A luxury Nordic Spa in Vancouver at Fairmont Pacific Rim

What to expect at Fairmont Pacific Rim’s winter Nordic Spa experience

How do you make a luxury hotel spa even cooler? If you ask me, add a sauna and a cold plunge! A pop-up Nordic Spa in Vancouver at the Fairmont Pacific Rim brings a bit of the wild to the city.

Fairmont is a quintessential hotel experience in Canada. You’ll find them in many of the country’s most beautiful places, like Banff, Jasper and Mont Tremblant, where mountains and snow create a natural winter wonderland. In Vancouver, where December to April is more often grey and rainy, the Fairmont Pacific Rim has created a special Nordic Spa where you can have a hot+cold+relax getaway just steps from downtown.

This Nordic Spa in Vancouver is a seasonal add-on to the hotel’s popular Willow Stream spa. You can book this extra hydrotherapy circuit if you are getting a massage or other treatment. Or you can do like we did and just sign up for the Nordic Spa experience, which includes access to Willow Stream’s communal spaces and the outdoor features. On this trip to Vancouver there was actually a freakish cold snap and snowstorm, so I was especially grateful for a place to go get in a sauna! Read on for the complete review.

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This review of the Nordic Spa at Fairmont Pacific Rim is part of my series 100 baths, my search for the world’s best public bathing experiences. Read more and see the list here. I was a guest of the hotel but they did not review this post and opinions are my own.

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Check-in and First Impressions

We visited the Fairmont Pacific Rim just after the Lunar New Year, when the opulent lobby was covered in red and gold. The Nordic Spa experience begins on the 5th floor check-in for the Willow Stream spa, where their five-star staff showed us around the change room facilities and the co-ed spaces we could use after our Nordic Spa circuit.

I admit I didn’t follow my own advice to arrive at least 15 minutes early to check in to the spa—because we had the first slot of the day at 8am and I wasn’t sure how early the staff would be there. Don’t make my mistake! The Nordic Spa experience is limited to just 4 people each for 90 minutes, so you need to vacate the area for the next person/group on time. Allow time to change and sign your waivers etc before your timeslot begins.

Also because you need to get your special winter spa coat! (More below…)

What facilities are included at Fairmont Pacific Rim’s Nordic Spa?

The Nordic Spa is a seasonal offering the hotel has created on the 6th floor outdoor pool deck, with a cute decor and lighting. The dedicated space must be reserved and is roped off for your use, but you are sharing the pool and jacuzzi with hotel guests.

• Cedar Plank Sauna
• Cold Plunge Tubs / Ice Baths
• Warm outdoor swimming pool with mountain and harbour views
• Hot Tub / Jacuzzi with mountain and harbour views
• Lounge area with food and beverage service

A reservation here also grants access to communal areas of the Willow Stream spa where you’ll find the following:

• Two more hot tubs, including a mineral bath
• Additional (small) sauna
• Outdoor lounge areas with blankets and electric firepits
• Indoor lounge areas with electric fireplaces
• Healthy snacks (fruit, nuts etc) and teas
• Luxury massage shower (more on that below)

A warm coat!

If you’ve ever used an outdoor pool or hot tub in the winter, you know the mad dash from the moment you remove your robe until you get into the heat. And you know that robe easily gets soggy, or even frozen.

This Nordic Spa in Vancouver has a lovely surprise: a super warm winter coat! Before stepping outside we were provided with these super cozy, giant waterproof coats for overtop our robes. It didn’t even feel cold out there. I later found out these are manufactured by Red Equipment, a certified B-corp company from the UK that specializes in water sports gear and calls this a Pro Change Robe. I think I need one for all my spa adventures now!

Mountain Views

The Fairmont Pacific Rim is, as you might guess from the name, very close to the Pacific ocean. You can’t see the ocean from here but you can see mountains! OK, the tops of mountains. (I know this might not be as exciting for people who live in BC, but as a visitor from Ontario all mountains are very exciting.) As I slipped into the hot tub, I gazed up at Cypress Mountain across the harbour and imagined being far away from the middle of the city.

