Who doesn’t enjoy a long, restorative soak—especially when it takes place in a striking, tranquil setting? AIRE Ancient Baths, a global wellness brand, revives the centuries-old tradition of thermal bathing practiced in classical civilizations such as Rome, Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Each AIRE location provides a calm urban sanctuary where guests can experience luxurious bathing rituals and restorative therapies.
© AIRE Ancient Baths
There are three AIRE locations in the United States: Chicago, a recently expanded Tribeca location in New York, and a new site on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Each site offers its own atmosphere and signature experiences. On the Upper East Side, guests can enjoy self-guided thermal bathing or indulge in a specialty treatment such as the Signature Monet Experience, inspired by Claude Monet’s Water Lilies. Performed in a restored warehouse once associated with the Museum of Modern Art, the treatment begins with a 30-minute exfoliation using rose crystals and an argan shell scrub while you relax on a warm marble bed. This is followed by a seaweed body wrap, during which a therapist uses an artist’s brush to deepen the Monet theme. The ritual also includes a honey hair mask, floral aromatherapy, a 60-minute full-body massage and a serving of virgin sparkling rosé wine with macarons.
The Upper East Side venue features six distinct baths: The Caldarium hot bath maintained at 104°F, two Tepidarium warm baths at 97°F, the Frigidarium ice bath at 50°F and a Balneum jet bath. A standout element is the suspended, glass-walled Flotarium salt bath, which appears to hover between two floors and emits a calming blue glow for an almost otherworldly float experience.
© AIRE Ancient Baths
The Chicago location occupies a restored 1902 factory in the River West neighborhood, where original exposed brick, timber beams and industrial columns set a memorable tone. Among its offerings is the Orange Garden experience, which combines time in the thermal baths with a 35-minute massage using AIRE’s Signature Orange Garden oil, a 25-minute facial massage with Gua Sha, a hydrogel face mask and a soothing scalp massage.
In Tribeca, AIRE resides in a renovated 1883 textile factory that spans 16,000 square feet of candlelit spaces and features a Tepidarium beneath a skylight. One of the signature offerings here is the Signature Wine Experience, available as a solo or couples treatment. After time in the thermal baths, guests receive a 15-minute cranial massage with a honey hair mask followed by a private 30-minute red wine bath, which harnesses antioxidants from Spanish Ribera del Duero grapes. The ritual concludes with a one-hour full-body massage using grapeseed oil and a curated tasting of select cheeses.
© AIRE Ancient Baths
Beyond the U.S., AIRE Ancient Baths operates in several international cities, including Toronto, London, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Seville, Almería and Vallromanes, each reflecting local architecture and design while preserving the brand’s core traditions of restorative bathing and slow, sensory-driven therapies.