About Aethel
Why we opened a slower spa.
Aethel is an Old English word for noble, and also the name we gave the house before we knew what it would become. It opened in 2019 with five therapists. There are nine now.
The story
From a doctor’s house to a quiet one.
The house was built in 1892 for a doctor whose patients waited on the bench that still stands by the gate. By the time we found it, it had been empty for twelve years: the roof had fallen in over the top floor, but the walls, the marble sinks and the linden tree had held on.
We spent three years restoring it with craftspeople from Üsküdar and Beykoz, and decided early what Aethel would not be. No music in the treatment rooms, no upselling at the table, no rushing between bookings. We leave fifteen minutes between every appointment so nobody is ever hurried out.
How we work
Four things we do not compromise on.
Time
A 90-minute massage is 90 minutes on the table. Consultation, tea and the walk to the room come on top.
Skilled hands
Our therapists have at least five years’ experience before they join, and train with us every month.
Plain ingredients
Oils we steep ourselves, olive oil soap from Ayvalık, honey from the Aegean and herbs from our own garden.
Quiet
Phones stay in the lockers and conversation stays low. That is the whole point of the house.
The team
Nine people, one way of working.
Six massage and body therapists, two facialists and one movement and sound teacher, with a small front-of-house team who will remember how you take your tea. Between them they speak Turkish, English, Russian and German.
You can ask for a female or male therapist, or for the same therapist each visit. Most regulars do.
Visit
Ten minutes from the Üsküdar ferry.
Two streets back from the shore road, between Kuzguncuk’s wooden houses and its old market garden. Close the door behind you and the city drops away.
- AddressAethel House, İcadiye Caddesi, Kuzguncuk, 34674 Üsküdar
- Opening hours
Opening hours Monday – Thursday 09:00 – 21:00 Friday – Saturday 09:00 – 22:00 Sunday 10:00 – 20:00 - Getting hereTen minutes by taxi from the Üsküdar ferry, or a thirty-minute walk along the water. Valet on İcadiye Caddesi from 11:00.
- Call or message+90 000 000 00 00 · WhatsApp