DAY SPA
SKY-HIGH AMBITIONS
Launching a day spa that brought the
tranquility of nature to urban Montreal was a longtime dream for SkySpa president
Patrick Rake; now he’s ready to take his successful concept across Canada
Guests are enticed into the spa via a giſt card scheme which makes up 30 per cent of revenue
A
tranquil, year-round outdoor thermal spa facility minutes from downtown Montreal may sound impossible. But it’s something that the city’s
urbanites have been enjoying ever since Patrick Rake launched SkySpa – a Nordic- style day spa – in December 2007. Opened atop a seafront leisure develop-
ment on Montreal’s south shore, the 16,000sq ſt (1,486sq m) facility has a indoor-outdoor concept. Guests complete their journey on a 5,000sq ſt (465sq m) terrace overlooking the city, with a Nordic waterfall and cold bath, two warm California whirlpools and heated floors to keep winter ice away.
ANDREA JEZOVIT » JOURNALIST » SPA BUSINESS It’s a concept that has won accolades from
Montreal’s Chamber of Commerce, which named SkySpa a finalist in its 2010 new busi- ness category. And Rake has big plans for it.
“We plan to expand this kind of spa across Canada,” he says. “In 10 years, we’ll have spots in every big Canadian city.”
ACHIEVING A DREAM Rake fantasised about launching a chill- out concept for stressed city workers long before he even entered the spa industry. In 1995, his life in the family insurance business was hectic; he became inspired to create an experience that mirrored the tranquility of nature during visits to the nearby Laurentian
mountains. He worked on the idea for eight years, first attempting to open a spa in Mon- treal’s old port. When plans for that fell through, Rake busied himself by opening Nordic Station – a day spa concept similar to SkySpa – in Magog, Quebec in 2004. His vision for a city centre development even- tually became a reality when he found a location for the Montreal spa on the fourth floor of the Quartier DIX30 complex. Rake was set on bringing a thermal bath-
ing experience to SkySpa from the start. “I’m the first client of my business, and maybe two or three times a week I’m in the bath myself,” he says. “For me, it was important to share my passion and give people the oppor- tunity to discover that. Because I think it’s the only way to cancel stress.” But the instal- lation was tough. Te equipment came from Europe and local engineers were unfamil- iar with the European engineering methods required. “Tey knew how to build hotel pools, but whirlpools are completely dif- ferent,” says Rake, noting that making the outdoor area winter-proof was also espe- cially difficult. He’s proud of the final result.
“I’ve never seen a spa like this before. We have 100,000 litres of water here on the fourth floor [in the three exterior pools].” Te alfresco terrace also includes a café:
A large outdoor winter-proof terrace with water experiences is a key selling point 42 Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital
FlavourSky Station. Indoors, the thermal cir- cuit includes a Finnish sauna, the SkyLumina chromatherapy sauna, and the SkyAroma steambath, where steam is combined with eucalyptus oil. Tere are also 20 treatment rooms where guests can experience massages,
SPA BUSINESS 1 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011
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