The best spas in Canada are built on water. Mineral lakes, hot springs and Nordic bathing circuits do the heavy lifting, and the treatment menu is a secondary consideration at most of the properties worth travelling for.
Vacay.ca contributors have been reviewing Canadian spas and wellness retreats since 2011. These twelve come out of that reporting, from a Saskatchewan lake you cannot sink in to a Nova Scotia resort on the Northumberland Strait.
TL;DR: the 12 best spas in Canada
- Balnea, Eastern Townships QC — the country’s most convincing Nordic spa.
- Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan — a mineral lake with the salinity of the Dead Sea.
- Sparkling Hill, Okanagan BC — a cold sauna at minus 110 Celsius.
- Nordik-area Outaouais, Quebec — thermal bathing 20 minutes from Ottawa.
- Ste. Anne’s Spa, Ontario — a country-house retreat an hour from Toronto.
- Langdon Hall, Ontario — a relais property with a spa that matches the kitchen.
- Ritz-Carlton Toronto — the best urban spa in the country.
- Fox Harb’r, Nova Scotia — Maritime coastline, golf and a thalassotherapy pool.
- Harrison Hot Springs, BC — natural hot springs 90 minutes from Vancouver.
- Radium Hot Springs, BC — Parks Canada’s mineral pools in Kootenay National Park.
- Willow Stream at Fairmont Banff Springs — mountain views from the mineral pool.
- Mountain Trek, BC — the serious end: a structured fitness and wellness retreat.
12 of the best spas and wellness retreats in Canada
1. Balnea, Eastern Townships, Quebec
Set on a private reserve southeast of Montreal, Balnea is the Canadian Nordic spa other Nordic spas are measured against. Thermal baths, a lake, and a deliberate absence of noise.
Bruce Sach’s account of plunging into relaxation at Balnea Spa covers the circuit. He also reported on Quebec’s unique destination spa nearby.
2. Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan
Little Manitou Lake is roughly three times saltier than the ocean, which means you float without effort. Locals have used the water medicinally for well over a century.
Adrian Brijbassi made the case for Manitou Beach as the Dead Sea of Canada, and it remains the most unusual spa destination in the country.
3. Sparkling Hill Resort, Okanagan, British Columbia
A glass hotel above Lake Okanagan with 40,000 Swarovski crystals set into it, and a cryotherapy chamber that runs at minus 110 Celsius. The hammam is the gentler option.
Jody Robbins tried the cold room and reported that minus 110 degrees heals you at Sparkling Hill.
4. The Outaouais, Quebec
Twenty minutes from Parliament Hill, across the river, sits Canada’s densest cluster of thermal bathing. It is the easiest Nordic spa day in the country if you are based in Ottawa.
Candice Walsh found the region easy to love and hard to spell.
5. Ste. Anne’s Spa, Grafton, Ontario
An hour east of Toronto, Ste. Anne’s runs a country-house wellness retreat with a reputation built over decades rather than a rebrand.
Chris Ryall found Ste. Anne’s Spa a mix of country and bliss.
6. Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ontario
A Relais & Chateaux country house with one of Ontario’s best kitchens and a spa that finally caught up to it.
Diana Ballon reported that the Langdon Hall spa is a welcome addition.
7. The Spa at the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
The strongest urban spa in Canada, and a useful reminder that a good city spa is a different product from a destination one: two hours, not two days.
Carol Perehudoff called it proudly Canadian, the spa at the Ritz-Carlton Toronto. Petti Fong later wrote on spa serenity in the city in Vancouver.
8. Fox Harb’r Resort, Nova Scotia
On the Northumberland Strait east of Truro: a links course, a marina, and a spa using seawater and Maritime coastline as its main assets.
Tracy Hanes explained why Fox Harb’r beckons you to Nova Scotia.
9. Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia
Ninety minutes east of Vancouver, at the foot of a lake, with two natural mineral springs feeding the pools. The most accessible hot-springs trip in the province.
Tricia Edgar’s guide to springing into Harrison Hot Springs covers the town as well as the water.
10. Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia
Odourless mineral pools inside Kootenay National Park, run by Parks Canada, at the end of a canyon drive that is worth the trip on its own.
Jody Robbins spent a perfect weekend in Radium Hot Springs. Details and seasonal hours come from Parks Canada’s Kootenay National Park.
11. Willow Stream at Fairmont Banff Springs, Alberta
A mineral pool with a Rocky Mountain view, inside a hotel that has been in the wellness business since the railway built it around a hot spring.
Jody Robbins wrote on seeking solace at the Willow Stream Spa. Claudia Laroye covered finding wellness among the pines and peaks of Banff.
12. Mountain Trek, Ainsworth Hot Springs, British Columbia
The serious end of the category. A structured week of hiking, meals and sleep discipline in the Kootenays, closer to a health programme than a spa break.
Lynn Burshtein put in the work and reported on how to get fit at Mountain Trek in BC. For a softer coastal version, Adrian Brijbassi found luxury and nature mingling in Tofino.
Choosing between a Nordic spa, a hot spring and a destination retreat
- Nordic spa (Balnea, Outaouais): a half or full day, hot-cold-rest circuits, usually no accommodation required.
- Natural hot springs (Harrison, Radium, Banff): geothermal mineral water, family-friendly, cheapest of the three.
- Destination retreat (Ste. Anne’s, Sparkling Hill, Mountain Trek): two nights minimum, programmed, and priced accordingly.
Canada has more than 3,000 spa businesses nationally, according to Leading Spas of Canada, the industry association that also certifies properties.
How we chose these Canadian spas
Every property here has been visited and written about by a Vacay.ca contributor, and each entry links to that reporting. We favoured spas where the setting or the water is the reason to go, rather than the treatment list.
Hotel spas that exist mainly as an amenity were left out, with the exception of the Ritz-Carlton, which earns its place as the urban benchmark.
Canadian spa questions, answered
What is the best spa in Canada?
Balnea in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, for the Nordic bathing circuit and the setting. Sparkling Hill in the Okanagan is the strongest full-resort alternative.
Where are the best hot springs in Canada?
Radium Hot Springs and Banff Upper Hot Springs in the Rockies, both run by Parks Canada, and Harrison Hot Springs 90 minutes from Vancouver.
How much does a Canadian spa getaway cost?
A Nordic spa day pass typically runs $60 to $100 before treatments. Destination retreats with accommodation start around $400 a night and rise sharply from there.
Related on Vacay.ca: the most romantic getaways in Canada and the best luxury hotels in Canada.
