My Visit to Sensea Nordic Spa in Chester, Nova Scotia

About this post: Are you looking for some down time with friends, a romantic afternoon with your partner, some one-on-one time with your favourite child? Sensea Nordic Spa is the place to go! I visited, and will go again…and then yet again as it truly was a fabulous place to enjoy a little downtime from the hustle and bustle of regular life!

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I’ve been wanting to go to Sensea Nordic Spa since I’d first heard about its opening in January of 2020…but, I also had many apprehensions about going, i.e.; I really despise wearing a bathing suit in public, we’ve been in a global pandemic, and well…ICY COLD WATER!

I’ve watched friend after friend post photos about their visits to the spa and with each and every photo, I’ve kicked myself that I’ve not yet gone. Then a few weeks ago, a girlfriend mentioned booking a girl’s day at the spa and being double-vaxxed, missing my friendships, and tired of spending time locked up in this little cave I’ve cocooned away in for the last year…I jumped at it…without a single crap given for wearing a bathing suit OR cold water!

And I gotta tell ya…”What a Wednesday”…it was the most relaxing, wonderful, beautiful, (did I say relaxing), glorious, fabulous day I can remember in a very long time…and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU GO TOO!

In fact, I’ll be going again…and yup, yet again after that!

Here’s the lowdown on how it all works…

GETTING SETTLED IN AND WHAT TO BRING

Just inside Chester (a quick hop and skip out of the city), you’ll find this magical gem! Pack water, a bathing suit and flip flops…but there’s no need to bring a towel or housecoat as towels are provided and you can rent a big, fluffy housecoat from the main desk (for $8). In our case, being that it was a gloriously sunny day, we chose beach coverups…but on a cooler day, the housecoats look absolutely fabulous and during the winter, I could see that you might need a toque!

Once paid and checked in, we headed to the change rooms where a bracelet you wear for the day also activates your locker where you can securely keep your personal items. I kept a backpack with me as it held some medications, my confidence, and whatnot…but for the most part, the girls grabbed their water bottles, picked up a fresh towel, and headed off to the first pool of the day! 

HOT, COLD, RELAX

So…how does it work? Well, I just followed the other girls as they’d been there before…but basically, Sensea Nordic Spa practices hydro and thermal therapy. The idea being that you plunge into the HOT WATER, then the COLD WATER, then you RELAX and REPEAT the cycle all over again.

Placing our towels and personal items on benches and hooks at various stations nearby the plunge pools (everything is well thought out), we stepped into the most delightfully hot water imaginable. Five of us feeling very comfy in a pool that could fit even more…even with social distancing. Once we stayed for about 10 minutes or so…we moved into COLD where I was told to KEEP MOVING UNTIL YOU’RE UP TO YOUR SHOULDERS…and I think that’s the trick! Don’t stop…get in…and once in, your body adapts quickly and while it was cold getting in, the chill really didn’t last all that long and honestly, I enjoyed the colder pools equally to the hot ones.

Most of the cold water pools also had some sort of waterfall feature that folks would step into for a quick cool off rather than a full dip…but I rather enjoyed the full-body experience of the full dip!

Once hot and then cold…the next step is to RELAX! Positioned throughout the Spa are numerous places to rest and relax. We enjoyed laying out in fabulous hammocks (that I’m told are heated in the winter), there’s also a “beach” area with sand and lounge chairs, and many groupings of Adirondack chairs…each with a wood-burning fire pit and beautiful roaring fire…crackling and adding to the entire aesthetic of the place. 

Sauna and Scented Steam Rooms!

As part of the Hot/Cold cycle, we visited both a traditional sauna and scented steam rooms…scented with Orange and Eucalyptus. When finishing up in the steam room, you scrub down with the most amazing Himalayan Salt scrub, then turn on the rain shower to cleanse it all off leaving your skin unbelievably soft! Outside the sauna, you’ll find ICE COLD BUCKETS of water suspended over your head that you pull with a rope to release the water…and yes, I tried them not once, but THREE TIMES until my friend got the Instagram shot she was looking for!  

Food & Treatments

While I didn’t step inside, there is a spot to grab a bite to eat and a drink or two…and, you can also book various spa treatments. However, we arrived around 4:30 in the day for their “Spa Pass”…an incredible value at $57.50…and thoroughly enjoyed the pools. Possibly another time I might book a treatment and a snack or two at lunchtime…but the spa pass itself was a delightful experience.

Sleeping Over

AND YES…apparently you can spend the night in these wonderful Yurts that they’re soon to open and NOW I WANT TO SLEEP IN A YURT! In fact, I can just imagine an amazing relaxing weekend of enjoying the spa, having a fabulous sleep, and doing it all again the next day! It simply sounds heavenly!

Calling it a Day

The spa closes at 7 through the week (9 on the weekends) and we used up every second of our time to enjoy the cycle of Hot, Cold, Relax…but I must say, I could have enjoyed a bit more time and would book earlier in the day the next time I go. On leaving, we were back in the dressing room where you gather your belongings and you’ll find lots of amenities like hair dryers, hair elastics, and a lotion bar to coat your skin!! While I opted to wear a MuMu home (since I didn’t have to change out of my bathing suit and just popped it over my head), most of the women leaving were in comfy clothes…sweatpants, sundresses and the like.

Who’s up for a Spa Date?

As for whether I’d recommend it…yup, 100%! Start the car and head to Chester! I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed my day with friends…the sort of day you just don’t get very often in all of the craziness of life. We had phenomenal weather but I don’t think it would really matter as fog, drizzle, snow…it would all be a unique and fabulous experience. 

One thing to note, it’s meant to be a WHISPERING space…like, library silence…which is super hard to do when you’ve got a gaggle of girlfriends together who’ve all been cooped up inside for far too long…but probably lovely for couples looking for a romantic, quiet day!

To book, head to Sensea Nordic Spa online, put in the number of people you’d like to spend some time with, and find a date that works! And hey…if you don’t have anyone to go with, hit me up! I’ll go at any time…it’s the perfect way to spend a Wednesday!