Laya Spa & Yoga

Laya spa is fantastic! The atmosphere was immediately relaxing, I loved all the extras they provided (tea, truffle, slippers, juice) and the staff were attentive and friendly. My Indian head massage was wonderful, I felt truly de-​stressed after my visit. My reason for not giving 5 stars was that I thought it was a little pricey but otherwise a great experience. I definitely recommend, I have started saving to come back!

I had a very good massage with Jocelyn today. I’ve had hundreds of massages due to pains with my upper back and IT band and I felt that Jocelyn had more expertise than the average RMT I’ve had. I’d definitely return, but I find the price to be a bit above average (that’s why this is only a 4-​star review and not 5).

Worst massage ever by Anton. Was waiting for the «punch line». 90 min for $ 160 what a rip off. The supposedly therapist needs to go back to school. the all time it felt like his hands were just there on my back and not moving.. I had to tell him more then once for deeper massage. Don’t trust the reviews guys. It’s not worth it at all

This place is an amazing little secret in the city. An escape and oasis from the fast pace of Queen street. I went this weekend because I needed some serious down time. I saw Kara for a facial, her hands are magic! She’s super knowledgeable about the skin and helped me pick out some beautiful products to take home. After my facial I had a massage with Sabrina, again amazing hands and very intuitive. I left feeling calm and as if all of my stress just rolled off my shoulders. They give you freshly squeezed grapefruit juice post treatment, what an amazing way to detox after the relaxing treatments. I haven’t tried other services here but I’ve heard great things about the wax so I’ll be back!

Words dont express how great this place is. I get the Ayurvedic facial from Alexandra whom is absolutely amazing at what she does. Right from walking into the place you feel a sense of relaxation due to the incense of burnt palo santo. The hot steam room is one of the hottest steam rooms I’ve been to in the city and comes complimentary with some services. It’s a small place but it has all that you need.
Awesome customer service and very reasonable prices in comparison to other spa’s in the city. For what you get and the time that they spend on you it’s well worth the price. Facials are geared to your personal body and or skin type. They try to use all natural products which is great for people with sensitive skin. I wanted to be greedy and didn’t want to tell people about this hidden gem but i’ll share the joy! Check it out for yourself you won’t be disappointed.

I booked the Ayurveda facial with the senior aesthetician, Alessandra. It was originally supposed to be a mother’s day present, but got delayed. I decided to still make it happen. My mom had been stressed I thought that it was a good time. Prior to the appointment, my mom was still tense and I really wanted her to relax as we were spending the day together. When she came out of the 90-​min appointment, she looks totally different, happy, relaxed, and was ecstatic with her facial, that she found very enjoyable. I had previously taken her for other facials, but she said this was a unique and special experience. I met Alessandra after the facial, and she was such a genuinely pleasant woman. I would love to go back for the services myself in the future. The receptionist there, Holly, was also super nice and exceeded my expectations with her customer service. Even while I was waiting, she offered me a seat in the lounge with slippers (they have really nice acupressure slippers), tea, water, etc. The atmosphere in the place was also ver nice. As soon as I came into the place, I noticed it had a great relaxing energy. I was relaxed just sitting there. Overall, I was very pleased with the experience and the customer service.

great mani/​pedis, very clean spa and a warm welcoming environment

Phone receptionists were nice. Took a moment to make an appointment. Pedicure was decent, decent paint job. Had the signature facial… Includes a massage foot massage and upper body massage — bonus! It needed with a glass of fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Lovely. Facial includes fresh cucumbers on the eyes, and a aloe mask (from live plant) to soothe skin after extraction. Lots of applications. I lost count. One con… No facial steamer, Only hot towels. I would recommend to anyone… my skin looked amazing afterwards. Note. My friend had a facial too, super sensitive skin… she like hers as well.

Awesome spa. While I was getting the facial, I received a surprise head and foot/​leg massage. I didn’t realize it was included in the price, but it was, so it is an extremely good deal. Very nice lady (Kara?, I think) and very good, gentle with facials. Products were amazing and I ended up buying some serum for myself. I have been using it for a couple weeks and it is working to fade the rosacea, but over all is keeping my face moisturized quite well. Will go again next time I’m in Toronto.

I went here for my bachelorette, and I really liked the massage. I had tense shoulders, and the RMT did a great job of loosening the knots in my upper body. They had soothing music and essential oils. The décor of the place is also nice. The only downside is that the overall spa is cramped and poorly spaced out. The walls are very thin, and it felt like the spa was in someone’s basement/​loft instead of being in a real business space. The staff were great though and very accommodating.

The estheticians were lovely. The experience getting a pedicure was very calming and clean and pampering. My complaint is three things: not telling me ahead of time the steam room is NOT included in the pedicure price. It was an additional 25 $ I only got 10 min in steam room BC of the time it took to fill our paperwork and get a tour. My 2^nd complaint is the nails didn’t dry enough bf being wrapped with Saran wrap. When I got home all my nails were smudged. :(((3^rd complaint: I asked for ingrown toenail to be taken care of. All she did was file it back. 2 ½ weeks later I needed to get new pedicure BC of ingrown toenail pain. Beautiful facilities and lovely estheticans. Goal is more upfront communication and listening to clients.

