Balnea Spa

The restaurant menu was only French, which is very unfriendly from a tourist perspective. The staff was unable to clearly interpret so that only one of our four meals was what we expected, kind of.
The hot and cold tubs were nice. But showering with no extra towels easily available is a problem.
The lake doesn’t open until noon, which was very frustrating.
They have paddle board exercise classes but you can’t use a paddle board for anything else. It would be very nice to paddle around the lake.
The staff was friendly.

Oh my good i loved it there, had no network and dident coud check in on Unilocal and now it tells me im too far but dosent matter i will remaber when ever haven a day of too drive this 1 h there for a real day relxing, one if the most best spa i ever seen and i seen a lot ;)

This spa is seriously like a relaxing-​heaven-​getaway-​paradise. I did some research on spas in eastern townships, and stumbled upon Balnea. I looked at the google images and I was totally sold. As soon as I started my spa experience, I wasreally shocked at how huge this spa is and how many «activities» or experiences it had to offer. I took my time and explored every part of the spa I could. I’ll just discuss my favorite areas, otherwise this review will get too long…
There was a aquarium watching lounge area with 2 fish tanks, and one of my absolute favorites was the Moroccan lantern experience. It was basically an area with a bunch of nooks and crannies where you can lounge and rest in. You had to pick a lantern (fake of course) and bring it to your little rest area. A niceeee soft blanket was sitting right on the mat for me. How convenient! There were magazines too to read and all. Next, was my boyfriend’s pick which was the floating rafts by the lake. They were attached to the deck with a rope and all you had to do was push off and relax on the raft while it floats away. You can of course always come back to shore but you have to «pedal» yourself slowly but surely towards the deck. It was a cool experience. I highly recommend the rafts. There was also a hot bath with a fake cave or grotto and I sat underneath it for awhile.
This spa also has a restaurant (full menu) and a lounge area where you can order coffee/​wine/​tea etc. Honestly, this is a real getaway spa. You will definitely feel like pampered when you visit this place. A must visit and worth the drive!

The ultimate best!
Situated on a gigantic land, with view ad access to a lake in the Eastern Township, Le Spa Balnea is an experience that everyone should live once. Too many spas have opened in the past years and have gone crazy on the look without really thinking about the space and the experience. Le Balnea offers it all. Beautiful, soothing, and so spacious that I cannot imagine a lack of space when it’s full.
Someone told me it is considered one of the Best in North America. I have no doubt about it!
I generally spend 2−3h in a spa, tired of it after a while… I lasted 4h30 and someone had to tell us it was closing :)
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La meilleure expérience!
Situé sur un terrain immense, avec vue et accès à une rivière de la Région des Catons –de-L’Est, Le Spa Balnea est l’expérience que tous devraient se payer. Trop de spas ont ouvert dans les dernières années, se focussant sur le look sans trop penser à l’expérience même. Le Balnea offre le tout: beau, relaxant et si spacieux que tu né peux imaginer un manqué d’espace lorsque c’est plein.
Quelqu’un m’a dit que c’était considéré comme l’un des meilleurs spas en Amérique du Nord. je n’en ai aucun doute!
Je passé généralement 2−3h dans un spa, tannée après un bout… J’ai passé 4h30 au Blanéa et quelqu’un a dû nous avertir que le spa fermait :)

