The traditional spa experience can sometimes feel impersonal—cold, sterile and faintly transactional. Spencer’s Spa was conceived as the opposite: a retreat that feels more like a private home than a clinic.
“I wanted Spencer’s to feel like an extension of your favorite living room,” says Ryan McCarthy, the founder and CEO. In 2024, the New York flagship opened in SoHo’s historic Tiffany & Co. building on Broadway, trading minimal whiteness for tactile warmth: soft halogen lighting, paneled walls and art from McCarthy’s personal collection, such as layered abstract works by the relatively unknown local painter Steven Gilbert. These hang beside mid-century furniture, books and sculptural objects curated in collaboration with British designer Charlotte Taylor. The effect, McCarthy says, is “a quiet oasis in the sky”—an environment where domestic comfort encourages the mind to unwind and the body to feel at ease.
That sense of calm extends to how the space weaves together connection and privacy. “The spa experience is a fine balance between private and public,” McCarthy says. The design at Spencer’s, he explains, allows guests to sense life around them—a door closing softly, footsteps passing—without ever feeling observed. “I love hearing the gentle creak of the original floorboards in an old house as someone moves down the hall. It reminds me that the place is full of life. Our spas take the same approach.”
