What was your personal route into the sector?
I started nearly two decades ago with LVMH in London, working across its fragrance brands such as Acqua di Parma.
Working for Guerlain’s spas came about by chance, but I quickly realised how fascinating and strategically powerful wellness is sitting at the intersection of brand equity, guest experience and business performance. Our network of 38 landmark hotel spa partnerships has become one of Guerlain’s strongest assets (see p61).
What does your role entail?
I lead Guerlain’s global spa and wellness division. It’s about shaping strategy and vision while securing the right hotel partnerships and driving each project.
When I started in 2011, there were just two of us in the department. Now we have 14 team members across a range of areas – training, project development, devising aesthetic treatments and programmes, market development and equipment creation, architecture, communication and PR.
We want to be the most desirable spa and wellness brand in the industry
Together, we set the standards and processes that ensure excellence across our global spa network, supporting our 900 beauty experts in delivering truly unforgettable experiences worldwide.
How many Guerlain spas are there?
We have 38 hotel spas, which are the heart of our business, and 13 standalone institutes. Two of those – at 68 Champs-Élysées, Paris and in Hong Kong – are fully owned by Guerlain.
What are your expansion plans?
Our aim is to partner with the most spectacular and prestigious hotels in the world and we’re aiming to open four to five spas with partners a year.
Markets where we don’t already have facilities are of particular interest. We only have one spa in mainland China, at the PuXuan in Beijing, so that’s a country where we want to grow, for example.
We’re also focused on geographic diversification. Italy will be a key milestone in 2026, with openings at Belmond Villa San Michele and Les Airelles Venice.
The Tree of Life sculpture at Guerlain Spa at Le Beau-Rivage Palace, Lausanne / Guerlain
You must be excited about Waldorf Astoria NYC
Absolutely. It’s one of the most iconic hotels in the world, with an incredible legacy of elegance and prestige, which perfectly matches Guerlain’s own heritage.
The bidding process to secure the contract was incredibly competitive, so we’re very proud to have been chosen.
What makes the New York launch so special?
The size and scope. It’s a huge 22,000sq ft spa on the fifth floor with 16 treatment rooms, plus a dedicated wellness area reserved for Waldorf Astoria residents.
It marks a step forward for us, being a flagship for wellness and longevity (see p60).
Guerlain is constantly innovating its spa concept. We introduced our tailor-made offering and mindfulness, movement, sleep and nutritional focus 13 years ago and Waldorf Astoria New York brings all that together with our new cutting-edge longevity programmes, exclusive treatments, advanced aesthetic services and bespoke equipment.
What’s the strategy for growth?
For us, growth means pursuing the most exceptional projects in the world – in the most beautiful settings – with hotel partners who are a perfect match in values, standards and ambition.
I see so many potential projects each month, but we’re ultra-selective – we want to open the most beautiful and most exclusive spas around the world, making us the most desirable spa brand in the industry.
It’s also about embracing the unexpected: a spa carved into desert rock or hidden deep in the jungle, for example, or one that’s created using formats that surprise and delight.
We love pushing the boundaries of where wellness can live, for example, La Ruche Hivernale at Cheval Blanc Courchevel – our 2026 winter pop-up on the ski slopes – created a buzz, with flash treatments inspired by repair, warmth and cocooning.
And this is only the beginning: some of our upcoming spa projects will be true statements of boldness and imagination.
Spirit of Calligraphy, a signature facial at Rosewood Hong Kong / Guerlain
Do you work with other LVMH brands?
Yes – absolutely. We collaborate closely with LVMH Hospitality brands. Cheval Blanc is one of our most long-standing and closest partners. I opened its first spa in Courchevel in 2011 and there are now five Cheval Blanc Spas by Guerlain globally. We also work closely with Belmond in exceptional wellness destinations.
Beyond hospitality, we also partner with other LVMH Maisons, including Louis Vuitton, creating exclusive wellbeing experiences for key events and top clients.
What’s Guerlain’s relationship with Orient Express Hotels?
LVMH and Accor are reviving the brand, so it’s an exciting new chapter and Guerlain will be a key partner.
Our first project was on its superyacht, Orient Express Corinthian. It set sail in May [2026] and boasts a 500sq m Guerlain spa with four treatment rooms.
What’s your holistic approach?
