Vancouverites like to move at a slower pace and enjoy the finer things in life – which includes a lot of self-care, relaxation and pampering. As it’s home to some of the best hotels, it’s also home to some top-rated spas, so whether you’re looking for massages, wraps, facials, saunas or just a relaxation room, Vancouver’s got you sorted with these best day spas. Then you can treat yourself to some order-in Minami to cap off the day.
10 Vida Spa
Get a customized massage just for your body, based on Ayurvedic traditions, which believe the key to a long and healthy life is achieving a balance between body, mind and spirit. Ayurvedic treatments work from the inside out to bring your dosha (personality) into harmony by using specific techniques and scents for each different individual. Set in the Westin Bayshore, you also get access to the courtyard pool with vistas of the ocean and mountains.
Where | Westin Bayshore, 1601 Bayshore Drive
Website | Instagram
9 CHI, The Spa
CHI the Spa puts the double in chi-chi. The lux spa at Vancouver’s Shangri-La is inspired by the OG Shangri-La legend in Singapore and is a place of personal peace, enchantment and well-being. The massages and treatments are based on natural healing methods used in many Asian cultures.
Get the West Coast Detox for the full sense of place treatments – using certified organic products, made using hand harvested wild seaweeds from the pristine coastlines of Vancouver Island and finished with tea.
Where | Shangri-La Hotel, 1128 W. Georgia Street
Website | Instagram
8 Spa by JW
Vancouver’s most recent luxury hotel spa is the Spa by JW in Parq. The treatment prices might be steep but it’s world-class and in the prettiest spa, with sky high views overlooking False Creek and BC Place. On top of feeling fab from your treatment, you can explore their wellness facilities like a fitness center, eucalyptus infused steam rooms, manicure and pedicure bar, and the Aqua Lounge, an outdoor pavilion with hydrotherapy tub and yoga space.
Where | JW Marriot, 39 Smithe Street
Website | Instagram
7 Miraj Hammam
Escape the rain and into the Middle East the next time Raincouver weather gets you down. If the decor, scents and music don’t transport you, the treatments will. In keeping with the traditional Turkish baths, you start with a dry sauna to warm up and then head into the steam room, where you lie on marble and get cleaned and scrubbed down by a hospitable stranger, called a Gommage. There are also massages available to finish off and leave you feeling like you had a big hug.
Where | 1495 W. 6th Avenue
Website | Instagram
6 Sense: A Rosewood Spa
The Rosewood Hotel Georgia’s spa was designed to cover all the senses for an overall wellness retreat in the heart of busy downtown. They combine aromatherapy with a highly skilled team that tailor an experience to restore your body’s natural harmony and balance, in a cozy and warm atmosphere. Once you’re cozy, you can also use the art deco pool for the ultimate in luxury senses.
Where | Rosewood Hotel Georgia, 801 W. Georgia Street
Website | Instagram
5 Sabai Thai
Combining Asian rich knowledge and spirit of generosity with European techniques, Sabai Thai Spa gives you the ultimate luxuriously healing experience from around the world. Known for their traditional Thai massages, that involves acupressure and again, a hospitable stranger stretching you out to get a deeper relaxation.
Where | 3578 W. 4th Avenue
Website | Instagram
4 Art of Sauna
This experience is uniquely one of a kind and a must try. The Art of Sauna is just that – 8 different thermal rooms to try like a Himalayan Salt Room, Finnish Dry Sauna, Eucalyptus Steam Room, Russian Banya and more. In between rooms, you can cold bucket drop and cool off and then go on to the next. The rooms are incredibly beautiful and decadent and you want this to be your new ritual at only $50 per entry.
Where | 7818 6th Street, Burnaby
Website | Instagram
3 Willow Stream
The ultimate in luxury is the Fairmont Pacific Rim’s 5th floor Willow Stream spa. It’s an 8,500-square-foot sanctuary that has lounging patios and jacuzzis with views of the mountains. When you book any treatment, you can also use the other amenities, like the mineral bath, infra-red sauna, steam room, fitness centre and indoor lounges. Choose your treatment(s) based on whether you’re needing some Relief, Restore or Results and the experts will customize the perfect experience.
Where | Fairmont Pacific Rim, 1038 Canada Place
Website | Instagram
2 JCI Institute
While it’s not the most premium, the JCI Institute offers the highest of standards for their newly trained students, for those needing to chill out but can’t afford the lux of the lux. The students are not only trained by top holistic massage practitioners in the industry, but they’re eager to be good and haven’t gotten lazy yet, so take advantage while you can.
Where | 100 – 200 Cambie Street
Website | Instagram
1 Scandinave Spa
This is a #worththedrive spa. Scandinave Spa is a top attraction of Whistler that skiiers and non-skiiers alike flock to. In proper Scandinavian culture, the nature-focused health spa has hot & cold plunge baths, on top of a mountain and surrounded by woodlands. The system is that you hot sauna/steam, cold plunge and then relax in one of the relaxation huts. You do that as many times as you like and it literally induces relaxation and you feel like your body and soul have become one.
Where | 8010 Mons Road, Whistler
Website | Instagram