This place sucks
I have had about 4 massages here and first of all their receptionist holly who has some sort of mood swings. some times she is overly friendly n the next time she is ready to shoe you out
Other than Edith who is a great RMT. I overall had such a bad experience
The last time I visited they offered me a steam room I hung my robe outside the steam room and while I was in there a a scary looking guy walked in. I wrapped myself in towels n jumped out. even my robe was gone. I quickly dressed and went to reception
When I told holly she said steam ro is coed so anyone can walk in and I asked why didn’t you tell me that
To which she reacted overcharging me by 20 $ saying Edith has increased her fee
I asked why didn’t you tell me when I made appointment. So I am never ever going there

I’m still trying to process the events of what just happened. I’m pretty sure it was magic though! My amazing sweet boyfriend wanted to get me a facial as a gift. I haven’t gotten a facial in perhaps a decade or so. My skin would always be super red afterwards and it just didn’t appeal to me. I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews before deciding on Laya Spa. I opted for the Ayurveda Facial because I liked the idea of using all natural ingredients instead of the crappy chemical filled gunk most places use.
I called to find out more information about the service and pricing and spoke with a few different woman. Each were incredibly helpful, patient, thorough, and friendly. It didn’t feel like I was being rushed off the phone. That pretty much sold me on the place.
The place is BEAUTIFUL. For a small spa they really have done something incredible with it! The atmosphere is clean and calming and really attractive.
I started in the steam room for 30 minutes which is included in the facial. It was amazing. Very relaxing and I LOVE the heat!
Following that Alice took me into the room to begin the facial. She asked me to hang my things up and lay on the table. I’ve never done a naked facial before but I’m game for most things so I was fine with it. She left for a while, and the wonderful subtle smells in the room and the spa-​style Bob Marley music near put me to sleep. I should mention that I’m really sensitive to smells but the smell in the room was nice and not overpowering. Alice came back and began the magic.
I can’t tell you exactly what she did but it involved a lot of amazing massaging of my upper chest, back, arms, and abdomen. She did a light extraction which wasn’t painful. It involved a great deal of hot towels on my chest, face and back. Heaps of delicious smells. A mask made of chocolate, turmeric, honey, and probiotics. I honestly could have licked my face until it was clean and felt very happy about it! Apparently each person get’s something different and tailored to their body type. She used Aloe and rose water and some other stuff that was light.
When I was done I went to change, and they brought in some freshly squeezed grapefruit juice for me which I downed and it was delicious!
My only few things that would make this absolutely perfect would be larger robes for the steam room. I asked if they had but they didn’t. I’m a big girl with lots of hip and the robe only covered one leg. The other thing would be to clean the marble on the entrance to both the steam room and the shower. The whole place is REALLY clean but those two areas didn’t look it although the steam room and shower itself were spotless. And lastly I like to know information and what’s happening. Perhaps other people just like quiet and like to relax, but I would have liked if Alice had told me what she was doing and putting on me. I just find stuff like that interesting. But she was honestly so amazing in every way that this is just me nit picking and who cares! I’m still in heaven, super relaxed and my skin looks incredible and is so soft!
Thank you Laya Spa and Alice for this amazing experience. I will definitely be back! And I will tell all my friends!

One of my favourite spots to escape in busy, downtown Toronto. The atmosphere is absolutely relaxing and calming.
I been going back every 2 – 3 months for the Back Love Treatment to treat my blemish-​prone back. And both Aless and Pauline are amazing!
Definitely a spa to give a visit — and they accept WaySpa gift cards!

3.5 STARS
I came here for a mani/​pedi. It is a small but inviting space with little hits of Nepalese/​Indian decorations. The receptionist is just lovely. They bring you to a small waiting area to until they are ready to take you and offer you tea (which comes with a truffle! yummy). While I couldn’t see it, I think there is one of those machines that makes calming water sounds… well it sounded like whatever it was, was broken. It wasn’t calming to me.
The room in which they do the mani/​pedis is small — about 3 places for a pedi and 2 places for a mani. The pedi sinks are really nice but that’s about it. The room is a bit stark and there is the waxing equipment and other equipment in the room, so anytime someone needs something they are in here. It does the job well, but if you are really looking for that cozy spa experience you won’t get it in this room. Not that it’s a bad thing at all, but just depends on what you expect.
When they are done they lead you back out to the waiting lounge for tips and toes to dry. There is no machine to dry them… you just basically air dry them. This is the first place where I have not used a machine. Maybe it’s not a good thing to use a machine? But it did feel weird to sit in the lounge with the other people waiting for their appointments
Everyone who worked here was nice. The other reviews rave about the massages, which I didn’t get, but I am tempted to try them at some point. I live a bit too far to come here on a regular basis, maybe if I lived close by I might stop in b/​c overall there is nothing particularly wrong with this place, i think I was just expecting something else
***10% for checking in on Unilocal****

What an incredible experience!!! Such a cozy setting from the moment you first walk in. Lovely receptionist to take your coat. I had a 90 minute massage with Kim. The room was a beautiful wooden room, very serene. Kim was incredible, and really listened and focused on my problem areas. Was totally relaxed and less sore after my massage! Ended with a beautiful fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. I was then given a beautiful robe, and headed into the steam room, which was a great way to end the massage! I then had an incredible shower with a waterfall shower head, where they provided amazing organic shower products. All in all BLISS!

