Moose Jaw’s famous Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa has closed its pools temporarily, as it undergoes major renovations to expand its services into a “full thermal spa experience.” In the last 30 years, the spa has featured a mineral pool in addition to a steam room. However, with a $1.76 million revitalization, the spa will consist of multiple new saunas inside and outside the hotel, in addition to a sequence of four hot and cold showers. “You’re going [into] a different hot environment. We have dry saunas, different steam rooms and then you go and cool down, best done in a cold plunge,” explained general manager David Wood. An accessibility ramp for its cold plunge is also part of the hotel’s renovations, as well as revamping the guest rooms. Wood said the reason for the expansion of services is to encourage people of all ages to visit the popular attraction. “If you’re used to steam rooms, it’s great for you, but what about younger people? What about people who don’t do that on the regular basis?” he said. “When you have three, you can have one that’s made just for people who are trying it out for the first time and want to give it a go, learn to like it, and then maybe they’ll progress to more advanced steam rooms over time.” Tourism Moose Jaw said the mineral spa has been the foundation of the city’s tourism sector and has opened the door to its economic growth that travellers bring to the community today. “I think because Temple Gardens first started tourism in Moose Jaw, I mean, that in itself is incredible,” said Donna Fritzke, executive director for Tourism Moose Jaw. “Now to have all the other attractions that we have, you can come and you can stay for two or three days, and there’s something different to do every day.” After watching the spa grow and develop since it first opened in 1996, Fritzke said she is excited to see the finished product. “It was such a new thing and everyone wanted to come and now that with the renovation, if you’ve been here before, now there’s something new to experience when you come back,” she said. Construction for the pool and saunas are expected to finish by June 19. However, renovations for the hotel rooms will continue until next year. “The room renovations, we’re doing that in sections because the hotel’s built the way it is in different buildings,” Wood explained. “We can work on one section and people can stay in another section. They won’t even know that work’s taking place.” In 2022, Peepeekisis Cree Nation acquired the Temple Gardens Hotel and Spa.
