The enchanting fragrances of fall are some of the year’s most intoxicating. When the weather chills and everything is pumpkin, caramel, sweet cream, cinnamon and apple, there are only two things I want to do: bake and spa. And since spa-ing doesn’t add any inches on the hips, I decided to go on a Pinterest recipe strike (perhaps until spring) and hit my longtime favorite spa—Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Palace—for an afternoon of treatments, sans cell phone. Pumpkin deliciousness without the calories? Pure heaven. The top-rated spa was also recently voted 28th in the top 100 U.S. Resort Spas reader’s poll by “Conde Nast Traveler,” and all those sophisticated jetsetters can’t be wrong, right?
My holy grail of Las Vegas spa-ing just happened to launch a seasonal menu complete with scented experiences that sounded so yummy, I was tempted to try one of everything. The five limited-time only new gems include the 50-minute Honey-Cinnamon Vichy with a honey scrub, Vichy shower and scalp massage; 80-minute Caramel Latte Body Smoother with a whipped caramel body polish and lotion plus massage; and the 80-minute Cinnamon Splendor couples treatment with sea salt exfoliation, massage and body oil application.
Desperately in need of a massage, I was pumped to immerse myself the 80-minute Buttered Rum Warm Up. My therapist explained that the oil and scrub smell different to everyone, with notes ranging from cotton candy to Red Hots. (I got a tasty cookie dough and cinnamon coffee cake scent out of it.) With all products by the whimsical bath line Farmhouse Fresh, the treatment began with a full body application of the Red Hot Sparkling Oil and a Swedish massage that hurt so good. Made with golden brown sugar, aged rum and scented with butterscotch, my therapist scrubbed down my hands and feet with the Butter Rum Brown Sugar scrub before wrapping them in hot towels. (It had been a while since my last spa day indulgence, and hot towels were life changing in the moment.) My full body massage transitioned into a scalp massage, and then the hydrating vitamin and fruit-packed sparkling oil was reapplied. It was so strong that I got compliments on my “perfume” the rest of the day. Score!
My face was a little dehydrated from summer fun, so I opted for the enzyme-packed, 50-minute Great Pumpkin Facial with active ingredients to revitalize and nourish skin. Farmhouse Fresh’s Shea Sugar Polish was used to scrub off dead skin cells while its Agave Nectar Oil quickly soaked in to my skin for extreme hydration. After extractions, I knew what was next: a mask that would inevitably burn (ok, tingle) on my sensitive skin, but I didn’t care because that meant it was getting to work. Beauty is pain, right? This facial’s key is the Nutrient Mud Mask with Pumpkin Puree. It combines a clay ingredient with yogurt cultures to both draw out impurities and soothe any skin type, cleansing pores for a dewy complexion. (My fave facial add-on service? Emergin-C Revital-Eyes pads that brighten under eye circles while hydrating. I really noticed a difference.)
Qua’s many amenities can easily extend your spa day several hours, but I’d recommend using them before any treatments. Case in point? I was oiled up in Red Hots and my face had some miracle cream on it—there was no way I was ruining that. But prior to getting slathered in pumpkin puree and rum scrub, I took full advantage of the spa’s posh amenities that are fit for royalty: Three “Roman baths” set at different temperatures, a cedar wood dry sauna, herbal steam room, large bubbling Jacuzzi, fitness center, and full vanity and shower area. And I wasn’t going out that night, but if I was hitting the town, I’d visit the spa’s specialty room dedicated to Swarovski crystal body art applications. What spa is complete without that? This is Vegas, after all, and bling is necessary even on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Aside from my favorite tea sommelier who whipped up a custom herbal blend that, for me, involved jasmine and green tea, the spa’s coolest feature, literally, is the Arctic Ice Room. Designed to be the last stop so as to close one’s pores and seal in products on the skin, the 55-degree room is a blue and silver-colored cocoon that automatically begins “snowing” when you enter. I enjoyed a 10-minute snow session before heading out and was relieved to learn that it’s not cold, but rather another relaxation haven with a concept I can’t get anywhere else on the Strip.
As we officially enter the season of splurging, prepare yourself with a little “me time” like I did, as Qua is offering each of the seasonal treatments at 20 percent off Monday through Thursday, excluding holidays.
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