I have been going to Laya Spa for about five years or so now (back when it was called Spa Rio at Moksha Yoga Downtown … and ever since they moved to Queen Street).
The service is the absolute best in the city.
First, the owner, Alessandra, treats every customer as a friend/​family.
Second, the team at the Spa is wonderful … they take the time to get to know you, no service is rushed. They are all warm and friendly.
Third, the treatment is impeccable.
I usually have my waxing done by Aless or Larissa … both are amazing and thorough.
For massage, I always book the two-​hour massage from Edith.
She is strong, focussed, and a true professional at providing deep-​tissue massage.
Due to my work schedule, I sometimes have to have my services done outside of Toronto … and I am always disappointed when I compare my services at Laya.
I will always be a customer at Laya Spa and Yoga.
Best to them all @LayaSpaAndYoga

I’ve been going to Laya for about a year now and really look forward to my time there. I go for monthly massages with Lynn and she is AMAZING! I like a massage that feels like it’s fixing me and she’s able to accomplish that.
I’ve also had pedicures & manicures here and highly recommend those services.
If they offer outdoor yoga this summer, GO! You won’t be disappointed. What a wonderful & relaxing time.
Last but not least, the staff are so friendly and helpful. Keep up the great work ladies!

Update: after writing my initial review the owner did contact me to correct the situation. Its pretty obvious that customer satisfaction is a very high priority at this place. I will go back and give them another try and report back.
Well it took just over a year but I have gone back and this time was very pleased with the service and results. From what I understand the esthetician that I had before no longer works there. I hate it when you go to spa and have to request a certain person to get decent service. Sure you may have a preference for a certain person but there should be a standard of quality and service offered by all the estheticians at a spa. Seems like they have this now.
Also I’ve been here for a few massages now, which have been great. I’ve seen John both times and its been good. Only complaint is that the complementary steam before the massage shut off after only 10minutes of being in the steam room (was supposed to be 30min) and I had to track down someone to turn it back on. This happened both times I’ve used the steam room.

This is a review for the YOGA studio part of Laya, rather than the Spa.
Laya Spa & Yoga has been around since May. It’s a quiet, unassuming spot that is easy to miss because their sign isn’t very big. I’m so glad I decided to check it out, because it’s really an unexpected oasis of calm on Queen West West. There are many yoga studios in the neighbourhood, but Laya is different in that it is small (yoga classes are limited to 6 students, call ahead to reserve your spot) and the service is very personal.
THE SPACE: clean, simple, spa-​like, with colourful Moroccan touches in the décor. There is a no-​shoe policy, you leave your shoes in cubbies at the door. The layout is long and skinny — it looks really tiny from the street, but it actually has several rooms stretching back. There are treatment rooms, a large room for manicures/​pedicures, and the small yoga studio with sliding wooden doors. At the very back there is a unisex changeroom with 2 curtained stalls where you can get changed and 2 showers, as well as lockers (they provide locks). Also, they have *heated floors*. Soooo nice when you are walking around barefoot. It’s also really relaxing when you are lying in savasana at the end of yoga (yes, you can feel it through your yoga mat as long as your mat isn’t super-​thick!). They also always have a big jug of ice water with fresh fruit.
STAFF: you’ll feel like a valued-​customer from the moment you enter. The receptionist is friendly and helpful. They make you feel welcome and are happy to answer questions. The owner, Alessandra, teaches most of the yoga classes and also does aesthetics. She’s a dedicated teacher and keeps the classes small so that she can provide lots of attention and corrections to students, which I found extremely helpful. She is happy to tailor the class to your energy level that day, specific muscle groups you may want to work on or rest, etc.
YOGA CLASSES: all classes right now are 1 hour and 15 mins. and are level 1 – 2 ashtanga/​vinyasa flow. They are designed for students who are familiar with the primary series and have already been practicing yoga for a while. I found the classes to be rigorous and challenging but in a supportive environment. You will definitely sweat, but it’s also not like she’s pushing you beyond what you can do. I later saw on the website that Alessandra did her teacher training at Downward Dog, which would explain why I really liked her style having done lots of classes at Downward Dog myself. She uses music, but it’s not your typical new age-​y stuff. There’s some bossa nova, piano music, and even Rihanna. Maybe some purists would scoff at that, but I thinks it makes class fun. During savasana, she comes around and gives you a mini-​head massage which is soooo relaxing.
I would definitely recommend Laya for yoga. The schedule is up on their website, although they mentioned they are thinking of moving some of the 6pm evening classes to a later time. They currently have a promotion: $ 20 for 1 week unlimited, $ 75 for 2 months unlimited. Also, their twitter says they have mimosas on Sundays!