Visitors have always come to the Canadian Rockies to soak in the healing mineral waters. In 1886, long before the modern concept of stress was understood, Dr. Robert G. Brett opened the area's first spa. At Banff Sanitorium you could soak in the water and breath its sulphurous steam, or you could wrinkle your nose and drink it. Dr. Brett helpfully bottled the water and sold it for its ‘healthful’ properties.

Fortunately, the list of spa treatments in the Canadian Rockies is more extensive and appealing today than it was in the Parks’ early days. Visitors can still ‘take the waters’ at Banff’s Upper Hot Springs or Radium Hot Springs (open year round), and Miette Hot Springs in Jasper (closed in winter). But there are also plenty of high-end private spas that expertly put ‘treat’ in the treatment.

Spa going is an increasingly popular activity—the Canadian spa industry doubled in size between 2000 and 2003. It’s a billion-dollar industry that makes customers feel and look like a million bucks.

A recent study showed that 26% of Canadian spa-goers enjoyed their first spa visit in the past year. Newcomers often have their first taste of the spa experience while on vacation. Most emerge with a grin on their face, wondering why they never tried a massage, pedicure or facial before—and how soon they can have another.

Local hotels such as Fairmont Resorts and the Banff Caribou Lodge have completed million-dollar-plus makeovers to their spa areas, with beautiful results. The Post Hotel in Lake Louise created the Temple Mountain Spa a year ago because “this is what people expect in a high-end property,” says owner George Schwartz. “A spa visit complements other mountain activities such as skiing, hiking and biking,” notes Blake Johnson, of Pleiades Massage & Spa at Banff Upper Hot Springs. “With a treatment, they can relax, regenerate and recuperate. Then they’re ready to take on the outdoors again.”

While trendy and luxurious extras such as body wraps, hydrotherapy, fitness machines, juice bars, fireplaces and waterfalls can enhance a spa visit, all legitimate spas must offer the ‘holy trinity’ of massage, facials and manicure/pedicures. But the extras sure are nice. Spas in the Rockies constantly seek new ways to heal and pamper their customers.

Newcomers graduate into spa connoisseurs—a new segment of the travel market has recently been defined as ‘spa travellers’, people who spend their holidays sampling spa experiences. These dedicated bliss seekers are responsible for a travel industry trend—an ever-increasing focus on spas with unique selling points and greater luxuries.

Lux It Up
Massage has always been the most popular spa treatment. But the stereotypical image of a robust Swedish woman digging her muscled fingers into your back has receded as savvy spa-goers embrace new ways to de-stress.

The ever-extending menu of treatments can bewilder neophytes. Will the lavender mango butter body wrap improve my skin more than the aromatic salt glow? Will an aromatherapy massage make me feel looser than a hot stone treatment? Fortunately, it’s all good, so it’s hard to go wrong.

A good place to start is with the spa ‘signature treatment’. This well-planned combination of specialty therapies sometimes incorporates unusual elements. The Post Hotel, for example, includes a signature Herbal Thai Stem Massage in its Temple Mountain Escape package. When designing the spa menu, manager Anne Witzaney “looked for something my guests might not have experienced before.” This was a challenge since many Post guests are spa regulars. But the Thai stems wow all who try it.

Double Your Pleasure
Doing the spa thing together is popular, and most local spas offer options for having treatments a deux. Manicures and pedicures especially lend themselves to a shared experience.

Couples massage can be romantic his-and-her affairs, though often it’s a case of the woman introducing her reluctant fella into the spa environment without his masculinity being challenged. Pairs of women (mothers and daughters, brides and maid of honour, sisters, etc) frequently book pampering packages for two.

Whatever the gender, spa time together can be as sociable as participants wish. Some people find conversation therapeutic while others revel in shared silence, and good massage therapists take their cues from their guests.

Men, Start Your Engines
Rockies spas have seen an increase in the number of men taking treatments, possibly the result of couples massages tried on previous holidays with their sweeties. While men tend to opt for a simple massage on their first visit, some eventually add facials and body wraps to their spa visits.

For businessmen who frequent the Rimrock Fitness & Spa at Banff’s Rimrock Resort Hotel, manicures are common. Treatments are often included in conference packages or given as gifts, comments spa manager Tara Johnstone. She laughs: “They sometimes need to be convinced to come in, but men are very appreciative afterward.”

A Whole New You
“A visit is a commitment to your overall well-being and self-improvement,” enthuses the Temple Mountain Spa brochure. In a way, it’s a return to the days of Dr. Brett when the spa was about health, and ‘pampering’ never entered the picture. “It’s not just about treating yourself anymore,” says Temple Mountain’s Camille Branger. Ana Baxter, manager of the Red Earth Spa at Banff Caribou Lodge, agrees: “We built the spa because people are more and more committed to wellness while on vacation. What better time to balance your spirit and enhance your senses?”

With this focus on health and wellness in mind, yoga and Pilates classes often complement spa treatments. Hotel spas increasingly offer well-equipped fitness centres and pools within spa areas, so health-conscious visitors can work out before they take time out.

Take the Plunge
If it seems like you’re the last to visit a spa, don’t be shy. Take the plunge! Says Tara Johnstone: “We have lots of first-timers. People should take time for themselves. It doesn’t take long to appreciate the spa experience.”

A successful spa visit is one where the guest feels comfortable and cared for from the moment they walk in. Gorgeous decor, relaxing ambiance, plush robes and other thoughtful touches help set the stage. But attentive, experienced therapists are the most important element in the experience. Their healing touch, combined with an ability to provide the right experience for each guest makes clients feel on top of the world.

HOT STONE MASSAGE
You feel no sensation of pressure from the stones as your therapist proceeds with the full-body treatment. The stones bring an exquisite and comforting heat to the massage oil.

Hot stone massage is part of many spa signature treatments, including the Rocky Mountain Retreat package offered by Rimrock Spa & Fitness at Banff’s Rimrock Resort Hotel. Smooth, round basalt stones are heated in water.

Photos of this treatment always show a curvy line of stones along the client’s back. In reality, your therapist constantly works the stones over your body and before they lose their heat, replaces them with hot ones fresh from the water.

Hot stone heat brings blood to your body surface and allows your therapist to reach knotted muscles—the equivalent of a deep tissue massage. Hot stones are tucked between your toes, even as heating pads work on body parts not being massaged. A deep relaxing effect is induced, and you feel like you may never be chilly again.

REIKI
You relax in the candlelit room where soothing scents of aromatic oils waft through the air as your Reiki practitioner moves her hands just above your skin. This ancient healing tradition gently channels positive energy, and promotes tranquility and well-being. Your heart rate and blood pressure drop. Anxiety dissipates. It’s good-bye to stress, aches and the outside world.

At the Mountain Wellness Day Spa in Jasper’s Sawridge Inn, indulging in a 45 minute Reiki session soothes mind, body and soul. You feel refreshed and ready for new challenges.

VICHY SHOWER
You lie on a comfortable massage table while a seven shower-head ‘rain bar’ passes slowly back and forth to treat you to a sensual, warm and gentle massage. Troubling thoughts disappear as you become aware only of your physical self. Stress is gone. You are at peace.

Vichy Shower hydrotherapy at Banff Caribou Lodge's Red Earth Spa is offered as a stand-alone treatment. Or, try a Spa Prestige Vichy Rain Experience package that includes a back massage with self-heating marine mud; remineralizing gel wrap that pampers skin; the Vichy; and facial and head massage. Have someone pick you up—you may emerge so blissfully relaxed that you forget how to drive.

Publication Date: 12/2006