My Blend Spa at Le Royal Monceau

Richard Nahem, an ex-New Yorker living in Paris, leads private insider tours showing visitors the Paris most of them never see on their own (www.eyepreferparistours.com), and also writes a popular insider's blog www.eyepreferparis.com.

The Royal Monceau hotel, recently taken over by the Raffles Group, had an extensive facelift in 2010 to the tune of over 100 million euros, where no expense was spared. Philippe Starck was at the helm of the design of the hotel and while contemplating the philosophy of the spa he said, “ A spa is quintessentially a feminine world. I wanted to explore the architectural possibilities of the female subconscious.” The result is a fluid and open world of white grandeur that measures over 1500 meters, where guests can get lost in labyrinth-like design.

Measuring 28 metres, the pool has the distinction of being the largest indoor pool in Paris, so serious swimmers have plenty of room for swimming laps. The area around the pool is an oasis of comfy white couches to spread out on with oversized pillows and the skylight soothes with its natural light.

The long list of enticing spa treatments is almost overwhelming, and the desire to try all of them is quite tempting. A list of cleverly named treatments include White Paradise, a Royal Bath with tonifying plant powder scrub and massage, The Lights of Paris, a milky-soft foot spa with a luminosity restorer and a massage with hot stones, and the Weightless, a face, back, feet, hands and scalp treatment. I had the immense pleasure of receiving the customized My Blend facial. The facial consists of a thorough analysis of your skin by a highly trained expert who asks a set of personal questions about your skin and afterwards uses cutting edge technology to test your skin so he or she can enter the information into computer to devise the correct treatment for you using the parameters of skin hydration, serum, and elasticity. After the treatment, a two-week supply of day and evening skin cream is made for you to continue your skin therapy. The creams are easily refillable and a file is kept of your specific formula.

There are special coaches for each area of the spa including a beauty coach to advise you on your skins needs, a pool coach to assist with an aqua gym and other pool sports, 12 body coaches who specialize in an array of fitness trainings including body building, yoga, and Pilates, and lastly, a spa concierge to manage all spa appointments for hotel guests and club members.

Other services the spa offers is a full hair and makeup room, manicure service, sauna, Turkish bath, ice fountain, and a boutique stocked with My Blend and Clarins products.

My Blend spa at Le Royal Monceau
37 Ave Hoche, 75008
Open Monday to Saturday 6:30AM -10PM, Sunday 6:30PM-8PM
www.leroyalmonceau.com