My boyfriend and I went to the Polar Bear Club yesterday, late afternoon into evening, and had a really fantastically wonderful experience.

I wanted to give him something different for Christmas, a unique experience, and something that felt vacation-like and relaxing, and this fit the bill (and then some).

We weren't sure what to expect. I had made the mistake of reading the reviews on here right before we headed off, and had mentally prepared myself for a crowded and possibly disappointing experience. In reality, it was far better than we could have dreamed or expected, and I can't at all understand how the other (negative) reviewers could be talking about the same place.

We did the sauna/hot tubs (not the messages). Basically, you arrive at this gloriously beautiful and serene location, set on a raging half-frozen river (different at warmer times of the year, obviously). You start off by getting your body temperature up, by lounging in either a steam room, or a sauna (that in itself was already uber relaxing). From there, you head outside, in your bathing suit, and go down to the river where you're meant to have a quick dunk (to re-lower your temperature). We managed to put our feet in, yelp, and take them out very quickly. It's meant to be great for circulation. For us, it was mostly fun, and a challenge. Something different, neither of us had ever tried before. From there, you head into the very welcoming toasty warm hot tub, outdoors, with lovely views of the surrounding snowy mountains. One of the hot tubs has a great little cave you can access by going underneath a waterfall of cascading hot water. It was great, to be outside, in frosty cold weather, sitting in a bathing suit in a hot tub, and feeling wonderful warm. We did this whole process 4 times (a minimum of 3 times was recommended). We spent about 4 hours there in total, relaxing, lounging, heating up, then cooling down, then quickly heating up again. It was pure bliss.

The experience was certainly fun. Going from hot then psyching yourself up to go into the icy cold pool, and walking around in flip-flops and bathing suits in frosty temperatures can't help but make you laugh or at least smile. It was also romantic (though it's the kind of experience which would be lovely to do a friend(s) or with family as well)

It was invigorating - we both felt great and hugely relaxed afterwards. And exhausting - we were both in a state of post-Polar-Bear-Club-sleepy bliss afterwards.

I highly recommend it as a something-different experience and a wonderful way to pamper yourself or someone else.

My quick comments on the negative reviews on here are that yes, the parking lot is a few minutes walk, on the road, but there was a shuttle van waiting for us to take us from our car to the spa (which would have literally taken us 2 minutes to walk). The reception was courteous and gave us detailed descriptions of the process, what to expect, plus some tips. The changing/locker room had hardly anyone else in it. And yup, we were told a few times to keep the chatting down, but very politely, and it was our fault for forgetting to be quiet in the quiet areas (whispering was fine, and everyone else was doing so as well). At first we thought it was funny that we had to be quiet (rather than get to share the experience vocally with each other). But the quiet adds to the feeling of relaxation, and not having to hear everyone else's conversation is a rare treat, which definitely adds to it all. As I said above, we did whisper, and the one time that I (and others) couldn't quite refrain from letting out loud squeel or shrieks (or in my case, a very loud "what the hell!!!") was the first time you immerse yourself into the frigid icy water.

It was great! And definitely worth going.

Enjoy!! We sure did.

My family and a few family friends went to the polar bear spa looking to relax and enjoy our sunday afternoon. The promise of a relaxing experience started off poorly with the locker room so crowded that it reminded us of a public restroom amidst a holiday celebration. There was not enough room to put one's bag down, forget about changing in dignity without having someone's hair or wet towel constantly brushing against you. Next we headed to the wirlpool to finally wind down. Well, as i was trying to say a quiet word to my friend, a guard came out running to give me the warning that no talking was allowed. We said ok, we ll try our best. Then as one of us was wispering something about his experience with the spa, the guard rushed back to tell us that now we are given a second warning since silence is to not only be practiced but to be enforced upon all the club visitors. Apparently, my duty was to keep my mouth shut so a) others could enjoy - i suppose silence is the uttermost ingredient of enjoyment in this particular spa and b) those having massage upstairs would not be bothered by our conversations. To top it off, the guards would stand around the pools and stare at the people to enforce the 'silence rule' which certainly was not only aggravating but rather inappropriate for an environment that was to relax your body and soul. Maybe if this was a prison spa, i would accept it but hey you dont pay an entrance fee in that type of setting.
Angry and frustrated, we asked the guards about the part of the spa where talking was allowed. Sufficient to say that it was the case on just about 10% of the property where we headed to looking to finally relax and enjoy ourselves. Indeed once there we could certainly chat freely while taking a pleasant dip in the only pool available that for some sad reason resembled a glorified home tub and as such could accomodate somewhere in the range of 6-8 people - unless we were willing to climb on top of each other or stand shoulder to shoulder with the strangers - which believe me, we were not going to do. Having had enough, we decided to leave. Oh if only that was easy. Getting through the overcrowded locker took the last bit of energy and made all of us wonder who and why woud ever go to polar bear in search of relaxation??? Unless you are eager to ruin your day at ths spa, take my word for it, do not bother! In less than 2 hours we have been treated like cattle and humiliated to build up the level of stress and frustration that a bad month at work could not come close to!

Stayed there for a romantic getaway. The room is fantastic! What a great decor. There is no TV as another reviewer said but as it is a ROMANTIC getaway we did not expect one. The site is beautiful. Yes, it is between 2 higways but you can barely hear it. You hear the river mostly. The higway is visble but not an eyesore.They are constantly revamping and and one cannot fault the the cleanliness of the spas or saunas. The massage therapists are fantastic. One of my best getways ever. I have been to many nordic spas yet we always return to the Polar Bear.

The site is ok, but you can almost always hear the sound of the cars and trucks passing by one each side of the SPA. You can clearly see that it's has been around for a while, nothing really fancy but they are at least trying to renovate the older parts.Very noisy, a lot of young people yelling and having fun, receptionists were kind of rude, probably because they were in some sort of rush, because the place was obviously too crowded. The parking was really far away, we had to walk along a 90km/h route for 5 minutes to get to the reception. At the most quiet end of the site you have a wonderful view of the highway 15 ! How pleasant ! On the other hand the room was ok , no TV , but clean and roomy. The river is very nice and the massages we're also very good. I would not recommend to anyone who's looking for a quiet week-end.