A luxury spa located in the Finger Lakes region of New York redefines relaxation.
As fall descends upon Nantucket, seasonal and year-round residents alike cast their eyes to the mainland to take a deep breath after the hustle and bustle of the summer season. Few places offer the kind of tranquility found at the newly opened luxury spa and healing center at the Inns of Aurora in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Situated on 350 acres of bucolic farmland, the sprawling 15,000-square-foot spa looks out on the enchanting Cayuga Lake. The serenity of the landscape is reflected inside the spa itself through stunning design achieved by the global firm Hart Howerton. Here are some of the elements that make this spa simply otherworldly.
1. NATURAL LIGHT fills every space of the spa, from the salon to the café and the treatment rooms. Large windows frame the natural landscape, treating it as art.
2. THERE ARE OVER FIFTY PIECES of exceptional contemporary art throughout the building, including works by Tom Wesselmann, Jennifer Losch Bartlett and Helen Frankenthaler.
3. THE SPA is designed to evoke traditional barn structures, celebrating the fields that surround it and the historic farm location, yet reinterpreted with modern sensibilities. Building on local barn and farmhouse vernacular, the traditional lap siding, boards and battens, and metal standing seam roofs are reimagined in combination with minimal detailing and expansive windows.
4. THE BUILDING’S WHITE WALLS and chimneys, complemented by dark metal windows, are a nod to the tradition of white farmhouses. But the choice also ensures the surrounding colors of nature, changing season to season, feature as the primary palette.
5. THE NEUTRAL PALETTE used for the furniture brings warmth and texture to the modern building, reinforcing feelings of serenity and safety.
6. REINFORCING the design’s commitment to health and well-being, the spa is registered to pursue WELL certification, the premier global standard for advancing human health and well-being in buildings. The WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and well-being through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind.
