(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- A destination spa born of Italian luxury is now welcoming guests to an historic waterfront on Governor’s Island, warming them with saunas and unbeatable views of the lower Manhattan skyline. 

It’s the first U.S. sanctuary from the team  behind QC Terme Spas and Resorts, and offers clients bespoke furnishings, charmingly designed saunas, and immaculate changing rooms lined with rows of $400 Dyson Supersonic hair dryers and $300 Frette robes. The setting? A cluster of repurposed military barracks on the island park. One building houses the day spa; two are still being renovated.

“Sometimes you go to spas and they can be very crowded, so this is quite nice. It is quite peaceful and you can get away,” says 31-year-old Augusta Dorey from Sussex, England, who was spending the day with her sister, who dwells in New York. “There's enough space for everyone to feel like it's very private.”  The women were the very first patrons at QC Terme New York on Friday, March 4, after taking a short ferry ride from Manhattan. With QC Terme’s 74,000-square-foot capacity limited to 150 patrons for now, the women had space to spread out. 

The spa cost $50 million to build and took more than seven years of planning, construction, and restoration of the three landmarked buildings, which go back to the early 1900s.  This is the 10th destination for the Milan-based company, its first outside Europe. 

QC Terme packed contemporary Italian elegance into the New York location under the art direction of Alessandro Bolis, who imported many design elements from Italy, from light fixtures to fabrics. Bolis says he used quite a bit of the original wood flooring and reclaimed architectural elements from the barracks.

Inside are many whimsical ways to unwind, such as an unexpected Jukebox Room adorned with sheet music as wallpaper and oversized lounge chairs, soothing jazz music ,and an old-time Victrola. A Cocoon Room with swinging chairs suspended from the ceiling is kissed with a soothing aqua color that helps melt stress away.

The company flew in artisans to create outdoor pools, as they’ve done in Europe for Terme properties. The spa’s management says they are clean and therapeutic while using less chlorine.

A handful of heated massage chairs and loungers on the deck have heated pads so customers can warm up while they gaze at New York Harbor. Inside, scented dry saunas feature photo backdrops of Big Apple skylines and renderings of Central Park. 

“We are for sure Italian, and we want this to feel like an Italian house where you find all the memories and all the good things we have learned during our travels,” said Andrea Quadrio Curzio, chief executive officer and founder of QC Terme. Yet, he adds, “We have been explorers all along.”

“It's always been our dream to come to New York, so this was a no-brainer,” says Janine Digioacchino, CEO of QC Terme USA. “It had everything we look for in a location, with spectacular views and an ability to have something that feels like it's a break—a short distance away from one of the greatest cities in the world.” Digioacchino adds that she imagines branching out to such other U.S. cities as Miami or Las Vegas.

QC Terme has already built a global following. “I have visited the property in Chamonix once and in Rome three times—and now the one in New York,” says 32-year-old Molly Finn, an opening day visitor who works for Johnson & Johnson in Rome.  “They each have a jaw-dropping element, so naturally I have made it my goal to see them all, so I can enjoy the same tranquility and rejuvenation.”

It’s a tranquility that is both luxurious and social because of so many places to congregate, including the grassy pool area and the Cocoon Room.

The calm comes at a cost: Day passes are priced according to when you visit, running about $88-$100 without such add-on services as Swedish massage, which can run up to $250 depending on duration of treatment.

QC NY is open from Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, it will be open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., with a special ferry returning visitors later. Governors Island is accessible by ferry from Manhattan and Brooklyn.

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