Orient Express La Minerva Spa

Orient Express La Minerva Unveiled a Stunning New Spa Inspired by Ancient Roman Baths

March 10, 2026

The new wellness sanctuary in Rome blends Ottoman hammam rituals, Sicilian skincare and dramatic design for an immersive escape.

Rome has always understood the art of slowing down. In ancient times, locals gathered at elaborate bathhouses to relax, socialize and restore body and mind. Now, one of the city’s newest luxury hotels is bringing that ritual back in style.

At Orient Express La Minerva, a newly opened spa draws inspiration from the bathing traditions of Roman thermae and the cleansing rituals of the Ottoman hammam. Located steps from the Pantheon, the space is designed as a journey — one that unfolds gradually through heat, steam and water.

Guests move through a sequence of thermal rooms inspired by classical bathing culture. The experience begins in a gently warmed space that allows the body to acclimatize before progressing to a steamy calidarium and ending with a refreshing cold plunge designed to awaken the senses.

Orient Express La Minerva Spa

The spa itself feels cinematic. Designed by artist-architect Hugo Toro, the interiors blend rich travertine and marble with stained oak and hand-blown Murano glass lighting that casts a warm, candle-like glow. A striking marble hammam anchors the space, surrounded by delicate fountains and intricately patterned screens that play with light and shadow.

Treatments lean into ancient purification rituals. Guests can indulge in elaborate hammam experiences that incorporate aromatic steam, exfoliating scrubs, clay wraps and foaming massages designed to leave skin radiant and muscles fully relaxed.

The spa partners with Sicilian luxury skincare brand Furtuna Skin, known for its botanical formulas crafted from ingredients grown on an organic estate in Sicily. Signature treatments combine natural actives with techniques like facial massage and Gua Sha to boost circulation and revive tired skin.

For travellers looking to keep their wellness routine intact, the spa also includes a Technogym-equipped fitness space and a dedicated Kinesis training room offering personalised workouts, yoga and Pilates sessions.

In a city that practically invented the spa day, Orient Express La Minerva has created a new sanctuary that feels both ancient and unmistakably modern — the kind of place where you might check in for an hour and emerge feeling like you’ve travelled through time.

Aire ancient baths Toronto

AIRE Ancient Baths Just Opened in Toronto

December 16, 2025

The candlelit circuit of thermal pools offers a welcome antidote to the city’s winter chill and mid-season blues.

If there’s one thing Canadian winters are good at, it’s reminding you how tense your shoulders can get. Short days, icy sidewalks, endless layers. Enter AIRE Ancient Baths, the international wellness brand that has just opened its first Canadian location in Toronto, bringing with it a deeply soothing answer to cold weather fatigue.

Long a favourite ritual in cities like New York, London and Barcelona, AIRE has built a devoted following for its atmospheric approach to thermal bathing. Its first Canadian location brings that same slow, immersive experience into a restored 1912 heritage building downtown, just as the city enters its coldest stretch of the year.

Warm stone surfaces, low lighting and hundreds of flickering candles set the tone, while a series of thermal pools at different temperatures encourages you to move slowly, warming up, cooling down and repeating as your body dictates. Unlike a traditional day spa, AIRE centres on communal thermal bathing, inspired by ancient Roman, Greek and Ottoman traditions. Silence, or near silence, is part of the experience, and time becomes pleasantly vague. Optional massage rituals take place within the bathing space itself, which keeps the experience feeling continuous rather than segmented.

The experience tends to appeal to travellers and locals who enjoy slowing down. It’s well suited to solo visits, quiet dates or post-trip decompression. This isn’t a social spa or a quick in-and-out treatment — it’s a place to linger (and warm up).