Winnipeg spas offer some of the most unique and relaxing treatments in the country.

If the weight of the world is on your shoulders, lift it off with a massage, mud wrap or pedicure. A day at the spa offers not only a chance to get away from the bustle of life, but to enhance your well-being, inside and out. In the hands of some of Winnipeg’s most skilled spa therapists, supreme relaxation and luxury is only an appointment away.

Hamam – Ten Spa (pictured above)
Ten Spa is the newest lap of luxury to hit the city. Located on the 10th floor of the prestigious Fort Garry Hotel, the facility offers treatments like no other spa in the city, or country for that matter.

“We traveled the world to find the best spa treatments and then did them our own way,” says spa manager Elana Zinchenko. “You’ll never find any of our treatments anywhere else in the world. They’re all unique to us.”

The most intriguing treatment is the hamam, a modern reinterpretation of an old European hot air bathing ritual, and is the only of its kind in North America. In ancient times, regular visits to the hamam were meant to not only cleanse the skin but to detoxify the body, strengthen the immune system and deliver a healthy feeling of well-being. The walls, floor and seating areas are heated, and moisture is generated from the extensive use of water during treatments.

Upon entering the hamam the first stop is the aromatic salting area, where you self-apply warm aromatic salt while seated on a heated bench. Its purpose is to get you perspiring and to start your cleanse. After 10 to 15 minutes, the hamam attendant will rinse you off and guide you to the large communal heated marble platform where the ritual continues. Depending on the treatment you booked, the next stage includes a foot and scalp massage by the hamam attendant and the traditional soap scrub. All soap scrub treatments include gommage (full body exfoliation) with kese (a rough, cloth mitt), followed by a head-to-toe olive oil soap scrub down.

Finally, enjoy your ayran beverage (a salty, yogurt type drink) while you relax in your pestemal (a large fringed piece of cotton that is tied around the body, under your robe).

Ten Spa is also renowned for its facials (Zinchenko claims they are the best in Canada), as they are very result oriented.

“We treat very specific skin conditions in order for the client to see immediate results,” she says. “It’s not just fluff, its relaxing and rewarding.”

Hot Rock Massage – Riverstone Spa
The Riverstone Spa, located inside the Inn at the Forks, uniquely works with the natural landscape and traditions of the historical site. Since the spa opened during the summer solstice, spa director Janice Colatruglio saw a unique opportunity to integrate the site’s Aboriginal ambience into their offerings. These traditional elements can be found in the Riverstone Spa’s indigenous hot rock massage, a very grounding and purifying experience that has become their trademark treatment.
“We approached Thunderbird House and requested that we incorporate some of their culture into our culture. We learned how to perform a proper smudge, and received traditional materials such as sweetgrass, sage and cedar, which are in the room. We also did a traditional trading ceremony where we gave them tobacco for an eagle feather to use in the smudge and were given a star blanket. Finally, an elder came down, had the treatment performed and endorsed it.”

There is only one room designated for the special treatment, and Kyla, a spa employee, is the keeper of the eagle feather, meaning she is one of the only ones that can perform the massage. Clients began by participating in a smudge, an ancient practice of ridding the mind, body and soul of negative energy. As the earthy, smell of sweetgrass fills the room, Kyla uses the eagle feather to waft the smoke and cleanse the room. A sage candle is lit and the treatment begins.

Various natural oils and lotions are used through the 90-minute massage to stimulate the olfactory senses, while heat and then cold are applied to the body through hot basalt and cold marble stones. While muscular tension is being eased away by the soothing massage of the warm rocks, one is likely to experience a floating sense of consciousness that leaves them feeling calm and relaxed.

The treatment is completed with the client washing their hands in a bowl of cedar and sage to further release any negativity and the snuffing of the sage candle.

The spa is also home to a unique hydrotherapy tub equipped with a sani-jet pipeless system (meaning dead skin, hair and other particles are not recirculated in the water making the treatment very sanitary). The tub also features colour light therapy to further enhance relaxation.

If the luxury of their treatments hasn’t sold you, Riverstone is one of the only spas that will offer guests the opportunity to have a glass of wine with their treatment (it is advised not to drink before a massage though), while sitting in their lounge complete with reclining chairs and heated floors.

