Circle Wellness Granville Island — Attraction in Vancouver

UPDATE (have now bumped up to 3 stars vs original 1 star)

The Manager called and left a message for my friend, and my friend took the opportunity to call him back and provide feedback. He was open to receiving it and mentioned he would work with his team on training and communication, although the way the spa is laid out, the GC does still have to be picked up outside of facility. Thank you for taking the time to reach out for feedback @ Nate.

This is a review specifically regarding the level and quality of service, not on the facility or the spa itself.

My friend and I have come into town for another friend's wedding and bridal shower. As a gift for her shower, we thought a gift card for a spa would be nice, and after review of Circle Wellness, we thought this would be unique from your regular hotel spa, and the 4.9 rating made us think this would be the right choice.

My friend agreed to purchase and pick up the gift card in person since she came into town first. Upon arriving at the entrance, she was asked not to enter nor allowed to purchase inside at the spa, and for her to purchase online first, before picking up the gift card at the door.

So, being the patient person she is, she walked back to her car and purchased the $300 gift card online, then went back to the entrance where they prepared the GC and handed it to her through the door. I get words, she felt like a beggar.

I'm not sure what the set up is at the spa, but my friend is certainly not one that dresses down, as in, there wouldn't have been any mistake she was going to cause any trouble. If this is how you treat your clients, I don't know how there are returning customers, and how this "wellness" spa is still in business.

Personally, I wish had just gone to a trusted hotel spa. It is infuriating to have spent our money and then be treated this way. I surely hope my friend is able to enjoy a better experience.

Spend your money somewhere else, everyone. This kind of arrogance need not...

I surprised my partner with this experience for his christmas present on Christmas day. We both just came back from Japan and really liked our onsen experience so I thought maybe we would enjoy this just as much and I was correct! Parking When you turn into a granville island take the most right lane and continue to go straight when there is a option to go left. Once you hit the end of the road, you'll see the building on your left hand side and there is plenty of parking all around. You do have to pay for parking.

Service You will receive a code to open the door a few days before your appointment time. Once you enter the code and you enter through the door, it's like you've been transported to a different space. You will walk up the ramp and be greeted by a staff member who will play you an introduction/instruction video and answer and of your questions. I booked for a 90 min session. So they recommend 30mins in the hot oak tub then you'll hear a chime to proceed to the pod (sauna) for 30mins. The last 30min is for you to do what you want to do. You will get a chime to indicate 15mins left into your session. I suggest you time yourselves accordingly. As 90mins is inclusive of your time to get changed. You are expected to be out of the circuit changed and ready to go. So don't think you can spend the whole 90mins in the circuit itself.

Experience Both my partner and I really enjoyed our experience! It is a little bit on the pricey side and it is definitely a treat. However I would highly recommend Circle Wellness to those who just need some time to detox from a busy lifestyle. It is a bit more expensive for evenings, weekends, and holidays. We will be back again next Christmas, hoping to make it an annual tradition.

Thank you to the staff for working on...

Self-guided thermal spa on Granville Island. They give you an orientation video before it starts. We had the 90 min session which seemed a good amount of time.

Your private unit kinda reminds me of something fashioned out of a shipping container (long rectangular shaped) but pleasantly adorned. It is open-air but feels private.

First room is the bathroom/change room. Very narrow bench seating on one wall so not much room to sit while you change (but guess you could sit on the toilet if you need to). There are towels (good for laying down on or rolling up into a pillow for the wellpod sauna (which has no seats).

Open air shower is the first thing, followed by the large cedar soaker tub (our fav). A bell will notify you when you can use the wellpod sauna. There's also a hydration station, cold water plunge, and heated riverstones. I found the riverstones a bit too hard to lie down on (and wasn't hot enough if I used a towel to cushion it). The salt wall wellpod sauna was interesting. The lights slowly dim to darkness while music plays (there's a button inside that you can push to turn off/on the music). Eventually, the lights gradually comes back on. I think the sauna was 30 mins during our session.

Felt pretty private. I couldn't really hear anyone from any of the other units but you could hear seagulls and the occasional nearby...