Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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Paradise, Nevada Move over, Cal-a-Vie. The Las Vegas Strip has become one of the world's most luxurious destination spas. BY DAVID LANDSEL I n the hushed refuge of a little parlor lined with dark latticework and ornate paintings, visitors are greeted with a prayerful bow, and street shoes are whisked away on a tray. You might pad into a private suite, where a Vivienne Tam cheongsam– clad therapist will massage diamond dust – infused mud into your weary body using magnetic tools, or you might take part in a rhythmic, interactive Thai massage or be worked over among warm jade stones. Or you might just decide that your body is calling for something else, because what you have booked is the most luxurious thing imaginable: time. Eight f loors above the (mostly) organized chaos of the Las Vegas Strip, in Mandarin Oriental, one of the most meditative of all spa experiences plucks you straight out of reality and into Shanghai in the 1930s for a completely custom treatment created à la minute. An elevator ride away from the high-stakes action at Encore Las Vegas, spa guests are led through a guided meditation, taking in the healing powers of mindful deep breathing. At first glance, mindfulness and Las Vegas may not seem to go hand in hand, but the Bodhi Massage and Visualization—offered in the opulent, pan-Eastern surroundings of Encore's 61,000-square-foot spa—is just one more of the many indulgent treatments attracting visitors who are regarding the Strip exclusively as an enormous, and enormously diverse, spa destination. Spa-going today is a far cry not only from the 1970s, when rubdowns were offered to weary card players, but from more recent years as well, when spas were something of an afterthought for keeping bored ladies occupied while the men were where they should be—at the tables. "There's so much more diversity and innovation," says Mia Kyricos, chief brand officer of SpaFinder Wellness, who obsessively tracks spa trends in Vegas and around the world. "Las Vegas is way beyond the usual massage." Spas are big business here. The city is home to some of the world's largest and most luxurious facilities— several of them more than 100,000 square feet. There are now nearly 50 destination spas in the city HAVE IT ALL DELIVERED If true luxury is never having to leave your suite, spa treatments are just one of the many things that Vegas will bring to your front door. Most Strip spas offer in-room massage, but resorts like Encore really go the distance, delivering a 90-minute Nalu Lomi Lomi body treatment for $355. At Bellagio, a 120-minute traditional massage can be had for $380 ($390 on weekends), but they'll deliver it elsewhere as well—for instance, a poolside cabana (80 minutes for $240). Even properties less synonymous with luxury are in on the act. The spa Glow at Tropicana, for instance, will happily deliver any massage on its menu—although for double the price. VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 91 090-093_V_FEAT_Spa2_Winter14.indd 91 1/14/14 11:13 AM