Monticelli mud treatment at B.C.'s Sparkling Hill KurSpa.
The Treatment
With 40,000 square feet and more than 100 treatments, Sparkling Hill's KurSpa goes the distance to bring the latest spa innovations to Canada's Pacific Coast. New to the menu, the Monticelli Mud Treatment starts with a tranquillity welcome – warm aromatherapy towels pressed along the spine to ground you in the moment. A body brushing preps the skin, followed by a light fruit peel body scrub. It gets more scientific as my expedient therapist spreads activator serum in soothing stokes, then sends aromatic lotion to strategic drainage points. Next, she paves the imported Italian mud onto my stomach, buttocks and hips like a bricklayer building a fortress. While wrapped in warming blankets, she massages my scalp and shoulders, finishing with a fortifying foot rub. After a brisk shower, I'm back on the bed for a final touch of nourishing body cream.
The Benefits
Combining herbal extracts such as elderberry, fennel, lemon and cypress with mineral-rich mud from the river banks of Monticelli, Italy, this treatment is designed to rid body tissues of stubborn toxins. While stimulating a sluggish lymphatic system, the therapeutic heat also deepens relief from physical tension.
The Spa
Perched high in B.C.'s Monashee Mountains and incorporating 1.9-million Swarovski crystals in virtually every element of the property, Sparkling Hill's KurSpa fans out in a spectrum of luminous depth and dimension. Nudging spa-goers out of their comfort zone – this is after all the spa that brought the first and only -110° C Cryotherapy Cold Sauna to North America – the reigning philosophy here is to encourage active participation over passive pampering. After a bracing hike though pristine alpine valleys, unwind in a series of seven signature therapeutic suites – from the Panorama Sauna to the Rose Steam Room, each a couture gem.
The Basics
KurSpa at Sparkling Hill Resort on 888 Sparkling Place, Vernon, B.C.; 1-877-275-1556; sparklinghill.com; $125 for 60 minutes.
Special to The Globe and Mail