NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR: SPAS & WELLNESS TRAVEL
Named a Top 30 destination for 2008, by Lonely Planet Publication, Newfoundland & Labrador are clean, green and pristine. The province’s rugged seacoast, inland fjords, singular rock formations and spectacular vistas combined with an abundance of outdoor fitness adventure is what draws the wellness-minded traveller to the eastern-most part of Canada. Read more>>>>
Things you should know before you go
SPAS
Spa at the Monestary and the East Coast Trails
Humber Valley Resort, Found Spa and Gros Morne National Park
Articles: Found Spa the prize at the end of a Gros Morne Hike.
Things you should know before you go:
• Canada's most easterly province has 29,000 km (18,000 miles) of coastline.
• Newfoundland has its very own time zone. 1.5 hours ahead of Eastern Time.
• June and July are the best months to see icebergs.
• The best time to see whales is June to early fall. Ed English of Linkum Tours gives us the inside scoope of types of whales and best places to view.
• Cape Spear, Newfoundland, the most easterly point in North America and Cape St. Mary's is home to one of the world’s largest seabird colonies.
• Newfoundland has one of the largest populations of moose anywhere and the highest concentration may be in Gros Morne National Park.
• Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve, on the northern tip of Labrador, is Canada's newest national park.
St. John’s
If you’re looking for an urban workout for thighs and gluts, look no further than St. John’s, Newfoundland. The city streets are as hilly as you’ll find anywhere in Canada – plus the North Head Trail is accessible from Signal Hill located within walking distance of downtown St. John’s. Many of the city streets are lined with colourful traditional-style homes that locals call “jelly bean rowhouses” due to their brightly painted exteriors. According to one friendly and chatty taxi driver, the use of colour dates back to the early fishermen who wanted to recognize their individual houses – since the architecture was pretty much the same – when they got off their boats.
Spa at The Monastery
The Spa at The Monastery in St. John’s is the largest spa in Newfoundland and the most established. Housed in what was once a monastery, the spa offers 16? Treatment rooms including a Vichy shower, a multi-jet hydrotherapy tub, a large area for manicures and pedicures, and a couple’s suite with two treatment beds, fireplace, whirlpool tub, shower and settee. Products are Aveda and Phytomer. There’s a small room with soaking pools – a mineral bath, cold plunge and hot whirlpool and adjacent, a tiny glassed in workout room for no more than three people at a time. The Abbey Restaurant on the main floor serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Within steps of the spa and connected via an underground corridor, is a former elementary school that now houses guest suites.
Other spas in and around St. John’s
Rosewood Day Spa is a full service spa located in the Fairmont Newfoundland Hotel in St. John's. There are five treatment rooms and signature treatments include, fittingly for the sea-side spa, seaweed wraps. Wellness treatments include a chi machine for lymphatic stimulation, a Biomat providing negative ion activity, Reiki and reflexology. www.rosewooddayspa.ca
Haven Wood Medi Spa is a day spa offering a range of spa services plus anti-aging treatments such as Botox and filler injections, laser hair removal and medical peels. www.havenwood.ca
Found Spa, Humber Valley Resort, Humber Valley
An Aveda facility, Found Spa is located in its own private chalet perched on the banks on the pristine Humber River. It’s tiny – just four treatment rooms immaculately layout and appointed. I loved the sense of arrival, the nurturing staff and the panoramic view of the river from the outdoor hot tub and lounge chairs sitting on the deck. One of the distinctive offerings of the spa is the presentation of a smooth, heated river stone infused with the scent of the month. In season the deck is the perfect spot to enjoy lunch or a light dinner ordered from the spa menu. Asparagus salad, for instance.
The Humber Valley Resort, located between the town of Deer Lake and the city of Cornerbrook is not your typical resort. It’s actually more of a community carved out of the bush and embraced by an 18-hole golf course, Deer Lake and the Humber River (one of the province’s best river’s for salmon fishing). There are 170 privately-owned chalets and only a few owners are permanent residents so most of the chalets are available for nightly rental. These four-to-six bedroom chalets are completely self-contained units (including some with washers and dryers) and best for families or small groups. It’s perfect for a family reunion or executive retreat. For couples, Strawberry Hill, a sister property located nearby, is a better choice. One of the draws of the Humber Valley region is that it’s about a 12-minute drive to Marble Mountain ski resort (said to be the best downhill skiing east of the Rockies) and about an hour’s drive to the renowned Gros Morne National Park where you’ll find some of the most dramatic hiking trails and kayaking waterways in Canada. www.humbervalleyresort.ca/foundspa.asp
Article:
Found Spa the prize at the end of a Gros Morne Hike.
I tried them both and while Spa at the Monastery is the largest, I prefer Found (www.humbervalley.com). It’s an Aveda spa and guided by the hand of this savvy marketing company, the staff at Found have turned out an excellent product. I loved the sense of arrival, the nurturing staff and the panoramic view of the river from the outdoor hot tub and lounge chairs sitting on the deck.
MORE ABOUT NEWFOUNDLAND
The island of Newfoundland, on Canada’s most eastern point, is home to the country’s non-official, second “distinct culture.” The first, of course, being the French Canadian culture. Newfoundland has its own culture, own unique music, “salt box” architecture, time zone and its own dialect which can vary considerable from one pocket of the province to another.
Newfoundland is not a spa destination. In fact, to the best of our knowledge Canada’s most easterly province has just two significant spas with accommodations – Spa at the Monastery in St. John’s and Found Spa at the Humber Valley Resort on the west coast near Deer Lake. The Fairmont St. John’s also has a small spa??
What the wellness-minded traveller will find in Newfoundland is dramatic outdoor venues. The wow-factor lies in this province’s incredibly scenic trails and waterways from which you can see whales breach and blow and watch icebergs float by. Even seasoned hikers and kayakers will be most impressed. Except for the lack of Rocky Mountains, the scenery is as dramatic as what you find in B.C. 18,000 miles of coastline
A mix of rugged and refined, Newfoundland is a perfect destination for travelers seeking hard days, soft nights.
BEST TIME/PLACES TO SEE WHALES
According to Ed English owner of Linkum Tours in Newfoundland, the entire coastline of Newfoundland hosts a variety of whales throughout the year but for those seeking certain species there are special times and locations where viewing is peak. The northern tip of Newfoundland is strategically located at the mouth of the Strait of Belle Isle. This strait acts as a "conveyor belt" of fish moving between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean. Many bird and whale species take advantage of this and so spend considerable time around the tip of the Northern Peninsula near L'Anse aux Meadows and Quirpon Island. Humpbacks are very common and favourites of viewers due to their spectacular tail displays. Minke are also plentiful and other species such as Orca from Labrador come from mid - July onward to visit these northern waters.
There are about 26 species of whales and dolphins that can be seen but the most common are humpback, minke, orca, fin, and white sided dolphins. They start to arrive in early June and their numbers build throughout June. The humpbacks and minke are resident for the entire summer and early fall. I had a guest from Australia paddling 30 feet from humpback whales on Sept 8th. We left the dock and were with humpbacks three minutes later. The other factor that makes Quirpon Island ideal for watching is that the water at our rocks is immediately 200 feet deep. The whales drive the fish against these underwater cliffs and surface literally at your fingertips. The Labrador Current also turns our cove into a gigantic eddy which is popular for fish. The whales know this so they herd the fish into the cove and then engulf them by our dock while guests stand a metre away, taking pictures not only of the whales and seals chasing the fish but also the schools of capelin, herring and mackerel themselves.
For more info: http://linkumtours.com
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