Special TREATMENT

With high-tech beauty offerings at the freshly renovated Hôtel Plaza Athénée and a new location in Portofino, Dior spas are redesigning wellness

Vanities /Beauty

Kia D. Goosby

FOR MORE THAN a century, the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, located at 25 Avenue Montaigne, has offered its guests a luxurious respite amid the bustling city streets and the chance to indulge in Part de vivre, the art of living well. Just a few doors down, at 30 Avenue Montaigne, fashion designer Christian Dior did the same when establishing his couture house in 1946. It was there that he would eventually create the iconic Bar suit, his new look, a style he dreamed up for the women who dined at Le Relais Plaza, the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant. Many of its star-studded clientele—Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Lauren Bacall, Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, and Sophia Loren among them—morphed from muses to devotees, often making their way across the avenue to shop at Dior. In 2008 the hotel and the fashion house made the relationship official with the completion of the Dior Spa Plaza Athénée.

Today, the synergy has been renewed with a fresh renovation of the tranquil space well-known for its high-tech treatments accented by sumptuous details characteristic of the French fashion house. Here, warm lighting sets a gentle mood as a marble pool engraved with the brand's signature rose des vents invites guests to explore a range of sophisticated treatments from light therapy to massage to facials to cryotherapy. Five single-occupancy treatment rooms are reflective of significant themes in Dior's lifeConstellation, for his love of astrology; Miss Dior, for the first fragrance made in honor of his sister Catherine; Montaigne, for the Plaza Athénée and Dior studios; Granville, for the designer's birthplace; New Look, for his 1947 collection launch—and one additional room is dedicated solely to light therapy.

Inside the Dior Light Suite, created in partnership with the innovative French lighting company Lucibel-le Paris, an LED-studded ceiling mimics the incandescence of the sun, delivering a doctor-approved dose of sunlight to help rebalance energy levels, encourage healthy sleep, and erase signs of fatigue. The "sky" diffuses a natural light, with three levels of intensity: energizing, relaxing, and regenerating. For those plagued by jet lag or those struggling with daily stressors, three new 105minute treatments inspired by the sun claim to aid in resetting circadian and chronobiological rhythms, each coupling light therapy with a complementary massage. "Recover" cloaks the body in amber-hued half-light during a stimulating massage. "Rest" offers a mix of sensorial stimulation through light that channels the sunset and massage. This weary traveler opted for the D-Tissue massage to release tension and reoxygenate muscles, essentially reharmonizing one's internal clock for restoration and rejuvenation.

Elsewhere, this month, Dior is continuing its commitment to wellness with a new location at the Splendido, a Belmond Hotel, in Portofino. Set between the gardens and the ocean, Spa Splendido is the first permanent Dior spa in Italy, with a focus on well-being. The signature service there, Splendidior, is a holistic treatment for both face and body, promising to offer full relaxation, with guided energizing power utilizing semiprecious stones. Ready for a new look and feel, sign me up, pronto.