FASHION Magazine

Now, knowing my husband and I—city types if there ever were a pair of grumpy people who met at 1:30 a.m. at a dirty after-hours club—you probably would never guess that the charming, low-key island of Nantucket (the less-flashy sister to nearby Martha’s Vineyard) would be the first place we’d honeymoon. But we put on our best seafaring New England, old-money, preppy faces and had a lovely old Americana time. We checked into The Wauwinet (wauwinet.com), a famous seaside retreat nine miles out of town, and well, other than port and cheese in the library at five, there isn’t much to do, so off to the spa I went.

From the West Coast to the Atlantic Ocean, Beauty Director Adriana Ermter scours the nation for must-try rejuvenating, relaxing and beautifying spas. This month, she sends Nadine LaRoche to check out Spirit Urban Spa in Halifax.

Spirit Urban Spa
5150 Salter St., Suite 200, Halifax, 902-431-8100, spiritspa.ca

As my aesthetician Allison lifts my head from the table, I feel all weight release from my body. I’m half way through the one-hour Sweet Skin Organic Facial ($90), which is customized for your skin type, waiting for my strawberry rhubarb mask to hydrate and replenish my skin and Allison has taken the opportunity to massage apricot oil into my scalp.

From the West Coast to the Atlantic Ocean, Beauty Director Adriana Ermter scours the nation for must-try rejuvenating, relaxing and beautifying spas.

Shizen Spa
Pantages Hotel, 200 Victoria St., Toronto, 416-369-7882, pantageshotel.com or shizen.ca.

The neon lighting of the lobby at the Pantages Hotel is a far cry from the quiet, calm atmosphere of the Shizen Spa on the fifth floor. I slip on a robe before being guided to the room where I’m set to enjoy the spa’s signature service: a 70-minute Rose Wrap ($140).

Around our office we have something called “summer hours.” The deal is this: over the summer months, provided you get your work done, you can get a jump start on the weekend by leaving at one on Friday. Alas, we FASHION editors are often left forlorn at our desks while others vacate the building for […]

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From the West Coast to the Atlantic Ocean, beauty director Adriana Ermter scours the nation for must-try rejuvenating, relaxing and beautifying spas.

Willow Stream Spa, Vancouver
Fairmont Pacific Rim, 1038 Canada Place, 604-695-5550, fairmont.com/pacificrim

In dire need of a facial, a pedicure and relaxation, I head to the spa. I start off in the steam room, which, unlike most, is filled with natural light streaming in through the frosted glass windows overlooking Coal Harbour. Already beginning to feel the day-to-day pressures melting away, I slip on a robe and head to the lounge to sip orange-infused water and nibble on a bran muffin.

Welcome to Spa of the month, a new feature where we track down the top spas across Canada. First up: Beauty director Adriana Ermter checks out the Stillwater Spa (Hyatt Regency Calgary, 700 Centre St. SE, 403-537-4474, calgary.hyatt.com) in her home town of Calgary.

Heading to the spa in the name of research is but one perk of being an editor at a fashion magazine. Sure, sometimes, when I’m covered in mud and cinched uncomfortably into 5-foot-long saran wrap (where I’m then left for 10 minutes), I look down and wonder at how I got here, but for the most part, test-driving new treatments is one of the best parts of my job. The new Vida Spa at the Westin Bayshore Hotel (1601 Bayshore Dr., 604-682-VIDA, vidaspas.com) proved this to be true once again.

I’m a hardcore DIYer, so I usually have a tough time justifying the cost of manis, pedis et al. Shizen Spa at Toronto’s Cosmopolitan Hotel (8 Colborne St., 416-945-5455, and one other Toronto-area location, shizen.ca) has a line-up of lunch-time deals that threaten to goad even a cheapskate like me to shell out. Book an […]

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I like my body massages simple. Don’t rub me down with hot rocks, wrap me in tinfoil or make some bird-boned 60lb person walk across my back. And I’m not keen on the soft touch and tickle approach either. Massages should be the tension relieving, sleep inducing deep-tissue treatments typically found at specialty clinics, not spas. Or at least that’s what I thought.

Walking into Toronto’s new Healthwinds spa (650 Mount Pleasant Rd., 416-488-9545, healthwindsspas.com) is refreshing—owner Kailee Kline says she was inspired by the classic northern European spa experience, and it shows. The design is simple and sleek; there’s lots of white with bamboo accents, a clean-lined juice bar and a lounge complete with slate-grey water wall and modern fireplace.

Despite the chilly weather, summer’s here and we’re getting ready to inaugurate the season in style! First, we’re booking a pass for Suoni Per Il Popolo (June 3 to 30, suoniperilpopolo.org), Montreal’s coolest avant-garde music festival. Soul-rock lovers will flock to TV on the Radio’s concert tomorrow, free-jazz aficionados are dying to get a ticket for Dave Burrell (June 6), and French pop freaks are heading to Pas Chic Chic (June 5).

Skoah (skoah.com) is a Vancouver-based spa and skin-care product line that believes everyone needs time to relax. They also believe that no one is more deserving of some downtime than the parents of terminally ill children.