The intimate Wakefield Mill & Spa set in naturally beautiful Gatineau Park – about a half-hour’s drive from downtown Ottawa has two spas – each offering a full range of treatments. Romance, of course, depends more on who you’re with than the setting, but the intimate (just 27 rooms) and historic Wakefield Mill, is mighty conducive to romance.
Sitting like a little gem next to a 28-foot waterfall in Gatineau Park, the Wakefield Mill offers guests fine dining, an outdoor spa lounge with a great view of the falls (so close you can feel the spray), and beautifully decorated guestrooms – some with fireplaces and exposed beams, brick and stone from its days as a mill. About 75 percent of leisure guests visit for birthdays, anniversaries, engagements and honeymoons or simply a romantic getaway.
The spa in the main building houses five spa treatment rooms, three with exposed antique stone and including a couples room overlooking MacLaren Falls. The mani-pedi area also overlooks the spa terrace and falls from another angle. The outdoor hot tub presents another view of churning waters cascading over jagged rocks. A network of paths winds through a forested area leading to lounge chairs, two swinging hammocks and a natural river whirlpool.
The second spa – called Eco Spa – is located about 200 feet from the main hotel in a beautifully restored 1840s residence, and is specially designed to accommodate groups of up to 10 people. It has its own outdoor swimming pool plus an outdoor hot tub.
Wakefield is one of four great Canadian mills turned into inns. (Millcroft, Elora and Ben Miller are the other three) The 40-room inn is just a five-minute walk from the quaint and equally romantic town of Wakefield with its shops and cafes.
Overall, this is a very romantic setting. More on Wakefield Mill Inn & Spa