Balnea was highly recommended by a fellow spa-​goer.
I haven’t tried many Montréal spas (just Scandinave Tremblant, Scandinave Old Port, and Bota Bota).
I’m Eastern European, so I’m used to all kinds of spa treatments outside of Montréal. I’ve been to Finland, so I’ve tried their real Finnish spa. This was followed by Japanese onsen in Takayama and Kyoto, Turkish baths in Antalya, and some real Russian «banya» — spa with 100% humidity, snow-​diving, frozen-​river-​diving, and being beaten up by angry Russians with birch-​tree brooms (yes — exactly the way you saw it in Eastern Promises).
Anyways, the drive to Balnea was not long, which is a major plus, as compared to Scandinave Tremblant. Plenty of road signs to Balnea Spa made it easy. As we are driving up through picturesque country side I’m getting excited. Suddenly I see an awesomely looking iced lake. Obviously they are going to have lake/​river winter diving, just like in Tremblant, right? Guess what! Nope. Fail.
We park, walk into the lobby. Not bad for spa lobby. I really liked high ceilings. There was a crowd. I don’t mind crowds. However this one was way too Jersey, actually I mean South Shore, if you know what I mean. Beefy «situation”-looking dudes, more tattoos than IQ points, crispy-​fried-​snookie-​style-​chicks, you get it. First thought — FML.
So, we get our keys, towels, and immediately get warned that replacement robe or towel is $ 5. So don’t get them wet. I’M IN A SPA! I’m supposed to be wet! And dry myself with a towel. And hopefully not pay for doing that.
We get into the dressing rooms. Guys’ one… lacked hand soap. And tissues. Fine. More Jersey Shore. They could totally film one episode at Balnea.
Following my friend’s advice, I requested a guided tour of the facility (by pressing a button on the wall. Balnea is very high tech.) After waiting for about 15 minutes on Structube-​comfortable acid-​blue chairs, our guide shows up.
Balnea spa facilities include:
2 outside jacuzzis of the same temperature.
2 inside finnish spas (eucaliptus and orange flavors)
1 cold shower
1 cold indoor pool (extremely inaccessible. Due to recent events I’m with a cane now, and there was no way I could get into that pool). I tried. And tried. Whatev.
1 outdoor semi-​cold pool.
1 turkish bath
Besides spa, you will also find 5 – 6 resting areas that totally look like Structube or Ikea showrooms. In general the whole place seems to be designed by one of those super cheesy Montréal night-​club designers. Acid-​blue chairs are next to doors, covered with white leather puffy stuff (like in mental institutions), log-​looking coffee tables are right next to BRIGHT-​red 1960 leather office chairs, basically no coherent taste what-​so-​ever. Outright posh, screaming colors everywhere that do not give you that relaxed blissful state of mind, that you look so much for at a spa retreat.
There are 2 extra facilities outside. Fake-​cave-​like outside semi-​warm sauna where you will chill at about 20c after walking for 50 yards at –30c. Fine.
Next to it there is… wait for it… yes FAKE IGLOO WITH A FAKE FIREPLACE AND FAKE BLANKETS!!! Yes you heard me. Igloo is made of an igloo-​shaped red tent. Inside, there is an ethanol fireplace that doesn’t give that warmth, sound, or even smell of a real fireplace. Around the fake fireplace you will find bunch of day beds with beanbags on top of them. And acrylic fur blankets. Oh yes. Those. Anyways, fake igloo was a major fail. Don’t go.
By the time we tried all of this splendor, it was time for food. I did not have any massage booked (this was a last minute decision), so can’t comment on their massage quality.
We get to the cafeteria. They have about 12 choices of food and 3 choices of wine. Will start with wine. $ 5.50 Mission Hill Pinot Blanc was not bad for a dep wine. So was my friend’s chardonnay. A little bit incongruent with an upscale spa setting. H-​anyways.
Food: I asked what is the server’s top choice. Puzzled with wide selection of 3 choices, he suggested a chicken and apples sandwich with cream of spinach soup for me, as it was the thing that all guys ordered. My companion got some thai shrimp soup.
Food took some time to prepare. After about 20 minutes, it was graciously delivered to us on Ikea trays. Very good presentation. Food was pretty much Presse Café level. Don’t think they prepare it onsite. Conclusion — don’t go to Balnea for gourmet experiences. There is an A&W around the corner, just in case you arrive or leave hungry.
Summary:
Good: not far from Montréal, awesome views onto the lake, potentially awesome sun bathing in summer, cheap wine, friendly staff, A&W around the corner
Bad: not enough spa facilities, tacky design, Jersey Shore crowd, mediocre food, no jumping in the lake, no snow bathing…
PS. Turkish steam bath had no steam. We spent good 20 minutes looking for a steam release button, remote control, some turks to make some steam. None of that was present.

One of the best winter spa experiences in my life. Hands down.
Just look at the pictures on the site. it’s amazing how close this place is to Montréal.
I went with three friends (two couples), it was lightly snowing the whole time and we stayed past 9:30 PM (at least).
The views of the snow-​covered lake from the outdoor spas through the rising steam were unreal.
The food and fresh fruit they give you after your massage and the tea are amazing.
I think my favorite room was the fish room (tiered stairs with lots of pills and two huge tropical fish tanks.) SO relaxing.
There’s also the cold plunge, dry and wet saunas, and a huge cold waterfall pool (see website).
Don’t forget the warm room outside. it’s like a stone cave/​igloo sauna. Definitely worth a brisk «jog’ from the lower Jacuzzis.
One of the outdoor Jacuzzis also has a little cave/​overhang. Not quick the PB Mansion, but the snow does add a little something extra.
Also, our couples massage was amazing (whether my luck or design, both women spoke English).

I have a sale conference in the area this week so came early to spend some time at the spa.
It’s on a lake … this time of year the leaves are changing and the colours are gorgeous.
There are lots of hot tubs, whirlpools, saunas, etc. Everyone wanders around in bathing suits and white robes and does their own thing.
I had two services … a moisturizing head massage with Corrine and a 60 minute full body massage with Marie Josee (her massage was different than I’ve had in the past and amazing!).
A couple complaints:
It would be nice if there was a supply of towels in the change room. You are issued one towel when you check in and that’s it. Having a cleaner drier towel would have been nice after I took a shower rather than using the one I dried off with after using the hot tub. Plus I like using two towels (one for my hair).
Also, there were no supplies like QTips, cotton balls, etc. in the change room like I’ve seen in other spas.
Finally, though everyone was nice, most of the instructions/​messages around the spa are in French (not all are in English too). With my high school French, I was able to figure out which was the shampoo/​body wash and which was conditioner.
If I’m ever in the area, I’d go back.