The outdoor spa — heated-water hot tub — is one of the most requested features in Charlevoix, for a simple reason: the region is lived outdoors, year-round. In January, immersed in 38 °C with snow all around, you watch the river thicken into ice. In October, the colours of the forest at bath height are an experience no photograph captures.
All our chalets in Cap-à-l'Aigle, La Malbaie, and in Saint-Irénée are equipped with an outdoor spa open year-round, with a lockable insulating cover for children's safety. Capacity varies by chalet: 4 to 6 people at the Le Littoral chalet, up to 8 at L'Embâcle, and a spa integrated into the thermal zone at Les Thermes (alongside hammam and dry sauna). La Blanche also features a private outdoor spa, set on its terrace facing Cap-à-l'Aigle's sunsets, and Le Ruisseau has one for four to six on its terrace, facing the river. In Saint-Irénée, L'Aquarelle has its own on the terrace, facing the river, near the fire pit.
Best used after a day outdoors: skiing at Mont Grand-Fonds, hiking the Hautes-Gorges, kayaking from the Cap-à-l'Aigle pier. The transition from outdoor cold to hot water is what Scandinavians call the *cold-hot contrast* — well-documented for its effects on circulation, sleep and muscular recovery.
