The best spas in Upstate New York to decompress in style

New York City buzzes with classic restaurants, hip bars, endless entertainment, and consistent crowds. Just a couple of hours north of the urban jungle sits a decidedly different type of destination – one where time slows down (a boon for your nervous system), the scenery drives creativity, and the lifestyle leans holistic.

Nature exists in its most gloriously undisturbed forms. Dense forests, rolling hillsides, and trickling streams provide beautiful backdrops for trekking. Creatives from Brooklyn have set up shop in the quaint towns of Beacon, Hudson, and Tannersville. Architects and interior designers enjoy the freedom to play with raw materials, rich colour, and space not available in shoebox Manhattan apartments. Galleries celebrate the works of local artists. Chefs with vision and talent are pushing the farm-to-table dining scene forward. And Upstate New York's hotels offer time to slow down.

This leafy corner of New York State has long been a haven for those seeking access to the health-boosting benefits and inspiration of the great outdoors. These days, it’s a full-blown wellness mecca where travellers can just as easily find hiking trails as sound baths and diamond facials. Surrounded by verdant land and lakes, spa days mean a mix of transformative treatments, meditation, and gentle (or exhaustive – take your pick) movement.

To help cull down the bounty of places to get pampered and, perhaps more importantly, nurtured from the inside out, Wallpaper* tapped in-the-know tastemakers to pick the coolest and most calming self-care spots in the area. From sprawling sanctuaries that mix up house-made tinctures to sleek, small-scale sanctums with a focus on hydrotherapy, these are the best spas in Upstate New York for rejuvenation (and, of course, resplendent design).

Hemlock Neversink, Neversink, NY

'I consider Hemlock Neversink the platonic ideal of a wellness escape,' says Jackie Caradonio, author of the forthcoming book The Inn Crowd. It’s set on 230 acres, encircled with private trails, and has a goat barn – the 'most therapeutic experience one can ever hope to have' – plus movement classes. The wood-clad spa menu runs the spectrum from holistic rituals such as energy healing to cutting-edge LED light therapy facials. 'After the Grounding Slumber Massage, I had the best sleep of my life.'

Hemlock Spa at Kenoza Hall, Kenoza Lake, NY

Kenoza Hall might not have invented the concept of 'earthy luxury,' but the charming lakeside hotel certainly mastered it. It’s a place to breathe deep and rest easy. Taking a holistic approach to wellness rooted in naturopathy, Hemlock Spa stays on theme with wood walls, a pebble floor, and lush plants. There are treatment rooms for massages and seasonal lavender body scrubs. The airy movement studio hosts aerial yoga, sound baths, and guided meditation. The wellness offerings spill outside, where an outdoor barrel sauna, a Kneipp path, a fire pit, a hot tub, a heated pool, and walking trails await.

Inness, Accord, NY

Quiet and understated, with a very obvious lean toward leisure, Inness is prime for a reset. Crafted with stained pine and corrugated steel, the sleek freestanding spa is effortlessly elegant, pared back with a nod to the barns that pepper with part of Upstate. 'The wooden dry sauna and plastered Bathhouse hammam with cold plunge feel almost elemental,' says Nick Cope, co-founder of Calico Wallpaper. The 7,000-square-foot space also supplies a heated indoor pool, a steam room, five treatment rooms with skylights, and a fitness studio.

Oak Wellness Club, Tivoli, NY

When lifestyle guru Jenni Kayne (the brains behind her eponymous clothing line of elevated essentials that’s since expanded to home and beauty) puts her stamp on something, you know it’s going to be impeccably curated and exude her signature classic, minimal style. Her newest project, the Oak Wellness Club at the Jenni Kayne Farmhouse in Tivoli, is no exception. The exclusive, invite-only wellness destination offers a clutch of self-care experiences, including Oak Essentials facials and massages in a light-drenched treatment room, sauna, cold plunge, Pilates, yoga, healing meditation, and an outdoor pool.

Opal Spa at The Sagamore Resort, Bolton Landing, NY

An enduring legacy landmark on Lake George, The Sagamore Resort is a historic vacation destination with plenty of modern amenities to pamper present-day travelers. Surrounded by the natural beauty of glimmering water and forested mountain peaks, the standout spa has 13 treatment rooms for Adirondack stone massages and glow-boosting facials, a hydrotherapy area, and recently debuted halotherapy. Wellness seekers can also book 30-minute sessions to breathe in the respiratory benefits of detoxifying salt-inhalation in the new, climate-controlled Salt & Sound Lounge.

Piaule Catskill, Catskill, NY

Piaule Catskill is an intimate, landscaped country hotel. Mirroring the rest of the minimalist respite, the tranquil, design-forward spa mixes wood and concrete into a Japanese-meets-Scandinavian aesthetic that feels right at home in the undulating hills of the Catskills. The heated saltwater and cold mineral pools and forest views are hard to beat. Massages, yoga, and sound baths also promise to melt away stress. 'It’s simple, pure, and grounding – just what you want Upstate,' adds Rachel Cope, co-founder of Calico Wallpaper and Upper Hudson Valley resident.

Spa at Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz, NY

Guests have flocked to Mohonk Mountain House for a reboot since 1869. Continuing Albert K. Smiley’s original mission: 'To provide opportunities for recreation and renewal of body, mind, and spirit in a beautiful natural setting,' the beloved castle resort continues its foundational wellness philosophy. The 30,000 square-foot mountaintop spa features expanded self-care experiences – including mindfulness sessions, crystal facials, hydrotherapy massages, and lakeside immersion therapy (think of it as a natural cold plunge) – and a seasonal outdoor treatment sanctuary overlooking Lake Mohonk.

The Barns at Troutbeck, Amenia, NY

'The Barns at Troutbeck is one of our favourite places to unwind – it’s serene, beautifully designed, and deeply connected to the land,' says Nick Cope. Constructed from timber reclaimed from the old Tappan Zee Bridge and flooded with light courtesy of the large windows, the setting adds a quiet magic to every experience. The thoughtful, ever-evolving wellness programming includes infrared sauna sessions, yoga, forest bathing, astrology, and a new slate of nature-driven facials, massages, and scrubs in collaboration with Wildsmith. 'The sound bath sessions are especially memorable –calming, immersive, and unlike anything else in the area.'

The Spa at Inns of Aurora, Aurora, NY

In the Upstate schema, the Finger Lakes still flies under the radar (at least, for most Manhattanites), which makes it all the more compelling for a proper escape – especially if you’re staying at The Inns of Aurora, a collection of curated guesthouses, which Caradonio likens to the albergo diffuso hotels of Italy. 'The newest addition to the campus is its 15,000-square-foot spa, a rare new-build that combines chic farmhouse architecture, contemporary art, indoor and outdoor hydrotherapy pools, meditation spaces, and Ayurveda-inspired treatments, all in a picturesque field of cattail grass overlooking Cayuga Lake.'

Thistle, An Auberge Spa at Wildflower Farms, Gardiner, NY

'Thistle, An Auberge Spa at Wildflower Farms is the best spa around in my book,' says Rachel Cope. Like the rest of the luxury wellness-oriented resort, the wood-clad wellness haven lovingly cajoles guests into connecting with nature. Both the interiors and the bespoke treatments are inspired by seasonal shifts. Hand-blended botanical products power the revolving menu of signature treatments. Healers perform ancient modalities of Reiki and acupuncture. 'I love the stress-melting massage and the light-filled relaxation room overlooking the meadow.'