Linq Spa

The Linq Spa is rather forgettable.  It has a small hot tub and steam room, but no dry sauna.  There is an unheated salt room and relaxation room.  I visited for free and didn't bother to inquire about day pass prices.                                                                             

Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas

I finally bit the $80 bullet and visited the spa at the Las Vegas Mandarin Oriental.  In hindsight, I can't say that it was worth the price of admission.  The $80 day pass rate is the highest that I am aware of in Las Vegas
The Mandarin Oriental is a maze of sorts.  The spa is located on the 8th floor.  From the ground floor entrance (the official hotel lobby is on the 23rd? floor) I too an elevator to the hotel lobby and then had to take another back down to the 8th floor.  In the spa reception area I was greeted and asked to make myself comfortable while my spa portfolio was prepared.  While waiting I was asked to complete the health specific forms even though I was not having a treatment.  A hostess then presented my with a small cup of peppermint tea and a  small warm towel with which I was to cleanse my face and hands.  After that came the shoe exchange ceremony where I surrendered my shoes and was presented with a pair of sandals.  Then a host came to escort me to the men's spa where he provided and extensive tour.  I basically just nodded yes to everything because his heavy Eastern European accent was quite difficult to understand.
The amenities included:
Vitality pool.  As you can see in the above photo, the vitality pool (as well as the heated stone loungers and the relaxation beds) fronted floor to ceiling windows which allowed views of the Las Vegas Strip as well as the mountains to the East. What is not evident from the picture is the fact that the vitality pool has 4 submerged stainless steel lounge chairs.  This simply means that you can only recline in the water as no other seating options are available.
Three heated stone loungers are located in a separate room. These loungers are similar to those found in the Encore and Qua spas.
Four daybed-like sofas are located in another room.  This room is where a few newspapers and magazines are available.
Two Experiential Showers.  These spacious showers offer a standard shower as well as options for a cascade of water, stimulating jets of water from two sides, tropical mists, thunderstorms etc.  The touch pad controls for these options were much easier to navigate than those found at the Encore Spa.
Laconium with room for one person to recline and perhaps three people to sit. A hand held shower wand is available in this room.  Cold water only....which makes sense.
Dry sauna.
Steam Room also with the hand held cold water shower wand.

The shower/vanity area seemed nicely equipped.  Plenty of .5 litre bottles of cold water are available near the laconium and a few snacks (dried banana, dried pineapple, tea)are available in the hall near the day beds.
When you were finished and dressed an attendant magically appeared to escort you to the gift shop where you could settle your bill (I insisted on paying prior to the intake ceremonies, but that doesn't seem to be the custom,,whoops) and participate in another shoe exchange,

Encore Spa Encore Las Vegas

The Encore was once in my top two Las Vegas Spas. When I started going there one could buy a three day pass for $75.  You didn't have to visit on three consecutive days, so this was great for locals.  Then this option disappeared and the price for a single day pass started to climb.  I can't remember what it was last...either $40 or $45.  Then the hammer fell and locals (or las vegas visitors not staying at Wynn or Encore) were told that they could no longer purchase a day pass.  Of course you can still pay hundreds for a massage and then use the facilities.  I remember when Wynn first opened and the word around town was that he didn't want locals.  I guess that was always true and it just took a while to come into play with day passes for the spa.

 I do miss visiting this spa.  Aesthetically it is over the top beautiful.  It has everything you could want in a spa with the exception of a sink/shaving area inside the steam room.  Plenty of loungers perfect for hours of relaxation.  The large steam room has a shower head inside for cooling while heating up.  The two huge hot tubs are large enough to swim laps in while there are individual recessed areas along one side of each where jets massage your lower back.  Encore has both a cold plunge and a cool plunge.  (The
Wynn spa also has cool and cold plunges...must be a Wynn thing).

Also in the wet area are six showers cut into the wall.  Two of these have glass ledges about 7 feet high where water cascades over the ledge and sort of massages you.
The other 4 are experiential showers with shower heads on three sides and overhead.  YOu can adjust the spray pattern as well as the color of the lighting and the volume of the music.

 There are also two separate relaxation areas.  One near the Men's attendant desk has a gas fireplace and resembles a very masculine library.  The other is off of the locker area with dim lighting and very comfortable chaises.  This area also serves as the waiting area where massage therapists greet you for your service.

Other nice touches in the wet area include the wall of copper pots behind the heated stone loungers.  Water trickles down the various pots and creates a soothing ping ping ping of water drops hitting copper.  you would think that this would be annoying, but you would be wrong.  The skylight in the wet area is also welcome.  At one end of the skylight is a waterfall of crystal.  The sunlight hits the crystals and rainbow colored spots of light dance across the room.

It is too bad that non-property guests are no longer welcome to buy day passes because this really is what I would call a world-class spa.

Main Reception

Mirage Spa

Day pass = $25
I think officially that they only admit hotel guests, but I've been there 6 or so times and no one has ever asked for a room number..
Pros:
Price. 5 lounge chairs. Large hot tub. Free cans of Coke products in addition to the expected water, juices and dried fruit/nut mixture.
Cons:
No shower in the steam room, No cold plunge pool.

I'm sure this was a top of the line spa when the Mirage opened way back when. It has since been surpassed by several other strip spas. It's pleasant enough and the staff is attentive and professional.
Update: Seems that they are now enforcing the hotel guests only policy.  Additionally, the Coke products have not been available for a long time.

Sahra Spa Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

Sahra means desert in several languages.

