Day Williams Al-Mohamed » hotel

Qua Baths and Spa at Caesar’s Palace (Pre-Wedding Relaxation)

Day — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 03:03:00 +0000

A little piece of heaven; THAT is what Qua baths are. To be frank, I’ve never been to a spa before so did not know what to expect. I was pleasantly suprised by the luxury of the Qua Baths and Spa. When I was in elementary school we learned all about the Roman baths, the Tepidarium with its body-temperature water, the Calderium – the steaming hot bath, and the Frigidarium, with its icy cold refreshing waters. As an ardent lover of all things “history” I never forgot that portion of my childhood schooling, but I never expected to actually be able to experience it.

The website described Qua as: Bathed in natural light, accented by smooth stone flooring, dark woods and cascading waterfalls, Qua is the ideal atmosphere for “Social Spa-ing” allowing with family and friends to mingle as they unwind and relax. Our Signature Roman Rituals are at the heart of the Qua experience, bringing the traditions of the glorious baths of ancient Rome to modern times. Our Roman Baths consist of three distinct pools varying in both temperature and size.

The baths consist of three distinct pools, varying in temperature and size. Your experience begins in the largest of the pools, the Tepidarium, with warm mineral-enriched waters to help restore natural elements of your body’s skin. You can then alternate between two smaller pools, the Caldarium and the Frigidarium. The hot waters of the Caldarium ease daily tension and soothe tired muscles, while a quick plunge into the cold waters of the Frigidarium invigorates your body.

The website was absolutely true and my hat is off to the Maid/Matron of Honor for coming up with this idea as a way for the bride and all of her female friends and family to relax before the afternoon wedding, kind of like a water-borne bridal shower. There were almost a dozen of us who spent three wonderful hours together relaxing and indulging in girl-talk.

There is so much more to the spa including a sauna (which I wasn’t too excited about), a Laconium (think warm steamy wet sauna with waterfall and scented with herbs and lavender), and the coolest thing ever…an arctic room. It was 55 degrees with heated benches and floor, and inside, it SNOWS. And of course the “Tea Room” in between where you can sit back and have their “tea sommelier” serve you one of a variety of soothing teas. Considering all of this was under $50, I would call this perhaps the best deal (and potentitally experience) in Las Vegas.

We loved it so much we almost missed the wedding! No joke, by the time we got out and dressed, we made it into the chapel less than 5 minutes before the bride entered.

Eleven Hotels and Casinos in One Day

Day — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:31:09 +0000

My feet hurt far too much to go into too much detail. We actually did visit all 11 hotels/casinos in a few hours. Ouch! In no particular order:
Luxor
Mandalay Bay
Excalibur
New York, New York – with its fabulous roller-coaster
MGM Grand – we DID see the lions
Circus Circus – where the bride and groom proceeded to win a BAG of prizes at the midway. And Renee HAD to go there because it was in a James Bond film
The Mirage – with its indoor garden
Caesar’s Palace – where we managed to get lost and couldn’t find an exit
Harrah’s
Casino Royale – which is NOT in a James Bond film but had tiny $1 margaritas (I believe were virgin)
The Venetian

I LOVE the Venetian, thus multiple pictures there. I’m particularly proud of the photo below. Friends have photos of me laying on the ground in the grand hall of the hotel trying to take a photo. I believe it was worth it. What do you think?

The Grand Hall of the Venetian (taken from the floor)

The Luxor Hotel – Las Vegas

Day — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:25:18 +0000

It is HOT here! Renee was outside for less than 3 seconds before declaring that she would not be setting foot outside during the entire trip, particularly as her family is distantly related to polar bears and as such were not partial to temperatures over 100 degrees. Of course, there’s plenty to see inside too!

We’re staying at the Luxor. It looks like a giant 30 storey black pyramid with giant sphinx out front, it’s supposedly one of the city’s first fully-themed mega-resorts. It’s right between Mandalay Bay (where the wedding will be) and Excalibur (where some other members of our group are staying). AND it is all connected by tunnels and walkways and a tram. (Renee is much relieved).

Karen, the bell hop was telling us about how MGM had bought out the Luxor and it was now in the midst of renovations to make it a little less “egypty” and attract a “younger clientelle.” I thought that kind of sad. The old egypt-themed restaurants, the Isis and the Sacred Sea Room are gone. In their place…CatHouse.

As you may know, I love ghost stories about various places we visit. Previously, the Luxor had a Nile River Tour with a boat and a winding river inside the pyramid. It was removed as a part of the renovation but one of the rumors is that it was removed because guests kept seeing ghosts of the three workers killed during the Luxor’s construction whenever the river passed through dark tunnels. Cool, eh? Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately) no ghosts were seen by us.

But some of the original design is still very prevalent so I’m glad we were able to go and experience it before things change too much more.

Obelisk and Sphinx inside the Luxor pyramid