It’s well documented that Parisians know how to live well; but even the most lavish bon vivants can overdo the pâtisserie hauls, champagne clinking and meals that run to several digestifs. That’s when joie de vivre switches to ‘bien-être’ (wellbeing), and those in the know book a restorative stay at one of the best spa hotels in Paris.
Whether you need a quick pick-me-up over a weekend break or you’ve arrived ready for a string of rituals, we’ve picked out the spa hotels in Paris with cult beauty brands, alt practices that dig in deeper and treatments that’ll make you light up like the Eiffel Tower after dark. The city might be at its best in spring, but you’ve got to love Paris in your downtime, too, n’est ce spa?
Hotel Hana
2nd arrondissement
You may have just set foot in Paris, but let us whisk you to Japan via Hotel Hana, a stay where architect Laura Gonzalez has mixed the Baroque flourishes of the French Empire with the Zen delicacy of Far Eastern decor. The result is a cross-cultural look of rooms lined with tatami matting, silks embossed with the hotel’s namesake flower, and wabi-sabi ceramics.
In the bijou stone-and-wood spa, which has two treatment cabins, your day slows to a meditative pace. You’re surrounded by murals of koi and wafted with hand-held paper fans, and treatments include energy-giving reiki, lymphatic reflexology and Qi-boosting massages infused with matcha and yuzu, carried out by the skilled therapists from Paris’s Lymfea wellness outfit. And a petite pool, better suited to soaking than swimming, is ideal for some self-reflection.
Open from 9am to 8pm; massages can be booked out of hours for a 20% surcharge. Guests can book a private, hour-long session in the pool for free at reception.
Treat yourself to a kobido session. This Japanese ‘face lift’ uses acupressure, deep strokes and kneading for a more natural nip-tucked look. If you have one too many sake-splashed Lemon Drops in the bar, hangover-curing IVs can be administered, too.
A little extra pampering ‘Red-light’ is usually the signal for ‘no-go’, but we encourage you to head towards it on this occasion — on rue La Fayette, Octane’s pods immerse you in a rosy glow that leaves you looking just as luminous.
La Fantaisie
9th arrondissement
True to the hotel’s name, La Fantaisie’s spa is a place of reverie. The full-throttle floral motifs (and flower-drenched terraces) designer Martin Brudnizki has planted throughout the hotel climb the walls here too, which are tiled with green mosaicked flowers. Your own personal growth is encouraged through Holidermie treatments, designed to boost inner and outer wellness, using all-natural, vegan lotions and potions.
You might have hot volcanic stones placed on achy spots, have all your ‘marma points’ hit during an Ayurvedic massage session, or be gua-sha’d till smooth. Afterwards, submit to the pummelling jets of one of four Jacuzzis, bake in the sauna and leave the steam room in a botanical mist. Mani-pedis and waxing are available for the look complet — leaving you ready for a mythical night in with the rooftop bar’s chamomile- and orange-blossom-infused cocktails.
Open from 10am to 7.30pm. Spa facilities are free for guests to use.
Treat yourself to a Thai pouch massage, where heated herb sachets ease out aches and leave you smelling even more like a bouquet.
A little extra pampering Loosen up at stylish Yuj yoga studio on the rue des Martyrs.
Saint James Paris
16th arrondissement
Saint James is Paris’s only château hotel — the sort with staircases angled for grand entrances, a library with caged leatherbound books and a fountain in the driveway for that ‘I’ve arrived’ moment. So, the spa here, headed up by Maison Guerlain, is the sort that — of course — has a scrolling marble bas-relief (by French artist François Mascarello) and more Greco-Roman frippery, stretching out over two floors and 400 square metres.
Treatments certainly have a feel of toga-ed decadence to them: Guerlain has harvested rare orchids from the Himalayas, studied ancestral massage strokes and harnessed honey’s healing powers, all in the name of making you look fabulous. Go custom if you have specific skin needs or get steam-cleaned, then hit the hammam and whirlpool bath to leave feeling like a revered deity from antiquity.
Open from 9.30am to 7.30pm.
Treat yourself to the signature Dédicace Guerlain combo of a luxe facial and massage; be buttered up like a croissant with an anti-ageing nobile-orchid-enhanced cream; or hit the sweet spot with a honey balm.
A little more pampering Want to smell this good all the time? The spa boutique sells exclusive Guerlain perfumes and beauty products.
Nolinski Paris
1st arrondissement
Nolinski Paris is a mere baguette poke from The Louvre, and it has a spa that’ll leave you looking as enigmatically content as the Mona Lisa. The wellness space is as svelte as the rest of the polished rooms and restaurants — and the cocktail bar, where piano singalongs often spontaneously occur — decked out in marble, granite and rich woods. But there’s a touch of fairy-dust, too, in the wall-length lightboxes displaying scenes of nature, flickering candles throughout and stars twinkling on treatment-room ceilings.
Wizardry also lies in the therapists’ hands; using hi-tech MyBlend products, they buff and scrub, origami you into Yin yoga poses and strap on eerie yet effective LED-light masks. To round off your pampering, there’s the sauna, steam room, hot tub and pool circuit.
