Welcome to the weird new world of B.C. spas. Wine and algae included.

It doesn’t pay to be pretty-but-dull in the spa world anymore, especially in British Columbia, where people are known to take health and wellness seriously. The B.C. attitude: Facials and manicures are mere frills compared to, say, Japanese shiatsu massages or the semi-medicinal benefits of detoxifying baths. And now that spas are ubiquitous, it’s become essential for each to find its own hook, often with “signature” treatments that push the boundaries of indulgence. The upshot is that spa culture in B.C., as the following five examples show, just keeps getting more interesting.

Vida Wellness Spa
Vancouverites are famously skilled at blending Eastern philosophies into a West Coast lifestyle, so it’s no surprise that one of the city’s swankiest spas offers several Ayurvedic services. Vida’s Swedana Steam Treatment aims to balance your energy doshas. Fear not: All will be explained during the skin exfoliation and warm-oil body massage. Next you’ll be enclosed (from the neck down) in a fragrant cedar cabinet for 15 minutes of steam infused with active, fresh herbs — custom-blended, of course, according to your individual needs. (Fifteen minutes is just the suggested limit; many patrons wave the white flag after seven.)
$225 for entire two-hour treatment; $180 for 90 minutes.
604-682-8432, www.vidawellness.com

Brentwood Bay Lodge & Spa
Unlike other pseudo-scientific-sounding spa concepts, the term “vinotherapy” has an instant sign-me-up ring to it. If you like wine, chances are you’ll be receptive to the idea of using it (and its anti-oxidizing chemical, resveratrol) in a spa session — or so goes the thinking at the new Brentwood Bay Lodge & Spa. Grapes and wine products from a nearby Vancouver Island winery are used in the Vino Stomp Pedicure and other unconventional treatments. Wine’s natural link to romance is exploited in the Vino Lovers Package, a 2.5-hour marathon complete with Ritual Foot Soak, Vino Body Exfoliation and Vino Massage — for two, naturally.
$540.
1-888-544-2079, www.brentwoodbaylodge.com

Sonora Resort
You know times are changing when a fly-in fishing resort on Desolation Sound opens a wellness center (a.k.a. spa). Macho fishers of both genders have been known to sign up for various luxurious indulgences, including the Spring of Youth Prestige treatment featuring hot mud for your, er, spine. This mud “tingles and pops” down your back and is thought to make your skin more receptive to the ensuing toners, cleansers and two facial/neck masks. (The first one hardens enough to be rock solid; the second is rubberizing.) As is appropriate for a fishing lodge, the spa uses marine algae-based products from Phytomer.
$225.
1-888-576-6672, www.sonoraresort.com

Echo Valley Ranch & Spa
This unlikely, but tremendously successful, combination of dude ranch and Thai spa is hidden deep in the B.C. interior. To max out on the foreign cachet, book into a Thai Signature Wellness Ritual. Tag-team therapists immerse you in a 3.5-hour deep healing treatment, beginning with a Thai Herbal Steam Bath (we assume you’re alone during this part), followed by a Thai Aromatherapy Facial and a Luk Pra Kob Hot Compress Treatment. The final 90 minutes sees you in pajamas for a Traditional Thai Massage — a system of assisted stretching combined with a pressure point-massage to release tension and, according to traditional medicine, unblock energy channels.
$525.
250-459-2386, 1-800-253-8831, www.evranch.com

Four Seasons Resort Whistler
Serious about redefining the local definition of posh, the new Four Seasons in Whistler is the picture of refined taste. So the idea of using heated golf balls as part of a massage seems somewhat gimmicky. Nevertheless, golf balls retain enough warmth to rival the currently popular hot-stone treatment. The Golfer’s Massage pulls and twists clients through assisted stretching that targets the hips, lower back, forearms, calves and hands.
$130.
604-935-3400, www.fourseasons.com/whistler/

Getting there
Whether you’re looking to unblock your energy channels, or slather your spine in hot mud, let Air Canada take you to British Columbia. Air Canada has an extensive schedule, and low one-way fares, to Vancouver from across Canada and the U.S., with great connections all over the province.