Oct 25, 2024

Weekend getaway guide: Take a breather at these new and notable spa resorts across Canada Weekend getaway guide: Take a breather at these new and notable spa resorts across Canada Vivian Vassos Published 15 minutes ago Share People have been travelling for the good of their health since, well, people could travel. Taking the waters, weight-loss “fat-farms,” abstinence (of practically all things) ashrams, the list goes on – many such retreats were a combination of self-flagellation and punishing discipline and deprivation. These getaways were and continue to be based on philosophies that are often challenged, yet our shared desire to rest and feel better keeps the wellness industry in perpetual motion. In Canada, it took a group of upstart nuns to get people into the healthy-living mindset – about 400 years ago, when three sisters arrived from France and opened Canada’s first hospital at Le Monastere des Augustines in Quebec City. The facility grew beyond treating the sick to treating the body and the spirit. You can still book a massage or retreat (most are in French) to the monastery for a weekend of healthy and holistic enlightenment. The signature massage starts with a foot purification ritual with spiritual undertones, followed by a slow-paced rubdown using the monastery’s bespoke 1639 hot oil (infused with star anise and grapefruit for boosting immunity and eucalyptus for respiratory health) while the strains of 12th-century monastic music play in the background. Across the border in the late 1800s, the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan opened, based on the health principles of the Seventh Day Adventist Church; when Dr. John Kellogg – yes the Corn Flakes Kellogg – took over its management a few years later, its reputation grew as a resort for the rich and famous to regain their health. Even first lady Mary Todd Lincoln was a patient. It’s featured in The Road to Wellville, the 1990s novel and movie of the same name, and it espoused everything from low-protein, plant-forward eating to enemas and electrotherapy to cold-air therapy. But our collective idea of what wellness is in modern times evolved more recently. The physician Dr. Halbert Dunn – the author of 1961′s High Level Wellness, based on a series of wellness lectures he gave in the 1950s – coined the term. And it’s big business. The Global Wellness Report projects that wellness tourism will reach US$1.4-trillion by 2027 ; Virtuoso, a global luxury network of travel advisers, identified “Silver Bullet Wellness” as one of its top trends in its 2025 Trend Report, with travellers seeking more than a massage or a steam room. They’re looking for experiences such as cold plunges, meditation getaways and hiking retreats (dubbed the new yoga). And, Skyscanner just named “Reset Jetters” as No. 3 of its top seven travel trends for 2025. In a nutshell, it defines reset retreats as experiences that help travellers “live longer and feel younger.” Here are a few new and noteworthy places where you can take the wellness plunge in Canada. Sure, the science of wellness is debatable, but the allure of detoxing in a quiet corner of the country is irresistible. Courtenay, B.C. : Kingfisher Resort’s Pacific Mist Spa Kingfisher Resort’s Pacific Mist Spa, in Courtenay, B.C.Kingfisher Resort’s Pacific Mist Spa Although this resort located in Comox Valley on Vancouver Island is not new, the spa is opening its Healing Caves this fall. Travel through a series of six caves, from extremely cold (-10 C) to extremely warm (82 C) all while being treated to wellness therapies and massive screens flashing natural landscapes from around the world. From cryotherapy to red-light therapy, halotherapy to thermotherapy, it’s a 70-minute journey that promises stress and inflammation relief, immune-system boosting and improving sleep, among other health benefits. Campbell River, B.C. : Naturally Pacific Resort Naturally Pacific Resort, in Campbell River, B.C.michael vanarey/Supplied This Vancouver Island boutique resort opened last May with 100 rooms. The Immersion Spa and Wellness has all the usual players (massage, relaxation rituals). It also brings Italian ingenuity, with made-in-Italy experience showers that combine chromatherapy, aquatherapy and aromatherapy. A soak in the spa’s mineral pool (the water is infused with magnesium, potassium and sodium) is said to remedy inflammation and act as a detox. Signature treatments give a sense of place, including the West Coast Escape – which uses sea salt and green coffee to exfoliate the skin – and the Little One & Loved One, so your under 12-year-old can get pampered alongside. P.S. : There’s an 18-hole golf course, too. Dawson Lodge’s Yukon Spa.John Howland/Jon Howland The Dawson Lodge expanded its one-room treatment facility into the Yukon Spa & Dawson Clinical Care Centre in May, 2024. It was