Las Vegas is a city where you go big or go home, so to speak. The volume of incoming travelers dictates scale for every business on The Strip, and this scale of operations – hotels, casinos, restaurants, shops, clubs or others – requires an astounding level of precision, analysis and care to manage effectively. While a spa in another destination resort may be able to cover a smaller floor area and still adequately service demand, Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV) has 3,506 rooms and suites across three different hotels – Hilton, Conrad and Crockfords – and the Awana Spa must be ready to accommodate any combination of couples, families, conference guests, VIPs, celebrities or other guests on any given day.
Opened in September 2021, one of the key design premises was to create a social wellness experience centered around the coed Fountain of Youth thermal bathing area, while still providing a tailored menu of massages, facials and body treatments in one of the spa’s 19 treatment rooms. This thermal area features six different vitality pools (ranging from 39C to a cold plunge), eucalyptus and lavender infused steam rooms, a laconium with a 1500-pound white quartz crystal, an event sauna, heated tepidarium chairs, cool mist or tropical rain showers, an experiential rain walk, a relaxing foot spa lounge, and healthy snacks made exclusively for the spa.
Inspired by the golden ratio which is known for being cognitively soothing, Awana flows from one space to another with rounded rooms, curved hallways and arches. One other feature we liked was the use of ‘psychological thresholds’ where the entrance to the treatment area is distinguished from the bright, blue coed areas by dark woods and soft, cove lighting to help put the mind at ease.
At the helm of all this is Kim Key, Director of Spa & Fitness at RWLV, who manages a team of 72 practitioners, attendants, supervisors and receptionists. Besides having a keen eye for innovative wellness practices that stems all the way back to her degree in Health Education – like incorporating Therabody equipment into specialized treatments and others that will be discussed later – Key is also a single mother of four and, like the tenets of wellness itself, always strives for a good balance between steering both ships. There’s a ton that we all can learn from the Awana Spa and Key’s diligent oversight of this truly massive operation.
What we first emphasize – and as Key eloquently reinforced when sitting down with her – was that there’s no better amenity at a hotel to encourage guest engagement and loyalty than at a spa. A front desk clerk or concierge may speak with a guest for five to ten minutes, but spa therapists often spend more than an hour with their clients in a very intimate setting.
Moreover, there are plenty of nuanced ways that a spa service can help a hotel to discover their guests’ intentions in order to design future customizations. For instance, during an hour-long massage, a guest may mention that they are visiting the resort for an anniversary, at which point the masseuse can relay this information to the sap team to coordinate a champagne toast for after the service is completed. This detail can next be shared with the hotel team via the PMS to then organize something special in the guestroom for later that evening.
As a final note before hearing from Key herself, the Awana Spa demonstrates how hotels with incredible amenities are adapting to the new demand for experiential, multi-venue meetings and events. Largely driven by the rise of remote and hybrid work, events are no longer simply about information exchange and networking; they are about socialization and teambuilding when a physical office no longer exists. Planners are therefore looking for more dynamic spaces to encourage rapport amongst teams who only really see one another via a laptop monitor, for which a large spa becomes a highly valuable venue to add to the group itinerary. This is definitely a trend to watch as MICE continues to bloom!
The heart of any spa is its people. To start, give us a brief description of the team.
I agree – the heart of the spa is definitely the people. And they all have hospitality hearts. We can teach someone how to do the ‘job’ – how to book services, how to prepare robes, how to execute our service protocols – but you can’t teach them to care about our guests. Over half of our team are service providers (massage and facial) – many of them with decades of experience in their respective positions. We have a leadership team of four, and a dedicated team of spa receptionists, spa hosts and fitness attendants who work diligently, even when behind the scenes, to ensure Awana runs flawlessly and that our guests have amazing experiences. My favorite quote is on my door and in my office by Maya Angelou saying, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
As magical a space as Awana Spa is, more often than not customers aren’t coming to Las Vegas as wellness-primary guests, but instead are complementing their stay with a spa experience. How have you adjusted your approach when compared to destination spas in other locations?
While we do have some guests that come with wellness on their minds, you are correct that it is sometimes a complement (or even recovery!) for some guests. I think the biggest difference between our spa, or any spa in Las Vegas, is the volume that we accommodate each day. This challenges us to ensure we are maintaining a relaxing atmosphere for all guests. We try to find a balance. We want to ensure that guests who are dedicating the day to services with us and enjoying all of the facilities can do so in a leisurely setting without ‘feeling’ the circulation of guests who may be joining us for a short time to have a massage between meetings or a facial before an evening out. A second challenge is to help transport guests so that they feel like they have arrived at a destination spa. Awana Spa is in the heart of Resorts World, above the casino, below guestrooms and in the center of our convention space; but when they arrive in our reception area, everything can be left behind.
