Travel: Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Escape the day to day grind to a luxury resort getaway. Can you believe just a 1.5 hr drive from Downtown Vancouver is beautiful Harrison. Bright blue sky, crystal clear water, stunning view, fresh mountain air…. what more do you need. Harrison Hot Springs is a small village at the southern end of Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley. As its namesake, the Hot Springs are a major draw for tourists to visit the village with a population of just over 1,500.

Our home for the next 2 days was at Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa. It’s the biggest resort in the village and situated on the Harrison Lake Beach Park. The Resort is fully equipped for your getaway needs: 2 indoor pools, 3 outdoor pools, fitness room, 2 restaurants, tennis court and a full-service spa.

The hotel has a relaxed and cozy atmosphere. It’s great that you can just read a book, drink some wine and hang out at the fireplace. Or just walk around the hotel in your robe and slippers.

Of course, the highlight is the hot spring source from St. Alice Well. Soaking in a hot spring can be a wonderful therapy for a number of reasons. The heat and minerals from the hot springs can increase metabolism, accelerate healing, soothe muscles, improve blood circulation, and detoxify the body’s lymphatic system. In addition, soaking in the hot springs allows minerals to pass through your skin and be absorbed and utilized by your body cells. Research have shown it can fight the effects and symptoms of fatigue, insomnia, edema, poor micro-circulation, repressed immune system, and arthritis.

Once we check-in to our spacious hotel room, we were greeted with a hand written note, bottle of wine and a massive fruit & cheese plate. We were treated like royalty.

Check out the scenic view from our balcony. I can easily spend hours looking at the vista. We got 180 degrees panorama view of the Harrison River, Echo Island and Sasquatch Provincial Park.

We kick off our Harrison Hot Spring journey with a spa appointment at the Healing Springs Spa. The spa features various stress-relieving and beauty treatments such as hot stone massage, body scrubs, and aromatherapy treatments. You can also customized your session depending on your problem areas. Sitting all day working on the computer cause some upper back pain and stiff neck. I’ve opt for a full body deep tissue massage. My therapist, Debra, a former nurse, really known which problem areas to attack. She used a mixture of classic message therapy and her own style of massage. She calls it the “Debra massage”. The massage ended with a soothing back scrubs. After an hour, it feels so good – your body tension is release and muscle soreness is gone.

After the heavenly massage, we headed to the Copper Room for dinner. Its an elegant, contemporary restaurant with a live band and dance floor. Being a big fan of the TV show Boardwalk Empire, the restaurant feels like you are in the Roaring Twenties. A restaurant Nucky Thompson could enjoy. The menu had a great variety from seafood, duck to prime rib. However, we recommended getting some freshly catch seafood or something locally grown in the Fraser Valley.

It’s nice to see some lovely couples enjoying a great meal and dancing the night away.

For starters, we order the Sea Scallops (pan seared, white wine, crispy pancetta & leek sauce) and Mushroom Risotto (porcini mushrooms, roasted garlic, saffron & parmigiano reggiano). These were delicious, the risotto was nice and creamy and the scallops were nicely balance with the leek sauce.

For the entree, we had the Bison Tenderloin (caramelized shallots, juniper berry jus) and Sable Fish (seared oysters, caramelized grapes & moscato). I love sable fish and this was amazing. I really enjoy the sweet, buttery flavour from the grapes and oysters. Bison meat tend to be a little dry, we opt for it to be medium rare, still pink in the center. The bison tenderloin was flavourful and juicy. Both dishes were served with a side of lemon & potato cake and grilled vegetables.

For the finale, the dessert, we got the Limoncello Creme Brule Flambe (limoncello flavoured custard & caramelized sugar) and Grand Marnier Souffle Glace (light frozen souffle, grand marnier & white chocolate cup). The creme brule was crunchy and custardy delight. The frozen souffle is a surprising combination of textures but a little too rich.

With a full stomach, we spend the rest of the night soaking up in the hot springs. The good news is the outdoor pool close at 11:00 pm and indoor pool close at 1:00 am. After a full day of being pampered, we were totally relax and stress-free.

Want to win a 2 night getaway to Harrison Hot Spring Resort? Enter your best Harrison photos on Instagram. #harrisoninspring

Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Tourism Harrison judges will choose the one photo that best captures the breathtaking beauty of the spring. The grand prize:

• A 2-night getaway to Harrison Hot Springs Resort with breakfast each morning and dinner one night between Sunday to Thursday excluding holidays
• An eco river adventure tour and passes to the floating water park

The contest details are: https://www.facebook.com/notes/harrison-hot-springs-resort-spa/instagram-contest/10152252846420255

To learn more about the Resort: http://www.harrisonresort.com