Shizen Spa

Bought the Travelzoo voucher for the couple’s massage and facial (159 + tax n gratuity). We were greeted nicely by the receptionist who showed us the main relaxation room and our changerooms. It’s a very small enclosed space for those who have been to Elmwood and others this will be a bit of a change of scenery in terms of space. Overall the massages and the facial were good and both the ‘relaxation specialists’ were extremely friendly. Not sure about before but the receptionist mentioned they do not have any RMT’s on site and they don’t issue insurance receipts. They could use a little bit of an upgrade — heard loud traffic noises outside and roaring motorcycles right in the middle of our massage which wasn’t very pleasant.
Overall an OK experience — probably wouldn’t go back.

We’ve been there 4 times and will continue to return. The staff are friendly, professional and the massages we’ve had with Azeez, Gabriella and Chernelle were great. The jacuzzi is something I look forward to after a long, stressful week and we’ve also stayed in the suites which beat a lot of other hotels.

I had the New Skin treatment… oh my god! I was polished with a scrub, followed by a moisture wrap. During the wrap, Graciella gave me the most amazing scalp massage… wrap came off and then the full body massage… wow! She took her time and got all of my knots in my shoulders. I didn’t even have to tell her about them… she found them. One word. «AMAZING» Thank you Shizen! Graciella is GOLD!!!

AhhMazing service and ambiance, just south of King and Young. Great RMTs. Their lounge area with jacuzzi has a true «into the wild» feel to it! Our massage service was a bliss!

Loved the ambiance.
Loved the service.
The price? It was decent, considering the service we got.
Before you go in for your scheduled spa, they make you wait in this nice all-​white waiting room, they come and pour you water and chat with you.
Overall, good experience.

This past weekend we went to this spa for my girlfriend’s bachelorette. Why I gave this spa five stars:
1. They were very patient with my booking. They answered all my many questions and made a schedule for our group and subsequent changes we wanted.
2. the spa are is beautiful and warm and inviting at the same time. A great area for all of us to relax in after our treatments.
3. Everyone had great service! Massages were thoroughly enjoyed!
4. They graciously touched up quite a few our nails which we all clumsy smudges relaxing.
5. Everyone was friendly and professional.
Sure the treatments are more expensive then if you go to a nail shop etc but it’s because you’re paying extra for the atmosphere.
The only thing I do wish was different would be if parking could be validated for you your time at the spa.
Other than that we all had a fabulous time!

We came here for our friend’s birthday.
All of us had massages which we thought were oK/​good but definitely not amazing.
facilities are also ok, but the treatments are Very exp for what you get.
It came up to $ 422 + tip for 3 of us

I’ll keep it short — beautiful space, bad service. I had an okay facial, but the lady kept trying to sell me their products by telling me how bad my skin is (which it’s not). My manicure was pathetic. Overall, definintely not worth the money.

The ambience is fantastic and it feels quite regal that it’s in a hotel — even though it’s just the Pantages.
The waiting area is great with magazines and delicious little treats — you have big expectations for your services after such a great start.
I went there for wax services. The room was clean and with a great ambience — for a massage I would think but not for a wax. The lights were dim in the room even when she used her head light. They aren’t cheap for a wax so my expectations were to get all the stubborn hairs but when you can’t see well it’s quite impossible to get them all. The aesthetician insisted the light is enough for her even as I suggested it would be a better idea to have all of them on. So not surprisingly, it wasn’t a smooth wax.
When I approached the desk I waited 10 mins until they attended their regular customers even those that came in after me.
I haven’t been back for a wax since. I may try some other services in the future.

My husband and I went there for our anniversary on Monday. He had booked us for a couple’s massage.
We got there about 45 minutes early (11:45ish) so we could register and spend some time in the jacuzzi as requested. We waited in the reception area for about 10 minutes without seeing anyone. I finally went looking for someone and found the woman pictured on the website buzzing around the solarium. She told me to go back and wait in the reception area … so we did for another 10 or minutes until she came to us.
The water in the jacuzzi was hot but nice once we got used to it. The leather chaises are comfy. Tea and cold drinking water are available … but they ran out of water :(
The tub in the couple’s massage room is basically a long tub. The water was really really HOT and we had to add lots of cold water to make it bearable. The tub wasn’t wide enough for us to sit side by side so we ended up end to end (so his feet were towards me as were mine to him). Not exactly romantic. There were pastries left for us next to the tub which was odd … who wants to eat a pecan tart sitting in a tub? The couple’s tub at the Stillwater is much nicer … it’s round and roomy, is a jacuzzi (so has bubbles) and has lights built into it for light therapy.
Mary and Christina gave good basic massages. Usually when you have an RMT massage, though, you get your receipt on the spot. With Shizen, we were told they would be mailed to us … huh? Should be interesting to see the names of the massage therapists match the ones on the receipts.
Though there are about 10 lockers in it, the women’s change room is really only conducive for one person as there is only one shower, one bathroom stall and one sink. So if you are there with a group, you’ll have to wait your turn to clean up. The frosted glass in the door is weird … you have to go to the far end of the room to change or you can be seen naked by any guys coming out of the men’s change room.
Chocolate covered strawberries were supposed to be in the couple’s room (as part of the couple’s massage package) but arrived about ten minutes after we were showered and ready to go. So we sat in the solarium waiting for them and then ate them there. They were tasty.
With all the spas in the city, I wouldn’t go back. The Elmwood and Stillwater are much nicer and professional.
UPDATE: It took a week and a half to get our RMT receipts.

