This new Nordic spa promises an authentic Finnish sauna experience in Ontario — and a social scene

Finland’s love of the sauna is so intense, the tradition was added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage last year — putting it in the same league as Argentinian tango and Indian yoga. An estimated 90 per cent of Finns partake in a weekly session, and the Nordic nation is home to 3.3 million saunas for only about 5.5 million people. In Ontario, however, spas offering a real-deal experience are relatively rare — but that’s what Vettä Nordic Spa aims to do, come fall.

Slated to launch in September, the destination is now under construction in the highlands of Horseshoe Valley, about an 80-minute drive north of Toronto. The year-round day spa is set on 26 acres of land, chosen in part for the maple and pine forest surroundings, viewable from the outsized, two-storey windows. (The Finnish sauna is, after all, what UNESCO dubs a “church of nature.”)

With a layout designed to evoke a European village, and a bright, light and open Scandi esthetic, Vettä (Finnish for “water”) will include several outdoor warm and cold plunge pools for hydrotherapy, 12 massage rooms, two steam rooms, three eateries and three patios. Among the multiple saunas, the standout is the unusually spacious Sisu, with the capacity for more than 80 people at once.

While most spas insist upon hushed enjoyment, save for perhaps a patter of soft rain sounds, Vettä is meant to be social spa-ing — the way Finns do it. Although there are designated quiet zones if you need alone time, chatting with pals is not only allowed but highly encouraged in most spaces. When the pandemic is behind us, de-stressing in the company of friends may be just the remedy we all need.

The Star understands the restrictions on travel during the coronavirus pandemic. But like you, we dream of travelling again, and we’re publishing this story with future trips in mind.