Check out the VIBE inside Toronto’s new sanctuary: AIRE Ancient Baths opens inside a century-old building in DT

Some openings feel big. Others feel like they change the energy of a city. AIRE Ancient Baths — now officially open in Toronto — lands firmly in the second category. Housed inside a 1912 Edwardian industrial building on Front Street West, the global wellness brand has transformed the historic space into a candlelit labyrinth of thermal baths, rituals, and deep quiet. And yes, it feels nothing like Toronto… in the best possible way.

The award-winning Spanish brand, known for restoring heritage buildings from New York to Barcelona, chose Toronto for its first Canadian property — a move that instantly elevates the city’s wellness landscape. This isn’t a spa built on trends; it’s a sensory escape rooted in ancient bathing rituals, contrast therapy, and the art of slowing down. One step inside and the noise of the city dissolves. You’re not at a spa… you’re in a sanctuary.

Below, we’re taking you inside AIRE’s dramatic transformation — and the vibes are immaculate.

A century-old Toronto building reborn for modern stillness

If you love adaptive reuse architecture, AIRE Toronto is a love letter. Behind the preserved brick facade lies 23,000 square feet of meticulously reimagined space that still bears the bones of its early 20th-century past. Heavy timber beams float above candlelit pools. Original industrial structure becomes the frame for a sensorial ritual built around silence, warmth, and water.

AIRE has always chosen historical buildings for their global locations — but there’s something especially magnetic about this Toronto iteration. The contrast of old-world architecture and elemental minimalism feels intentional, calming, and cinematic.

According to AIRE’s CEO Amadeo Serra, the magic is in the history:

“These places have a soul… when you’re floating in a candlelit bath in a space with a century of history, time slows.”

And honestly? He’s not wrong.

The experience: Candlelight, silence, and the language of water

AIRE is built on ritual. Not the Instagram kind — the ancient kind.

Guests move through nine thermal baths at their own pace, guided only by quiet, candlelight, and the sound of water. Hot, warm, cold, salt, vapor, jets — each room is its own world, with its own temperature and texture.

Some highlights:

• The Palestra Outdoor Bath — a Toronto exclusive, open-air and moody
• The Flotarium — a high-salinity float bath where your body fully releases
• The Thousand Jets Bath — hydrotherapy on overdrive
• Tepidarium, Caldarium & Frigidarium — a slow, sensory approach to contrast therapy
• Marble warm beds — because rest is an experience too

There’s also a dry sauna, a vaporium, and 12 massage rooms for deeper rituals — all wrapped in the same candlelit hush that AIRE is famous for. Phones are left behind, conversations are minimal, and the mind softens into quiet.

A uniquely Canadian ritual: The Signature Boreal Forest Experience

AIRE designed one ritual specifically for Toronto, and honestly, it’s brilliant.

The Signature Boreal Forest Experience is a 150-minute journey inspired by Canada’s northern landscapes — cold, pure, still, and grounding. Think pink salt exfoliation on warm marble, cedar oil massage with jade hot stones, a restorative scalp treatment, and a finish of sparkling wine, chocolates, and forest berries.

It’s elevated, elemental, and distinctly Canadian — the perfect way to root the global brand in local identity.

Why AIRE feels like the most transportive experience in Toronto right now?

Toronto has no shortage of spas, but AIRE isn’t just a spa. It’s a shift in pace. A recalibrating of the senses. A place where time feels slower and the city’s noise doesn’t follow you in.

If you’ve ever wandered into a stunning historic building and felt instantly calmer, imagine that multiplied by candlelight, water, warmth, and ritual.

AIRE is for the wellness-obsessed, sure — but it’s also for anyone craving a moment of quiet that actually sticks. A rare find in a city that never seems to rest.

The 411: AIRE Ancient Baths Toronto

• Location: 510A Front Street West, Toronto (Portland Commons)
• Neighbourhood: King West / Front West
• Vibe: Candlelit sanctuary meets restored heritage architecture; slow, sensory, transportive
• Good for: Wellness seekers, couples, quiet luxury lovers, anyone craving deep disconnection
• Experiences: Thermal baths, contrast therapy, massage rituals, Toronto-exclusive Boreal Forest Experience
• Reservations: Required — book online at beaire.com
• Gifting: Digital and boxed gift cards available for holiday, personal, or corporate gifting
• Accessibility: Heritage building with modern upgrades; contact AIRE for accessibility details
• Pro tip: Go phone-free, take your time moving from pool to pool, and book a ritual if you want the full AIRE effect

Editor's note: All photos courtesy of AIRE Ancient Baths Toronto.