finally pronounced “worthy” of a visit to this celebrity haunt and descended once again to the basement to find that what was a spa just four hours earlier was now a full-on nightclub. No more spa products at reception;rather Plexiglas over two of the hydro pools with seating on top; DJ; mood lighting; music pumping; attractive waitresses in teddies; champagne flowing; and massage suites opened and outfitted with furniture for a private cabana feel. Young, beautiful people were everywhere.

As Mary Elizabeth mentioned in her email to me this morning, it was “a looking glass world of innovation and modernity.” And a lot of fun!

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