Mile-high ceilings and lavish azure décor—mimicking an underwater world—welcome you to Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Palace. After slipping on your robe, stroll around the corner to the sizeable relaxation lounge. If you’re thirsty, head to the Tea Room, where an herbal sommelier will find the perfect concoction to ease you into a mellow mood before your treatment. Signature experiences like the Hawaiian Lomi Lomi ($225) and Chakra Balancing ($275)—with aromatherapy oil dripped onto the third eye (that’s “forehead” to you) and energetic stones arranged on your back—may seem a bit far-fetched but are actually über-relaxing. “Social spa-ing” is also a priority here and shared amenities truly deliver: Three Roman baths (separate pools ranging in temperature from 76° to 104°) sit poised atop polished stone steps and surrounded by opalescent walls, just waiting for a group to soak and chit-chat. But our personal favorite was the amazing Arctic Ice Room (best used as cooling relief after a sauna and/or a Laconium steam), where a water and moisturizer mix, posing as snow, falls upon heated seats and floors—a truly refreshing winter wonderland. It’s hard to believe people come to Las Vegas to relax, but keeping with the resort’s philosophy, the QUA Baths and Spa offers a plush and transcendent experience. Roman baths are the focal point (they call it “social spa-ing”), but Vichy showers, chakra balancing, couples rituals, and the Arctic Ice Room where snowflakes fall from the ceiling, are what set the spa apart.

The Spa Experience

The baths were both a social event and personal refuge for ancient Romans, and everything about QUA Baths and Spa works to recreate this experience. High ceilings, dimmed lighting, calming waterfalls and natural wood accents promote a sense of tranquility that continues into each area of the facility. The spa’s water features are its main attractions, and colorful lighting surrounding the raised Roman bath pools add to the luxury, as does the heated robe waiting for you when you’re finished.

Treatments are everything from practical to sensual, and water’s healing properties are worked into many of the spa’s services, which use water jets, waterfalls, and Vichy showers to restore and rejuvenate. The best part – the facility features an incredible fifty-one treatment rooms, including thirty-five massage suites, seven facial rooms, a Men's Zone plus Barber Spa, two hydrotherapy tubs, and his and hers tea lounges, so you’ll never get wound up waiting to unwind.

Pampering Treatments

Water is the essence of everything at QUA Baths & Spa, and the high point of the experience is a trip to the Roman baths, where three pools of varying temperatures guide you through the process of this ancient ritual. Private healing baths are also available, as are an intriguing list of detoxifying wraps, mud masks and even body art. Undecided about which treatment was best suited for me, my therapist asked several questions before determining that a traditional Hawaiian lomi lomi massage would ease my tense neck and shoulders. She massaged my cares away with heated pineapple and coconut oils, draping me with hot towels and heated neck and eye pillows that evicted every sore spot from my body.

Feeling physically fantastic, it was time to balance my mind and spirit courtesy of the spa’s raindrop therapy. As my therapist gently anointed my skin with nine essential oils, she explained that the technique uses aromatherapy to promote stress relief and help the body’s inner energies connect.

Indulgences and Added Amenities

In Vegas, every conceivable indulgence is a phone call (or less) away. While I felt incredible head-to-toe, I realized I needed to look the part, too. So I headed to the fitness center’s 5,500 square feet of cardio and weight machines to put in some time on the elliptical trainer. I finished the day with the spa’s ten-second tan, a quick and safe way to get a healthy glow. It was a service I needed, since I had plans that night to find out if the dance floor in Cleopatra’s Barge, one of the resort’s six spots for nightlife, really floats.