Austrian Moor Mud Wrap - Urban Oasis Mineral Spa
Floating in a warm pool of mineral water, soaking all your cares away is a true spa indulgence. The Urban Oasis Mineral Spa, located in the Clarion Hotel, is the only destination in the city that can provide this traditional spa element.

“A true spa has mineral water, so we decided to incorporate a Dead Sea salt pool when designing the spa,” says Costaza Paletta, who owns and operates Urban Oasis with her cousin Jennie. “Plus, we recognize not everyone can afford three or four services at a time. So we offer complimentary use of the mineral pool before and after treatments to enhance and extend the customer’s experience.”

Another traditional spa treatment offered at Urban Oasis is an Austrian Moor Mud wrap, an ideal treatment for water retention and cellulite. This 30,000-year-old, 100 per cent natural mud helps re-mineralize and hormonally balance the body, and stays active for a few hours after the treatment is finished.

Also unique to Urban Oasis is an ionithermie slimming treatment that can instantly take off as much as an inch. This service is also packaged with a pass to the hotel gym to continue the firm and tone process.

“The treatment is a good kick start to weight loss,” she says. “But, we also want clients feeling good on both the inside and out. We like the focus to be on well-being.”
Well-being at the Urban Oasis includes soothing colours, a cozy, home-like atmosphere and a no clock policy.

“We want our clients not to worry about time and to feel nothing but relaxed.”

Gel Pedicures – Total Wrapture Day Spa
While the traditional spa is either in an elegant hotel, or a relaxing landscape, it’s not always accessible to everyone. Total Wrapture Day Spa offers a luxury getaway, cleverly hidden inside a Ness Ave. strip mall.

Open the doors and the warm and elegant decor and friendly staff let you know you’re in for some pampering, from facials and body treatments to manicures and pedicures.

Total Wrapture has earned a reputation for its great massage therapy services, but what really brings in customers are the spa’s gel toenail treatments. This ultimate experience incorporates a signature pedicure with a gel overlay on the toes for feet you’ll want to flaunt.  

“With gel toes we can create the perfect French toes that will never fade, decals that will never disappear,” says spa co-owner Angie Jureidini. “Polish can be applied without harming the beautiful shine of the gels. And they last for four to six weeks.”

You can also treat your feet and legs to a luxurious hot stone massage that will make you feel like you’re walking on clouds. A decadent cream is massaged onto the legs just before the stones, which are heated in water to the perfect temperature, and are used to melt through stress held in the leg and foot muscles.

India Sidha Body Wrap – City Looks Salon and Spa
City Looks Salon and Spa, a trendy Charleswood hot spot, offers several theme packages categorized by country, and offers a wide array of treatments that are customary to that region. Looking to spice things up? The spa’s India Sidha body wrap uses herbs from the country to provide detoxification, while the Shirodhara treatment (an Indian head massage unique to the spa) stimulates different chakras. Or how about a little island getaway? The Hawaii package includes a Kona coffee body scrub, which is known to detoxify and exfoliate the skin. And, ooo la la, the French trip includes a mani/pedi (complete with complimentary Perrier and truffles), a facial, followed by a wine and honey exfoliation and Vichy shower.

In order to add to the ambience of your “journey” treatment rooms are designed and decorated to look like India, Japan, Hawaii and France. And finally, to round off your “trip,” a special gift is presented to the traveler that will memorialize their unique visit.
The day spa also offers one of the most luxurious facials in the city, which includes an almost full-body massage and use of a very unique Hungarian organic skin care line called Eminence. Made with 100 per cent organic products, each bottle contains five pounds of cold compressed fruit, vegetables, plants or herbs and spices. This naturally engineered skin care made with organic fruits, herbs spices and plants could contain all the antioxidant ingredients that are missing from your diet, all in a topical application.

Treating every aspect of the skin, a City Looks facial includes cleansing, toning, exfoliating, extractions, two repair masques and a muscle toning, wrinkle reducing, facial manipulation massage which leads the guest into the deepest relaxation. It is also followed by a hot and cold treatment, which adds different sensations for the guest.