Basecamp Resorts is Opening its First Spa in Canmore This Year

Sky McLean made getting a good night’s sleep in ski towns across Western Canada easier when she launched Basecamp Resorts eight years ago. Now, the entrepreneur (and Avenue Top 40 alumna!) is about to change the spa scene in mountain towns, too.

In the fall of 2025 , McLean’s Basecamp Resorts will open its first spa on the grounds of the company’s new luxury hotel, MTN House, in Canmore.

The Wildwood Nordic Spa will span a whopping 4,048 square metres — that’s just shy of a football field. The spa will include hot tubs, a cold plunge and waterfall, a tempered pool, a salt-inhalation sauna, steam rooms and relaxation tents, all set against a mountain backdrop.

This venture marks the beginning of a new chapter for Basecamp where spas will be central to the company’s mission, says McLean. “As we look at new properties, we’re always going to be focusing on a hotel and spa,” she says.

McLean founded Basecamp with a vision of creating boutique mountain properties that combine the extravagance of a hotel with the homey amenities usually associated with an Airbnb, things like laundry and kitchens. Since then, the company has expanded to 14 hotel and resort properties throughout Alberta and British Columbia, making it the fastest-growing hospitality brand in Western Canada.

When she opened her first property, McLean — an avid hiker, skier and mountain biker — assumed guests would come to the mountains for the same kind of sporty adventures she loves. They’d want gear rooms, ski racks and room for bikes, she figured.

But she was wrong. Research from the Basecamp team showed that more people coming to mountain towns want to relax and relish the view rather than spend their time adventuring.

“What we found, and it was the biggest shock and a good one, is that most people coming to Canmore and Basecamp are just coming to hang out,” she says. That idea stuck with her.

In 2023, Basecamp Resorts bought an old Holiday Inn in Canmore with the plan of doing what has always served the company well: upgrade the property into a lux combo of hotel and Airbnb. But there was a catch. If Basecamp added more rooms to the property, they’d have to increase the size of the buildings. And that would chew into the glittering mountain view on the hotel’s doorstep.

“This is crazy,” McLean recalls telling her colleagues. “Why are we building more hotel rooms when we have all this space? We should build a spa.”

McLean had always liked spas, but she wasn’t a frequent user. So she and her team kicked off a tour of spas around the country to plan out next steps. Those visits convinced her that spas should be part of Basecamp’s future. “That’s when I was, like, this is the best idea ever,” she says. “You could be just going there to be on your own, disconnect from your job, take a break from your kids. Whatever your life is, [spas] appeal to everybody.”

Along with the Wildwood Nordic Spa, the company is now planning spas in Fernie, Banff and just outside Calgary. The Wildwood is scheduled to open in November.

“People are becoming more aware of taking care of themselves and staying fit. A spa is not only an amazing social experience, but it’s also really good for you. It hits all of those things.”

1 Silvertip Trl., Canmore, basecampresorts.com/mtnhousecanmore

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