Willow Stream Spa at Fairmont Pacific Rim
Vancouver serenity and a spectacular terrace
Willow Stream Spa at Fairmont Pacific Rim occupies the entire fifth floor of the modern Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel in downtown Vancouver, encompassing 8,500 square feet of treatment rooms, fitness facilities and lounge space. While the spa certainly pampers hotel guests, it draws a significant Vancouver crowd, too, with nearly 80 percent of its clients coming from the surrounding community.
Our Inspector's Highlights
- An expansive terrace — one of the nicest in the city — offers views across the Burrard Inlet to the North Shore Mountains. On the terrace, you’ll find a coed infrared sauna and two whirlpool tubs where you can soak and enjoy the city vistas.
- For a locally inspired service, try the Rainforest Ritual. It takes you on a journey through the elements: for air, the ritual draws on the nearby temperate rainforest by using scents of cedar, fir and pine; for water, you’ll experience a Pacific sea salt scrub followed by a soak in a Japanese-style ofuro tub; for fire, you’ll warm up with heated Canadian Wilderness Oil and hot basalt stones during a massage; and for earth, you’ll have a purifying glacial clay mask applied to your face and feet. The journey ends with a lunch and glass of Pommery brut.
- A nail salon has three stations for manicures and three for pedicures. Makeup applications, featuring Jane Iredale mineral products, are available as well.
- Several of Willow Stream Spa’s signature treatments incorporate west coast products and complement the Vancouver area’s active outdoor ethos.
- Spa staff follows up treatments with a philosophy of “food, water and rest." Flavored waters, nuts, dried fruit and wellness teas are available in each of the spa lounges.
Things to Know
- For something more substantial, order beverages or meals from the hotel’s dining outlets. The bento box lunches, including sashimi, sushi and Japanese-style salads from the lobby-level Raw Bar, are particularly popular.
- A daily-changing selection of fresh juices and seasoned fruits are brought to you post-treatment, so you can lounge a little longer.
- If you’re short on time, opt for a quick stress-relieving massage of the shoulders, neck and scalp.
The Treatments
- The Spirit of the Pacific uses breathwork and acupressure to help banish tension from your body. A massage incorporates green tea and clove essences, warm pink Himalayan salt balance energetic fields and a heated oil scalp treatment provides a luxurious capper.
- Find balance and relaxation with reiki, which combines aromatherapy, meditation and healing energy.
- Revive your skin with the Celluma LED Light Facial. The treatment employs LED light to repair damaged cells and spur collagen production.
The Facilities
- Relax before or after your treatments in front of the fireplace in one of three lounge areas: one for women, one for men and one coed.
- Among the nine treatment rooms are two couple’s suites, including a deluxe unit with a soaker tub for two overlooking the waterfront.
- Both the women’s and men’s changing facilities house a steam room, and the ladies’ area has a hydrotherapy experience shower with 20 different shower heads.
- In the spacious fitness room, open daily and around the clock, work out on up-to-date treadmills, stationary bikes and ellipticals, or use the Kinesis pulley-based training system.
Getting There