Can you describe some of the more exceptional experiences and activations that have been added to the spa within the past year?
We have a few treatments that I think are super special and some very unique to spas in general:
- DiamondGlow Facial: This service is exclusive to Awana Spa; it’s an all-in-one dermabrasion treatment. Utilizing Skin Medica products, it is clinically proven to rejuvenate the skin using proprietary technology to deliver immediate, long-lasting results. Awana is the only luxury spa to offer this cutting -dge service, as it is only available otherwise in medi-spas or doctor’s offices.
- Eastern Vibrations Massage: A truly unique experience to restore the natural rhythms of your body and mind. This treatment helps you achieve a remarkably restorative and balanced state through beautifully peaceful sounds and vibrations of Himalayan singing bowls placed on and around the body, in combination with a personalized full body massage. Vibrations from the bowls inspire a transcendent state where stress is relieved and the energies of your body and mind are harmonized. As a sidenote, we’ve also performed sound therapy for small groups in our laconium, for some of the RWLV Leadership Team Meetings, and have even performed in conference rooms during breaks for convention guests as an opportunity to reset.
- Machu Picchu Treatment: Another unique experience that’s designed to focus on the energy shared by the earth and our chakra system. It incorporates the healing properties of crystal therapy, aromatherapy and body work to create balance, peace and harmony in the physical, mental and emotional bodies.
- The Art of Aufguss: Our Event Sauna features the first aufguss in North America. It is an art form inspired by European saunas, where there is a true love and respect for sauna. Our sauna is equipped with theater sound and lighting, which is unique to begin with. In addition, we have performers that provide a choreographed show that starts with essential oil-infused ice balls that are broken over the hot stones. Through a ‘towel dance’ that is synced to the lights and sound, the artist distributes the aromatherapy and heat throughout the room. The guest is mesmerized and entertained for 15-20 minutes, and all the while reaping the detoxifying benefits of being in the sauna. It is a true sauna show, perfect for a Las Vegas Spa!
The growth of wellness addons for groups and events is quite remarkable as you had mentioned regarding the mid-conference sound therapy reset. Can you describe another example of this?
We recently had a group here for IMEX that had an intense day of meetings. We worked with our sales team to provide them with unique experiences for their breaks, led by our very talented team. In the morning, one of our therapists provided a five-minute guided breathwork session. After lunch, we performed seven minutes of sound therapy, utilizing our crystal sound therapy bowls. For their last break of the day in the afternoon, one of our fitness trainers led them in a five-minute stretch session. It was very well received, and something that we look forward to providing more of in the future.
The spacing of treatments is one of the more nuanced details of spa management. Why is it so important not to maximize, for instance, occupancy or treatment room turnover?
I feel like I am circling back to the ‘balance’ again. But there is, or should be, balance in everything, right? This is a balance between driving revenue and managing the business side with ensuring that we are not overextending our facilities or our team. We do this in a couple of ways. Our guests are scheduled for services in 60, 90 and 120-minute increments, with 15 minutes ‘turn time’ so our providers can take time with each guest before and after their service, and have time to clean and refresh the room for the next guest. In addition, we have a set number of Fountain of Youth Passports that we schedule throughout the day. These are three-hour passes that provide guests with the opportunity to enjoy all of the spa facilities and amenities. Scheduling in such a way allows us to manage the number of guests in Awana Spa throughout the day so as not to overwhelm the space or dilute the time and attention that our team members have to focus on each guest.
How do you work with University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) which is mere blocks away?
We don’t necessarily recruit through UNLV, but I have worked with many hospitality students throughout my experience in Las Vegas. It does provide an enthusiastic population of people who truly want to serve people. Hospitality isn’t for everyone, so the fact that we have a neighboring college with a large group of people who have chosen this for their profession is definitely a plus!
Let’s end with a bit on full spa buyouts. How does Awana’s size allow for this offering versus other spas on The Strip or elsewhere?
Awana’s size, as well as the social quality of our coed Fountain of Youth facilities, makes it perfect for buyouts. The ability for groups to have access to spa treatments and also enjoy the facilities together, allowing for networking and connecting, is very appealing. We have done this quite a few times for groups of varying sizes. With a full-day buyout, you can have 150 guests enjoy massages and facials with exclusive access to the entire spa. We have also had afternoon buyouts, accommodating groups of 28 or more guests. We can tailor the program to fit the needs of the group, but it will always provide them with exclusive access for their attendees to enjoy all of Awana’s amenities.
