Whether you’re in need of a little spring stay-cation to rejuvenate your spirit or if you’re here visiting our lovely city from out of town, Philly’s truly amazing hotel spas can help get you relaxed, renewed, and rejuvenated just in time for the sunshine filled months ahead! Book a room at one of Philly’s most prestigious hotels and get ready for some seriously glamorous R + R.
1. Located at Broad and Walnut, the Bellevue is one of Philadelphia’s landmark establishments known for its swanky shopping, opulent dining options, and lavish accommodations at the Hyatt at the Bellevue fit for a king… or shall we say a President?
Since 1904, this luxurious Hyatt property has been attracting all types of royalty – U.S. presidents (FUN FACT: every U.S. President since Theodore Roosevelt has visited The Bellevue), Hollywood royalty like the beloved Katherine Hepburn, and affluent families from both near and far, including The Vanderbilts.
If you want to enjoy royal treatment for the day, check out the Bellevue Salon & Spa located on the ground floor of this stately structure. They use uber-luxurious products from lines such as Shu Uemura, Rene Turterer, Loreal Professional, and Skinceuticals products for a seriously decadent experience!
Not sure which service to choose from? We recommend their most popular service, the BSS Signature Treatment, which gives you a holistic experience. This two-hour treatment includes a detoxifying body wrap, foot rub, scalp massage, and a customized three step Belle-issima Facial designed for your specific skincare needs.
2. This luxurious, five-diamond Rittenhouse hotel is a showstopper that has been astonishing the world with its elegance and modern sophistication since it first opened its doors in 1989. Chic and timeless, this luxury property deserves all of the attention it has come to garner over the years. Guests of the hotel will enjoy its prime location on Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia’s most posh and most desirable neighborhood, located conveniently near Walnut Street’s famous shopping district and Philadelphia favorite squarefront cafes, Parc Bistro & Rouge.
For a break from the busy bustling square, seek sanctuary in their brand new, state of the art spa. After their recent grand opening in the fall of last year, the The Rittenhouse Spa & Club was an immediate hit, recognized by Fodor’s as “One of the 12 Best New Spas in the United States”. If you think a spa day is only for the ladies, think again. Check out The Rittenhouse Spa & Club’s incredible menu of men’s services. We recommend the
Gentlemen’s Ultimate Treatment Experience, which combines an hour long jet-lag recovery massage, black diamond exfoliation, back sculpture, eye grooming, hand grooming, and foot grooming for an intensive, all-day spa retreat. Feel free to add on the ultimate in men’s pampering, the Indulgent Shave – just named one of the six “Most Luxurious Shaves in America.” This shave features a white truffle infused pre-shave oil, a face mask to increase cell turnover, and an invigorating lemongrass scalp treatment.
(Insider Tip: Sunday Brunch at Lacroix is the perfect way to end a luxurious spa weekend. Make your reservations well in advance!)
3. Modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, the dramatic rotunda building that houses the Ritz Carlton‘s magnificent lobby graces Broad street just steps away from Philadelphia’s landmark City Hall building. Completed in 1908, the doors of this great establishment were opened over a century ago to the high-society families who banked here. In those days, the elite ladies of Philadelphia would visit The Girard Trust Company each Friday to retrieve their jewels from the vault in preparation for the weekend’s festivities. Making their grand entrance, they walked down the iconic stairway in the Ritz lobby glittering with jewels. In 2000, The Ritz Carlton took over the building, and today, that vault has been transformed into their prestigious Grand Ballroom.
One thing that those aristocratic ladies didn’t have a chance to enjoy is The Richel D’Ambra Spa & Salon located in the glamorous Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia. They offer all of the standard services you would expect from a high-end spa while incorporating traditional healing treatments from all over the world: Chakra balancing, Qigong, raindrop therapy, Reiki, Thai massage, Tibetan Sound Massage, and Tui Na.
We recommend trying their Spacoustic Audio Therapy sessions which have been proven to help clients to reach deep levels of relaxation by combining specific sound frequencies with music. This sound therapy creates synchronization between the left and right sides of the brain resulting in a blissful, deeply meditative state.
Hotels and Spas Coming to the Area
While these three hotel spas are the absolute height of luxury in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love has a few new establishments on the horizon looking to steal a spot at the top:
Keep your eyes open for the new 220-room Four Seasons that will soon be housed on the top floor of the 59-story Comcast Innovation & Technology Center. This $1.2 billion skyscraper will also include new studio space for NBC 10 and Telemundo 62, offices, restaurants, and more – and we’re pretty sure that their spa is going to be glorious! Both the spa and their rooftop restaurant have been designed to maximize their incredible skyline views. The Four Seasons expects to open its doors sometime in 2017.
Located just behind the Ritz Carlton on the corner of 15th and Chestnut is a parking lot which is about to undergo an extreme transformation into W Hotel and Element by the Westin. Managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, these two boutique properties are rumored to house 1,700 square feet of retail space and a combined 755 guest rooms. Construction is expected to be completed by the fall of 2017, and the developer is seeking LEED certification for the hip, eco-friendly properties.
W Hotels are a four star hotel brand known for attracting a younger clientele with their contemporary, modern accommodations, swanky rooftop bars, and of course, their long standing relationship with Bliss Spas.
What spa treatment at a swanky hotel would you most like to try? Let us know in the comments below!
