Absolute Spa

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The spa is located in the basement of the hotel. Lounge is simple, but the rooms are clean, warm, and comforting.
This location has personal steam rooms available, as well as rainfall shower heads. My RMT massage was relaxing as it was therapeutic — I had moments of tension releasing (which happened to be a little painful, but needed), to moments where I fell asleep from the relaxation aspect.
There was a patron using her cell phone and the associated text alert sounds rang through the establishment, no one asked her to stop or enforced the cell phone free policy.
The Youngblood makeup application was very light. I had to go to Sephora for a touch up.

Booked an appointment with Kathy for facial! Omg she was so good. I have terrible acne and my last experience when I went to a «5-​star spa» was the worst experience of my life.
Thanks to my gf I got recommended to Kathy. And OMFG this has changed my life. My acne is clear now after 4 times of seeing Kathy and doing acne facials. She is SO gentle and it does not hurt at all!
She is the biggest Sweetheart I have ever met in my entire life! I love her so much.
I would recommend going an half or half an hour before the appointment and using the private steam shower!

Best facials ever! I have been coming here for as long as u can remember and u have always gotten my facials from Kathy. She is the too aesthetician here and says she has been working here for 13 years! I come get my facials every 3 weeks with my girlfriend and we think she’s the queen of great skin! The service has always been great and we LOVE the steam shower. I have also gotten numerous couples massages with my husband, I love Holly and Christina. We have also gotten pedi and mani before but I don’t frequently do those here because I have a favourite nail tech I go to elsewhere. To top off the review if you do want great skin and read this to go see Kathy you should also save room for the banana bread and tea at the end, it’s my favourite part!

Came here for an RMT massage. I give the overall experience 4 stars as there are many things in addition to your service to take advantage of.
Pros
— you can ask for a private steam in one of the individual change rooms (this is a 5 star experience)
— access to the hotel pool and gym
— after service snack of yogurt and banana bread
— spa renovations are very sleek and modern
Cons
— robe quality and slippers aren’t the greatest. My robe had a stain.
— furniture is in need of repair. The couch in the lounge was extremely worn out all over. It was very surprising as this spa is in a fairmont…
— the change room didn’t have hair ties, a flat iron or curling iron. Many other spas of this caliber have those items
— the lounge area is very close to some of the treatment rooms, so you can hear large groups chatting and laughing.
It was a nice relaxing experience and the stream was the best part.

This location gets a «just ok» 3 star rating from me. The best time to come to this spa is during the winter because of the access you get to the glass covered indoor heated pool. The spa itself is alright, the change rooms are simple and despite some renos, still not as luxurious as they could be. The waiting area has dated and worn out furniture.
After your massage you also get a piece of banana bread and yogurt which I quite like. But for the same price within the same chain of spas you get a chicken salad at the Century Plaza location. Yea I’m a guy so I’m a fan anytime there’s food involved.
Ultimately bang for your buck Absolute Spa is one of the less pricey hotel spas to get your rmt massages done while still in a comfortable high end hotel environment.

For the price you pay I would find another spa. Took my mother over the weekend for a manicure/​pedicure date. My finger nails look as though a child painted them… uneven and messy. The only good part of my manicure was the hand and arm massage. Unfortunatly my mother’s tech decided not to give her that portion. The pedicures went a bit better, the leg and foot massage was great, but once again the polish looked messy. To be honest, I have recieved much better mani/​pedis from my local salon for ¹⁄₃ of the price I paid here. Won’t be returning anytime soon.

Let’s be honest here…
I went there cuz I got a gift card…
And I wanna come back!
I only asked for trimming my long hair…
And the stylist (I highly recommend her) Lynn was awesome.
She explain to me that they are three way to cut hair…
I asked to trim the tips and layers.
I’m always worrie about having an haircut…
She asked me the length that I want for the layers.
And she nail-​it!!!
She stand and did what she said.
As usual people always cut MORE then discuss…
But not her… She’s experimented and you can tell.
It was short and sweet.
Super professional too. Not a talker which I like (a lot).
I just want to relax when I get my hair done…
I don’t like answering random questions…
So it was the perfect fit.
The price are REALLY fair.
It was 83.00 and I left 15% of tips (always).
I waited in a relaxing room with yogurt, fresh water, coach etc…
The color of the salon is dark gray…
Which is nice but a little bit dated and ”boring”…
So that’s is why I give them a SOLID four stars.

