I Visited Remedy Place, The Social Club Transforming The Wellness Industry

Upon entering Remedy Place, you wouldn’t immediately know that it’s a wellness hotspot beloved by the likes of Drake and Kacey Musgraves — the 7,200-square-foot space doesn’t look like your run-of-the-mill venue to get acupuncture or an I.V. drip (two of the many services on its menu). Rather than clinical-looking treatment beds in stark white rooms separated by hospital-gown-blue curtains, there are cozy lounge chairs, a cafe that offers juice and tonics, and spacious rooms where you can, say, take an ice bath or hang in an infrared sauna with your pals. Aesthetically, the interior looks like a darker-colored version of Kim Kardashian’s house.

Remedy Place, which officially opened the doors of its New York City outpost in September, was designed this way for a reason. The entire space is meant to promote interpersonal connections and to make receiving wellness treatments more fun, perhaps even something you’d do after work with a friend instead of hitting up happy hour. Founder Jonathan Leary likens it to a “wellness social club.”

“We’re a whole entire club that’s centered around holistic self-care and maintaining your health and your social life at the same time,” Leary says as he shows me around the space. “We’re not a spa, we’re not a clinic. In a spa, you isolate yourself in a room. Everything here is made to be social.” Take, for instance, the plush area dedicated to communal acupuncture, or the “watch and drip” — a room that’s essentially a cinema with cozy beds where you can get an I.V. drip or lymphatic compression with your BFF as a drop-down projector plays the TV show or movie of your choice. Kim Kardashian partook in one of Remedy Place’s group signature breathwork ice bath classes — a group activity during which a staff member guides you through 11 minutes of breathwork before everyone sits in a tub of 39-degree Fahrenheit water for six minutes to reap a host of mental and physical benefits.

On an obvious level, doing cryotherapy or cupping with your friends is better for your health than going out to drink margaritas. But there’s also something to be said for the element of being with others. “Human connection enhances your relationships, but also the benefits of the treatment,” says Leary, who describes it as “social self-care.”

Walking through the space, it’s easy to see the appeal, even for someone like me who — until now — never considered doing group acupuncture or cold plunges over going to the movies or a bar with my friends. It’s the place’s architecture that makes you want to spend as much time hanging there as possible; it’s a truly gorgeous respite in the middle of Manhattan’s Flatiron District and was designed by Leary himself (who happens to be a chiropractor but could totally run a successful side hustle in interiors).

“Our place is designed to heal,” he says. “When you walk into a clinic or a hospital, there’s a thing called white coat syndrome, which is when you’re having a negative physiological response to the environment.” Remedy Place is the exact opposite with its chill ambient lighting, arched hallways, and trendy circular seating. (The added benefit of having a chiropractor doing interior design, BTW, is that the couches and chairs provide proper lumbar support.) Down one hall is a Greco-Roman statue of a man’s torso on top of a pedestal, while large quartz crystals adorn shelves and coffee tables. A sizeable tree in the lobby brings a peaceful touch of nature to the space. “We want to make you feel like you’re at home, in your comfort zone,” says Leary.

Plenty of clients have already turned the NYC locale into their own comfort zone since it opened. Jake Cohen, a West Village resident, comes to Remedy Place almost every day. “It’s so incredible that there’s a space in NYC to slow down, to heal, and that promotes community,” he says. “It’s really wonderful to be able to sit and do my work there, and then after I get to treat myself with something extremely healthy.” Skylar Pittman, another NYC client, considers the place a breath of fresh air. “It’s so uplifting to relax and focus on health in the company of friends and without the need for alcohol to socialize,” she tells Bustle.

This all isn’t to say you need to venture out and book a reservation at Remedy Place in order to partake in self-care — there’s nothing wrong with a nighttime bath soak or face mask-and-chill habit. With Remedy, Leary simply wants to make wellness treatments even more appealing than they already are — and something you can do with friends.

During my visit, I miraculously made it through a full six minutes in an ice bath, after which I dethawed in an infrared sauna. When I left and made my way down Fifth Avenue, I felt superhuman after my wellness treatment. I felt energized. I felt invigorated. And I didn’t even have my typical meltdown once I saw that the L train was experiencing massive delays; rather, I decided to walk all the way across the Williamsburg Bridge to get home. “We can’t eliminate all the stressors you put on your body,” he says. “All we can do is use self-care to counteract the stressors. We’re just here to bring you back to balance.”