Our dedicated Nordic Spa ambassador was there to answer any questions about the facilities and also brought us some hot tea at the pool. (There is a small food and drink menu you can order from and I imagine on a milder day it would be lovely to just nosh beside the twinkling lights, but on our day it was too cold and we also wanted to maximize our time in the actual circuit.)

Hot Sweats and Ice Baths

OK let’s get to the good part: the hot, the cold, the relax!

First up: sauna. It’s always a treat to have a sauna for myself and my crew. My friend and I each grabbed a towel for a head rest and lay down to warm up. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that hot. I’m not sure if it’s because we were the first timeslot of the day. Or, to be fair, we did hold the door open while taking pictures. So we decided to give it some time and hit the hot tub instead.

Ah! So nice! Again with the mountain views. I really could have lazed around here for a while. But I wanted to try all the things so I also took a very laps in the heated pool, enjoying all the steam rising around me. We did have these two spaces to ourselves for quite a while, but the pools are also open to hotel guests and eventually a family did arrive to use so we took our leave to go to the sauna again.

Am I a sauna snob? Perhaps. Because I really did want it hotter! For I fully intended to cold plunge, and I was unable to work up an actual sweat here. (I did speak with the attendant about this and she reassured that the temperature is manually set and should be warm, but it really wasn’t what I’m used to.)

The circuit has three cold baths – including two large ceramic soaker tubs and a more traditional aluminum tub. When we checked in, we were offered ice for our baths. I waffled. Maybe it would be too much? But hey, I came to a Nordic Spa in Vancouver to experience what made it special so changed my mind and decided I would get the ice.

Reader, it was great! I did my little dance getting in but the ice really added to the experience. The sound of it being poured in, and as it moved to accommodate my body. The tickle on my skin. It was different and I liked it alot. My companion also braved it and agreed this was an amazing way to start our day, fully refreshed. I highly recommend the extra ice!

Is this Nordic Spa in worth it?

After our 90 minute Nordic Spa circuit, we spent another 90 minutes relaxing in the Willow Steam spa, continuing to find warmth in the mineral baths and lounge areas, and enjoying delicious and healthy snacks like dried fruit and vegan coconut balls. And when we were done, I took a long shower in their incredible massaging private shower space, scented with eucalyptus. This part of the day really made the visit worthwhile.

When you add everything up, from the personalized service, the cozy coat, the views, the multiple hot pools, this is a lovely winter experience in Vancouver. It’s a great alternative to some of the bigger Nordic Spas in BC, where you are sharing pools with dozens of other guests. Here you can have a more intimate time with your partner, or quiet time for yourself.

If you’re a sauna fan first though, I have to say I was definitely disappointed with the temperature of the sauna. So many other details are beautifully thought out here, but not this one. And unfortunately the steam room in the women’s area was temporarily out of service. So this is more of a full-package deal, you’re there for the whole environment not any one feature. If you’re wondering what time slot to choose I say pick the morning to get that great exhilarating ice bath!

The next time I’m looking for a spa in Vancouver in winter, I would absolutely return to the Fairmont Pacific Rim. But I would book a treatment in the Willow Stream spa and add on the Nordic Spa circuit, so I could get the best of everything in one.

Know Before You Go

My last visit was February 2025. Always check their website for latest info and promotions.

Where: The Nordic Spa is located inside the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel at 1038 Canada Pl.

When: Open Daily in winter months, December to April, from 8am to 9:30am.

What to bring? Just a swimsuit. The World’s Best Winter Robe, unlimited towels, sandals, locker are all provided. Shampoo and conditioner are provided in the showers and they have an excellent section of beauty products (hair spray, lotions, etc.) at the vanity.

How Much: Add Nordic Spa to a spa treatment for $35. Or book a three-hour pass for $165 per person from 8am to 6:30pm or $145 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm.