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Best of Whistler 2012: Beauty and Health

Best Spa Serenity, thy name is  The Scandinave Spa  , which is once more first among the many when it comes to Whistler's spas. Last year's winner, the Nordic-influenced facility also pulled in the vast majority of votes in 2012.
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Best Spa

Serenity, thy name is  The Scandinave Spa , which is once more first among the many when it comes to Whistler's spas. Last year's winner, the Nordic-influenced facility also pulled in the vast majority of votes in 2012. The experience of a day visit is like visiting a stunning outdoor hot springs, in the snow, surrounded by the great silent pine and cedar forests and the mountains.

Oh and there's an indoors, too, because along with its hot and cold plunge pools, Scandinave has a steam room, sauna and full massage services. Packages include Thai Yoga and Hot Stone treatments. Visit www.scandinave.com for more.

It's followed in second place by the Spa at the Four Seasons, which has 11 treatment rooms, including two set aside for couples. It offers the full complement of facials, hands, body and feet care, along with massage, steam and more.

This year, the Vida Spa at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler rounds out the top three. This Wellness Day Spa has, among its many attractions, an outdoor 60-foot lap pool that plays underwater music.

Best Doctor

 Dr. Cathryn Zeglinski  at the Northlands Medical Clinic in the Summit Lodge complex on Main Street is a firm favourite in Whistler, making 2012 the seventh year in a row that she has been chosen as the resort's best doctor. It also happens to be the seventh year that her clinic has been opened. As is fitting in a resort like Whistler, Dr. Zeglinski is fully qualified in both family and sports medicine, and is a former member of the Canadian road cycling team.

Dr. Karin Kausky of Whistler Medical Clinic came second in the category. A busy professional, offering family and general medicine, Kausky is a long-time Whistler physician. Dr. Richard Tamplin from Town Plaza Medical Clinic came in third place.

Best Medical Clinic

 Whistler Medical Clinic  wins the Best Medical Clinic vote, taking the prize as they did in 2011. Northlands Medical Clinic came second and Town Plaza Medical Clinic was third.

Best Chiropractor

Your skeleton can only take so much, and when it gets out of alignment sometimes the only way to walk as upright as evolution intended is to limp/shuffle/slouch your way to your chiropractor for a manipulation.

The strong hands of  Keith Ray  at Whistler Chiropractic finished back on top of this category this year.

"It's really nice to be recognized, not just for myself but for our entire staff," said Ray. "We've been working to help people get the most out of their Whistler lifestyle for 15 years now, and it's still what motivates us."

Andrea Bologna of Village Centre Chiro was a close second, while Pat Shuen at Whistler Chiropractic was third.

Best Dental Services

Located in Franz's Trail, Creekside Dental was number one as they were last year. The company offers a full range of cosmetic and general dental services.  Whistler Dental was second in this category and Aarm Dental Group came third.

Best Dentist

 Dr. Phil Gaudin  at Creekside Dental is Whistler's favourite dentist for 2012. "Dr. Dreamy, himself," someone wrote about the good dentist, has owned Creekside Dental since 2007. Last year's winner, Dr. James McKenzie at Whistler Dental, came a close second, and Dr. David Perizzolo at Aarm Dental Group rounded out the top three.

Best Massage Therapist

Getting to patients' cores and working out the knotty and stress-related muscle problems or aiding nerve and joint function with magic hands makes a lot of friends at this resort.  Magdalena Regdos  at Peak Performance takes the honours for Best Massage Therapist for the third year running, with her holistic approach to healing and rehabilitation.

"It's pretty awesome. It's nice to know there is that much support out there," Regdos says. She added that there are new plans for 2013 that she hopes supporters will like, including Awesome Arts Academy classes, with a new healing division.

Lesley Byford at Peak Performance came second, as she did in 2011, and Kathryn Lord at Peak Performance took third place.

Best Physiotherapist

Whistler probably has the most physiotherapists per capita of anywhere in the world, and deservedly so. Not only do we bang ourselves up on a regular basis, we're also motivated to get better quickly so we can get back to battling dirt, rocks, snow, ice, trees and our physical limitations.

 Alison McLean  at Peak Performance kept her winning streak alive, going back to the 2002 edition of Best of Whistler — she truly goes to 11.

Mike Connolly at Back in Action was second in the voting this year, with Bianca Matheson, also from Back In action, running a close third.

Best Health Trend

Just as Cat Smiley won for best coach,  The Original Boot Camp  won for Best Health Trend this year. While there is no shortage of intense workout programs out there to pick between, Smiley's Boot Camps were the first of their kind in Whistler and continue to do draw people looking to whip themselves into shape. In fact, with a growing list of events like the Tough Mudder, North Face Whistler Half Marathon, Whistler GranFondo, Ironman Canada, etc., there are more reasons than ever to get fit.

Second on the list was yoga, which has held the top spot every year and is still the go-to health fix for huge numbers of locals looking to get stronger and more flexible, as well as all the other health benefits. Third went to CrossFit Whistler, which trains some of Whistler's toughest athletes like Death Race racer Don Schwartz and big mountain freeskier Sonja Lercher.

Best Fitness Facility

 The Meadow Park Sports Centre  is still the best place to work out in town with a pool, cardio room, weight room, fitness room, squash courts, an ice rink and more. There's nothing else in Whistler that can offer anything remotely close, although there are still some pretty good options if you live in the south end of town or are looking for a specific kind of workout.

Cat Smiley got a lot of votes this year in various categories, and her studio ranked second in this category this year. The Core fitness centre in the village, which has the resort's only climbing wall, was a close third and just one vote ahead of CrossFit Whistler.

Favourite Personal Trainer

Boot Camp drill instructor  Cat Smiley  was back at the top of the list this year after a few years as a runner-up, proving that having the proper motivation makes all the difference in the world in getting fit and fitter. Jordan Glasser at CrossFit Whistler was second for votes, while John Blok at The Core was a solid third.

Best Esthetician

Maintaining and improving healthy skin is important to both men and women in this high-paced and stressful world. Doing it in the relaxing surroundings of a Whistler spa is the work of the resort's estheticians.

 Stacey Gaff , the founder of Whistler Day Spa, is our Best Esthetician for 2012. Emily Matthews at the Laser Centre came second and Lindy Scott at Farfalla Hair & Esthetics was third.

Best Hair Salon

 The Loft on Main Street  took the honours this year as the best place for making hair look and feel beautiful.  Their stylists, estheticians and technicians will also happily tend to nails, lashes and skin. Farfalla Hair & Esthetics came second this year, while Elevation Hair Salon was third.

Best Hair Stylist

In a place where "helmet hair" could be a treacherous outcome of a day on the mountains, thank heavens there are dedicated hair geniuses to make it all better. Independent hair stylist  Amanda Glasser-Steel  who can be found at JoNo Hair is the styling expert who makes the top cut in 2012.

Sarah Williamson at Love is in The Hair retained her second place position from 2011, while Nina Duval at Elevation Hair Salon was third.