I’ve been to spas all over the world, and it’s not that I’m unable to relax, per se. It’s that — to be perfectly frank about my occupational hang-ups — my mind has often remained restless in waiting rooms as I silently judge a spa’s design decisions, wondering why it’s so hard for someone to come along and design something truly cool. From the garish, Daily Candy–era palette of Bliss spas to the grotto-esque cosplay of Great Jones, there’s never been something that felt completely like a true design person’s vibe — until now. The new Spencer’s spa in Soho was designed by founder Ryan McCarthy in partnership with Charlotte Taylor (whose interior taste we trust implicitly, having featured her own London home in How to Live With Objects) and EBBA Architects. Enter the space, and you’re greeted by a soothing, impeccably furnished lounge that’s akin to stumbling into your favorite Hackney vintage shop. The whole thing kind of makes you want to throw away your furniture and start all over with a palette of swirly Ron Arad chairs, Regency-era benches, Paul Evans–esque coffee tables, primitive abstract sculptures, and a bookcase full of vintage gems about design, art, women, wellness, tarot, and the occult.

McCarthy and Taylor approached the project with ideas about Japanese ryokans, Italian resorts, and ’90s Calvin Klein–style minimalism in their heads; “Charlotte and I spoke at length about how the space should feel more than how it should specifically look,” McCarthy says. During the design process, the two would stay up late, messaging each other incredible pieces they’d sourced from all over the world. “There’s something very special that happens when you spend so much time looking at pieces together,” says McCarthy. “The rooms tend to become more like rooms of a house we intended to live in and host guests.” And that’s perhaps what it is — entering Spencer’s feels like visiting your coolest friend’s apartment and taking notes for your mental moodboard, from a red-paneled bathroom with a sleek black toilet to a dreamy wall of white curtains to the abstract artist whose additive paintings create focal points in both the entryway and the lounge. (I inquired, and they’re the work of Steven Gilbert, a largely unknown artist who passed away during the pandemic. McCarthy discovered the pieces while touring abandoned Soho lofts in his search for the perfect location.)

That the treatments are as considered as the space itself says something; McCarthy is a former competitive athlete who understands the importance of rest and repair. Luckily for us, he understands as well that true relaxation comes from creating a space that’s as easy on the eyes as it is on the joints. 

PHOTOS BY SEAN DAVIDSON