Corktown is quite a funny little place in Toronto. Surrounding the area you can find The Distillery District to the south, Regent Park and Cabbagetown to the north, Leslieville to the east and the financial district to the west. Over the past six years or so that I’ve lived in the area, I’ve seen it transform in a rather incredible way. Recently I read an article in which a Vancouver architect states that you can pin point the inevitable growth of a neighbourhood by the opening of a cool independent coffee shop. And that’s just how I felt when my favourite Corktown coffee shop, Redline, opened its doors. It was like a glimmer of hope for the neighbourhood, and since then shop after shop, and business after business has slowly begun to pop up along the sleepy stretch of Queen East.

Personally I love how quiet and ‘offbeat’ or ‘quirky’ the neighbourhood is, and while I hope that never goes away, I still get excited when I come across a new business in the area. Recently while walking home from the Distillery along Parliament, I couldn’t help but notice a bright new modern space that opened up on King Street. Most shops along that strip focus on furniture and home decor, so I was surprised to find that it was a spa upon taking a closer look.

As luck would have it, I received an email one week later from Prologue Lifestyle‘s co-owner, Elle, inviting me to experience the spa first-hand.

The spa interior is open, airy and modern (one of my biggest spa pet peeves is when they are overly frilly and girly) and I couldn’t help but admire and compliment their clean and sleek surroundings that would easily appeal to a more sophisticated clientele of both men and women. There aren’t too many spas around that I can think of off hand that make you feel like you’re hanging out in a cool loft space, but Prologue really does.

It could be because the spa’s owners, Elham (Elle) Ayoubzadeh and Raymond Luk, are both just really cool themselves, and ‘get’ their clientele because they are their clientele. They know what they want. For example, upon walking in Elle greets me and directs me to take a seat. Except I’m not shown to a dimly-lit room with trash magazines and zen fountain, instead I take a seat at their elongated counter and she pours me a glass of wine. It wasn’t any sort of special treatment either, Prologue’s wine and coffee bar is a permanent feature of the spa. When I admitted that I might have to come back just to use their bar as new work spot, Elle and Ray were totally welcoming, and revealed that many of their clients (including many who live in the connected condo) often pop in for a coffee or post-work “happy hour” even when they’re not due for a treatment.

When it comes to their products, Prologue has made a conscious effort to carry a small selection that is, for the most part, exclusive to them in Canada such as their products from Sun Bum and Nellie Tier. Brilliantly, they also launched an online store through their website in order to provide demand for their products to clients throughout North America, and to those in the city who seek the convenience of shopping from home.

The Signature Facial that I experienced that day was top notch, but I must emphasize how blown away I was by the spa itself and my overall experience. I think the concept behind Prologue Lifestyle is genius, and love how inviting and comfortable Elle and Ray have managed to make their stark (but striking) modern space. I wouldn’t be surprised if Prologue Lifestyle soon became the place to be in the east end on a Friday night.

Try somewhere new! For more information on Prologue Lifestyle please click HERE!