MUST-TRY TREATMENTS
-110 COLD SAUNA You walk into North America's first and only cryotherapy chamber wearing what you'd wear to the gym, plus the loose cotton gloves, warming head band and surgical mask that they kit you out in. After your blood pressure is taken, you sign a waiver and head into the -110 C sauna for a maximum of three minutes. While in the fully monitored chamber, you keep moving as your skin temperature drops to -5 degrees, said to be optimal for boosting the nervous and circulatory systems. I went in twice. It does sting a little, but the pain is totally manageable. I stayed the duration the second time around, and emerged feeling vibrantly alive. $40 introductory session; or $300 for the full effect of 10 sessions
BEST. FACIAL. EVER. I've had maybe 100 facials in my life: The Sparkling Radiance deluxe facial is the very best. Since I was the spa's first client (it hadn't officially opened yet), I had the Austrian woman who is training the spa's aestheticians. She softly described the various steps and uses of the umpteen Austrian professional-grade skin-care products as she gently massaged them into my skin using hypnotic circular motions with a magical touch. The facial included extractions, masks, foot massage, lymph drainage and even some helpful eyebrow tweezing. 90 minutes; $145
STEAM, SAUNA, SCENTS: CAN I MOVE IN? KurSpa's series of seven therapeutic rooms are a signature experience. Each room is a work of art, from the warm Aqua Meditation room to the herbal sauna with its awesome steam show, to the fragrant Rose Steam Room where heated wall tiles are embedded with flower petals. There's the mystical-looking, eucalyptus-hit Crystal Steam Room, and the Panorama Sauna overlooking Lake Okanagan. Cool down in the Ice Igloo with snow-like ice chips amid chilled white marble tiles that are glazed with Swarovski crystal lacquer. Go from warm to hot, to steamy to icy. And then finish off with one of the kickin' Experience Showers, where you choose from a bevy of nozzles and showerheads, colour and scents, be it eucalyptus, orange or mandarin. (I could live here.) Use of the Aqua Area is also included with your spa stay, including the natural saltwater indoor pool with underwater classical music, the 25-person hot tub, as well as the outdoor infinity pool.
COUPLES, AT THE CAR WASH Of the spa's 48 treatment rooms there are several used exclusively for a set of culturally inspired couples bath and massages, including the hammam, which is what I had. After a quick steam you hop onto a wet massage table, whereupon a hose spews foamy olive oil soap onto you, as if you're in a carwash. Warm water rinse and repeat with more creamy soap, then you're scrubbed down with an exfoliating glove made from goat hair. Mint tea completes this modern twist on an ancient tradition. 60 minutes; $200 for two people
FOUR HANDS ARE BETTER THAN TWO (MASSAGE) Manus is the Latin word for hand, and I think we can all agree that four hands are better than two, especially when it comes to massages. For the Four Manus Massage you have two therapists working on you at once (one takes the upper half and one goes south), as they administer your choice of massage, from sports to lymph drainage to hot stone, which here, will use warm uncut crystals. 25 minutes, $50; 50 minutes, $95; 80 minutes, $140
INDULGE IN YOUR SENSE OF TASTE
As with the rest of the aesthetic of Sparkling Hill, dining is done in the European manner, which is to say there's a full, hot breakfast included in all stays, while evenings beget a languid multicourse affair. Winnipeg-bred chef Ross Derrick helms the 250-seat main restaurant, called PeakFine, where the food is accomplished and delicious. The menu, composed of perfectly calibrated four-course meals, will change every day. My favourites were the delicate house-cured duck breast with cherry bread pudding, braised quail with warm potato soufflé, rosy tenderloin and a chocolate-coated mango parfait for dessert.
Lunch at PeakFine is à la carte, and I highly recommend the starter of thyme gnocchi with green beans, mascarpone and crushed walnuts. Don't bypass the crispy veal schnitzel with braised cabbage and grainy mustard sauce.
Joining chef Derrick in the kitchen is Manual Adamiker, the resort's Viennese pastry chef. He's the one responsible for the signature Austrian-style apple strudel and the dangerous Sacher tortes. (Spa food? Who said anything about spa food?) Lunch starters average $11, mains are $27 and desserts are $11. Set dinner menus are $80 per person without wine.
Barrique and Java is Sparkling Hill's second, more casual restaurant, a café and pastry shop by day and a wine bar dishing out house-made charcuterie, pâtés, terrines, rillettes and international cheese plates by night ($6 per ounce).
Exclusive to the resort, Bodegas Norton wines from Mendoza, Argentina, is Gernot Lange-Swarovski's private label from his own vineyard. Both the house white (2009 Torrontes Lo Tengo) and the red (2009 Malbec Lo Tengo) were almost too drinkable ($8 per glass).
Both restaurants are open to the public.
IF YOU GO
Rooms are $250 a night for mountain view, $20 more for lake view, though most people will book packages, which start at $850 for two people and include two nights in a deluxe suite, hot breakfasts daily, a four-course dinner for two, two $150 gift cards for the spa and unlimited use of KurSpa's steam rooms and saunas, pool and fitness centre.
The resort is a 25-minute drive from the international airport in Kelowna, and the shuttle to Sparkling Hill is free.
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