In 2013, Guerlain created a board of wellness experts to advise us on integrative medicine, nutrition, mindfulness, movement and sleep.
Today, these four pillars are the root of our Art of Harmony concept and form the basis of retreats at places such as Cheval Blanc in the Maldives and the Seychelles. We also tap into them in bespoke ways for other spas.
Wellness isn’t new to Guerlain, is it?
No. We have an incredible heritage that other brands cannot copy. Wellness has actually been a part of our DNA for 175 years.
Our founder, Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain, created a thermal wellness centre in Le Crotoy in Hauts-de-France in 1850, recognising the importance of water, breathing and a holistic approach to beauty, even back then.
We’re ultra-selective. We want to open the most beautiful and most exclusive spas around the world
A hundred years later, the Guerlain family converted their Parisian apartment at 68 Champs-Élysées into L’institut Guerlain – one of the world’s first dedicated beauty training institutes – and it’s still at the core of our portfolio.
What are your other points of differentiation?
Our manual expertise – what we call our Art of Touch – is important, with 200 facial and 300 body massage ‘techniques’ having been developed.
We also pride ourselves on our Art of Tailor-Made philosophy. Every experience begins with an in-depth diagnosis, so treatments are adapted to the face, the body and the expectations and needs of the moment.
This level of excellence is sustained through rigorous training via our Spa Academy and is widely recognised across the industry – our spas received 25 awards last year alone.
Ultimately, what sets us apart is our Art of Care – the way we listen, nurture and genuinely look after each guest, and the emotion it creates. We design a sensorial journey where every touchpoint is crafted with empathy, authenticity and warmth. In short, we see wellness as an art.
The Crystal Room at Rosewood São Paulo is designed for deep relaxation
How do you create a sense of place?
We never ‘copy and paste’ a Guerlain Spa, but instead take inspiration from the local culture, energy and background story of our hotel partners when it comes to developing concepts.
Firstly, we develop exclusive therapies – in Rosewood Hong Kong, for example, we offer the Spirit of Calligraphy facial, with precise, brush-inspired movements creating both a sensory ritual and an artistic experience.
Secondly, we partner with local artists so each spa becomes a stage to bring their work to life. At Le Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, for example, we have an incredible Tree of Life sculpture by Géraldine Gonzalez.
Thirdly, we include signature details and exclusive creations, such as the bespoke fragrance we created for Waldorf Astoria New York and the use of shells in the signature massage at Cheval Blanc Seychelles (see www.spabusiness.com/sey).
It’s the accumulation of these carefully-crafted details, delivered by expertly trained ‘Guerlain hands’, that creates a sense of place, while remaining distinctively Guerlain.
Waldorf Astoria New York
A flagship for Guerlain wellness
The reopening of Waldorf Astoria New York is pivotal for Guerlain, with the launch of its largest and most advanced wellness spa to date. The 22,000sq ft facility, operated by Trilogy Spa Holdings, signals a new level of integration between advanced aesthetics, longevity and retail. Diane Davody, international spa business director at Guerlain, says: “It’s a step further in everything we’ve been developing over the last few years.”
Exclusive rituals
Guerlain has created an array of treatments inspired by the hotel’s history.
Signatures include Spirit of Achievement, named after the property’s iconic statue, that’s designed to channel strength and empowerment; Just Like Clockwork, a mind-release massage referencing the hotel’s famous clock and delivered on Gharieni’s vibroacoustic Welnamis table; and Golden Hour, a red-carpet facial promising visible luminosity.
Waldorf Astoria New York is a Guerlain flagship in terms of wellness and longevity
A deep muscular body treatment has also been developed in collaboration with world massage champion Slav Marinov (see www.spabusiness.com/24_4marinov).
In addition to this, holistic packages – built around the pillars of nutrition, movement, sleep and mindfulness – range from three- to six-months, week-long retreats or one-hour power sessions.
Advanced aesthetics
The New York spa is one of the first to offer Guerlain’s LongeviSkin device. Manufactured by aesthetic technology specialist ISI Spa to Guerlain’s requirements, it features seven modalities – LED, micropeel, radiofrequency, microcurrent, plasma, ultrasound and cryotherapy – within a single system.
“These technologies exist individually,” explains Davody, “but we combine them in one tool that assesses the skin and delivers only what is most efficient and bespoke.”
