The reception room at the ESPA at Vdara bodes well for relaxation. Glass-topped steel tables holds a zen garden, a Buddha board, and an oblong bowl with smooth black river rocks hand painted with the words “Health,” “Happy,” “Relax,” and “Peace.” Two armless white leather chairs are pushed against curtained walls, each with a fetching aqua-colored pillow. “In the Name of Women” by Grace Bonney on one end table between taupe chairs. The nature-inspired artwork is visually quite interesting, worthy of closer inspection. Overall, a peaceful room for those looking for a spot of peace.
A Hidden Treasure
The ESPA at Vdara Hotel is tucked away behind the Cosmopolitan, between the Aria and Bellagio. If you aren’t staying at Vdara, it takes a little effort to find. It’s also small by Las Vegas strip standards, even at 16,000 square feet. (Compare that to Qua’s enormous 60,000 square foot facility!) Size doesn’t equal luxury, though: the facility recently won a Forbes Travel Guide Five Star Rating for the third year in a row.
Spa Day Pass
Like at most Las Vegas hotel spas, you can purchase a day pass to ESPA without booking a treatment, even if you aren’t a hotel guest. So even though the treatment menu was tempting, I was going for a straight wet spa experience. How does ESPA compare to other spas? Here’s the overview of the locker room, wet spa area, dressing room, and drinks and snacks.
Locker Room
The spa attendant showed me to the locker room. Like at other spas, I was assigned a lockable space with a roomy white robe, black slide-on slippers and a towel. They ask that this be a place for digital detox, so I left my smartphone in the locker. Like other single-gender wet spas, bathing suits are not required.
Mind the digital detox!
Wet Spa
The wet room is compact and lovely. The doors to the sauna and steam line one wall. The wall with the entry door also has cubbies stocked with fresh towels, a towel drop, and a fridge filled with small cans of cranberry, pineapple, tomato, and apple juices. Opposite are cupboards, an ice maker, a water dispenser, and small bottles of water. The fourth wall is especially appealing. A round curtain of water sets off the U-shaped jacuzzi. White oblong tile shelves are on each side of the tub, each holding a lit candle and various combinations of succulents in either stainless tube-like narrow vases or on driftwood. It’s really pretty.
The jacuzzi wasn’t too hot; it felt like it was about 95 degrees. That was the perfect temperature after coming from the very hot sauna and steam rooms. It’s also a temperature that allows you to stay in longer and enjoy the very strong jets. They are STRONG strong, and positioned in a way to give tight back muscles a decent hydrotherapy massage. It’s loud in the jacuzzi room because of the jets, the waterfall, and the fountain. Two comfortable stone lounges flank the tub, and are a comfortable place to rest and recover from the heat.
The jacuzzi at the ESPA at Vdara is small but with powerful jets for an amazing hydro massage.
The dressing room
The dressing area at ESPA is relatively large. They provide all the amenities: toothbrushes, razors, lotions, contact lens solution, and even hair ties upon request. There’s plentiful reading material if meditating isn’t your thing: Wall Street Journal and USA today, Magazines: C, American Spa, Time, Pulse, Where: Las Vegas, and Modern Luxury: Vegas are all in the magazine rack.
The dressing room at ESPA is as understated and lovely as the rest of the facility and loaded with amenities.
Snacks and drinks
A long counter offers a cold berry-infused water dispenser, which was absolutely delicious and refreshing. I’ve got to start making water like this at home. There’s an electric kettle with tea bags: white ambrosia, moroccan mint, green passion, all organic. Salty snacks are pretzels, cheese crisps, and snack mix. There was also a bowl of red and green apples.
You don’t go to a spa for the snacks, but it’s nice to know you have something salty to munch on.
ESPA at Vdara in Las Vegas is a lovely spot with the trio of basic wet spa features: sauna, steam room, and jacuzzi. It’s an inviting and relaxing place to spend an afternoon, and it definitely stands up to its description as being a luxury spa. Because there are no extras like salt rooms, ice rooms, or co-ed spaces, it’s probably not my first choice to purchase for a stand-alone spa day. Book a treatment to enjoy this space, or go knowing it’s worth the price just for those excellent jacuzzi jets.
