‘Its kind of like Disneyland for women:’ Halifax wine spa gears up for Mother’s Day

The Wine Spa in Halifax prepares for one of its biggest events of the year – Mother’s Day.

The Wine Spa in Halifax has all the makings of a perfect spa: calm colours, soothing candles and a fully-equipped bar.

“The Wine Spa is Halifax’s only social spa. It’s designed around connections. It’s a place where you can come with your friends, family or by yourself for some pampering. An opportunity to connect and have a glass of wine,” says owner Angela Szubielski.

“What we hear often from guests is that it’s kind of like Disneyland for women.”

The business, which opened on Hollis Street two years ago, began as an idea Szubielski wasn’t sure she should take on.

“I thought, ‘No there’s no way I’m going to start a spa salon.’ It’s not really my background. But then I started to think about some spa experiences I’ve had in the past where I’ve gone with a friend, but we’ve both gone in different directions for our spa day and really didn’t get a chance to connect,” she says.

“I wanted somewhere where you always stayed with your friends, where you were able to laugh, there was fun music playing in the background, and you really left with sore cheeks from laughing.”

From manicures to facials, some packages even offer an Italian lunch.

The Wine Spa is getting ready to pamper dozens of guests on Mother’s Day, which is not only their biggest event of the year, but one that represents the story behind the business.

“Part of my inspiration in starting the spa was my daughters. I have two girls, 14 and 15, and they both have businesses of their own. One makes candles, one makes soaps. When I was kind of running through the idea of if a spa would work for me, I thought I could retail their products here and hopefully inspire them. Maybe one day they might want to take it over.”

Until then, she’s excited to see a swath of smiling faces on Mother’s Day.

“One of my favourite groups that come into the spa are the mother-daughter combos. You can always see them coming, and it’s just really fun to see them put their phones away and spend an hour-and-a-half connecting, creating memories and just really soaking up each other’s company, which in today’s day is hard to do,” she says.

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