This 4-​star rating is a mix of two things — 5 stars for the actual service, and 3 stars for the venue. First, the venue:
In a hallway in the lower lobby of the Fairmont Vancouver, Absolute Spa doesn’t do much to stand out. It’s pretty standard inside, although still nice. Nothing out of the ordinary. However the ‘waiting room’ may leave much to be desired. It’s a big open room with lots of lights — not exactly comfortable for relaxing in your robe. The men’s change room was small, with a few lockers and two showers. The showers were high quality however, but the room was very stuffy. If you come to a spa for a «spa day», this might not work for you.
The service however was amazing. My RMT Ellery provided one of the most comprehensive and targeted massages that I’ve every had. It’s one of the few times I sensed that the RMT was actually finding muscle groups and methodically working them out, instead of just covering areas.
One big plus — private steam rooms for after your massage where you can relax and shower off in private. Very nice.
If you want a functional massage but don’t care to spend hours at the spa, this is a great choice. Prices were excellent as well compared to other ‘resort’ style hotels.

No. Unless you like spas in the basement, massage techs with weak hands, and weird salads. It’s too hot in the space, and some of the treatment rooms are near pedicure party rooms, so it’s not exactly quiet or relaxing. Also, the locker room is unlocked from the outside, but you need a key card to get back out — how backwards is that?! It creeped us out in general.

Got this as an anniversary gift. One of the best massages ever! Must’ve fallen asleep a few times. I must say waking up to being massaged along with calming soothing music is one of the best ways to wake up. Best two hours of my life. Masseuse actually massaged and rub out the kinks and aches and used the whole two hours unlike some other places that just rub and pat and only use the hour and a half.

Wanted to use the RiverRock location — but they were booked up.
This location at Hotel Vancouver (Fairmont) was easy to get to using CanadaLine. Ok the hotel is going through what must seem to be like its third renovations to me! Was not a distraction as we were able to get around it. I thought the Hotel Vancouver was already — swank!
And this was not an issue in getting to the spa. Only issue was we could not use pool as it was — under reno.
The massage was very good. Very relaxing and soothing. Could not get up afterwards and I wanted another hour. Ha!
Make sure you use the steam room afterwards — it is private.
Sat in the lounge chairs afterwards an had tea, yogurt and banana bread.
Please note — make an outing of this trip to Absolute Spa — you can use the pool, gym and steam room and have fruit and tea or coffee — all included! Clear a few hours off your schedule for a great pampering experience!

The experience started off ok and then once my manicure begun I was cut 4 times on 4 different fingers. My pinky finger would not stop bleeding until I asked for cotton and tape so I could apply pressure to it. Then once she began filing my nails the file somehow slipped out of her hand and landed on me.
I had dinner plans afterwards expecting to be out of the spa by 5:15pm as my appointment was for 4:30pm however, I did not leave until 6pm.
This experience has been AWFUL and I hope to never come back to this specific location again.

A friend and I had the de-​tox wrap. I was not very impressed with this spa at all. I did not like that we had to walk from the bottom floor, through the shop and past guests in the lobby to the top floor for our treatment. At different points throughout the treatment, the practitioners were trying to sell us products which I’ve never had at other spas. After our treatment, they proceeded a much harder sell… completely turned me off, and ruined any relaxation I had achieved in the treatment. The change room was awkward and narrow to change and there were not enough towels. Spend a couple of extra dollars and go to Spa Utopia or Miraj. I won’t come back.

Meh. You’re better off trying a different downtown salon for the price. Went here for a rmt massage.
When we arrived, the front was packed with staff. To the point where they were just standing around. We were taken to the change rooms in the back. The women’s change room was so hot. They even had a fan in there but it didn’t help!
The massage itself was ok. At the end they gave us a slice of carrot cake and a small yogurt. Was kind of odd since it seemed like a treat to give a child. Nonetheless it was tasty.
Had a shower afterwards. The showers don’t have locked doors like other places. Just a shower curtain in front of the shower door. I took the last fresh towel in the basket and noticed that no one came in to restock or clean up during the half hour I was in there. I had to mention it to the front desk when I left.
Overall an ok experience. Too many front staff not enough in the back to clean up and restock. Even the lounge had lots of dishes that were left around.

