When we first reviewed the new Four Seasons Pudong we described it as the upstart younger sister to the doughty Puxi original – with their respective spas being a perfect example. If Qin The Spa is all deep carpets, dim lighting and reverential, hushed atmosphere, then Flare is easy, breezy and effortlessly chic.

Cool grey shades, mirrored surfaces and marble form a minimalist palette of textures and tones that’s enlivened by the occasional splash of colour from a pink-purple orchid, while light floods every corner from the floor-to-ceiling windows – even the treatment rooms, normally dark havens, benefit from a ‘belt’ of light at floor level, giving them a more modern feel.

The treatments menu, too, is a move away from the traditional Chinese medicine focus of the Puxi branch: here, facials, manicures, pedicures and makeup services are the order of the day. They’re also the only spa in Shanghai officially partnered up with hallowed Paris-based beauty brand Guerlain.

On our visit, we opt for the hallmark treatment, the Orchidée Imperiale Signature Facial (1,380RMB/90 minutes, all prices plus 15 per cent service charge)， to repair our winter-ravaged skin, which has both dried out and erupted thanks to reverse air-conditioning and a diet of greasy comfort food.

After our skin has been gently yet thoroughly cleaned, our therapist applies the first in a series of three nourishing masks, using Guerlain’s famous facial massage technique – first pioneered in 1939 – that’s meant to work the product evenly into face, neck, upper back and décolleté. We’re struck by the attention paid to the latter area, often neglected in the standard Shanghai facial – a mistake, as our therapist points out, as the skin’s almost more delicate and ageing-prone than on the face.

Next, a gentle exfoliating mask is used in combination with the expertly handled steamer; thankfully, there are no painful accompanying extractions. Finally, a thick, gloopy serum is applied to our hands and forearms before they’re swaddled in towels, while the same product is massaged into our face for a blissfully long time. The final touch is a concentrated eye and lip cream.

The spa claims the treatment will leave you with firm, supple and velvety skin, and the results speak for themselves: while we’d normally slap on a load of make-up before facing the world, our glowing, baby-soft complexion means we’re happy to leave barefaced.

If massages are more your thing, there are five on offer, from the rather painful-sounding ‘Soul to Sole’ foot massage, which uses heated bamboo sticks (480RMB/30 mins) to an indulgent ‘Four Hands’ experience (1,480RMB/60 mins).

They also cater to the modern man with a range of 007-inspired treatments – we like the sound of the ‘Licence to Thrill’ (1,007RMB, cleverly enough)， a 90-minute mani-pedi accompanied by a vodka martini, where you sit in a vibrating-back chair facing out over a jaw-dropping view of Lujiazui. And for a blow-the-budget Valentine’s Day treat, they’re offering ‘The Ultimate’ (10,888RMB/three hours)， where you and your date get chauffeured to the spa in a Bentley for a four-hand massage, his-and-hers Guerlain facials, and a couple’s bath served up with Champagne and caviar.

The jewel in Flare’s crown, though, is the 18-metre jade-tiled infinity pool (everyone confuses it with the pool in Skyfall, which was actually that of the Four Seasons in London’s Canary Wharf). In the future, the pool will be members-only (costing a cool 30,000RMB/year)， but as they’re still in soft opening, the unofficial line is that a dip ‘could’ be arranged for customers getting a treatment at the spa.

Details

Open

6am-11pm daily

Telephone 2036 1380

Metro Dongchang Lu

English address 41st Floor, Four Seasons Pudong. 210 Century Avenue, near Pudong Nan Lu, Pudong

Chinese address 浦东世纪大道210号浦 东四季酒店41楼，近浦成路

Web www.fourseasons.com/pudong

When we first reviewed the new Four Seasons Pudong we described it as the upstart younger sister to the doughty Puxi original – with their respective spas being a perfect example. If Qin The Spa is all deep carpets, dim lighting and reverential, hushed atmosphere, then Flare is easy, breezy and effortlessly chic.

Cool grey shades, mirrored surfaces and marble form a minimalist palette of textures and tones that’s enlivened by the occasional splash of colour from a pink-purple orchid, while light floods every corner from the floor-to-ceiling windows – even the treatment rooms, normally dark havens, benefit from a ‘belt’ of light at floor level, giving them a more modern feel.

The treatments menu, too, is a move away from the traditional Chinese medicine focus of the Puxi branch: here, facials, manicures, pedicures and makeup services are the order of the day. They’re also the only spa in Shanghai officially partnered up with hallowed Paris-based beauty brand Guerlain.

On our visit, we opt for the hallmark treatment, the Orchidée Imperiale Signature Facial (1,380RMB/90 minutes, all prices plus 15 per cent service charge)， to repair our winter-ravaged skin, which has both dried out and erupted thanks to reverse air-conditioning and a diet of greasy comfort food.

After our skin has been gently yet thoroughly cleaned, our therapist applies the first in a series of three nourishing masks, using Guerlain’s famous facial massage technique – first pioneered in 1939 – that’s meant to work the product evenly into face, neck, upper back and décolleté. We’re struck by the attention paid to the latter area, often neglected in the standard Shanghai facial – a mistake, as our therapist points out, as the skin’s almost more delicate and ageing-prone than on the face.

Next, a gentle exfoliating mask is used in combination with the expertly handled steamer; thankfully, there are no painful accompanying extractions. Finally, a thick, gloopy serum is applied to our hands and forearms before they’re swaddled in towels, while the same product is massaged into our face for a blissfully long time. The final touch is a concentrated eye and lip cream.

The spa claims the treatment will leave you with firm, supple and velvety skin, and the results speak for themselves: while we’d normally slap on a load of make-up before facing the world, our glowing, baby-soft complexion means we’re happy to leave barefaced.

If massages are more your thing, there are five on offer, from the rather painful-sounding ‘Soul to Sole’ foot massage, which uses heated bamboo sticks (480RMB/30 mins) to an indulgent ‘Four Hands’ experience (1,480RMB/60 mins).

They also cater to the modern man with a range of 007-inspired treatments – we like the sound of the ‘Licence to Thrill’ (1,007RMB, cleverly enough)， a 90-minute mani-pedi accompanied by a vodka martini, where you sit in a vibrating-back chair facing out over a jaw-dropping view of Lujiazui. And for a blow-the-budget Valentine’s Day treat, they’re offering ‘The Ultimate’ (10,888RMB/three hours)， where you and your date get chauffeured to the spa in a Bentley for a four-hand massage, his-and-hers Guerlain facials, and a couple’s bath served up with Champagne and caviar.

The jewel in Flare’s crown, though, is the 18-metre jade-tiled infinity pool (everyone confuses it with the pool in Skyfall, which was actually that of the Four Seasons in London’s Canary Wharf). In the future, the pool will be members-only (costing a cool 30,000RMB/year)， but as they’re still in soft opening, the unofficial line is that a dip ‘could’ be arranged for customers getting a treatment at the spa.

Details

Open

6am-11pm daily

Telephone 2036 1380

Metro Dongchang Lu

English address 41st Floor, Four Seasons Pudong. 210 Century Avenue, near Pudong Nan Lu, Pudong

Chinese address 浦东世纪大道210号浦 东四季酒店41楼，近浦成路

Web www.fourseasons.com/pudong