Have you ever wished you could shut the world out, for even half an hour? If so, Amy Courtney has the room for you.
Courtney owns Meristem Massage and Hydrotherapy, a five-year-old business in the west-end village of Carp. Along with massage therapy and reflexology, Meristem offers something increasingly rare in our crazy world: peace and quiet.
In 2023, Courtney added a private soak-and-sauna room to Meristem. The space includes a cozy cedar sauna, a deep soaking tub and a shower. There’s a bench where you can sit to change, a yoga mat if you feel inclined to stretch, Epsom salts and essential oils to enhance your visit, a water cooler, and a Bluetooth speaker you can connect to your phone to enjoy your personal playlist.
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If you find big, Scandinavian-style spas a bit too hectic to be relaxing, this private sauna/hydrotherapy space — which you can share with a friend or family member or enjoy in solitude — is a calming alternative.
“It’s a little dose of self-care in a little cozy nook where the world is not going to come in on you,” Courtney says.
She discovered the concept while living in Santa Cruz, Ca. The small city of about 62,000 people had at least four spas with similar rooms, and Courtney assumed Ottawa would have even more.
“I thought for sure when I came to a cold climate like this they’d be all over the place,” she recalls. So when she moved here and discovered none, she sensed a gap in the market.
The private retreat is most popular from late fall to late winter, but it sees a steady stream of clients throughout the year. Prices for solo visitors range from $40 for half an hour to $95 for a two-hour session, with an additional charge of $20 to $40 for each extra person.
Some clients book the space in conjunction with a massage, but it can also be a standalone treat. Athletes and massage clients often request that the tub be filled with bracingly cold water, allowing them to do a thermal spa-style circuit. On the other hand, couples, friends and busy parents frequently choose a toasty soak. (Courtney advises those clients to rest on the bench for at least 10 minutes before popping into the sauna.)
One grey, chilly day, I tested the room solo and chose a warm bath. After an hour of meandering from tub to sauna to shower and then drying off with a stack of fluffy white towels, I was one happy camper. It appears others are equally satisfied with the experience, as the spa offers discounts for multiple visits and the sauna/hydrotherapy room attracts clients from as far away as Orléans and Calabogie. Interestingly, Courtney notes, it’s popular with Ottawa’s international community, having hosted visitors from Ukraine, India, the Middle East and elsewhere.
After your sauna/hydrotherapy session, there’s lots more to do in Carp. Craft beer fans can enjoy tasty food and drink next door to Meristem at the Ridge Rock Brewing Company. History buffs can drive down the road to check out The Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum, located in a decommissioned underground military bunker.
One of Courtney’s favourite local restaurants is the Swan at Carp, housed in a Victorian mansion. “They make traditional Korean, they do sushi and then they do comfort pub food and it’s all really good,” she says.
Plans are afoot to expand Meristem in 2026. Courtney is still ironing out the details, but she is keeping the sauna/hydrotherapy room — good news for all of us who value a quiet retreat in a hectic world.
Award-winning travel writer Laura Byrne Paquet shares her sightseeing tips for Ottawa and beyond on her website, Ottawa Road Trips.
