Klar So Nordic Spa — Attraction in Municipality of Harrison Park

We as in my daughter and myself had a reservation for 7:00 pm on April 24 2024 . We arrived a little earlier to look in the gift shop that had some neat things from bath bombs to lotions flip flops clothing to even fudge. The staff greeted us with smiles and were very attentive. We checked in and purchased our gift shop items. I stated this was our first time at Klar So Nordic Spa , any instructions or things we need to know , the desk staff says yes we can explain once we get you your robes and towels. In which they did which was fantastic , just behind the the counter was a restraunt, in which you can have a meal or a drink and so on , it was very clean and friendly staff. As we ordered coffee and mocktails to take outside to the spa . We than went to the locker area in which had bathrooms as well as showers . We changed, the area was well maintained and clean. We than went outside to the spa area . The lounge chairs were lined up , the anorak chairs were lined up , everything was very tidy . There was wooden structures with hooks to hang your white robe and white towel on thru out the area. There was a heat pool , great temperature, there was 2 hot tubs with standing or sitting area which was large and running at 104 degrees. The polar plunge pool was nice as well . There was a gas fireplace as well as 2 wood burning fire places. The area was spotless and staff came periodically to add more wood in the fire and did walk thru. It was not crowded , very tranquil and all guests there were very mindful of others speaking quietly . There was also large wet saunas as well as dry sauna buildings. The atmosphere and seeing the sun set was amazing .There was also soft music playing which made it more relaxing . There was also a deck you can go up to have a meal or just sit and relax. There are many areas to relax and sit . We stayed for 3 hours. We then went back to the locker area /change room, shower area , showers were spacious and had shampoo, conditioner as well as body wash that all smelled amazing ..by the way the lockers are very user friendly and clean you put a 4 digit code in to access. As we were finishing up there is an area you put your towel in, and than went back up the stairs to where you checked in, and there was an area where you put your bathrobe in. The front desk greeted us again , we stated it was beautiful and did not disappoint that we couldn’t wait to come back again. They wished us a happy night and thanked us for coming . I highly recommend this spa, for its friendliness, cleanliness and peacefulness . This will be our new go to spot every couple of months. Thank you again for the...

Good, but problems with the little details. Overall the spa was clean and enjoyable, and I would come back. I enjoyed the pools, and the working saunas. I did the Nordic cycle several times. I felt relaxed after my experience.

I’m including criticisms mostly for the Spa’s consideration. These things are minor, but would make a difference in the experience:

On arrival, the check in staff had trouble finding us in their system.

The waiver system needs a custom keyboard that does not allow emojis. It should be locked out / limited.

The sign in process generally needs a review.

We were told the wet saunas were being worked on by an electrician and they would let us know if they opened. I would expect that for a high end experience, all maintenance would be completed outside opening hours.

The staff went through the multitude of rules when we arrived, including common complaints. It was tedious. Post these rules in the waiver, and treat us like we’re adults. I would not expect the spa to be responsible for lost or stolen valuables.

The warning signs posted in two different places “outside” were probably regulatory but definitely an eyesore. I think these were generic pool warnings and should be reviewed. Eg “Children under 12 have to be accompanied by an adult” - but it’s an 18+ spa?! I appreciate MB might be archaic but I also think other spas have sorted this out.

This spa does not have wristbands to open your locker or pay for incidentals like food in the bistro. Fortunately no issue with the lockers but a waistband would simplify that.

The relaxation area had tea bags. I think the spa should brew their own tea, rather than buying Burkes. Something like an indigenous bark tea from Saskatchewan would have been nice. They did have pineapple water and lemon lime water in the wet sauna, which was nice.

The dry sauna had hot water on tap, which was possibly an error. When I’m very hot, I usually want ice water.

No fresh towels for showering after the experience, so I dried off with my robe (I had been sitting on my towel in the saunas).

Limited amenities (eg hair gel, shaving cream and razor, hair ties for the ladies, etc) in the change room to spruce up after showering.

No easy drop off for robes in the change room.

Shower height was very low (common elkhorn...

Visited Klar So for the first time today and had a pretty amazing experience overall!

I’ve often visited a similar Nordic spa (Scandinave in Whistler) when my partner and I lived in BC, so we’re both really familiar with the concept.

Price wise, I thought this was a tremendous value for a newly built Nordic Spa. We went on a Tuesday evening and it was a bit cheaper than weekends, but even that seems 100% fair rate-wise.

The steam sauna & dry sauna were in my opinion better than at any other facility I’ve been to. Having two different essential oils and two different temperatures is a really great idea. Full points there. Tonight was the first time I’ve used the steam sauna multiple times at a spa.

The space itself was also gorgeous, clean, and had (almost) everything you’d ever want.

Is it worth the trip? Absolutely. Go. It’s great.

Is it world-class? Really, really close. Like 90% of the way there.

Personally, I’d love more than one cold option. I prefer to go into the cold head first rather than feet first and wished they had a cold waterfall. I ended up using the shower in the steam sauna room as a substitute. The salts & flavoured water are a nice touch too!

I also think their relaxation stations could use more “traditionally comfortable” elements. The tile room is novel, but not necessarily super accessible. I have a handful of bad discs, and I couldn’t stay in there all that long without being in pain. Some indoor variety would’ve been great—comfy chairs around the indoor fireplace or something. (Scandinave, for example, has indoor chairs, a gym mat section to lay down and nap, etc).

Same goes for outdoors. There are SO MANY Muskoka chairs and not much else, save for a handful of loungers. Freestanding hammocks would be equally “cottage” and offer some variety.

All that said, happy to support this business again and again & recommend folks make the drive. It was a great time—just a few little additions would truly make it...