Fort Garry at Forefront with Hamam

WINNIPEG, MB—The Hamam at Ten Spa at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg is a modern reinterpretation of this ancient hot air bathing ritual. The facility is co-ed and can be enjoyed either as a party room (private bookings require a minimum of 6 people) or booked individually.

The Hamam is maintained at temperatures between 45 and 50 degrees with mild ambient steam. The walls, floor and seating areas are heated, and moisture is generated from the extensive use of water during treatments.

Ten Spa offers a selection of hamam treatments that will leave your skin scrubbed clean and rejuvenated. As in ancient times, regular visits to the hamam will not only cleanse your skin but will detoxify your body, strengthen your immune system and deliver a healthy feeling of well-being.

The Hamam at Ten is located within Ten Spa.  At the reception, guests are given a locker, Italian spa slippers, a plush Turkish robe and a pestemal [a large, thin absorbent towel with fringed ends that is used in Turkish culture to wear during the hamam experience]. Prior to entering the hamam, guest have a warm shower in the spa’s change rooms.  Then they proceed to the tea room, where they are offered Turkish tea and a small sweet to sustain them during treatment.


Upon entering the hamam, the first stop is the aromatic salting area, where guests self apply warm, aromatic salt while seated on a heated bench.  This area is somewhat warmer than the next resting station; its purpose is to get the guest perspiring and start the cleanse.

After 10 to 15 minutes, the hamam attendant rinses the guest off and guides them to the large communal heated marble platform where the ritual continues.  Guests are invited to take their time, break for more tea or water, and relax for the next 30 to 60 minutes.  This is followed by an optional foot and scalp massage by the hamam attendant. There is also a seating area equipped with a number of wash basins, which guests can fill and pour hot, warm or cold water over themselves.

If guests have booked an upgrade package, the attendant will lead them to their private treatment beds for the traditional soap scrub. All soap scrub treatments include gommage with kese followed by a head-to-toe olive oil soap scrub down.

Guests can then continue with a stretching and/or rose oil massage, and should feel clean and rejuvenated.

As they relax post-treatment and enjoy an ayran beverage, guests may already be thinking of their next visit.