Last Saturday afternoon, as I was waiting for a bus to Queens, a woman asked me if I was a New Yorker. Out of habit, I responded that I wasn’t. Then my husband reminded me that we’ve been living in Manhattan for a month and a half now. I just about choked on my coffee – has it really been more than six weeks?
To be fair, we’ve traveled for about half of the weekends we’ve been up here which definitely makes it feel like we’ve been in New York for less time than we actually have. However, I have to give myself a pat on the back for the number of neighborhoods and restaurants we’ve explored in the time we’ve been here.
One of my absolute favorite days so far was when the hubs decided to surprised me with a nice little morning of R&R in the East Village. While we had a somewhat early wake-up call, our cab stopped in front of this sign and I knew I was in for a fabulous day. Great Jones Spa is quite literally an oasis in the concrete jungle. As we were being lead to the locker rooms to change for our couples massage (major bonus points), I could hear the faint sound of rushing water as the attendant mentioned, “full use of our water lounge.” Now, I know New York births many oddball trends, but I have never heard the phrase “water lounge.” Lo and behold, as I descended the staircase to the treatment rooms, I was greeted by the water lounge complete with a steam room, sauna room, “cold plunge” pool and thermal hot tub. Oh, and did I mention the fluffy robes, comfy chaise lounges and tropical vegetation all perfectly lit courtesy of the tremendous skylight above? Ah, yes. Perfection. We headed to our rose petal adorned treatment room and emerged an hour later in a state of blissful relaxation, ready to experience all the water lounge had to offer.
The only problem? We did not know there was such a thing as a water lounge, so we did not bring bathing suits. Great Jones Spa has a solution – disposable bathing suits. Well, I wasn’t about to walk out of there without experiencing the water lounge! Bring on the paper bikini! Let me tell ya folks, it ain’t pretty, but it’s functional. I proudly pranced into the thermal hot tub in my glorified adult diaper and paper halter top getup and then promptly hightailed it out once a silicon-enhanced bachelorette party showed up. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a spa experience or a brief retreat from the city. You don’t need to pay for a treatment either – you can have complete access the water lounge for $50 per three hours. I know I can’t wait to go again!
*Photos are courtesy of Great Jones Spa and Spa Well Guide