I received a gift card for my birthday from a friend and I decided to finally go and get my signature massage. I get there and the staff were pretty friendly which was good but the massage itself sucked. I had some problem areas in my back but my masseuse was way too rough. When I told her to be a bit more gentle (plenty of times), she wouldn’t. Now my problem areas are worse than before! She spent so much time on that one area, that she ran out of time for the rest of my body resulting in literally 3mins per arm and leg and like 10mins on my neck, shoulders and head. Pretty sure it was one of her first massages that she had given =\ it was rediculous.
Not only was the massage not very good but the steamroom I was in was freezing cold including the tile that I wanted to rest my back on to relax so I ended up just standing. The change room looked clean until I went to go brush my hair with a not so sterilized brush… went to take a brush out of the cylinder of solution and two brushes were stuck together with tons of hair. I almost puked and ended up just leaving w/​o brushing my hair. One of the worst experiences @ a spa ever

I am so disappointed with this place I don’t even know what to say.
I had the mani and pedi ($ 130 before tax and tip) — I can’t complain about the girl who did my pedicure but the one who did my manicure did an awful awful job! My nailpolish was put on unevenly and my cuticles were half left half gone.
The esthetics of the place isn’t even nice. For a high end spa they have worn out leather couches and actual tvs from I think 10 years ago.
Hotel parking is also $ 15 for 2 hours.
Overall, I would NEVER come here again. I have had better experience in cheap hole in the wall salons than here.
They do give you a free cup of yogurt and slice of banaba bread at the end, but does not make up for the rest of its flaws.
Perhaps their other services are better, but I doubt if they haven’t mastered a basic manicure they are any good at other things.
My one star is only for the acceptable pedicure and nice foot message.
Keep your money people and go else where!

I received a gift certificate for a facial at Absolute Spa. I got lucky and had Kathy for my treatment. She is the Head Aesthetician. She is wonderful, friendly, professional and very caring. I enjoyed my facial very much and would highly recommend her for your facial. She is in Hotel Vancouver on Burrard St., Vancouver.
Thank you Kathy for an amazing experience.

I had some reservations about the service after reading some previous reviews but I can honestly say I have had wonderful experiences both times I have been to this spa.
Most recently, I booked a RMT massage, body scrub, and spray tan prior to my wedding. Victoria was the RMT and she was so lovely — she just instinctively knew what kind of massage to give me to take care of any stress I was feeling.
After the massage, Kathy took over for my body scrub and spray tan. She was so upbeat & personable but also extremely professional and capable. I was a little apprehensive about the spray tan because I have had them before and turned out darker than I wanted. Kathy followed my instructions exactly and gave me the wonderful glow I was hoping for!
The facilities were immaculate and I like that the staff seems to have their timing down to an art and a science. I was never kept waiting so long I had to think ‘did they forget about me?’ and I also wasn’t rushed. A very relaxing experience.
Can’t wait to go back!

Awesome awesome awesome!
To begin, some older reviews failed to mention that if you have any service with Absolute Spa, you are granted access to the hotel’s indoor pool, hot tub, exercise room, gender specific sauna, change room/​locker room and shower with Hotel Vancouver. This is additional to the showers that you already get with the spa.
I went today to relax with my boyfriend and to escape the heavy heat. I booked a 60 minute RMT massage at 2pm, but decided to show up around 12 to take advantage of the pool and sauna. It’s a small pool, but it’s fun and very dead. There weren’t many people there, it was just me and my boyfriend for 1.5 hours!
We then rinsed and dried off using the hotel facilities. We went back to the spa and had some fruits and water at their relaxation lounge and lounged for a few minutes before we began our massages in a room for couples, which was nice :)
Katherine was my RMT and she was AMAZING. She had really good pressure and she helped me loosen up my knots. She was super friendly and very professional. When I go back, I am definitely going to ask for her again.
After we finished, they offered us to use their eucalyptus steam room (complimentary), which also offers a 6-​head shower with a raindrop shower head. They offer the full toiletries, from body wash, shampoo, and conditioner, to cotton swabs, body butter, mouth wash, and hair dryer.
It’s great if you want to head out to dinner in the city after their services. All I would recommend you bring is your own face wash/​toner/​cream. This is quite comparable to Spa Utopia at Pan Pacific where they also offer you steam room, pool, a relaxation lounge. But the showers at Absolute Spa along with their steam room is enough to sway me in their favour.
Their RMT is $ 12 more expensive than Spa Utopia, but I feel like you can get so much more. I spent 4 hours here today basically for free since my RMT is covered by my health.
Thumbs up and give it a try!