Creativity screened...

Spa Sense at The Carlyle           (Venues)

The Carlyle hotel has set benchmarks for luxury and quality for decades in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.       

Only last month the discerning readers of Condé Nast Traveller (see here) assured The Carlyle’s place among the world’s top 20 “Overseas Leisure” hotels. This month, its owner Rosewood Hotels & Resorts unveiled a new indulgence with the opening of Sense, A Rosewood Spa at The Carlyle.                  Abigail Parkin (29 Oct’08)

Designed for guests, residents and seekers of an exclusive spa experience, Sense at The Carlyle has partnered with Sisley, the purveyor of high-end skincare products to provide the ultimate in luxury experiences.

Each of the Sense spas (Rosewood Mayakobá, Rosewood Little Dix Bay and CordeValle) Rosewood Resort reflects its local culture and environment while retaining the Rosewood values of bespoke ambience, style and attention to detail. 

Sense is located on the third floor of The Carlyle and the bi-level spa has a jewel-effect design with lavish fittings throughout. Designed by Mark Zeff of Zeff Design, the spa unites the hotel’s historic glamour with the most advanced technology found in today’s skincare and beauty industries. With an imposing  barrel-vaulted stairwell finished in naturally shimmering platinum mosaic tiles.

Inspired by 1940s Hollywood and The Carlyle’s famed Art Deco roots, Zeff utilised a dramatic black and grey colour scheme, highlighted with luminous lacquered wall panels, deep charcoal faux leather floors and English chandeliers. An escapist retreat from the bustle of Manhattan, the spa is about subdued charm and individual guest pampering.


Sisley’s luxurious range of beauty products featuring exclusive treatments for face and body using only natural plant extracts and essential oils. The focus is on genuine skin care benefits based on skin type proven, says Sisley, to stimulate the senses and uniquely indulge the skin in a one-of-a-kind spa experience. The collaboration means that Carlyle’s Sense spa will be the first spa in the U.S. to receive the Phyto-Aromatique protocols and methods developed by Sisley Paris.

Acclaimed hair stylist Yves Durif has relocated his 65th Street salon to the spa allowing refreshed guests to can to benefit from his distinctive, sexy creations. His client roster features an exclusive clientele of downtown to uptown style-setters, CEOs, celebrities, artists and media. 

The spa itself features five treatments rooms, a relaxation room, a special Duet suite and separate men’s and women’s changing rooms, each with their own steam room. One of the most prized treatment rooms features a state of the art Kohler DTV shower which provides guests with a complete sensory experience: water, sound, light and steam entwine in a completely customisable system.

Whether in need of soothing recreations of sunrise or sunset, or energising washes of cool blue tones, the extraordinary light treatments make this a rejuvenating experience.


The spa also boasts its own high-tech fitness centre featuring the newest gym equipment from Technogym®, the Italian provider of the world’s most advanced fitness and wellness equipment.

Additional visual stimulation is presented by noted photographer Kenro Izu. Selections from his "Still Life" series featuring platinum palladium prints of botanicals and the human form provide ohotographic synergy.

In the women’s locker room and the Yves Durif salon, Zeff Design contrasted the dark wood of the treatment rooms with all-white minimalism and white Carrara marble. Lush patterned wool carpets and rich lacquered wood panelling and mouldings create a timeless, classic style. Custom furniture from Zeff Design fills the spa, including the designer's favourite element; an antique mirror reception desk which creates a jewel-like visual. In the relaxation room guests enjoy rich, velvet sofas and ottomans, while damask drapery creates a private atmosphere lit by traditional, polished nickel fixtures imported from England. 


RK  _________________________________________