Thermëa by Nordik Spa-Nature

I worked in this position for over a year, and I have to say, the experience was incredibly disappointing. The main issues stem from poor management, inadequate resources, and a complete lack of support from upper management.

Lack of Resources: Despite constant requests, the necessary tools and budget to maintain the facility properly were always lacking. It was a daily struggle to keep up with repairs and maintenance because we were constantly told there were no funds available. This made it impossible to do the job effectively.

Unrealistic Expectations: The workload is overwhelming, and you're expected to manage multiple sites with minimal staff. Upper management doesn't seem to understand the amount of time and effort it takes to run even a single facility, let alone several. The unrealistic deadlines add to the stress, and when things inevitably go wrong, the blame falls on you, even if it's due to lack of support.

Poor Communication: Communication between departments is almost non-existent. You're often the last to know about important changes, such as budget cuts or new projects, which makes it nearly impossible to plan ahead. This leads to constant last-minute scrambles to meet unrealistic goals.

No Support: There is little to no support from upper management. They expect everything to run smoothly but provide no guidance or help when issues arise. You're essentially left to figure out complex problems on your own with no direction, which creates unnecessary stress and chaos.

Low Morale: Due to these issues, the morale of the facilities team is extremely low. High turnover rates and constant frustration make it difficult to maintain a positive working environment. It feels like no one cares about the people doing the work.

Overall, this was an incredibly frustrating experience. If you're considering a Facilities Manager position here, be prepared to deal with a dysfunctional environment, lack of resources, and little to no support. There is no overtime pay, and long hours are always on call.

Not recommended.

The work itself can be engaging,  but you quickly find out that the management culture is deeply problematic. 

Management and HR frequently engage in dishonest practices, including fabricating reasons for disciplinary actions and, in some cases, wrongful terminations. The management team including HR is constantly gossiping with each other as well as your own co workers and speak down to their employees. Professionalism is severely lacking, and inappropriate behavior is the norm. 

There is a glaring lack of compassion from management when it comes to employees' personal lives. Even in the most difficult circumstances, such as bereavements , there is little to no support or understanding. 

Unfortunately, employee health and well-being are not adequately prioritized as well. One of the most challenging experiences involved being assigned to work in Kalla for an hour at a time, managing guest entry while wearing thick polyester uniforms and holding an iPad and scanner. Employees were given the option to either stand at the bottom of a dimly lit stairwell alone, at the entrance door of a  a steaming underground pool, or inside Kalla itself. No seating was permitted during this, and employees were also required to squeegee near the pool, further adding to the physical strain of the task.

Furthermore, when conflicts arise with guests, management consistently sides with guests, even when employees are subjected to verbal abuse. This lack of support leaves employees feeling unprotected and undervalued.

Despite the luxurious appearance of the job, the internal culture is toxic. Unless you are certain you can become one of management’s favorites, I would strongly advise staying away from this workplace.



Nordik is a lovely place to work in that it is peaceful and scenic from the natural location, however my experience as an employee of the spa has been somewhat hindered. As a massage therapist you are hired as a private contractor and paid per treatment that you provide. This is usual of many spas and massage therapy clinics, however, Nordik differs in that it calculates your rate of pay based on your expertise (experience, education etc.) as well as your availability (treatments provided per week). This is what causes some frustration for therapists who work in other locations (as many do) or simply can not pick up enough hours due to the superiority nature of the schedule. In short, your pay per treatment could vary an entire $25 depending on how many hours of massage you are able to provide, regardless of skill or experience in the work field. It is this aspect alone that makes my experience at Nordik somewhat underwhelming. I do not think this wage is competitive among what is being offered in spas and clinics around the Gatineau area and am in awe by this in knowing how much is charged per massage.

While the spa would love for everyone to believe they're all about wellness, they genuinely do not care about the wellness of their employees. If you take a mental health day, you're severely penalised, scolded like a child, the works. HR will not back you. Management can decide to dislike you for absolutely nothing to do with your work ethic or work performance. The job itself is not terribly strenuous, the customers are generally pleasant, and co-workers and supervisors are also generally pleasant. Management is severely twisted, though. I wouldn't even bother for the extra holiday pay.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Learnt resilience & made  new friends 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Badly Under staffed & fail to listen to understand but thry only listen to react to any given situation.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very stressful & Toxic.0 respect for their employees & their hardwork 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Hustle with no breaks if you register 600 people to visit the spa in a day with handful of employees in the kitchen specially where  you are clearly  expecting people to run a one man show how is it even fair & how does that even work?Can someone please explain it to me?

This place seemed really good at the start, the pay was competetive, hours were ok, management was on board and happy to help and seemed to care about the employees. This all changed VERY quickly, management within the food and beverage department has become EXTREMELY toxic. There is constant gossip, managers talkaing to employees about other employees behind their backs. They like to give special treatment to certain employees over others. There is no work life balance as the schedules are given 1 week at a time and 1-2 days before the work week starts, and if an issue it brought up about the schedule you are talked down to and made to feel as if management is not there to support you.

The management in the food and beverage department here is not very professional. There is lots of favouritism in the scheduling and how they treat employees. If you aren’t a favourite then you get no shifts and have managers in your back all the time. They hired too many staff and are cutting back all the time. They don’t give any notice for firing people and are so quick to get rid of people. There’s lots of drama and talking about drama with the other staff. All the staff notice the drama and like to talk and complain. Not a very positive place to work everyday. 

I worked with great people in my time at Thermea, and it's a decent workplace overall. However this 'French' owned company is very hard to work for. They are cheap and they don't pay the employees well, the owner only truly cares about money, employees are worth very little. Expect to be frustrated often to move faster, work harder, do more, all for $12-13/hour. This trickles downwards across the entire company. Even management makes very little, and are expected to tackle anything and everything. Its all quite sad.

I have learned that I am a lot stronger mentally and physically than I once thought. My boss was the best, you could to him/her whenever you needed to talk. Most of my co-workers were easy to get along with and positive.
The hardest part of the job was working graveyard, you had to give up your day for it.
The most enjoyable part of the job was coming into contact with other people .

Worked there for over a year. They expect so much, and pay so little. If you frown for even a moment, they write it down and confront you with it at a later time. They don’t tip out fairly, in fact, they might not tip you out at all if they don’t like you. Most miserable place I’ve ever worked. Don’t bother. You will work so hard for zero reward. Constantly understaffed for the conditions.

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