Stillwater Spa Returns at Park Hyatt Toronto: Review
In the serene stillness of the treatment area, the impression that keeps coming again to me is of clear h2o jogging about rocks. I’m mid-facial at the Park Hyatt Toronto’s revamped Stillwater Spa, and my aesthetician is massaging cleanser into my encounter, neck and décolleté in deft strokes that remember the circulation of a forest stream. New Age songs mixes with the delicate rumble of the subway overhead while the solutions rooms, recalling a Turner sky, bloom with color: deep purples washing into lilac, the light returning to the sky after a storm.
That impression is also a fitting metaphor for the return of spas, write-up-pandemic, and the Stillwater Spa, in unique, which reopens its doors now subsequent a multi-year renovation. Right after so numerous several years of preventing make contact with, we are little by little emerging into the solar of our upcoming chapter. It feels appropriate that it’s the new Stillwater—which revolutionized Toronto’s wellness scene when it opened in 2003—that is lights the route forward.
In this article, the emphasis is on custom made treatment and what Kerry Werner, the spa director, calls “sustainable wellness.” (If you want the rat-a-tat of fluorescent-lit, results-oriented treatments, there are loads of clinics to take a look at up the road.) The Stillwater, by distinction, is all light luxury—and it feels like the long run.
The singularity starts at the entrance, at the base of the new statement staircase, which acts as an aesthetic by line for the hotel. The spa is loaded with cautiously picked artwork, which includes an installation of handmade floating porcelain lilies by Ontario artist Alissa Coe that was impressed by the name “Stillwater.” Just past the spa lounge—which features a trio of Rob Baytor operates named “Calm”—is the manicure and pedicure location, which is set off from the relaxation of the spa to enable for tranquil in the cure rooms. The pedicure stations are divided by lush blue velvet curtains—a beautiful touch. Though having fun with a nail treatment method, you can sip Sloane tea in a stunning ceramic cup and leaf through textbooks on artists Invoice Cunningham, Donald Judd and Alice Neel, amongst other folks.
The altering areas are all minimalist elegance, stocked with U.K. cult favorite brand Aromatherapy & Associates (a line that Werner, an aromatherapy professional, swears by). It is worth arriving 50 percent an hour just before your treatment method to experience the spacious sauna and steam space. Then, sip strawberry-infused h2o and sample a madeleine from a sweet tray that would look at household at the city’s ideal afternoon tea unfold.
At this place, you will be primed for the best peace of the treatments, a curated menu of facials, massages and overall body care. I loved my 60-minute facial so substantially that I almost fell asleep, but I continue to remember the painterly strokes of the hydrating mask, the relaxing scalp massage and the scent of lavender lulling me dreamward. I chose not to have steam or extractions, but they are obtainable centered on your tailored skin evaluation.
Article-remedy, I walked up that stunning staircase and back into the world. Almost instantly, I missed the refuge below the metropolis, significantly from the rattle and hum and hustle of company lunches and discounts. But I carried the spirit of tranquil with me all working day and into the next. I felt kinder, gentler—especially towards myself. In our electronic earth, when we live so much in our heads and our phones, the feeling of definitely staying in my physique felt like a reward. It is one we all are worthy of to working experience.
