Waldorf Astoria New York | Vogue

What should you try?

There is a 30-page treatment menu with a wide range of services on offer. But on closer inspection, it’s mostly variations on the classics: massages, facials, fitness instruction, makeup. I highly recommend getting some skin care: Guerlain is a cosmetics company after all, and a lot of expertise and thought goes into each treatment. Considered one of Guerlain’s two flagship stores (the other is in Paris), the New York spa has one of only two Longeviskin machines, an all-in-one device capable of seven treatments for those who want to really dig in with LES, microcurrent, cryo and more. But no matter what role technology plays, the expert human eye is crucial to treatment. When I arrived I was a little frustrated with the dark circles and some flaky skin that just couldn’t seem to go away. “Maybe it’s dehydration,” says Guerlain’s international spa and wellness director Marie Barthélemy, who honestly shares some compelling information before pliing me with scrubs and serums.

Barthelemy gave me a custom facial, a lengthy questionnaire, and a careful and gentle examination of my skin, which included exfoliating with rice powder and lightly applying orchid mousse with a kabuki brush. Barthelemy felt that the treatment room around him was filled with an annoying air, so the treatment and its application were quite simple. Time for me to breathe, relax under her expert fingertips, and perhaps prepare for a more meditative evening. Do I need to touch up my makeup after I leave her room? Am I headed for a glittering adventure into the New York City night? Apologies to the glowing ghosts that haunt the enchanted halls: I don’t, and I don’t. I was going home to sleep.

What else do we need to know?

What’s appealing is that, in keeping with trends in fine dining, the tip is automatically added, eliminating the calculation of “how much am I going to tip” at the end of the meal, a Zen-breaking exercise if ever there was one. Of course, the amount can always be adjusted.