Together, all the offerings are “designed to deliver a dynamic balance of wellness, optimal harmony and radiance,” concludes Davody.
Read more: www.spabusiness.com/oct25_wany
Waldorf Astoria New York features Guerlain’s biggest spa to date / Guerlain
L’institut Guerlain at 68 Champs Elysées, Paris / Guerlain
GUERLAIN SPA PORTFOLIO*
AFRICA
Hotels
• Guerlain Spa, One&Only Le Saint Géran, Mauritius
• Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain, Seychelles
ASIA
Hotels
• Asaya Spa by Guerlain at Rosewood, Hong Kong, China
• Guerlain Spa at The PuXuan, Beijing, China
• Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain, Randheli, Maldives
Institutes
• Guerlain Institute, Hong Kong, China
Esthétique Salons Guerlain in Japan
• Kobe
• Kyoto Hotel Okura, Kyoto
• Herbis Plaza Ent, Osaka
• Teikoku Hotel, Osaka
• Beauty Avenue Socie, Yokohama Bay Hotel, Tokyo
• Beauty Avenue Socie, Ginza, Tokyo
• Chinzanso Hotel, Tokyo
• Ginza Honten, Tokyo
• Sheraton Miyako, Tokyo
EUROPE
Hotels
• Airelles Spa by Guerlain, Gordes, France
• Airelles Spa by Guerlain, Val d’Isère, France
• Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain, Courchevel, France
• Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain, Saint Tropez, France
• Guerlain Spa at The Grand Hôtel, Bordeaux, France
• Guerlain Spa at Le Normandy, Deauville, France
• Guerlain Spa onboard Orient Express Corinthian (superyacht), France
• Guerlain Spa at Waldorf Astoria Versailles, France
• Imperial Spa at Hôtel du Palais, Biarritz, France
• Relais Christine Spa, Paris, France
• Saint James Paris Spa, Paris, France
• Guerlain Spa at One&Only Aesthesis, Athens, Greece
• Airelles Spa by Guerlain, Venice, Italy
• Belmond Villa San Michele Spa by Guerlain, Florence, Italy
• The Spa Metropole by Guerlain, Monte Carlo, Monaco
• Guerlain Spa at Waldorf Astoria, Amsterdam, NL
• Guerlain Spa at Le Beau-Rivage Palace, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Guerlain Spa at The Woodward, Geneva, Switzerland
• Guerlain Spa at Raffles The Owo, London, UK
Institutes
• LʼInstitut Guerlain, Prague, Czech Republic
• LʼInstitut Guerlain, 68 Champs-Élysées, Paris, France
MIDDLE EAST
Hotels
• Guerlain Spa at Waldorf Astoria, Jerusalem, Israel
• Guerlain Spa at The St Regis Al Mouj Muscat Resort, Oman
• Guerlain Spa at The St Regis, Doha, Qatar
• Guerlain Spa at One&Only The Palm, Dubai, UAE
LongeviSkin at Waldorf Astoria New York / Guerlain
NORTH AMERICA
Hotels
• Belmond Cap Juluca Spa by Guerlain, Anguilla
• Guerlain Spa at Four Seasons, Montreal, Canada
• Guerlain Spa at Hotel X, Toronto, Canada
• Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain, St Barth
• Guerlain Spa at The Breakers, Palm Beach, Florida, USA
• Guerlain Spa at Raffles, Boston, USA
• Guerlain Wellness at Regent Santa Monica, California, USA
• Guerlain Wellness Spa at Waldorf Astoria New York, USA
SOUTH AMERICA
Hotels
• Asaya Spa by Guerlain at Rosewood, São Paulo, Brazil
• Maroma Spa by Guerlain, Riviera Maya, Mexico
*Source: Guerlain Spa website (not an official listing)
Guerlain includes the spa at One&Only in Athens in its portfolio / Guerlain
Guerlain spa lobby at Belmond Maroma in Mexico / Guerlain
Fragrance is a key to the Guerlain experience / Guerlain
Golden Hour, an exclusive facial created especially for Waldorf Astoria New York / Guerlain
Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain in Courchevel / Guerlain
Shells are used in decor and treatments at Cheval Blanc Seychelles / Guerlain
Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain, Randheli / Guerlain
The Orient Express Corinthian / Guerlain
