Winters in Canada are meh. This winter in particular has not been an easy one. So, when my boyfriend said he wanted to go for a couple’s massage and facial at Hammam Spa, I jumped at the idea of tempering my winter blues. The idea of 3 hours of pampering is such a treat…
On a cold and snowy Thursday evening, we entered the zen looking spa. Quickly ushered to change, we were then brought to our private room with dim lighting and the fragrance of fresh flowers. Our massage therapists arrived – a small Asian lady for my boyfriend (we requested a female as he has issues being massaged by a man!) and a gentleman for myself. They took us through a questionnaire regarding our aches and pains, stress levels and areas we wanted to focus on. I have to say, I got a top of the notch massage. My guy was just strong enough without it being painful and I felt totally destressed afterwards. It was one of the best massages I’ve had in a long time! My boyfriend, on the other hand, did not feel the same about his massage, complaining that his therapist didn’t press hard enough in certain areas and focused too much on his calves (I will note that he had trouble walking after…). Lesson to be learned? When you find a massage therapist that you like, take note of their name and only book with them. Oh! And not having issues with the gender of your therapist probably would help to…
After our 90-minute massages, we were rushed over to our facial rooms where we both had different types of facials. He had the men’s custom facial, which he loved, and I had a luxury facial with a special mask to help reduce wrinkles. Mine was good and my esthetician was a hoot, however, I will say that I’ve had better. The facial options at Hammam are limited; I usually get an oxygen facial or a collagen facial, neither of which are offered here. So, while I enjoyed the treatment, I lacked that glow I get from other types of facials. On the plus side, I did get a great cleaning and head massage, which added to the evening of pampering.
One of the things I was looking forward to was experiencing the “Signature Hammam Ritual”: their unique steam baths that offer relaxing and healing effects through the essential oil infused deep heat. Sadly, we didn’t get to experience this. Due to our scheduling, by the time we were done, the steam room was already shut down. It would have been nice to be told upon booking to come earlier if we wanted to enjoy a steam ritual. That being said, the receptionist did graciously make a note on our account for a complimentary steam on our next visit. These steamy visits are not cheap – $55.00 each time if you are not spending over $100.00 on a treatment.
In fact, there’s little to be said for budget friendly offerings at Hammam. The cost of our 2.5 hours of pampering brought our total bill, before tax and tip, to $720.00! After tax and grats we spent almost $900.00. Was it worth it? I think being pampered is always worth it, and with the beautiful ambiance at Hammam it’s easy to enjoy. Though, with a price tag like this, Hammam Spa is best reserved for those truly special occasions.