Month: March 2025

Aire Ancient Baths in NYC: Tribeca vs. Upper East Side

Published on by juliebrannan1 Comment

I do enjoy a great spa experience, and there are plenty to enjoy in New York City. Previously I have written about a day at the QC NY spa on Governors Island and just recently about having a Aescape robot massage at iLy Only Spa at the New York Lotte Hotel. But my daughters know that the the one gift that I am always thrilled to get is a massage plus baths experience at Aire Ancient Baths. I first went to Aire many years ago (maybe 2017?) and have been at least once or twice a year since then. It was my first massage experience when things started reopening after covid lockdown (we were still wearing masks). But I have never blogged about it because you are not allowed to take any photos whatsoever and your phone is locked up. The only photos I have are of the outside of the building. The original Aire in NYC is in Tribeca, and that was the only one I had experienced until one opened walking distance from me, on the Upper East Side, this month (March of 2025). They are not identical, and I kept comparing the two locations while in the new space. This made me think that even without my own photos I might be able to help others wanting to go but unsure of what location to select. All photos from inside the spas are taken from the Aire website.

The Tribeca location is the OG, and obviously the one I have been to the most. I see that the Tribeca location is closed temporarily for renovations, but should reopen in May. It’s located on Franklin Street, in a restored 1883 building that was once a textile factory. As with all Aire locations, it is inspired by baths of the ancient Roman, Greek and Ottoman traditions. When you enter, you immediately note the luxe and relaxing vibe – dimmed lights, nice scents, big sofas with comfy throw pillows, infused water and warm mint tea to sip. They always send an email to check in the day before, and if you have done that, you will just need to show an ID and take a rubber bracelet or bracelets to wear (these let the staff know how long you will stay in the baths and if you are having additional treatments like a massage). Shortly you go back to the changing room (separate for men and women), where you are given a locker (you lock and unlock with a code you set), robe, little black neoprene booties to wear to prevent slipping, and a towel for afterwards. You wear your own swimsuit, and put the robe over it. You are required to leave everything behind in the locker – especially your phone.

The ambiance inside is magical. It is lit with thousands of flickering votive candles (more, I think, at Tribeca than at Upper East Side), and there are multiple pools to experience. If you have not been before, an attendant will show you around the different options. There is a steam room, a vigorous whirlpool, a very hot pool, a cold plunge pool, a “tepid” pool which is roughly body temperature, and (my favorite) a floating salt pool. Before you get into the salt pool, there is a shower and you can scrub with a gigantic pile of salt for exfoliation. Then in the “floatarium” you can literally float, weightless. I find it possible to anchor my head along the rails at water level and just float. With your eyes closed, it approximates a sensory deprivation experience. I generally start out in the steam room, go to the whirlpool, alternate hot and cold pools, then relax in the tepid area (there are multiple semi-private nooks to relax in), but spend most of my time in the salt pool. There are also heated stone loungers where you can enjoy infused water or mint tea.

If you have a massage or other experience (scrub, etc) booked, they will find you when it is time to go and have that. The first time I was at Aire, I was slightly anxious about “missing” it and not knowing what time I will be taken to that, but now I can completely relax and know they will come to me when it is time for my massage. There is a second level area at Tribeca that holds the massage rooms, and I have never had anything other than an exceptional massage at Aire. When done with that, they will let you know if you have more time to relax in the pools. You generally have 90 minutes or more in the pools, whether you have the pools-only experience (which I have only done a handful of times) or if you have a massage (your overall time will just be longer). They come around with singing bowls to chime every hour and you will be told when your time is up (on the second chime, for instance)

Now some details about the Upper East Side new location before concluding with some thoughts that apply to both locations. The new Aire is on E 61st Street, in a 120-year-old building that most recently was a storage facility for artwork MoMA did not have on display. This location is on multiple floors, while the Tribeca location is generally on one level (except for the massage area). It has the same pools, but things are laid out quite differently. The vigorous whirlpool was more enjoyable to me at this location because it has slots big enough for one person to rest in and almost recline, leading to why the attendant called this one a “aqua massage.” The tepid area doesn’t have the semi-private nooks to relax in, so I prefer the Tribeca one. The steam room and hot and cold plunge areas are relatively equivalent at the two locations. The biggest different is in the salt pool, which on the Upper East Side is a level up from most of the other pools and has a clear floor so that it appears to be suspended from the air. However, the pool is not as deep (perhaps the weight of the water was too much to suspend if it were deeper) which to me makes the floating a little more difficult. The Tribeca salt pool is probably 3 feet deep and I would guess the UES location is 12-18 inches deep at most. While this pool looks cooler, I prefer the Tribeca pool. Like Tribeca, they also have heated stone loungers and infused water/mint tea at the UES location near the pools.

