Miraj Hammam Spa at Shangri-La Toronto

Miraj Hammam Spa is a hotel spa on the fifth floor of the Shangri-La Toronto at 188 University Ave, in the Entertainment District of Toronto, Ontario. The spa combines conventional treatment suites with hammam rooms, giving it a Middle Eastern and Turkish bathing element that is uncommon among Toronto hotel spas. The ambience is serene, and the location above street level in a downtown tower keeps the space removed from the traffic of University Avenue. The signature offering is the hammam ritual, a traditional sequence of heat, steam and cleansing associated with the bathhouse customs of Turkey and the wider region. Alongside it, the spa provides massage and facials in its treatment suites. Treatments cost roughly CAD $160-350 (about US $115-250), and visits run from one hour to two and a half hours depending on whether a hammam ritual is combined with other services. The spa is part of the Shangri-La hotel group, whose properties are known for service standards, and the 4.5 rating on record reflects that reputation. Facilities centre on the hammam rooms and treatment suites rather than a large pool complex, so the experience is more private than a bath-house circuit. Treatments are taken by appointment daily, and the hotel website is the place to verify the current opening hours and treatment menu. Booking ahead is the norm for the hammam ritual in particular because hammam rooms are a limited resource. The hotel is on University Avenue near the courts and hospitals district and close to the theatres and restaurants of the Entertainment District, so a treatment fits easily into a day of downtown sightseeing. Visitors can phone the hotel on 647-788-8888 for questions about the menu, gender arrangements in the hammam, and whether spa access is open to people who are not staying at the hotel.