Houston’s New Serene Retreat Takes Relaxation to a New Level — Your First Look at the Thompson Spa

Looking for a quiet escape to pass a few hours? A peaceful retreat where you can unwind and perhaps get an uplifting aromatic massage or an age-defying facial far above the madding crowd and the bumper-to-bumper traffic of Houston? Consider checking out the Thompson Spa at the new Thompson Houston hotel.

Set six stories above Allen Parkway in the gleaming newly built high-rise tower that houses the Thompson Houston, this is no ordinary spa. Here in hush surrounds, six treatment suites with indoor and outdoor areas to relax in pre or post treatment, saunas and a salon beckon you to slip on a robe and select one of the myriad innovative treatments that blend age-old ancestral traditions with the latest in scientific innovations.

Headlining at this boutique spa is Pietro Simone, the famed Italian-born skincare guru and proprietor of New York City’s House of Pietro Simone. Simone’s line of skincare products and signature facials can be found in dozens of hotels in Europe, the British Isles and the Middle East, as well as at exclusive resorts stateside, including Meadowood in Napa Valley and the Four Seasons Nashville.

This new Houston spa marks Simone’s debut with Thompson Hotels. It is also the first spa he’s been involved with in Texas.

Simone is known for his results-driven facials. Nearly every offering combines different applications of facial massage, from dry rub to the now trendy structural intraoral massage, where a gloved technician works in your mouth to relieve facial tension, working the muscles and ligaments inside and out, to produce lymphatic stimulation that results in an external look of plumpness and lift.

Looking back to techniques where East meets West, Simone’s lieutenants also deftly use jade stone combs, a Chinese healing method much in vogue to cleanse the skin. This is followed by the application of two smooth rose quartz gua sha tools, one in each hand, to vigorously sweep your visage upwards in an effort to depuff and define the cheekbones and jaw.

Nearly all of Simone’s facials — which range from cellular-activating treatments such as one that focuses on hydration to another that aims to brighten (both costing $325 for 70 minutes) — use a technique he calls cotton threading. He was inspired by his grandmother who worked in a fabric mill in Italy. As a teen, he watched her gather remnant fabric pieces to create a loofah-like exfoliator to soften skin. Later, Simone discovered that he could use just a single organic cotton thread to achieve that same exfoliating effect.

For example, in his age-management facial, his threading technique is used in conjunction with a light five percent lactic acid peel. Working together, the taut thread is applied in circular motions, focusing on microcirculation to rid the skin of acne, blackheads and fine lines.

A Holistic Skincare Approach

The Thompson Spa also offers treatments with Agent Nateur’s natural based line of green beauty and clean skincare. The line was created by Jena Covello, who at age 23 was diagnosed with endometriosis and suffered for years with pain and discomfort brought on by the condition, not to mention five subsequent surgeries. In an effort to alleviate the pain, Covello sought out holistic alternatives and healing professionals.

When she realized that most commercial deodorants contain aluminum — which can mimic estrogen in the body, exacerbating her condition — she began making what she now calls her holi-stick deodorant in her own home kitchen, making more than 100 batches before she hit the right formula. Word of mouth spread, and soon Covello was in business, eventually expanding to develop a line of clinically proven skincare.

Agent Nateur integrates holi glow, a gentle serum for your most delicate skin areas (read: eyes and lips) that plumps with moisture and smooths fine lines, and holi (oil) that includes a powerful dose of antioxidants such as vitamin A and vitamin C rich rosehip oil, vitamin B and vitamin E rich Japanese rice bran oil, and sodium ascorbyl phosphate.

Book an Agent Nateur signature glass skin facial, and your pores will be bathed in hormone-safe skincare products that promise to leave your face clear, hydrated and glowy. The 80 minute sensory experience ($350) layers natural ingredients such as cucumber water, rosa damascene oil and chamomile as your skin is double cleansed with an oil cleanser followed by an acid wash. A facial massage ensues followed by Covello’s signature holi-bright mask and a rosewater toner, a gentle eye and lip serum, and the “holi grail” of her products: holi (oil), akin to nature’s own retinol.

Her lift and renew facial ($230 for 50 minutes) is the natural answer to a shot of Botox, stopping cells from aging, albeit temporarily. Aiming to firm and resurface, this zero downtime, no needle treatment focuses on easy exfoliation and deep hydration to restore volume for a more luminous appearance.

Meanwhile, say bye-bye to all anxious vibes with the CBD stress alleviation massage (60 minutes for $265, 90 minutes for $385). Start the experience internally by downing a CBD shot chased by a CBD gummy, each care of Acrely Farms, a Utah hemp farm. As you lie on your stomach, the masseuse applies a thick CBD-infused mud mask over your back and a cooling balm on your feet. Then, with a firm therapeutic touch, the brand’s rose bud-infused “gold” oil is kneaded through those knots deep within your neck and shoulders.

Last, apropos for Houston, aka Space City, the magnesium and infrared pain release massage (70 minutes for $340, 100 minutes for $460) was originally developed by NASA engineers to tackle injuries with an advanced multi-modality approach with red and infrared (IR) light therapy. Here, a flexible LD panel, which has the ability to contour close to the skin’s surface to facilitate increased light absorption, can be draped across any area of the body to offer relief for muscle and joint injury and inflammation from arthritis, with light that penetrates deep below the surface of the skin to target pain at its source.

The magnesium component is infused in a purifying charcoal mask applied all over the body.

Yes, this new Thompson Spa brings a new level of treatment.

Thompson Spa at the Thompson Houston hotel is located 1717 Allen Parkway.