Holiday Gift Guide - Nordik Spa-Nature GIVEAWAY!!!

Hey everyone,

As promised, it's the first day of Keep It Beautiful Designs' Holiday Gift Guide.

Do you love the spa? Silly question. How about, would you love to be gifted a day at the spa? Or an evening at the spa under the stars? Surrounded by snow covered trees? Ummm, yes please!

I had the opportunity to be a guest at Nordik Spa-Nature and I thought I would share my love about it. Nestled in the entrance of Gatineau Park, Quebec (10 mins from Ottawa) is North America's largest spa. Cool eh? It has 7 outdoor baths, 8 saunas, infinity pool, restaurants and lounges. My friends, if you haven't been, it's gorg.

Nordik Spa-Nature kindly let me bring a guest too. Meet my mom. It was her birthday :) Do we look totally relaxed and sleepy?

If you have a spa lover on your list, here is the awesomeness you need to know:

We arrived at the spa around 10am (entrance to the spa is first come-first serve) and they give you your towel, robe (you can rent them for $11, or bring your own) and locker bracelet. All you need to bring is your bathing suit and acceptance of total relaxation.

We were surrounded by the gorgeous fall colours, but when it snowed today, I thought about the lucky folks sitting in the hot infinity pool, overlooking the Gatineau hills in the winter white.

I'm not sure who that guy is, but the view is pretty spectacular.

The concept is the "thermal cycle". Hot, cold, rest, repeat. The hot makes you sweat, eliminating toxins. It is recommended you stay in the hot for 7-15 minutes (depends on which "hot" you are in). The transition from hot to cold produces a thermal shock that closes the skin's pores and releases adrenalin in your body. After thermal shock, rest helps eliminate the adrenalin in favour of endorphins, which makes you oh-so-happy and relaxed. You can rest in the Adirondack chairs surrounded by a warm fire, hot stone beds, relaxation rooms, outdoor hammocks and lounge beds. Yes, I said lounge beds. Amazing.

Click here to learn about their 8 saunas. As well, they have this very cool ritual, called Aufguss in the Finlandian Sauna. Very cool.

At lunch time, we were pampered in the restaurant (FYI...you eat in your robes, all warm and cozy. Heaven) with a delicious lunch and wine. We never felt rushed, the food is magnificent and our glass was never empty. I've been to Le Nordik Spa-Nature with Mr. Fix-It before in the summer time and we sat out on the patio in our bathing suits sipping on sangria and enjoying a cheese plate in the sunshine. Every season has it's perks at the spa.

A treatment that we also experienced was unlike anything I have done before. It is called the Källa treatment.

Källa is a large salt water pool dug 5 meters deep into the rock. Filled with water saturated to 12% of Epsom salt, Källa invites you to the extraordinary experience of weightlessness in the quiet.
If you’ve ever experienced the Dead Sea, you’ll appreciate floating in Källa even more. Here, only the most carefully selected and balanced magnesium salts are used. There are two in the world, this is one of them.

Mum and I both felt that this was one of the coolest experiences we have ever had. Essentially, you feel like you are in zero gravity. At first, it was a little daunting. You go under ground into the dark pool with changing blue, green and red lights. There are 20 floaters max at one time. This is what you see when you go down.

Yup, it's different, seeing random people floating in a dark concrete pool, in total silence. However, the experience is incredible. Marianne, our host, told Mum and I that if we didn't feel totally relaxed about letting our whole surrender to the mindless float, to go back up to the baths and try again. Honestly, it was the best advice. The first time we went down we were aware of our surroundings, the second time - zero gravity, no thoughts, no boundaries...pure timelessness. Incredible. Mum and I spent most of our time floating around in this space. I can't wait for Mr. Fix-It to try it and I really want you all to experience this zen.

Nordik Spa-Nature has some great events. Tuesdays is girls getaway, Foodie Wednesdays, Lounge Thursdays and New Year's Eve (I love a good NYE party but this is right up our alley).

Like I said, Mum and I arrived at 10am and left at 5pm. If you have someone on your list that loves a spa experience, needs some down time or looking for a romantic day/night. You should think about adding Nordik Spa-Nature to your gift giving list. Since when have you ever been able to go to a spa for the entire day for the price of Nordik Spa-Nature? Never. I've been with girlfriends, Mr. Fix-It and my mum. We've always had a wonderful time and craved for the next opportunity to go.

Here's the BEST PART!! Nordik Spa-Nature, graciously gave me a $200 gift certificate for you to win. AMAZING! Enter here:

Keep coming back, I've got more great Gift Guide suggestions and GIVEAWAYS for all the holiday love.

Keep it Beautiful.

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