First opened to the public in 1888 to lure train-traveling tourists to the majestic Canadian Rockies, The Fairmont Banff has gone through numerous incarnations. The original wooden structure burnt down in 1926, giving rise to a larger hotel that underwent nearly continuous enhancements. The hotel flourished during the 1930s – accommodating heads of states and members of high society, such as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Benny Goodman, and Helen Keller – then suffered a period of dormancy during World War II before reinventing itself as a year-round destination resort in the seventies. The transformation continued in the 1980s as the Fairmont expanded to over 800 rooms; and introducing its first spa in the nineties. The grandeur of this historic hotel, with its ornate stonework and soaring lobby, makes it a tourist attraction in its own right.
Our spa suite featured a windowed turret with a table for deskwork or in-room dining, a living room with fireplace, and expansive deck with a view that made us feel as if we had landed in the Swiss Alps. This impression was furthered by the German-style Waldhaus restaurant, with its Bavarian cottage-style architecture, on the edge of the Spray River. Because the hotel is set in Banff National Park, it’s not unusual to find deer nibbling on the hotel’s lawn or elk on the golf course.
The next morning began with a bountiful breakfast buffet in the hotel’s Bow Valley Grill, after which I strolled down the hall to the Willow Stream Spa. I arrived well in advance of my scheduled appointment to enjoy the gracious indoor mineral bath and three waterfalled plunge pools – hot, medium and cold – as well as the outdoor whirlpool. My two-hour Ultimate Ascent treatment featuring Kerstin Florian products began with an aromatic foot bath and scrub, and was followed by a full body dry-brush exfoliation, as well as a thorough massage that focused on my luggage-bearing muscles. Later I had the TranqWillow Face & Back Experience, which began with a back cleansing, exfoliation, and massaging hydration that emphasized pressure points. The treatment concluded with a soothing facial and scalp massage that sent me into dreamland. The spa features ample space for post-treatment R&R and offers a special light menu for those who choose to lunch in the relaxation lounge or enjoy a healthful repast accompanied by fresh air and mountain views on a secluded terrace.
In the early evening, Kipp and I took a gondola up nearby Sulphur Mountain, which provided breathtaking vistas at the 7,486-foot summit and a thrilling, nearly vertical ride up and down. We peeked into nearby Banff Upper Hot Springs; an ownership dispute over these natural thermal waters led to the creation of Canada’s first National Park in 1885, ensuring that this natural resource would belong to all Canadians forever. Bathers taking the waters – and enjoying a glorious mountainside view – can also take advantage of Pleiades Massage Therapy and Spa, which offers several healing modalities inside the facility’s rugged stone and wood structure, designed in the style of the 1930s. Strolling back to the hotel along the riverside path allowed us to walk off some calories before the next day’s drive back to the Jasper train station, during which we encountered snow – a not-uncommon experience in an area that receives an average of twenty-three feet of snow per year.
Back on The Canadian, continuing east, we checked out our digs: two single, efficient bedrooms. As became our custom, we stowed our bags and headed for the Park car, taking in the scenery as mountains gave way to the flat prairies of Saskatchewan, sparsely dotted with isolated farms. Arriving in the middle of the night, we took a cab to Saskatoon and blearily checked into the Delta Bessborough Hotel. By morning’s light, we could see why this majestic railway hotel is called “The Castle on the River,” with its waterfront gardens and towering rooflines. After practicing yoga on the fitness club balcony, we explored the extensive riverside parks and the city’s university district, which is rife with restaurants featuring regional ingredients, including locally produced wheat – appropriate for a city in the heart of Canada’s breadbasket.
It’s about a two-hour drive across the prairie from Saskatoon to Moose Jaw – a name derived from the Cree word Moosegaw, which means “warm breezes” – where we checked into the swank honeymoon suite at the art deco – style Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort Hotel. This hotel is a shining example of grassroots community development. After failing to attract a developer interested in the mineral-rich geothermal waters from ancient sea beds beneath the city’s surface, local residents decided to create their own resort on the site of the dilapidated Harwood Hotel. Community members each threw $25 into a hat to build the hotel, and ten years later sold the company for over $20 million, with many of the founders staying on to manage the property and maintain its hometown character. The successful 179-room resort has proved an economic boon for Moose Jaw, attracting over 200,000 visitors from around the world each year and spawning a thriving tourist industry in this remote, formerly depressed locale.
Moose Jaw’s main draw is Temple Gardens’ large mineral pool; a channel from indoors to an outdoor patio pool enables bathers to stay warm in even the coldest Saskatchewan winter. After taking the waters, I headed to the Sun Tree Spa, which offers a full array of treatments based on plant and sea extracts and other all-natural ingredients. My Healing Rosehip Body Wrap began with a two-handed dry-brushing and concluded with an application of moisturizing oils and cream produced in British Columbia from indigenous wild rosehips. After the wrap I enjoyed a Hyrdamemory Facial featuring Comfort Zone products. Back in our balconied suite, Kipp and I turned on the double-sided gas fireplace and soaked by firelight in the enormous round Jacuzzi before turning in for a deep sleep. The next day we got a taste of Moose Jaw’s namesake warm prairie breezes; they blew in a dramatic thunderstorm, which we were able to watch in the rear-view mirror while driving to the Saskatoon station, en route to Manitoba.
Scents of spring, wafting from blossoming trees, greeted us as we arrived in Winnipeg and walked the few short blocks to the Fort Garry Hotel, the last of the historic railway hotels on our voyage. Our Corporate Junior Suite featured dark green damask wall coverings, elegant yet homelike furniture and décor including a plush seating area, and two marbled washrooms – one with a multi-jetted shower and the other with a more-than-ample bathtub. The hotel’s entire tenth floor is occupied by Ten Spa, which boasts a full array of spa treatments as well as a spacious, modern interpretation of the traditional Turkish bath, or hamam. Our Fully Loaded hamam experience began in the changing room, where we showered and donned our pesternels – a traditional plaid cotton wrap – under our robes, and continued with Turkish tea and sweets in a warm anteroom as we acclimated to the heat. Once inside the hot, steamy hamam, we slathered ourselves with an aromatic salt scrub and showered, relaxing afterwards on marble benches and drawing water from the nearby fountains to cool ourselves down. After we had sweat, scrubbed, and splashed ourselves for awhile, our therapists returned, laying us on a heated marble slab for a head-to-toe cleansing with olive oil soap called seif and an exfoliation utilizing rough cloth mitts called kese, plus foot and scalp massages. Our therapists kept us cool by intermittently splashing water over our bodies from tas, the traditional water bowls of the hamam. We moved to tiled tables where we were treated to a sensory-overloading multi-phase massage in which our therapists stretched our limbs, walked on us, and even scrubbed us with a puffed-up foamy pillow case – among a dazzling array of other techniques – then finished us off with a cold water rinse from the tas and a glass of aryan, a salty yogurt drink for post-hamam rehydration.
The next day’s facial and pedicure gave me the opportunity to more fully appreciate Ten Spa’s outstanding amenities and urban design. The changing rooms feature dramatic steam rooms incorporating aroma and light therapy plus cooling “experiential showers” with tropical mist and cold fog effects. Visitors await their treatments on white leather couches with shag pillows or ensconced in curtained day beds, enjoying complimentary beverages and snacks. The post-treatment quiet room, a peaceful inner sanctum, features the same modernist white-on-white décor.
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