Spa Spotlight: Kodo Massage at The Surrey

Perhaps the most impressive feature of the Spa at the newly renovated Surrey Hotel is the sheer intimacy that envelops you from the moment you step inside the spa, located on the hotel’s second floor.   The entrance design has the familiar and welcoming feel of a friend’s (magnificently decorated) living room. The spa has just five spacious treatment rooms and each contains an armoire for storing personal belongings and a private shower, allowing you to avoid seeing other spa-goers in your robe and slippers.

It is once you get past the impressive aura of the spa that you understand what makes Spa at The Surrey so different from other hotel spas.  The spa’s expertly trained staff has extensive knowledge of multiple massage techniques, which allows for the therapists to customize the spa-goers experience.  The personalized massage is, after all, the Surrey’s specialty.

The exclusivity continues when it comes to the product lines and treatments!  The Surrey imports and stocks a little-known Australian spa line, Li’Tya.  This product line is based on the healing traditions of the Aboriginal culture, and the brand’s trainers, who were coached by Aboriginal elders, have taught their methods to the therapists at the Spa at The Surrey.

My Li’Tya-based Kodo massage, a technique also imported from down under, was simply lovely.  In the privacy of a smaller treatment room, my massage therapist, Sandra, enlightened me to the main points of the treatment, instructing me to close my eyes while she performed the “smudging ceremony,” consisting of burning cleansing herbs to remove any negative energy that could be lingering.   I selected my massage oil based on the scent I was most drawn to (it turns out that my body was calling for a rejuvenating oil with rose overtones).  The Kodo massage consisted of excellently choreographed strokes with just the right balance of strength and tenderness.  The Aboriginal chanting that played quietly in the room and smudging ceremony combined with the purely lush atmosphere of the spa provided a perfect balance of spirituality and indulgence.

It should be mentioned that amidst the luxury and elegance so present in every aspect of the spa (from the attentiveness of the staff to the secret rooftop garden open only to spa-goers and hotel guests) the Spa at The Surrey is excellently priced.  A 60-minute massage will run you about $150.  The Spa at The Surrey also offers both half-day and full-day packages and in-room treatments and escapes for hotel guests, in addition to hosting small parties.  Because of the intimacy and luxuriousness of the spa I’d say it’s the perfect place to celebrate a birthday or bachelorette party.

Learn more and check out deals at NYC’s Spa at The Surrey!