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| - After 3 days of traipsing around Montreal, mostly on foot in 100F temperatures, I was dying for a pool, beach, or somewhere else that I could cool off. Being a fan of "the thermal experience" and not being a fan of spending a fortune or getting cruised by creepers, Strom seemed like the perfect solution. Tucked away on Nun's Island, it feels isolated from the hubbub of downtown Montreal without being too far away (it's a 15 minute bus ride from the Lasalle Metro + a 10 minute walk).
I opted for the thermal experience by itself. $44 felt like too much, especially when a bathrobe is $10 extra (really who the hell lugs a bathrobe from home out to the spa?), but I was on vacation so I went for it anyway. Right away my relaxing experience was not that relaxing. As I entered I smiled at the front desk staff and said "Hello, how are you?" In return I received a quizzical look and a "What?" so I repeated myself. She did likewise. "I said: Hello, how are you?" finally got the point across but all I got was "Oh, ok!" in return. After visiting numerous shops, restaurants, and cafes over the previous 3 days, this was the first time I had any trouble communicating with a French Canadian. Is it a small detail? Yes. Are small details important, especially at a spa? YES. After that it was much more straightforward and I took my wristband/keyring down to the change room.
As change rooms go it was pretty small and sparsely furnished. No razors/cream available, no hair product, and no bathing suit spinner (serious oversight -_-). Still, it was clean with plenty of showers and secure lockers. The entire facility was sparkling clean and free of any funk or funny smells which is pretty important for somewhere you're hanging out in bare feet and a swimsuit.
To my dismay, the thermal experience was seriously lacking. They boast 2 hot tubs - one is barely bathwater temperature and the other isn't much warmer. I honestly felt like I could jump straight in with no discomfort. The jets in both were weak. Both saunas were ok - clean, smelled great (one was 'essential oils' the other 'finnish fir'), and working timers! However they were on the small side. When I was there it wasn't crowded, but any more people and it would have been uncomfortable. In a mixed gender sauna it's nice to have some room to spread out; there wasn't much room to do so.
The cold plunge pools were a welcome addition on a hot day, but I'm a bit dumbfounded as to why the have two. Both are very small (not that you would want to spend a ton of time in them). One is warmer than the other (still decently cold) while the colder one has a waterfall.
After taking a few trips through the cycle, I wanted to check out the cafe/bistro. I walked inside and had a look about the menu. It may have been the fact that it was partly in French, but I found the menu scrawled all over the walls a bit hard to decipher. Nothing was truly appealing but after a few minutes standing at the counter watching employees walk around me, I decided to experiment. I stood there for a few more minutes looking over the menu thinking something might catch my eye. Ultimately I didn't want to spend $15 for a salad or sandwich and not a single employee greeted me or asked if they could help so I walked away. I guess because I don't look like a rich old guy my money is not important.
Overall it's not terrible. Everything was clean and well maintained, but as a destination for the thermal experience only? Pass.
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