Remember when spas meant cucumbers on your eyes, mud baths, and aroma therapy steam rooms? That’s so 2022. The future of spa treatments has arrived, and it’s more about AI-powered biohacking than seaweed body wraps. Enter Remedy Place. The “Social Wellness Club,” as founder and CEO Dr. Jonathan Leary calls it, is on the front lines of this new era of wellness, in which the health-conscious are more interested in performance than pampering. Last month, they opened their latest outpost in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, a 7,400-square-foot location on Greene Street featuring treatments that blend cutting-edge technology with trendy recovery techniques.
Cryochambers set to -175F? Check. Red Light therapy bed? Check. An AI Robot rub down? Why not? The club has caught the attention of such celebrities as snowboarder Shaun White, Nicole Kidman, Kim Kardashian, and Drake. I usually prefer my wellness more old school. Give me a steam room and a massage therapist named Olga with really strong elbows, and I’m good. However, I was intrigued by Remedy Place SoHo and wanted to find out what all the hubbub was about, so I stopped by for a series of treatments that normally would be outside my comfort zone. Here’s what I discovered.
Social Spa Vibe
Upon entering Remedy Place SoHo, you are immediately struck by how different it is than traditional spas. It doesn’t smell like eucalyptus, and the sounds of the Brazilian rainforest aren’t being piped through the speakers. The color scheme is organic earth tones under dim lighting, more like a boutique hotel lobby than a sterile wellness center. While most clubs are geared towards individual treatments, Remedy Place is designed for group interaction. There’s a sunken living room where members can chill while sipping complimentary bone broth or matcha tea, therapy suites built for group sessions, and even the vitamin IV drip area feels more like a high-end lounge than a medical facility. I was assigned my own personal spa concierge, who introduced me to my first treatment.
Lymphatic Compression Suit
Lying on a comfortable couch, I slipped on a lymphatic compression suit, which can best be described as giant ski pants that cover your legs and midriff. The concierge flipped a switch, and the pants came to life, pulsating and massaging my legs, abs, and lower back in a slow, rhythmic motion. The FDA-approved compression suit helps stimulate the lymphatic system by encouraging the movement and drainage of lymphatic fluid. This is good for circulation and pain relief. Having just flown on a plane for six hours, I found it was the perfect antidote to seat 27E in economy class.
AI-Powered Bodywork
Next up was my robot massage. Exchanging my ski pants for a tight-fitting t-shirt and shorts, I lay on a table while AI sensors scanned my entire body. Then, two large robotic arms swooped down and began having their way with me, applying deep tissue pressure to various parts of my back and glutes.
A large touchscreen below my face offered a map of my posterior, indicating where the massage was happening and what the robotic arms were doing. I could control the pressure and tell the mechanical masseuse what I liked and didn’t like. The treatment felt nice, and it was great for barroom chatter (“Guess what I did today?”), but I prefer the touch of a human. That said, I can see why this might be a good alternative for those who are squeamish about massages. The concierge told me she preferred it because she was ticklish and could better control the experience.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers
Unique to Remedy’s SoHo location, these mini space capsules deliver pure oxygen to a person in a pressurized environment. Think of it as a sealed pod where the air pressure is increased to 2-3 times higher than normal atmospheric pressure. I took my seat in the capsule and placed an oxygen mask over my face while the concierge sealed the trap door tight.
Originally developed to treat decompression sickness in divers, hyperbaric oxygen chambers are now used for athletic recovery, anti-aging benefits, and general wellness. The treatments last around an hour. If you’re claustrophobic or prone to constantly popping your ears on airline flights, this might not be for you, but pro athletes LeBron James, Simone Biles, and Tom Brady swear by it. And they’ve done pretty well for themselves.
Red Light Bed
Remedy offers a full-body FDA-cleared red light bed. If you’re unfamiliar with red light therapy, it is exactly what it sounds like—wavelengths of red light penetrate deep into your tissue, stimulating collagen production, improving circulation, and reducing inflammation. At Remedy Spa, you lie in a dark room on a red light bed with a protective covering on your eyes as the light works its magic all over your body and face. Think of it like a day at the beach under the Hawaiian sun without the sunburn and constant application of SPF 50.
Infrared Sauna and Ice Bath
Last but not least, I tried the hot-cold challenge. Staring in the infrared sauna, I sweated out what felt like half my body weight. Saunas typically operate below 150 degrees, but Remedy infrared saunas reach about 170 degrees. This is one of the only facilities in the country to allow guests to personalize their heat settings, including traditional Finnish dry heat and infrared options that can be experienced at the same time or separately. It’s said infrared sauna sessions can mimic the effects of moderate exercise on the cardiovascular system, which is a good alternative to actual moderate exercise.
Once I was good and hot, I was ready for the pièce de résistance, the most popular feature at Remedy Place—the breathwork ice bath studio. The session began with a five-minute breathing exercise with Dr. Leary’s voice as my guide. Next, my spa concierge asked if I wanted to join the “Six Minute Club,” meaning I would submerge my entire body into a 39-degree water tub for six minutes. I nervously agreed. If Kim could do it, so could I. She played a song by Coldplay (the pun was not lost on me) and guided me through my first plunge. The bath was painful for the first two minutes, but after my body adjusted, it was downright invigorating. I would definitely repeat.
As I returned to the city streets and everyday life, I realized my skepticism about high-tech wellness had melted away like my body fat in that 170-degree infrared sauna. Sure, I will always have a soft spot for Olga and her magical elbows, but Remedy Place opened my eyes to a new world of wellness that was both futuristic and deeply satisfying. I slept like a baby that night.
