Continuing my "Imma visit as many Toronto spas as possible" tour...
I never knew Elmspa existed until I tried to book an appointment at Elmwood for a massage end of December when it was all booked up but they redirected me here for availability. It's kind of like the Elmwood Spa experience except it doesn't have the hot tub or pool, there's just one steam room, less expensive for similar services, smaller and a lot less busy/quiet. It does have an infrared sauna, unlike Elmwood, that is private and booked individually beforehand. Same sort of amenities in the change room with the Elm line of products. I only had lovely experiences with the front desk/reception at the time of booking and day of so I guess the previous reviews about bad service at front desk have been fixed.
I went for an RMT massage with Peter and he was really good. Good amount of pressure and relaxing. Much more friendly than some of the RMTs I've had at Elmwood. Almost fell asleep a few times on the table when usually, I am wide awake during massages.
The good overall:
- I went at the end of the year (but on a weekday) when it's usually super busy, but when I was there, I probably only saw 3 other people there with me over the span of time I was there (about 3.5 hours).
- Prices are more competitive for the same service than at Elmwood/Body Blitz/other more extensive spas
- The private time in the infrared sauna was nice, I don't usually choose saunas over steam rooms but it was complimentary so why not. It's like a little wooden shed with a long bench you can recline on and you get about 25 mins in there. There's some magazines there too so you're not just sitting there, bored.
- You don't have to deal with huge crowds of people, talking loudly or taking selfies by the pool like at Elmwood. And usually, you can be in the facilities alone (e.g. the steam room, the change room, the lounging area) which can be a good or bad thing depending on your outlook.
- There's still the same fruit infused water, teas and apples that Elmwood has.
- Good assortment of magazines
- Because it's a lot less crowded, I find it more relaxing of an atmosphere.
The less stellar parts overall:
- As people mentioned, the steam room takes awhile to get going and it's quite a foggy steam (sometimes) where you can't see anything in there. The steam room is much smaller than the one in the women's change room at Elmwood, it's like the corner of the bathroom made into a steam room. Also doesn't/didn't have the same lemongrass scent that I've come to associate with Elmwood.
- There's just one shower. Most of the time, no one is in the change room with you so that's not an issue but at the time I finished with my massage and wanted to wash off the oil, there was someone in there so I had to kill some time until she was done to use the shower. Since it's also such a small change room, with a small nook where all the lockers are, when there's someone else in there, you really feel more in their way than in the vast change room that Elmwood has.
- There's no "unlimited" towel supply like there is at Elmwood but I'm sure you could ask someone for another one (I didn't, I just kept using the same damp towel throughout). It's just the one that is provided inside the locker.
- Also in the locker is a pair of flip flops that, while at Elmwood, you can choose your own size. Here, it seems to be just "one size fits all" a.k.a. larger flip flop sizes
- You also have to lug around a key for your locker unlike the digital keyless locks at Elmwood. read more