Open from 9.30am to 8pm.
Treat yourself to a complimentary skin diagnosis, and — for extreme spa enthusiasts — a spell in the cryotherapy chamber and intense sculpting massage.
A little more pampering Work out any last stresses with a cathartic session at Punch Boxing Studio close by.
Le Roch Hôtel & Spa
1st arrondissement
Le Roch Hôtel’s spa puts you in a sultry twilight zone, with its dark lavastone-lined pool, black-tiled hammam and dimmed lighting — a continuation of designer Sarah Lavoine’s sophisticated set-dressing throughout the hotel. The skin-enlivening properties of French brand Codage’s elixirs, used in treatments here, are no secret to beauty obsessives; but the hidden entrance to the hammam is. Okay, we’ll spill: it’s behind the waterfall in the swimming pool.
Treatments are charged by time, whether you want a massage or facial, each of which is customised to suit your needs. And if you’d like some steamy time back in your room — not like that — all suites come with a private hammam.
Open from 10am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday; till 7pm on Sundays. Spa facilities are free for guests to use.
Treat yourself to something ‘couture’ and perfectly tailored to you, perhaps some LED light therapy, or even a face peel, if you want to come home looking box-fresh.
A little more pampering Toning and tightening is the speciality at Outcore gym on rue Saint-Hyacinthe, where work-outs are high-intensity.
JK Place Paris
7th arrondissement
Spend long enough (around five minutes) in one of the Italian hotel group JK Place’s outposts — with their impeccable, no-expense-spared styling and top-form staff — and you’ll start to feel like you deserve the finer things in life. At the Parisian residence, this might be swanning about the enormous signature suite in a monogrammed robe, sipping champagne and martinis in the lounge, or tucking into carb-loaded Italian fare in the Casa Tua restaurant.
But what you deserve the most is some time out in the spa, indulging in rejuvenating Noble Panacea treatments, whose fountain-of-youth methods involve cupping and lifting, scrubbing and plumping. Escapism comes in the form of rituals inspired by Italian hotspots, serene swims in the pool, and little — or a lot of — treats for yourself in the beauty parlour.
Open from 9am to 8pm.
Treat yourself to the Renata Franca Method, which bills itself as ‘manual liposuction’, or a bit of body sculpting for a more burnished figure.
A little bit more pampering Call on some divine intervention at the Fontaine de Mars on rue Saint-Dominique. This elegant erection, built by Henri Beauvarlet, bears a bas-relief of Hygeia, goddess of health — we’re sure, if you ask nicely enough, she’ll look kindly on you.
Rosewood Hôtel de Crillon
8th arrondissement
Lavish excess may have been the downfall of Marie Antoinette, who frequented the palais that was to become Rosewood Hôtel de Crillon. But nowadays, this ultra-luxe hideaway serves sybarites very well. Take, par example, the Sense Spa’s pool, with golden tiles, the various sensations of ‘experience showers’ and miracle-working products from high-end, Japanese-French brand Evidens de Beauté.
Treatments might be as simple as a lavender-infused head massage or a sugar scrub; or as intensive as a peel with oxygenated jets or a neuro-feedback session, which gives real-time insight into how your brain operates. Round these out with some exposure to the glowing Himalayan salt wall, and the hotel’s diverse classes: aquatic sound baths, boxing, dance and more.
Open from 9am to 9pm.
Treat yourself to Rêverie: a bespoke massage laced with CBD oil — a collaboration with the wellbeing buffs at Huages.
A little more pampering When you’re embracing this level of luxury, blowing a small fortune on candles feels sufficiently frivolous — so set co-ords for Maison Diptyque on rue Duphot.
La Réserve Hotel and Spa Paris
8th arrondissement
A science lesson isn’t exactly conducive to relaxation, but La Réserve Hotel has quite the coup in securing therapists trained by Swiss brand Nescens in its spa. So, pay attention, class: it was invented by Professor Jacques Proust at the Center for the Prevention of Aging, and terms such as ‘ionic flux’ and ‘microcurrent emission generator’ crop up in its claims to youth-replenishment. We say, put your faith in science and book in for a cellular-rejuvenation ritual, ‘better-ageing’ facial and muscle-repair massage.
When you’re not putting your collagen through its paces, take long lazy strokes through the elegant, colonnaded pool or enjoy a Kure Bazaar mani-pedi. Or ensure you’re perfectly coiffed at the salon — here, there’s yet more formulae to muse over: French brand Flora Lab’s haircare covers massages to stimulate stem-cell regeneration and growth.
Open from 9am to 9pm.
Treat yourself to a hyaluronic-acid shot or slathering of youth-elixir serum to chase up the in-depth treatments, for the smooth-as-a-baby finish.
A little more pampering Make an offering to the temple of your body at Wild & the Moon on the Champs-Élysées, a trendy eatery where the menu has been compiled by vegan nutritionists. It’s munificent in both vitamins and portions, with burgers, banh mis and babkas on the menu, so you’re sure to leave satisfied.
Give yourself even more of a break, with our luxury spa hotels in the UK, and our collection of chic Parisian crashpads