I quite liked Shizen. I’ve been here twice (once for a bachelorette, and once on my own) and both positive experiences.
I like the lounge, with the tall ceilings, and the whirlpool. I agree with the last reviewer, and it was luke warm unfortunately.
Both times I got facials and i really liked it. They do the obligatory cleansing, extractions, mask and face maassage. What I really like is that they don’t leave the room during my mask setting, but instead massage all my extremities. I also heard from my friend that when she got her wrap, they gave her scalp massage, feets and arms while waiting.
I got the rose aromatherapy faciail, and it’s not relaly worth the extra money, but I had to try it the first time. All they do is add some nice smells with each treatment. It’s nice, but not really that necessary.
I’m not surprised that Lindsay had a bad time unfortunately. You need to specifically ask for an RMT, and usually spa don’t always do a good job on nails. It sucks tho.
Another tip, they accept
gift certificates. Wait for their sales where you can buy a gift cert for 15% less than normal. You’ll get a good deal on the spa services that way.

I delayed writing this review for a few reasons. One, my visit there was a gift, and I didn’t want the giver to know that I’d had a less than great experience. Two, I didn’t want to get any of the employees in trouble. They were all nice people, but they probably shouldn’t be in hospitality of any sort. I should also first clarify that this was the Shizen location inside of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, and not the one inside the Pantages.
I was given a gift certificate for a mani-​pedi & massage at Shizen for my birthday by someone who wanted me to try one of the top rated spas in Canada. I arrived 30 minutes early, as was suggested by the rep I booked my day with, who also said I could relax in the large hot-​tub before my massage. I ended up waiting in the reception area of the spa for those first 30 minutes, with an Indian business man, both of us waiting for the receptionist to arrive. Perhaps she should have told herself to arrive 30 minutes early. The one spa employee that we could find, told us that the receptionist was running late, and that there had been some management changes, and she was running around lighting candles, but there was no real apology.
Once checked in to the spa, I was lazily pointed toward the change room, which was clean, and well-​supplied, but not very warm feeling, and the big glass door (albeit frosted) made it feel less than private. I was shocked to notice that the slippers provided were stained, and instead of complaining, I just slipped into my own flip flops that I happened to have in my gym bag. I changed into my bikini and robe and headed out to the hot tub. There was still no staff to be found, except one lady still running around lighting candles. I slipped off my robe and took a dip into the tub, hoping to loosen up my muscles a little, and was surprised to find the water lukewarm at best! It was absolutely useless. I hopped out, and grabbed a magazine to read on one of the comfy lounges by the water. Soon after, the lone-​staff member brought me a cup of sweet smelling tea, claiming it was Ayurvedic. Cute. Thing is, I buy loose leaf tea every week, and I actually recognized their tea as the «Winter Punch» blend I keep stocked at home. I bought-​in for the time being. Sitting on that lounge was likely the best part of my experience there.
I’ve had a few massages in my time, and having recovered from a shattered elbow a few years before, I had been exposed to professional massage by RMTs. This is how I knew that the massage I ended up getting was most likely not done by an RMT. I ended up with more tension and knots than before. Either she had no clue what she was doing, or her head was somewhere else.
The next portion was the mani-​pedi. I had unfortunately had some finger nail-​trauma a few weeks before, so I opted just to get the pedi. They couldn’t offer me another service in exchange, but instead issued a small credit, which I still have and will likely never use. I wish I could say that I was surprised to see that the woman who did my massage was the one also doing my pedi, but I wasn’t. The pedicure was done well, with lots of attention to detail. The woman was likely ACTUALLY trained in this area, but any chance for relaxation was marred by the gossipy young-​professionals who kept walking in, in street clothes, for manicures. It began to feel like a standard nail salon. If you’re going to have a spa that you market with an emphasis on privacy, you should either have all clients change into robes, or have a separate section for one-​off treatments like this. It felt rather uncomfortable to be sitting in a robe, covered in oil beside a woman in a pantsuit complaining about the past quarter. It was also difficult to choose a polish colour with the ambient lighting. What I thought was cherry red, ended up being brown in natural light. Still, after a botched pedicure at the W Hotel’s (Los Angeles — Westwood) «Bliss» spa, I was happy to have someone good working on me.
After listening to several high-​powered execs talk about their stressful days in detail, and the manicurist herself telling me all about her divorce, and some very personal and morbid issues I don’t want to mention here, I would have had a more relaxing day on public transit, in rush-​hour, in Japan. I asked for some more tea, and sat on the lounge by the pool for 20 minutes following my pedicure before getting showered & changed. Upon leaving, they tried to sell me some of their «Ayurvedic» tea, packaged and labeled as such, in little black tins, for nearly triple what I normally pay for it. Better yet, the parking at the hotel was not included. As a spa package, especially a gift, you would think it would be. Nope. Had to shell out $ 20 for 4 hrs parking. Never told the gift-​giver because had it been me, I would have been embarrassed. If you’re paying that much for someone to be taken care of, they should be fully taken care of.