The massage at the UES location was just as excellent as every one I have had at Tribeca. Areas where I would say Aire excels in both locations are: customer service (the staff is extremely helpful and pleasant, from the locker room attendants to those checking you in to those in the bath area – the last time I was there someone accidentally took my robe from where I had it hanging up near the steam room and someone had a new one for me within minutes), getting it as a gift experience (tip is included, so if you are given a gift box, it is all-in), and the locker room experience and inclusions to help you get cleaned up and ready to leave (there are showers with L’Occitane shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel; a machine to dry off your swimsuit before putting into a waterproof bag to take home; hair dryers, etc.). Both locations are wonderful about keeping the experience tranquil by making sure people are quiet if they are with someone (large signs note “Silence” and I have seen staff gently shush people who are talking too loudly). The one issue I would note is that often they book up way in advance, so there are times I am given a gift experience and it might be a few months before I can enjoy it. On the other hand, I appreciate that they limit numbers so that it never feels crowded at all while enjoying the baths.

So which location is better? Both are excellent! For me, it is going to be hard to beat the location of the Upper East Side spa as I can walk to and from my experience. I do prefer the salt pool at Tribeca, but prefer the aqua massage pool on the UES. If you want to try one, go to the one more convenient for you – or better, yet, try them both!

Aescape (robot massage!) at Ila Onlyspa in NYC

Published on by juliebrannan1 Comment

 I enjoy a good spa experience, and luckily for me New York City has endless opportunities. I posted once about the fabulous experience at QC NYC Spa on Governor’s Island, and will soon write about Aire Ancient Baths. Both of those are fully immersive, with lush surroundings and multiple types of experiences. For this post, however, I will describe something completely different – Aescape robot massage! Most of us have sat in a massage chair, and it can be a pleasant few minutes. But the Aescape claimed to actually customize a real massage, so I decided to check it out

There are multiple locations for Aescape in New York City (and some in Florida), most within Equinox fitness centers. I decided to go with the one at the ila Only Spa at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel. I imagined that the fitness locations might smell like workouts and thought going to a spa might be more fun (the spa location is slightly more expensive). Checking in was pleasant, and the spa smells delightfully spa-like! I was sent to the lounge first, and able to enjoy citrus spa water and little spears of fresh berries. From this lounge there was a spectacular view of St Patrick’s cathedral.

When I was invited into the room, they had very form fitting (skin tight) long sleeve tops and bottoms to change into. They asked about size when making the appointment, and recommend you go smaller than you usually wear, as the machine slides along the slippery surface of this clothing. You are entirely alone in this room, and you can lock the door, although they have a heavy tassel on the door letting people know not to enter (unless you summon someone during the massage using the screen, I presume!). The room looked and smelled just like a spa massage room, only with the face rest looking onto a screen and robot arms hovering above.

Once I lay down on the table, I could see a screen directly under my face welcoming me, and walking me step by step through setting up. There is a large button on the screen if you want it to stop immediately (good for those imagining one of the machines from the Terminator going rogue). You are walked through adjustments for the headrest, foot bolster, etc., to be sure you are comfortable. Then it makes a scan of of your body, so that it knows where to massage. If you aren’t perfectly straight on the table with your feet in the scoops for your ankles, it will ask you to reposition before it scans. You can see the outline of your body once the scan is done. When that was done, I hit go – and it started. You could change the music (I left it as it was), and either watch the default, which was a schematic of your body and where the robot arms were and how much time you had left, or change to relaxing scenes. I left the schematic on, and had my eyes closed most of the time but it was good to be able to peek at how far along it was. You could see how long you had left, and the steps of what it had done and what was still to come. You could also move the pressure up or down, and you could “heart” things or skip them to customize. I just let it do its thing. You can do “Power Up” – which is a all-over massage, and I did this – or pick specific areas to target. The robot arms are heated and sort of push and slide, much like a strong Swedish massage.

The room actually had a phone cradle set up for you to take a video of your experience if you wanted (and encouragement to tag them on Instagram), but I chose not to do that. All in all, here’s what I feel it did better than a person – it can get two sides of your body at the same time, while a person usually does one side then moves to the other. And it was good on the glutes, which people usually don’t touch for obvious reasons. But it is not a person, and definitely does not provide the experience or level of pampering/relaxation that you can have with a skilled massage therapist.

For people who are made anxious by the idea of being massaged by a person, or of being unclothed during a massage, I could see this being a wonderful option. However, for those (like me) who don’t feel those limitations, I would say at this point, it is still too expensive (between $60-75 for 30 minutes) to replace a massage by a real person. There is no tipping of course, since there is no person massaging you. But all in all, I would say I liked it much better than I had anticipated, and if the price comes down I could see it being an adjunct to massages by a human being, especially for recovery of large muscle groups like glutes and hamstrings.