LAS VEGAS | ATTRACTIONS
Fake snow gives Caesars' Las Vegas spa a chilling effect
Some people come to Las Vegas to enjoy the clear skies and warm weather. But at a new spa that opened at Caesars Palace there is a treatment room where it snows all year long.
Welcome to Qua's Arctic Ice Room, where "snow" gently descends from a domed ceiling through mint-infused air chilled to 55 degrees.
The Romans enjoyed cooling down after a hot soak, and spa operators say such rapid cooling of the body has proven health benefits.
Or it may just give you goose bumps.
"Even coming from somewhere that had a horrible winter, it was still very enjoyable," said Angela Wagner, a 35-year-old physician from northern Indiana. "I had been in the heat wrap and the sauna and the whirlpools. So after being in the warmer treatments, it just felt really good."
And the snow? Like so much of Las Vegas, it's fake.
It's made from 98% water and 2% chemical solution. The concoction, similar to that used in movie sets, isn't at all cold. It dissolves within a couple of minutes after being churned out by a machine manufactured by an Anderson, Ala.-based company called SnowMasters.
The blue pebble and mosaic tile-encrusted cold room at Qua Baths and Spa is just the latest feature in a booming Las Vegas spa industry. While casinos don't offer up their results, nationwide spa revenue has been growing by about 18% a year since 2003 and totaled nearly $10 billion two years ago, according to the latest numbers from the International Spa Assn.
When it opened in November, Qua doubled the size of Caesars' previous spa to 50,000 square feet, and other spas, such as Spa Bellagio at the Bellagio hotel-casino and Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Venetian have or are expanding.
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