Nearly 30 Visitors To Whitby's New Spa Are Suing After An Outbreak & It Was 'Horrific'

Some visitors to a brand new spa near Toronto did not experience the "wellness" benefits they were expecting. In fact, many guests experienced quite the opposite.

The Thermëa Spa Village in Whitby, Ontario, is now facing a lawsuit after pseudomonas and staphylococcus (or staph) bacteria was discovered in the saltwater pool, Källa, on October 14, 2022.

The pool was shut down by the Durham Region Health Department when it failed a safety inspection, and the spa closed all of its pools as an extra safety precaution.

Some guests who visited the spa before the pool's closure became ill, and the symptoms experienced have led nearly 30 people to file a lawsuit against the spa.

Justin Linden is a lawyer representing this group, and he gave Narcity some insight into the proceedings.

"We've been instructed by now 28 people to advance a lawsuit against the spa to recover damages arising from personal injuries they have all sustained as a result of attending at the spa," Linden said. "The damages range from fairly horrific skin conditions that have arisen, hearing loss, ear infections, and illness."

"[The spa's] number one responsibility was to make sure that it was safe and healthy that people didn't get sick, and what happened in this case is the complete opposite. Many, many people paid for a health experience and instead got gravely ill. And that's a real problem."

A spokesperson for the Thermëa Spa Village told Narcity that health and safety "remains our top priority" and that the spa is "fully committed to supporting those who have been negatively impacted by their visit."

An audit is currently underway to investigate factors that led to the pool's contamination, and the spa noted that "impacted guests can anticipate further, direct communication next week regarding how we intend to support them."

Spa guest Maggie Keefer and her two daughters became ill following their spa visit on October 10, with one daughter ending up in urgent care. As of October 20, Keefer was offered a refund for only the Källa pool.

"The right thing to do would be to give everyone who attended his spa a full refund, instead of the measly $58 dollar to get us off his back. We paid for a wellness experience and that is not what we got," she told Narcity in an email.

"Hopefully all these people get better," Linden said. "But so far, they're still suffering and we continue to get calls constantly from more and more people coming forward, which is really concerning in and of itself."

While the spa is still open, all nine pools will remain closed until the audit is complete.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.