Restore, revive, relax at B.C.'s sparkling gem
Enjoy the healing power of Sparkling Hill’s European-style wellness spa
The view from the Serenity Room at Sparkling Hill Resort is dazzling: sapphire-blue skies, lushly forested hills, Okanagan Lake glimmering below.
Then again, the resort, which sits atop a secluded viewpoint between Lake Country and Vernon in the Okanagan, is just as dazzling as the scenery — and not just because it’s embedded with some 3.5 million Swarovski crystals.
Sparkling Hill is a destination unique in Canada, perhaps the world. At once a luxury resort, a rustic retreat and European-style KurSpa —“kur” being the
German word for “healing”— it beckons visitors to this scenic location in Okanagan wine country.
The vision for this ambitious property comes from Hans-Peter Mayr, founder and CEO of Sparkling Hill, although he insists that credit with “the most wonderful and visionary man you could imagine, Mr. Gernot Langes-Swarovski.”
When he met the patriarch of the Swarovski crystal family, Mayr was head of a wellness spa and hotel group in Austria and spending his vacations in Canada, especially the Okanagan. Someone once told him, “If you visit Canada more than twice, you will stay
here.” He laughs: “I visited 15 times and I fell in love
with this beautiful country. Then I had the dream to move to Canada and build Sparkling Hill.”
He was looking for an investor for his European-style wellness resort when he reached out to Mr. Langes-Swarovski. Intrigued by Mayr’s proposal, Mr. Langes-Swarovski immediately agreed to support the project. Over time, he personally invested some $122 million in the
resort. “He decided to do it privately because he loved this project,” Mayr says. “He invested in Sparkling Hill for one reason: our European KurSpa.”
Mayr found an ideal location just outside of Vernon, atop Mount Royce on traditional Syilx Okanagan Peoples land. Construction began in 2008 and, in May 2010, the resort officially opened, surrounded by hundreds of acres of untouched nature.
“We wanted to be in the middle of nature and still close to the airport — the Kelowna airport is only 25 minutes away,” Mayr says.
“Mr. Langes-Swarovski’s goal was always to keep the property as natural as possible.
He loved nature so much.”
The resort features 149 guest rooms, a fitness centre, movement studio, serenity rooms, steams and saunas and the infinity pool with its beautiful
views across the Okanagan Valley. But the heart of the resort is the 40,000-squarefoot European-inspired KurSpa, which offers more than 100 treatments and therapies, including North America’s first Cryo Cold Sauna (–110°C).
And then there are the crystals.
“Mr. Langes-Swarovski never cared if we used crystals or not. But of course we used crystals,” Mayr says. There are crystals in the walls, the fireplaces and the light fixtures, even twinkling like stars from the ceilings. “It’s such a nice addition to the nature around us. You will see
it when the Okanagan Lake starts sparkling and you see it sparkle below and up here.”
The resort also offers gourmet dining in the PeakFine Restaurant, casual snacks in the coffee and wine bar, Barrique & Java, and traditional Austrian fare in the newest addition to the property, the 400-year-old Gerni’s Farmhouse, which was brought over from Austria.
And there are plenty of things to do around Sparkling Hill, including trails to explore, golfing, cycling, skiing, helicopter touring, water activities, and wine, spirit and brewery tours.
But it’s the spa that is the greatest draw.
The KurSpa evokes the tradition of Europe’s spas, where they are a regular part of wellness, not an occasional indulgence. Mayr proudly says, “We are able to help people. You will feel it after a week, the
improvement in movement and pain reduction. It’s so satisfying and this was the main reason Mr. LangesSwarovski invested. We have something that will help people.”
Mr. Langes-Swarovski visited Sparkling Hill every October, around his birthday, until he became too ill to travel. He passed away in 2021. “He was this positive thinking person, every day looking forward to the next day, and he was
always thankful for every small thing we did for him,” Mayr recalls. “Sparkling Hill was his favourite place to spend his vacation.”
And no wonder. Sparkling Hill is unique in so many ways that no other resort could ever copy what they do.
“Every single day, every single season is fun up here,” he says. “We are the gem of the Okanagan and Canada.”