Toronto Therme Spa/West Island at Ontario Place | 45.15m | 9s | Therme Group | Diamond Schmitt

[junctionist]

Generally speaking, are people here actually hating the idea of the Spa?

I felt like half the time I cannot decipher the loud minority vs actual popular opinions. I actually just start paying attention to it this summer and I don't hate it.

I walk by that area a lot over the past 5ish summers before the construction began, and tbh I never see that many people in the area past Trillium Park (the west part of the island where the spa is being built). And also when I went through all of the proposals posted here, I don't find a lot of them that appealing.

It's going to be another overpriced Toronto attraction that'll be hard on middle class families' finances and difficult for working class people. So that takes it out of the running for a good part of the population, at least for enjoyment on a regular basis.

You'll get a mix of curious people in their 20s who'll go once or twice, wealthy people in luxury SUVs clogging the streets, and tourists. All the while, Ontarians in general have lost an excellent public space. The benefit of having a well-functioning government is that you can get more economically accessible leisure activities when the need to profit is removed from the equation. Think of our provincial parks, for instance. But that's not the case here because the spa is a handout to the private-sector for a few people to enrich themselves (like Highway 407 was).

 

[Mariner35]

Most people don't care and will be happy to use the new facilities. When is this spa supposed to open by the way?

People won't care but I also don't think people will care for it. It'll just be a thing that exists in the city. Doesn't seem like something that will see repeat business like other attractions in the area (wonderland, ripleys etc). Might just be me but I don't see it being this big tourist attraction that people will travel to Toronto for. (Not that people were doing that for Ontario Place).

I'd likely go once if a gift card was presented to me.

 

[Tyrang]

Most people don't care and will be happy to use the new facilities. When is this spa supposed to open by the way?

The different part will finish at different time, but the overall completion date seems to be 2030, which given the scale, seems reasonable to me.

I think this project cannot be view on its own. There are really three parts to this project: the Ontario Line, the Exhibition Place Revitalization, and the Ontario Place Redevelopment.

Exhibition Place Master Plan: https://www.toronto.ca/ext/digital_...xhibition-place-proposals-report-may-2020.pdf

They wanna make Exhibition Place more of an area that people will use day-to-day, and there is a walkway / bridge planned between the Ontario Line Station over Exhibition Place to Ontario Place. I kinda think that the result might be decent if everything works out.... we will see tho.

Maybe I will post this over all the Master Plan thread.

 

[Tyrang]

It's going to be another overpriced Toronto attraction that'll be hard on middle class families' finances and difficult for working class people. So that takes it out of the running for a good part of the population, at least for enjoyment on a regular basis.

You'll get a mix of curious people in their 20s who'll go once or twice, wealthy people in luxury SUVs clogging the streets, and tourists. All the while, Ontarians in general have lost an excellent public space. The benefit of having a well-functioning government is that you can get more economically accessible leisure activities when the need to profit is removed from the equation. Think of our provincial parks, for instance. But that's not the case here because the spa is a handout to the private-sector for a few people to enrich themselves (like Highway 407 was).

I get most of your points. Trillium Park definitely falls into that category. I really cannot say the same for the western area. I like walking the lake shore a lot, and that specific corner where the Spa would be is never that popular. I recalled walking through the part and people will thin out as you walk closer to Ontario Place from Trillium Park.

I know a number of my friends never even walked to that area...

I think the whole area there needed something. And I definitely think a Spa is a bit weird to say the least. Made me went "huh" when I first looked into it. But on the positive side, it could give our lake front some definition, which Toronto isn't great in.

 

[DSC]

I get most of your points. Trillium Park definitely falls into that category. I really cannot say the same for the western area. I like walking the lake shore a lot, and that specific corner where the Spa would be is never that popular. I recalled walking through the part and people will thin out as you walk closer to Ontario Place from Trillium Park.

I know a number of my friends never even walked to that area...

I think the whole area there needed something. And I definitely think a Spa is a bit weird to say the least. Made me went "huh" when I first looked into it. But on the positive side, it could give our lake front some definition, which Toronto isn't great in.

I disagree with you about usage of the western part of Ontario Place. The swimming beach was usually well patronised in swimming weather and the lookout towards the west usually had people there when I cycled there - which we did quite often, all year. One problem with walking there was that if there was filming or an event at Exhibition Place, the bridges were often closed so it could be an unexpectedly long trip back and forth via Trillium Park. The area was certainly not well signed and a bit 'remote' and the area more 'inland' was fenced off so there was no reason (and no way) to get there.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

Most people don't care and will be happy to use the new facilities. When is this spa supposed to open by the way?

While I suspect you might be right with the first assertion, there is no guarantee with the latter. And it won't likely open anytime soon.

 

[PL1]

I'd likely go once if a gift card was presented to me.

That will be the 2029 version of DoFo's $200 bribe I mean rebate cheque

 

[neuhaus]

People won't care but I also don't think people will care for it. It'll just be a thing that exists in the city. Doesn't seem like something that will see repeat business like other attractions in the area (wonderland, ripleys etc). Might just be me but I don't see it being this big tourist attraction that people will travel to Toronto for. (Not that people were doing that for Ontario Place).

I'd likely go once if a gift card was presented to me.

While I enjoy going to Scandinave (Blue Mountain), Vettä (Horseshoe Valley), and Thermëa (Whitby), I don’t think I would enjoy going here.
I like Scandinave/Vettä/Thermëa because it has a nice quiet serene atmosphere made for relaxation.
This Therme Spa design doesn’t feel like a spa, but more like a family water theme park. It looks like most (if not, all) of the spa is indoors rather than outdoors which makes for a rather humid and loud space (especially with families and kids around), but I’d guess the noise from traffic and the nearby airport would not be ideal for an outdoor spa either.
I can’t imagine how much it will cost to heat/cool and control humidity in such a huge greenhouse enclosure.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

That will be the 2029 version of DoFo's $200 bribe I mean rebate cheque

I mean, there's a lot of grift, nepotism and palm exchanging with this. Folks seem to lose perspective of that when defending the change. While the rest of us take issues with the wholesale Monkey Jesus "reworking" a of public icon...

...but that's the other thing though: This dodgy business has always been an excellent argument for strengthening the heritage status for our public institutions. Which really isn't about popularity contests or armchair polling...but making sure some arsed preem doesn't decide to add a commercial water slide to Queen's Park because of friends in backroom places in the example. >.<

 

[A Torontonian Now]

Might just be me but I don't see it being this big tourist attraction that people will travel to Toronto for. (Not that people were doing that for Ontario Place).

I'd likely go once if a gift card was presented to me.

As someone who grew up in Ottawa, while I was a child in the 90s we traveled to Toronto to see:

1) the CN Tower
2) Ontario Place
3) the Toronto Zoo
4) to stop because we were passing through to Niagara Falls
5) for a renaissance fair in Milton
6) for the Science Centre

And in that order of priority. I think the Science Centre would have been higher on the list if we didn't have the National Museum of Science and Tech in Ottawa.

But to be clear, people from elsewhere in Ontario definitely did travel to Toronto for Ontario Place.