Though North Jersey may not have as much commotion as our noisy neighbor across the river, the people here are just as much a part of the East Coast’s hustle and bustle mentality. Residents of the towns lining the Hudson River, both in Hudson and Bergen Counties, travel to and from work every day (many to the city itself), and carry the stresses of their jobs and families back and forth. Tired and overworked citizens need a place where they can leave their problems at the door, and luckily, a place just like that is now located in Edgewater, NJ, in the form of SoJo Spa Club.
Since their soft opening in January, SoJo Spa Club has given its visitors a zen-like experience that begins the moment one walks through the front doors. The vast and bright entrance of this mega spa is glistening with an attitude of relaxation, as are the staff who greet you, making check-in a breeze in and of itself. After receiving a personal locker for shoe storage, you are given a wristband, which is inscribed with the same number as the locker. You are then led to a changing room (separate for men and women) and given bath clothes to wear over your bathing suit. You can also rent robes for an even more comfortable experience. Pack your clothes and bags in the second locker with your wristband number, and then it’s time to relax.
You don’t have to go too far to start unwinding – just behind the locker rooms are bath houses, complete with cold, warm, and hot baths, and a cold plunge room. There are also wet and dry saunas, and wet messages and body scrubs, scheduled in advance and ready when you arrive. Upstairs, the fifth floor is home to the spa and sauna rooms that SoJo offers. In the spa, everything from nail and waxing services to body treatments and facials are offered. There are also express treatments, where guests can get their nails done with specialty nail polishes that dry so quickly, they can get right back to the pools and tubs without compromising any of their time. Packages can be bought for single guests or groups, and private rooms for couples massages are available, dimly lit with candles and created for maximum relaxation with your partner.
Across from the spa are the sauna and therapy rooms, with many features that are unique to SoJo. The saunas include the far-infrared sauna, the red clay sauna, the white clay sauna, the charcoal sauna, and the himalayan salt sauna. Each are heated to exact, high temperatures, and the materials the saunas are created with are used to do everything from treating ailments, curing fatigue, tension and headaches, releasing toxins, and stimulating blood circulation. Some of the saunas are built with Hinoki, a Japanese cypress wood, shipped to the U.S. specifically for SoJo.
The treatment rooms include an ice room, releasing pure oxygen to open the pores and revitalize skin cells, a halotherapy or ‘salt’ room, where aerosolized salt is released for a natural decongestant and cleansing properties that assist with respiratory ailments and boosting the bloodstream, and a ganbanyoku room, or bedrock bath, which is a unique Japanese hot stone therapy experienced by lying down on a heated black mineral slab that emits far-infrared rays and negative ions to speed up the release of toxins from the body through perspiration, as well as many other benefits. SoJo achieves calmness throughout its spaces outside the rooms with its relaxation lounges, quiet environments created for de-stressing and re-energizing in between saunas and treatments with comfortable seating options including bean chairs, floor mats, and massage recliners, and beautiful views of the New York City skyline.
On the sixth floor sits both the dining areas and kids spaces, and is the only floor children are allowed on. The family pool is staffed with a lifeguard at all times to make sure children are safe. In the near future, SoJo will also be adding a children’s room, filled with toys and books to entertain kids while parents enjoy the rest of what the spa has to offer. Also opening this spring is a water slide, perfect for kids and kids-at-heart alike.
The spa’s casual dining area offers tables and chairs to fit any size group you attend Sojo with, and offers everything from juices and smoothies to ice cream cones, and has a kids menu, a pizza menu, salads, sandwiches, and both American and Korean dining options. Also coming soon is The Restaurant, a full-capacity, upscale area for groups and parties.
The tranquility of the spa carries on with SoJo’s outdoor pools and baths. Their infinity pool, also opening this spring, will offer relaxation while overlooking gorgeous panoramic views of the city and Hudson River, and their open-air hydrotherapy pool and hot tubs combine three of nature’s most powerful therapies: heat, air, and water, to offer restorative tissue properties, smooth muscles and joints, and massage your body from your neck area to your calves. Their foot massage path does the same thing, but for your feet, and makes you feel like you are walking away from all of your worries. In addition, outdoor baths include a hinoki bath, an outdoor a carbon-rich bath, and a silk bath, all with benefits of their own.
With so many exciting features at SoJo, and even more opening once the warmer weather arrives, Sojo wants to extend guests relaxation even once they leave the spa areas, and are in the process of building a boutique hotel attached to the spa club. It won’t be long before guests will be enjoying all the amenities SoJo has to offer, then retreating back to the comfort of their rooms— ideal for both traveling or a local staycation. Devoted to peace and calmness, SoJo works to enhance the busy lifestyle of all their guests, providing hospitality and services in a beautiful, bright and airy atmosphere.
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