Sparkling Hill Resort

Sparkling Hill Resort sits atop a granite ridge above Okanagan Lake near Vernon, in the interior of British Columbia. It is a European-inspired wellness resort, built and owned by the Swarovski family, and it is best known for the more than three and a half million Swarovski crystals set through its architecture and interiors. The building is carved into the hillside, with wide lake and valley views from most rooms.

The resort is built around its spa rather than a medical programme, and the spa is the reason to come. KurSpa, a name blending the German word for healing and the Latin for water, is one of the largest and most complete spa facilities in Canada, organised around the European cycle of hot, cold and rest, the principle that repeated contrast restores the body.

The thermal and hydrotherapy offering is unusually deep. There are multiple saunas and steam rooms, including a crystal steam room, warm and cold pools for the contrast cycle, and a cryotherapy cold chamber that drops well below freezing, one of the few in the country. Daily wellness activities are included in every stay.

Dining spans several venues, led by PeakFine, the resort's fine-dining room, alongside a farmhouse restaurant, a wine and coffee bar and a terrace. The setting invites walking and lake time, with the Okanagan's vineyards and trails close by.

Accommodation is open-plan, from guest rooms to penthouses, contemporary and light, most facing the lake or valley. Every stay includes breakfast, full KurSpa access, valet parking and wifi, so the wellness side is built in rather than added on.

This is a strong Verisa stay for adults who want a serious spa resort rather than a medical clinic or a full retreat. It is exclusively adult, unhurried, and built for people who come above all for the thermal and hydrotherapy circuit. It is not a pared-back wellness programme, it is a comfortable, indulgent wellness resort with genuine spa infrastructure at its core.