born out of guests seeking more wellness and self-care options, such as massages and facials. Now a full-service holistic health and wellness centre, it offers day-spa essential treatments but also advanced medical aesthetic procedures (a bit of vacation Botox, anyone?) and integrative medicine such as IV infusions, chiropractic and physiotherapy, provided by a team of health care professionals. The bonus? A chance to spot the aurora borealis from the rooftop lounge. Manitoba: Elkhorn Resort ’s Klar So Nordic Spa Elkhorn Resort’s Klar So Nordic Spa, in Onanole, Man.Supplied You’ll find Elkhorn on the edge of Riding Mountain National Park, about five minutes by car from the town of Wasagaming and near Clear Lake, from which the spa takes its name (Klar So is Danish for Clear Lake). With 57 rooms and 60 chalets, there’s plenty of space to get cozy. Based on water-therapy principles of Scandinavia, the resort’s new Nordic Spa Thermal Cycle mixes heat, cold and quiet for a 360 treatment. Steam sauna, dry sauna, relaxation pavilion, a pair of hot tubs, a warm pool and, of course, a cold plunge. Rendering of Wander the Resort’s Wander the Spa, in Bloomfield, Ont.Supplied Set to open this winter, Wander the Spa is touted to be Ontario’s first lakefront Nordic spa. On West Lake near Bloomfield, a picturesque town in Prince Edward County, it’s an easy drive from Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto. There are saunas and steam rooms, naturally, but the star attraction is the 10,000-square-foot hydrotherapy circuit with four pools – and, according to our insider info there are also lakeside napping tents (to bring on healthier zzzs), an exfoliation cabin and, wait for it, four fire experiences. Whether this means toasting marshmallows by a blazing bonfire or sitting around a flickering fire pit while stargazing, they are meant to add a communal vibe. The desert-oasis feeling – a mix of undulating curved buildings, pale greys, sandy hues, blond woods and gardens spiked with tall grasses and pointed pines – doesn’t hurt either. The three-storey spa sits on 9,000 square feet.Drew Hadley/Supplied Always topping the best of Canada lists of Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler, the Relais & Chateaux Manoir Hovey opened Le Spa in 2021. Although not new, the property expanded its guest areas in September, 2024, with its Lakeside Pavilion – adding 12 waterfront rooms and suites. The three-storey spa sits on 9,000 square feet, and its signature treatments are a testament to the surrounding wild birch forests and manicured English gardens. Try the Hovey’s Honey Bliss, what the spa calls a “farm-to-facial experience,” using honey straight from the resort’s beehives. The location encourages immersing oneself in nature, with an indoor-outdoor Nordic thermal experience, a heated outdoor infinity pool with views of the lake and a pair of private beaches to boot. Hope-Wellness Eco-Resort, in Albert County, N.B.Hope-Wellness Eco-Resort With views of the Bay of Fundy, this four-season resort, which is woman-owned, focuses on Scandinavian-inspired treatments and cabin accommodations. It welcomes those aged 19 and up and they’re not shy about saying so. No need to take a vow of silence here; it’s as much a convivial vibe as it is chill – cue the outdoor bar or beer garden. There’s a nod to slower travel and its lesser impact on our environment, with the resort’s use of solar power and locally made furniture – in keeping with “hope-wellness,” the original inspo for the pair of single mom owners of this eco- and community-centred spot. The Nordic thermal therapies run from cedar saunas to salt-water pools and cold plunges; there’s impromptu pet therapy from the resident cats; and the resort contributes 1 per cent from each purchase to projects such as Stripe Climate, which works to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Mysa Nordic Spa, in St. Peters Bay, PEI.Al Douglas/Mysa Nordic Spa For those of us who are looking to reduce our footprint while still getting in some R and R, Mysa might be the place. The spa opened in late 2022 but has just undergone a full renovation of its cabins (with a view of the bay), and is known on the island as a leader in sustainability. The company is on track to achieve its goal of being 100-per-cent energy self-sufficient by the end of the year, and utilizes a biomass wood chip boiler that combusts at a 90-per-cent-plus efficiency, fed by trees identified as overcrowded or standing dead by a special harvesting method, ensuring a healthier, renewable forest. The thermal spa is, yes, you guessed it, Nordic inspired, with a one (hot/thermal), two (cold/Nordic) and three (relax) wellness checklist: hot and cold plunges and pools; relaxation suites that can include sound-bathing sessions, eucalyptus steam bath and a Finnish sauna, as well as massage treatments.