Published in Medical Spa Report

Nestled below the towering office buildings of midtown Manhattan, GemVie Medispa is a spa treasure for those looking to escape the area’s hustle and bustle while tending to their skincare needs. “We wanted to create a space clients would find soothing, with soft colors, light hardwoods, and clean lines, but one that would also instill confidence in the technological and medical treatments,” says Vladimir Morgovsky, M.D., the spa’s founder and medical director. “In creating the treatment rooms, we wanted them to be flexible and consistent. The similar, clean design of each room makes the client feel confident and in capable hands for each new treatment they experience.”

GemVie’s garden terrace provides a soothing respite from busy midtown Manhattan.

Another thing that puts clients at ease is GemVie’s charming garden terrace. “The patio is the ideal place for socializing before, after, and between treatments,” says Morgovsky. “Because we are a medical spa, no full treatments are performed there, but refreshments are served, and this summer, we plan to host discussions and lectures on health- and beauty-related topics.”

The elegant spa design incorporates soothing colors and light hardwood floors.

When it comes to treatments, there are a number of traditional spa and medical spa services available, which makes GemVie an ideal one-stop shop for on-the-go guests. The Office Escape ($150, 90 minutes), for example, is an excellent lunchtime option for local businesspeople and includes an Aroma-Charme Facial, 30 minutes of massage and reflexology, and a PerfectSense Paraffin Hand Treatment. The Marine Algae “Hot Date” Facial ($135, 60 minutes), meanwhile, is a soothing skincare refresher that incorporates a seaweed-based mask that detoxifies, restores, and purifies the skin to create a fresh, glowing face for a night out on the town. Along with a wide selection of massages, facials, and body treatments are myriad medical spa options, including Botox and other injectables, chemical peels, laser hair removal, laser vein treatments, digital skin analysis, microdermabrasion, and more. “The digital skin analysis is very popular, as it uses a multi-spectral imaging system to identify a client’s problem areas, and laser hair removal is always highly requested in the spring,” says Morgovsky.

A number of high-tech medical treatments help address skin issues.

Those making these requests and more are GemVie’s spa-savvy main clientele, women ages 27 to 50 who are interested in maintaining a healthy and youthful appearance. As such, the most popular medical spa service is the Micropeel (starting at $200, 45 minutes), which is a results-oriented combination of microdermabrasion and a chemical peel. “Regard- less of what a client comes in for, we discuss their needs and issues with them before any treatment,” says Morgovsky. “It is during this interaction and through discussions about the client’s needs that a combination of services or new treatments are suggested. This way, we are continually educating our clients about their current and future needs.”

Products from Yon-Ka Paris and Belladerm are available in the retail area.

Meeting these needs is the ultimate priority for Morgovsky and his team of five full-time staff members, including his wife, spa director Galina Morgovsky, who was trained in Russia and has more than 25 years of experience in skincare and the spa industry. Results—not hype—are the ultimate goal of every guest experience. “Because we focus on educating and informing the client, our goal isn’t just to sell a particular service,” he says. “Every client has different needs that require different courses of action to see real results. We focus on providing results, so if that means we see twenty clients, and the best course for all is a chemical peel, we are not concerned that we didn’t sell any microdermabrasion treatments that day. We want our clients to leave the spa happy with the results.”