REDISCOVERING TREMBLANT AFTER THE FIRST SNOWFALL
“We’re in luck,” I uttered after drawing the curtain to see a fresh layer of snow on the ground. My boyfriend Alex and I had booked an overnight getaway in Tremblant that day. We’d expected it to be a little cool; instead, we got the inaugural snow.
Our first stop was Scandinave Spa Mont-Tremblant. Before we officially entered the facility, we crossed a wooden footbridge, which greeted us with an enchanting canopy of snow-covered trees. A perfect prelude, all told: it looked like a magical winter fairyland, where the architecture is symbiotic with nature.
Before hitting the baths, we were advised to follow the Scandinavian order: heat up, cool down, relax, repeat. For full immersion, I suggested to Alex that we take a vow of silence for the whole thing. No whispering or over-intellectualizing; just easy-to-convey hand gestures and facial expressions.
To start, we took a dip in the hot thermal waterfall. This soak is designed to stimulate blood flow and reduce blood pressure.
Steam grazed the water’s surface, sometimes getting swished by the wind. We heard little except the waterfall, and nestled into each other naturally without saying a word.
What followed was a short, five-second cold shower, its water sourced from the Diable River, which is right on site. This step closes the pores while also trapping heat. So despite the initial shock of the frigid shower, I wasn’t colder afterwards.
Next came relaxing in a warm — not hot, mind — solarium. Scandinave Spa provides several options for each of the steps: for our next heat-ups, we tried the eucalyptus steam bath and the Finnish sauna; I cooled down in a cold bath and Nordic waterfalls; and relaxed by the outdoor fireplace because it smelled so good.
To cap it off, Alex and I booked a duo massage. It started with a racing mind, questions about how the massage would go, and lists about things to do at work. Then I lost track of time, and when the massage therapist worked on one side, I delighted in the fact that there would be a do-over on the other side. Eventually, the mind went blank, the lists disappeared and I forgot Alex was even in the room with me.
After a few solid hours of hushed chilling and letting the massage therapists take the wheel, the things we escaped with this jaunt seemed far behind.
For our sleeping arrangements, we settled for no less than Château Beauvallon, a regal neighbourhing hotel.
At check-in, I asked if there’s a communal fireplace. “There is,” said the concierge, “but each room has its own fireplace as well.” “Sweet,” Alex beamed. Our huge suite reinforced that sentiment. The king-size space was fully equipped with a kitchenette and living room. We spotted the fireplace right away, just next to French doors leading to a balcony. From here, we could see the sprawling stone terrace, where the outdoor Jacuzzi was lit against a dark, ambient evening.
We turned on the fireplace almost immediately and began planning our night, even contemplating more soaking at the indoor heated pool. In the end, we decided to go just three minutes away to the Tremblant ski resort, which the Château was eager to facilitate via their convenient shuttle.
When we arrived, it was incredibly quiet. Mid-November is when a place like this gears up for winter. Despite the fresh snow on the mountain, most of the noise we heard came from holiday parties in some of the restaurants.
So we relished in the streets’ emptiness; after all, they’ll be filled with slope-chasers in only a few short weeks. We walked along the pedestrian plazas arm-inarm, letting the Christmas décor get us into the spirit of the season.
After a brief meal and another stroll, we hailed the shuttle back to the Château, where I hoped to get some knitting done by the fireplace.
We got back, helped ourselves to a few basil cookies from the lobby, and promptly got into our pyjamas. Though most would keep the curtains closed at night, we had ours open. It’s early enough in the season to get excited about winter, so the snowy trees and terrace were pretty sights to behold as things winded down.
The next morning, after fetching our breakfast from the lounge and bringing it back to the suite, we noticed a detail that was obscured by the night sky: a view of Beauvallon Lake. What an idyllic send-off.
Like many Montrealers, we’d been to Tremblant before, but Scandinave Spa and Château Beauvallon gave us a new perspective on the area, and it required no skiing at all.
For more information, visit scandinave.com and châteaubeauvallon.com.