The entrance to the spa is evocative of a slot canyon. They call the hallway leading to the spa the "space between" . Between the real world and tranquility.

The spa was not very busy. Considering the very reasonable price of $24 for a day pass that was a little surprising even for midweek.

The amenities included the basics of a dry sauna, a steam room and a hot tub with a semi enclosed area where "rain", in varying intensity, falls from the ceiling. There was also a cool mist room designed to cool you down after a session in the sauna or steam. Warm mist would have been a more appropriate title since the mist was too warm to do much in the way of cooling.

Two of my favorites are missing from Sahra. It has neither cold plunge pool nor shower head in the steam room.

There are only 5 loungers in the wet area and they are of a style that isn't very comfortable. You cannot adjust the angle of chairs. In order to lay flat you have to scoot down and let your legs dangle off the end of lounger.

There are two separate sitting areas. One has a TV and the other one has a few chairs. No bottled water is provided although there is water with lemon and cucumber. (YUCK) Coffee is served in china cups and plastic (reusable) glasses are provided for the water/lemon/cucumber concoction. Light snacks such as nuts are provided. Juices are available upon request.

Many of the walls (as well as the entry hallway) are covered in sandstone reflecting the desert environment.

Overall the spa is soothing, just as it should be.

Spa Bellagio

I had been under the assumption that Spa Bellagio admitted only hotel guests. I assumed wrong. Yesterday, on a whim, I called to inquire about their policies. I was told that only on Saturdays you must be a guest of the hotel. The other 6 days of the week your money is as good as that of their hotel guests.

The price of a day pass is $40 which is in line with most of the other strip spas.

Having been to the Spa at Aria several times, my first impression was that I now know where they got the blue prints for the Aria spa. They borrowed them from the Bellagio. The lay-out of the wet area/steam room/dry sauna is nearly identical.

The top picture is of the wet area in the Spa at Aria. The bottom picture is of the wet area in Spa Bellagio

Both have the same set up in regards to tub temperatures. One of the 4 tubs is a cold plunge. The other three are of various temperatures ot hot water. The attendants at Bellagio were quick to convert the temps while giving tours to Europeans. 38 C, 39C and 40 Celcius.

The sauna and steam rooms, again, are laid out the same in both spas. Spacious describes them nicely.

Strangely, the shower inside the steam room supplied only HOT WATER. I brought this to the attention of the attendant and at first he just said, yes only hot water, and that other guests had mentioned it. It took me a while to convince him that I didn't think this was as it should be. He later told me that he had notified maintenance and that they would look into it.

There was a comfortable relaxation area near the front of the spa near the attendant desk.

The wet area, however, contained only two loungers and one upright chair. The supply (or not) of lounge chairs is a subject that confuses me. During very slow periods it isn't an issue. Otherwise, it's like dogs pissing on trees in an effort to mark their territory chairs. Every dip in the hot tub/visit to the steam or sauna leaves you wondering if someone else will be in "your" chair when you get back. I usually leave a section of newspaper on the chair with my reading glasses on top of the paper. I've found that this works fairly well, but it leaves me feeling somewhat guilty that I've hogged a chair....

The Spa Paito is a nice feature. Since the spa isn't on the ground floor I'd call it a Spa Balcony, but whatever. There ARE three lounge chairs located on the Patio so if you are all hot and sweaty when exiting the steam room, feel free to go outside and recline in 101 degree heat. The patio overlooks the pool complex which consists of at least 7 pools. As a smoker, I appreciate that there is an ashtray on the patio. It's the first concession to smokers that I've seen in ANY Las Vegas spa. At any other spa, sneaking a smoke requires that you exit the spa area and search out a place where smoking is allowed. Unless you bother to put your clothes on for the smoke, (and who wants to get dressed and undressed for the sake of a cigarette)you'll get glances as you wander around common areas in your robe. Some glances have a hint of "what is this strange man doing walking around in public in just a robe" and some have a tint of jealousy as they realize your are spending a day at the spa.

Green Valley Ranch Resort Spa Casino

I have been putting off a visit to this spa due to the fact that a day pass was priced at $50. Yesterday, on a whim, I gave them a call only to find that the price is now $40. Not great, but not quite so off-putting. The receipt still shows the price as $50 with a $10 discount so I don't know if the $40 price is a temporary situation or if they simply haven't reprogrammed their system to reflect the $40 price.

Perhaps the first thing you need to know about this spa is that it is in an entirely separate building from the hotel/casino and you can't get there from here. From the casino you must go outside, down a large set of stairs, past the pool and past the salon. Once you are in the spa building you must go down another large set of stairs. Yes, the spa itself is underground.

My initial reaction was that the spa was decorated nicely if not overly large. In fact the steam room and the dry sauna are quite small. There is a sink inside the steam room to facilitate shaving there should you so desire. The hot warm tub is of decent size. It has a few nice features such as the waterfall that materializes out of the wall and the floor to ceiling windows that all natural light into the spa.

Although the spa is subterranian, a sort of window well with an outdoor stone wall/waterfall/pool abuts the wet area.

There are three loungers in the wet area which face a large television mounted on the wall.

There are also two small televisions in the vanity area and two large televisions in the relaxation area.

Personally, I would remove the televisions in the vanity and wet areas. Relaxation/Tranquility and television don't mix well in my world.

Frank, the attendant, was a professional who seemed genuinely concerned that you have a good experience. Don't forget to tip your attendant!

Cons: No cold plunge, no shower inside the steam room, relatively small, price.