AIRE Ancient Baths

Spear’s Review

If you happen to be looking for an Andalusian-themed bathhouse on The Strand, turn in to Robert Street and head into the cavernous world of AIRE Ancient Baths.

The spa is housed in the former wine cellars of Peter Pan author JM Barrie – a celebrated previous resident of the 18th-century Neoclassical building. After a trip down the winding staircase, emerge in the sumptuous changing areas, where the sweet, heady scent of orange blossom – an AIRE signature – is wafting through the air.

Expect to be whisked away into the massage and treatment rooms upstairs; if you are lucky, your treatment will be conducted in Barrie’s former apartment. Experience anything from a green tea ritual to an earl grey soak or an argan oil massage, the latter of which Spear’s experienced on our most recent visit. If you like, you can even immerse yourself in a bath of Ribera del Duero red wine and enjoy the detoxifying benefits of the wine grape.

There are a variety of thermal baths guests can enjoy at their leisure, from the 14-degree frigidarium and the ‘thousand jet’ balneum to the salted flotarium complete with a self-exfoliation chamber.