D'mai Urban Spa

Profile

When Daniella Stromberg and a co-owner decided to convert a former Park Slope fish market into a spa, she unsuccessfully scoured both the US and Europe for ideas before finding inspiration in Southeast Asia. The "respect for nature and…for the quiet moment" that she liked about the spas of Indonesia and Bali became the tenets of D’mai Urban Spa, and the result is a place that feels like a destination-spa in the middle of what is otherwise the most neighborhoody of neighborhoods. Since the 3,500-foot space was constructed from a vacated warehouse, it evades the problems of creaky floors and awkward layouts familiar to many businesses in historic Brooklyn brownstones. Instead, D’mai feels pristine: The hallways are lined with spotless wooden boardwalks and piles of black stones; chaise lounges (shipped, like all of the furniture, from Indonesia) show no signs of wear; and all-but-invisible speakers pipe nature sounds throughout the entire place. The treatment options—a standard offering of massage, waxing, manicures, and facials—are less exotic than the setting, but couples can truly indulge in the vacation fantasy by booking a double treatment in the cabana, a deck-like room with a glass roof and two rose petal-covered massage tables. — Kate Jacobs