Vida Wellness Spa at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel
Julie Register experienced this hotel spa in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada April 2006

Vida Wellness Spa Reception Desk and retail area where Vida Wellness Spa Ayurvedic Body Products can be purchased

Vida Wellness Spa shares locker facilities with the Sheraton Wall Centre Health Club

I exchanged my clothes for the robe and sandals in the locker and returned to the spa. I was escorted through another door into a large relaxation lounge with lots of comfortable chairs and chaise lounges and a long refreshment bar. I chose a seat near the combination fireplace / waterfall and started working on the brief questionnaire the spa attendant gave me. She brought a glass of water to me and invited me to help myself to the refreshments.

*Vida Wellness Spa - Relaxation Lounge	*Vida Wellness Spa - Relaxation Lounge
*Vida Wellness Spa - Relaxation Lounge	*Vida Wellness Spa - Hallway from the Relaxation Lounge to Treatment Rooms

Vida Wellness Spa's philosophy is founded in Ayurveda, a 5000 year-old Indian Science of holistic health that not only beautifies the body, but also nurtures the individual. According to Ayurveda, we each inherit a unique composition of the three doshas or elements: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. This composition determines our physical, mental and emotional characteristics. Vata (air) is dry, cold and mobile. Pitta (fire) is hot, oily and intense. Kapha (earth) is heavy, stable and dense. Most of us have one or two doshas that are dominant in our nature.

Vida Wellness Spa offers a complete range of Ayurvedic treatments designed to bring balance to your life. I was scheduled for an Abhyanga Swedana Massage. The herbs, oils and minerals used in my treatment would be selected for my unique dosha composition as identified by the results of the questionnaire which happened to be Kapha.

Vida Wellness Spa Treatment Room

Vida Wellness Spa West Coast Cedar Steam Cabinet

At the appointed time, Danielle escorted me to my treatment room and introduced me to my second therapist, Yuliya. The treatment began with an Abhyanga Massage. Danielle began on my head and Yuliya began on my feet. Four hands massaged my body with warm oil customized for my dosha - a base of sesame and almond oils with eucalyptus, rosemary, juniper, ginger and basil essential oils. It was fabulously relaxing. According to Danielle, the massage boosts the body's circulation and increases energy through the use of the healing, herbal oils. After the massage, I was moved to a room holding a handcrafted, west coast cedar steam cabinet for the Swedana Steam Treatment. I reclined in the cabinet and Yuliya slid a tray filled with herbs customized for my dosha - lemon balm, juniper, eucalyptus, fennel and ginger - into the cabinet. As the steam rose up into the cabinet, it passed through the herbs making a combination intended to detoxify and cleanse my system. The steam also helped the massage oils further penetrate my skin. Yuliya periodically offered a sip of cool water and checked my pulse. After about 15 minutes, I was returned to the first treatment room and was treated to a dry brushing of my entire body with barley flour to further exfoliate the skin and prevent the re-entry of toxins. The treatment was truly wonderful!

Waiting for me when I checked out was a selection of Vida Wellness Spa's own ayurvedic line - Kapha massage oil, body cream and face and body mist - should I wish to purchase them. There was also an informational sheet on the Kapha dosha that gave a brief summary of the basic qualities of the dosha, the effects of an imbalanced Kapha dosha, guidelines for balancing, diet and exercise suggestions, a recipe for tea, and reading recommendations. While I didn't purchase any of the products, I made an appointment for Linda for the same treatment in a few days. She had to experience this!

For additional information on Ayurveda, Vida Wellness Spas suggests the following books:

Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing by Dr. Vasant Lad	Ayurveda: Life, Health and Longevity by Robert E. Svoboda	The Yoga of Herbs by David Frawley and Dr Vasant Lad
The Book of Ayurveda: A Holistic Approach to Health and Longevity by Judith H Morrison	The Ayurvedic Cookbook by Amadea Morningstar	Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra

The 3600 square-foot Vida Wellness Spa has a total of 11 treatment rooms that include a couple's room, a Vichy water therapy room, an Ayurvedic steam room and multi-purpose private facial, manicure, pedicure and massage rooms.

*Vida Wellness Spa Couples Treatment Room

Vida Wellness Spa Vichy Water Therapy Treatment Room

Other services offered by The Spa include:

The Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel, one of Vancouver's largest conference hotels, is located in the heart of the city and is surrounded by the trendy boutiques, outdoor markets, clubs, art galleries, theatres and restaurants. The unique towers make it easy to recognize and light tubes at the pinnacle of each tower, the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre’s signature on the city’s skyline-by-night, are visible for miles.

*We passed the central courtyard surrounded by gardens and cascading water and entered the North Tower. At that point, we did not realize there was more than one. The receptionist checked us in then instructed us to go back outside to the South Tower on the other side of the courtyard where our room was. A little dissappointed that we wouldn't be staying in the great glass tower, we walked to the South Tower's reception where we picked up our key. Our room was on the 26th(?) floor and had a magnificent view of the city and mountains beyond through floor-to-ceiling windows. The room was clean and modern. The beds were comfortable and the room well furnished with conviences such as iron and ironing board, hairdryer, make-up mirror, bath amenities, bathrobes and refreshment center. An in-room safe, high speed Ethernet (100 MBPS), in-room Internet via wireless keyboard and TV monitor for e-mail and website page connections, fax/data ports, in-room movies, personal voicemail, and multi-line telephones were also provided.

It turns out that many of the hotel facilities, such as the spa, were attached to the South Tower, so we were quite happy with our location. However, we found it a bit quirky that the facilities we used - the spa, health club and salon - had no interior entrance from the hotel. It was necessary to leave the hotel lobby and access them from the outside.

In addition to the Vida Wellness Spa, the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Center offers:

• 12,000 square-foot health club includes state-of-the-art exercise equipment, a European-style lap pool, personal trainers, Jacuzzis, saunas, and a
• Sebastian 1 Hair Salon
• The Grand Ballroom - a multi-million-dollar facility with superlative multimedia technology. Complete multi-media hook-up, including comprehensive audio, video, Internet and lighting patch systems are transmitted within the facility, throughout the hotel and to the world beyond. The two additional versatile ballrooms and over thirty meeting, dining and breakout rooms create a perfect meeting setting.
• Business Centre - a self-serve facility available 24 hours a day offering access to four computers equipped with Microsoft Word, Excel, and high-speed Internet access, a fax machine and a copier. Additional Business Centre services can be accommodated by the Concierge or the Front Desk.
• Two full service restaurants -
  1) Indigo - featuring West Coast cuisine - funky and imaginative décor, indoor and outdoor seating. Indigo serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
  2) Cafe One - located off of the North Tower lobby. Drinks as well as West Coast menus serving lunch and dinner daily.
  There is also 24 hour room service, the Cracked Ice Lounge, Starbucks, Subway, Tokyo Joe’s Sushi, Deli O’s Cafe and Sorrento Market.
• Gift Shop.

While writing this article, the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel had a number of Special Offers including the Spa Package with rates from $259 per night. The Spa Package includes:

• Traditional room accommodations
  
• $100 certificate to use at our Vida Wellness Spa
  
• Late checkout (4pm)
  
• One complimentary in-room movie

Please check with the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel for package availablility.