Escape the holiday madness for soothing spa pampering
Credit to Author: Mary Beth Roberts| Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2019 14:22:59 +0000
Nature holds the cure to all that ails us, and there’s no time of year we need it more than right now. The holidays, after all, may be filled with comfort and joy, but they also come bearing gifts of stress, anxiety and exhaustion, not to mention sleepless nights worrying about ever-growing credit card bills.
Combine the benefits of nature with the healing services of a spa and you have the perfect year-end escape. Here are three B.C. destinations where you can work out the knots in your shoulders amid the beauty of our wild backyard.
The Grotto is the centrepiece of the spa at Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort and Conference Centre in Parksville.
There’s a reason why Parksville’s Tigh-Na Mara Seaside Spa Resort and Conference Centre is voted top spa in Canada year after year. It is unpretentious and welcoming, a favourite for bridal parties, older couples and young families alike, and always delivers top-notch professional services in an idyllic seaside setting. Plus Tigh-Na-Mara has undergone some terrific upgrades in recent years and offers beautiful seaside guest rooms, as well as well-crafted fine dining in its Cedars Restaurant. (Be sure to order the irresistible wood-fired pizza.)
At the heart of the resort’s Grotto Spa is the grotto itself, a sort of light-filled cavern of warm pools and invigorating waterfalls that is a blissful place to soak away your cares. (Just beware that it can be a bit, ahem, high energy during school holidays.) Its spa services cover the gamut from hair styling and mani-pedis to hot stone massage and hydrotherapy. Afterwards, head upstairs for Treetop Tapas, a feast of endless small gourmet plates to savour while lounging in your bathrobe in an aerie surrounded by arbutus trees.
The biggest draw, though, might just be the beach. When the tide goes out, the sand rolls endlessly toward the Coastal Mountains rising mistily across the Salish Sea. Sure, there’s great hiking, golf, sailing and even spelunking in the area, but for frazzled nerves, nothing can provide the calm of the gentle waves washing your cares away.
Some of B.C.’s best wellness retreats are located in its most beautiful regions. Among them is Yasodhara Ashram near Nelson with its stunning Temple of Light designed by Patkau Architects.
OK, so Yasodhara Ashram is not a spa. It does not offer massage or manicures or martinis by a pool. But this yoga retreat and meditation centre in the Kootenay Rockies might just be the healing escape that you truly need.
The ashram has been located on the remote shore of Kootenay Lake, about an hour outside Nelson, since 1969, making it one of the oldest ashrams in Canada. Founded by the Swami Sivananda Radha Saraswati to celebrate the divine feminine, it is a spiritual centre, not a religious one, inspired by eastern philosophies and dedicated to the ideal of selfless service, also known as karma yoga. It offers experiences that vary from a one-day “Taste of the Ashram” to weekend retreats to months-long, even years-long, courses. Its focus is on self-reflection, mainly through meditation and journaling, though some guests will admit that the greatest draw is the exceptional vegetable-forward cuisine.
The greatest balm here might just come from the sheer beauty of the place. The 115-acre property rises from the lakeside up the mountain, dotted with dozens of heritage fruit trees and surrounded by velvety dark woods. At its heart is the ethereal Temple of Light, a structure designed by Vancouver’s Patkau Architects to evoke a lotus flower, its petals unfurling palely above the shore.
For those seeking respite, relaxation or resolutions to the big questions of life, Yasodhara Ashram might just hold the answers.
The lakeside setting is serene and peaceful at Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler, B.C.
In the height of winter, Whistler Village can be something of a party town. But if you stay in Creekside, on the shores of quiet little Nita Lake, it’s perfectly still. Silent. Serene. Add the treatments at The Spa at Nita Lake Lodge, and you might just go home a whole new person.
The award-winning spa offers a wide range of facials, esthetics, massage therapy and body treatments, as well as some advanced signature treatments that evoke both inner and outer beauty. Among them is Verjú by Erchonia, a laser treatment that targets fat and cellulite. Then there’s the state-of-the-art HydraFacial, which uses pain-free technology to clean and extract, and super serums to nourish your skin. Plus the spa uses a number of natural and organic skin-care lines in keeping with the property’s green initiatives.
Of course, Whistler has plenty to offer in terms of activities on the slopes and off—skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and plenty of après action, too—and you can still take advantage of all the mountain resort’s attractions. But here on the lake, the snow is falling and the lights are sparkling. Silence surrounds you, although you can always follow your treatment with a cocktail in the Cure Lounge or gourmet dinner at Aura Restaurant.
The world feels very far away, but relaxation is close at hand. And isn’t that just what we crave most right now?
Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort and Conference Centre: Take BC Ferries to Nanaimo (Departure Bay) on Vancouver Island; from there, it’s just a short drive up the scenic coast to Parksville. bcferries.com
Yasodhara Ashram: Located in the remote forests of the Kootenays, the ashram is a challenging 10-or-so-hour drive from Vancouver. A much better idea is to fly into Castelgar (Air Canada offers daily trips), rent a car and drive through Nelson, then take the free Balfour ferry to Crawford Bay. Hang a left and to find the ashram. aircanada.com
The Spa at Nita Lake Lodge: Take the 90-minute or so drive to Whistler. Before you reach the village, turn left at Lake Placid Road in Creekside.
Tigh-Na-Mara: Aside from exploring the beach outside and the seemingly endless sands of Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park nearby, the Parksville area also offers hiking around Englishman River and Little Qualicum Falls, forest bathing amid old-growth trees, golfing at seven different courses, spelunking at Horne Lake Caves, and so much more. visitparksvillequalicumbeach.com
Yasodhara Ashram: The Kootenay Rockies are an outdoor lover’s paradise, especially in winter, when the backcountry is deep with some of the best powder on the planet. Skiing, hiking, boating, fishing, mountain biking—it’s all here, with a soothing dip in the steamy waters of Ainsworth and numerous other hot springs to follow. kootenayrockies.com
Nita Lake Lodge: Besides skiing and boarding down breathtaking Blackcomb and Whistler mountains, visitors can also snowshoe, snowbike, ice skate and strap on the skinny skis—Callaghan Valley, after all, was the site of the 2010 Olympics cross-country ski events. You can even take a shot at biathlon or board a bobsled at the Sliding Centre. whistlerblackcomb.com
For more info to plan your B.C. spa escape, visit: tigh-na-mara.com, yasodhara.org or nitalakelodge.com