First of all, I decided to have a massage on my last day of a hectic business trip because hubby raved about the best 25-minute massage he had ever had here at The Spa at ARIA. Unfortunately, the masseuse he had was not working the day I went in and mine, although professional enough, did not listen to my requests (a common theme at this resort) to focus on my back and shoulders and to increase the pressure. This just left me more frustrated and knotted up than beforehand. Getting to the spa is a bit confusing; the lack of signs is also a common theme at this resort. Stepping out of the "spa" elevator, you find yourself in a relatively dark hall, with the women's side on the left and the men's on the right. The doors have no handle; you wave your hand in front of a sensor -- that is, if you can read the tiny little instructions in the dark. Once inside the spa itself, I also spent time walking around in circles looking for certain areas. The funny thing is the large green, un-spa-like exit signs are everywhere, but you have to figure out where everything is on your own. There is a relaxation room in the women's side (I'm not sure about the men's side), but you have to go out and into the co-ed waiting room to get picked up for your service. This waiting room was filled with uncomfortable square couches which did not allow for any relaxing position whatsoever. It was also open to traffic on three sides, so you could see and hear people walking around and talking or pushing carts of towels around. Very non-relaxing. The women-only relaxation room was also the same room that you walk into from the elevator, and the noise and conversation of people checking in or out did not belong here. Two special rooms, the salt room and the one with the heated stone beds, are accessed just outside of the co-ed waiting room. Again, signs are practically non-existent. These rooms were unique, and I would have enjoyed them more if each bed or recliner were more private. The co-ed pool had a partially nice view of some distant mountains framed by buildings and a large neon sign of the Elvis show. It is basically an extra-large, rectangular jacuzzi; supposedly 33 persons max can fit in it, but just 4 of us was making me wanting more space already. The standard spa facilities included a nice steam room, sauna, cold plunge pool and jacuzzis for women- and men-only, and fruit, water and tea. The robes were all OSFM (one size fits most) but much too large for me. When I asked where the swimsuit dryer was, the first attendant didn't know, and another one said it hadn't been hooked up yet. In the shower, the hot and cold are reversed. Another design flaw of this spa is the toilet area is separated by a door to the rest of the spa facilities, but there are no sinks to wash your hands in before touching this communal door. Hubby confirmed this was the same in the men's side. Something was broken the day I was there, and the women's section smelled awful. I have no desire to return to this particular spa, except to try a massage from the therapist who worked on my husband (one extra star for her). ARIA's spa simply did not have an appropriate design or zen-like atmosphere.
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negative