Is your back aching after long days confined within four walls due to COVID? Then we might just have found the perfect treatment for you.
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The Jerusalem Waldorf Astoria Hotel has recently opened a luxury international spa complex by the famous French Guerlain Spa brand, at a total cost of NIS15 million.
The spa was designed by Turkish designer Sinan Kafadar and Israeli designer Keren Offner, and is the natural continuation of the luxury experience the hotel offers its guests.
The French Guerlain cosmetics house was founded in 1828 by chemist Pascal Guerlain. "The spa, created by one of the world's oldest companies, is the first international spa in Israel," says Avner On, the hotel's general manager.
A pool, a gym, and a Turkish bath
The two-floor spa complex offers a variety of services. On the first floor is an indoor pool 33 meters long, including an endless pool and lounge beds. This floor also includes two lavish Turkish baths, two dry saunas, sumptuous dressing rooms, and personal lockers.
On the second floor is a gym equipped with pieces by the Italian Technogym brand. There are also personal workout rooms, a waiting room in the spa treatment center with a hot and cold drinks dispenser, and 9 spacious treatment rooms equipped with state-of-the-art technology for maximum comfort, including massage beds by the German Gharieni brand and a multimedia system with lighting and temperature controls and music channels. One of the rooms is a double suite with a dry sauna and private shower.
The spa's color scheme is cream and glittering light gray – soothing colors that create a lush, tranquil atmosphere. The natural wood floor incorporates local elements such as Jerusalem stone. The pool ceiling simulates the clock ceiling in the hotel's lobby, and the entire spa is fitted with finely designed light fixtures. The work on the spa's interior was executed by Israeli firms using local materials.
The aromatic oils used for body treatments are produced from the honey of black bees, which Guerlain grows especially on a small island in the Atlantic Ocean, or from orchids grown on exotic Far East farms.
A 200-year-old tradition
"This spa has a tradition going back over 200 years. Guerlain is known the world over as a leading luxury brand, which befits the Waldorf Astoria," says On. "It took over two years to construct the spa at the level we strove for. Everything to provide the hotel's guests and the thousands of Israelis seeking rest for their body and soul with a luxurious, pleasurable, and soothing facility at the highest possible standard."
According to On, the state-of-the-art massage beds adjust themselves to the client. "Each bed costs €10,000. The bed can be adjusted to fit the angle of the head and back, the legs, and the arms, with a heating system beneath the top towel and a multimedia system for lighting, temperature, and music control. I believe our treatment rooms are currently the largest in Israel."
The spa offers a wide variety of body treatments implementing Guerlain Spa techniques and the luxurious products of the French brand, as well as face treatments using its unique methods. These are provided by experienced cosmeticians, graduates of Guerlain Paris's months-long courses.
Treatments are offered not only to hotel guests, but to the general public as well. Guerlain products, especially Guerlain Exclusive products, can be purchased at the spa, which is the exclusive vendor of these items.
The Waldorf Astoria was built on the foundations of the famous luxury Palace Hotel, and is considered the most expensive hospitality project in Israel, built at an investment of about $150 million. The hotel contains 226 rooms, including 29 suites, a sumptuous ballroom, sophisticated conference rooms, gourmet restaurants, a gym, a lavish spa, and a service standard among the highest in Israel.
Mediterranean luxury
The Garden Terrace, the Waldorf Astoria's summer bar, has recently reopened. Overlooking the Jerusalem skyline, it was carefully designed to fit the high standard characteristic of the top-notch hotel chain.
The terrace is designed in a Mediterranean garden style, with local olive trees, flowers, and potted plants, a special deck floor, and exclusive garden furniture. Its custom lighting was designed by a lighting designer hired especially to provide the terrace with a harmonious atmosphere and highlight its nuanced details. The terrace features an open kitchen and bar to entertain the guests, who can watch the chefs and bartenders preparing their dishes and cocktails.
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The menu was created by the hotel's Chef de Cuisine Itzik Mizrachi Barak, with exquisite bar dishes in Mediterranean tapas-style. The bar features cocktails based on high-quality materials concocted by the hotel's expert mixologists, with a rich variety of luxury, vintage, and smoky drinks.
Cigar lovers will enjoy the fabulous Garden Terrace cigar collection. The terrace is open to hotel guests and the general public from Sunday to Thursday between 18:30 and 22:30. The hotel offers two-hour free parking for diners.
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