As a former resident of the city, I’ve heard ‘em all – all the wisecracks referring to “Winter-peg”, “Mani-snow-ba” and other witticisms that allude to the city’s chilly temperatures. Indeed, Winnipeg’s blistering cold weather was immortalized in the 1992 song, “Prairie Town”, which was penned by homegrown music legends Neil Young and Randy Bachman. To be sure, there are many fantastic things the city has going for it, but its winters aren’t one of them. And so for visitors to this friendly but frigid locale, it is worth knowing where you can find some refuge.
Ten Spa, a luxurious day spa located on the tenth floor of Winnipeg’s historic Fort Garry Hotel, is one such place. In fact, the Hamam at Ten was dubbed “the hottest, steamiest, most exotic place in Canada” by the Ottawa Citizen. A modern take on the Turkish hamam tradition, this hot-air treatment room simultaneously provides detoxification and relaxation. Upon check-in, guests are provided with a locker, spa slippers and a plush Turkish robe, as well as a pestemal (a type of Turkish spa towel) to wear while in the hamam. Thereafter they are led to a small tea room where they will be provided Turkish tea and a small sweet to enjoy prior to their treatment. Guests are then directed to shower before the first stop on the hamam tour: the aromatic salting area, where guests apply these salts while seated on a heated bench. After approximately ten minutes, guests are rinsed off and led to the communal (co-ed) heated platform where they will stay seated for between 30-60 minutes (the “Hamam 101 and Hamam Fully Loaded” services also include a foot and scalp massage by the hamam attendant and traditional soap scrubs). Mild stretching and/or a massage may follow to conclude the service.
Outside the tiled hamam, Ten Spa is a pure white, minimalist sanctuary. The waiting area is one of the most relaxing you’ll find, not just in Canada, but I’ll venture to say, worldwide. Guests can mingle quietly with one another in the spacious area, or read a magazine while snacking on delectable cookies, an assortment of healthy(ish) muffins and dried fruit, as well as a selection of beverages. If their day at the spa is on the lengthier side, a full spa lunch is available and includes a choice of poached chicken on romaine lettuce, poached shrimp with citrus vinaigrette, baby greens, asparagus and fennel salad with white truffle lemon vinaigrette and salted ricotta, or a smoked valmon, cucumber salad, crème fraiche and Winnipeg rye bread sandwich (champagne and desserts are also available; and full spa lunches must be booked prior to appointments).
Spa services at Ten are provided in one of eleven treatment rooms and include a variety of massages, manicures, pedicures and other treatments such as the “Signature Deep Detox Facial”, which is comprised of cleansing, skin analysis, microdermabrasion, plus intense exfoliation with a multi-fruit peel, or one of the “Body Cocoons”, in which the guest lies on a heated ‘soft pack’ envelope bed and a choice of herbal mud, goat milk or detoxifying algae is administered in a body-wrap like fashion. Well, this has to be the best way to bundle up in the cold weather.
Photos courtesy of Ten Spa
