I admit I was expecting something over the top when I arrived at The Spa at Trump in New York City’s Soho. Perhaps it was the promise that there would be “jewels” on the treatment table that corresponded to my “Personal Trump Intent” to calm, purify, balance … or win billions of dollars.
But The Spa at Trump in Soho turned out to be one of the most beautifully designed spas I’ve ever been to. She uses luxurious materials, interesting textures, and details like vintage textiles to tell her story of indulgence in the Middle East. Even the crystal jewels were pretty! And it has an authentic hamman , with a 45-minute Turkish hamman treatment for $ 180 Monday – Thursday / $ 195 Friday – Sunday, or a 60-minute treatment for $ 220 Monday – Thursday / $ 235 Friday – Sunday. It’s open as a day spa, not just for hotel guests, so anyone can give it a try.
This is truly a must have experience for anyone with a keen interest in spas.
Trump Soho is a 46-story tower that is oversized for the historic Soho neighborhood, which battled the 391-room condo-hotel. But that also means there’s plenty of sun inside the 11,000-square-foot spa on floors 7 and 8, which is a real treat in New York City.
The entrance creates the Middle Eastern atmosphere with a marble fountain and an ebony door. There is a swimming pool outside (for hotel guests only, sadly) and a cafe before you walk through the door. At the desk, select his “Personal Trump Intent” for treatment: calm, balance, purify, heal, or revitalize.
Your intent will affect the teas your “Trump Spa Attache” offers you (they are very heavy on the brand here) and what “gemstones” are placed on your treatment table (large pieces of stained glass that actually look pretty pretty).
The Spa at Trump is said to have been inspired by Ivanka Trump’s trips to Turkey, but the hammam is the real star of this spa. Two magnificent mosaic rooms with vaulted ceilings, one for men and one for women, have heated marble slabs where the exfoliating, cleansing and detoxifying treatment is performed.
What makes a hammam authentic?
A hammam is not just a fancy word for a steam room, but a cleansing ritual that is part of traditional community life in Turkey and Morocco. What makes it authentic is the heated marble stone, the traditional materials from Turkey and Morocco, and the treatment itself. Your body heats up to the point where you are sweating out toxins as the therapist exfoliates and washes you, all the time immersing you in water to keep you comfortable.
My therapist greeted me in a bathing suit and a hand-woven wrap called a pestemal . I didn’t bring a bathing suit, so they wrapped me in a plague for treatment. She first “introduced me to the water” by pouring it onto my shoulders from a beautiful silver frying pan called tas . Then he threw water on a pestilence placed on the hot marble slab. The slab was VERY warm; in fact, it soon got so hot that I needed to put a towel under my butt.
Anna exfoliated me thoroughly with a kese , a rough glove made of bamboo and cotton. (I couldn’t believe how much it came out, she let me feel the pieces of grainy skin peeling off!)
He then moistened a pillowcase-like piece of fabric in a bucket of soapy water made in Istanbul with olive oil, argan oil, jojoba oil, and goat’s milk, stirred it in the air to create bubbles, and squeezed them out. on my body. which felt fabulous.Then he ran the puffy pillowcase over my body to make sure it was completely clean.
The whole time she was pouring warm water on me. You are also cleaning from within because your body is heating up and you are sweating out toxins. Towards the end of the treatment, she alternated pouring cold and warm water over my body, which stimulates the circulatory and lymphatic systems and also promotes detoxification.
Speak up if you are too hot
I loved this treatment, but it warmed up a bit. The idea is to be warm enough to sweat, but also comfortable. The two remedies are for the therapist to cool the marble with cold water and use colder water to soak it in. So be sure to speak up if you’re too hot.
It’s good to get the hammam treatment before a massage, so your muscles will really warm up and release more easily. It was a bit difficult walking up the stairs in a dizzy and overheated state, there is no internal elevator so it was a good thing that a “Trump Spa Attache” was behind me.
I enjoyed my massage and had the option to choose from five different types of spa music! Afterward, the relaxation room was very comfortable, pleasant, and sunny, with goodies like dates, olives, and halva, plus tea to support my “Personal Trump Intention”: balance. Be sure to allow time to rest and relax here.
The staff were lovely at every turn, and I would definitely go back. They also have facials, including oxygen treatments, LED light therapy, and HydraFacials. I’ve never had such a thorough exfoliation, and I was happy to be able to take my wet kese home with me.
Get moving, body scrubs! I am sold in hammam !
Contact the spa at Trump, Trump Soho: 246 Spring Street, New York, NY, tel. 212-842-5505, www.trumpsohohotel.com.
