Atlantic City Weekly

Relax to the Max High-end spas offering exotic treatments are turning the area into spa central By Michael Pritchard

Qua Spa at Caesars. Immersion Spa at The Water Club.-->

It reads like a menu of indulgence and pampering. Perhaps even, dare we say it, decadence.

Wrap yourself in banana leaves, rose petals and herbs or essential oils. Cleanse yourself with facials and body scrubs. Relieve your tension with deep massages and Vichy water showers.

But wait, you never have to actually wrap, scrub or massage yourself at all. Trained personnel do it for you -- sometimes teams of them. Just lie there and they will massage you, cleanse you, scrub you and ply you with exotic teas and strange sounding techniques such as Chakra balancing and deep-tissue surrender. And should you have a partner, you can indulge in the Kama Sutra with Shirodhara, an Indian holistic massage technique dating back thousands of years. Whatever you call it, it is essentially all about you. It is the spa experience and it has taken over Atlantic City.

Qua Spa at Caesars.

In this case, the spa in question is Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Atlantic City, a $15 million addition to the casino hotel that opened in June. But Qua hardly stands alone in the city. It competes (or coexists if you prefer) with the BlueMercury Apothecary & Resort Spa at the Tropicana's Quarter, Spa Toccare at the Borgata and the Red Door Spa at Harrah's. There is also the Spa at Bally's, Crimzen at Trump Marina and ... let's cut to the end: All of Atlantic City's casinos offer spas and health clubs. But with major investments in spas at Caesars, the Borgata, Harrah's and the Tropicana, Atlantic City is clearly becoming spa heaven.

"It's part of the overall strategy to transition us, and the city, from the traditional day-tripper market to longer stays by guests through adding non-gaming amenities," says Dan Nita, general manager of Caesars, who has a pretty impressive knowledge of herbal wraps and massage techniques himself. "It goes along with the shopping at The Pier Shops and The Walk -- both of which are doing extremely well -- and the high-end restaurants that have come into the city. Spas are a very dynamic addition to the experience of staying here, whether it is a single guest, couples, or bachelorette parties.

"The spa is now something that a customer will come to a hotel for, as opposed to just something they take advantage of when they are already here," Nita says.

That has left the city's spas trying to find their unique niche is an increasingly crowded market. Qua, for example, offers a unique Roman bath system of three different temperature pools coupled with the traditional sauna and steam room. First hit the 98-degree pool, follow it up with the 104-degree pool and then plunge into the 77-degree firgidarium (we think, spa talk is a language all its own).

Immersion Spa at The Water Club.

The Water Club at The Borgata features Spa Immersion, a two-story spa complete with an indoor pool that fits right in with the scheme of the entire new tower, which comes off as a spa-turned-hotel in the first place. It complements Spa Toccare already located in the Borgata. Tropicana's BlueMercury Spa and Harrah's Red Door Spa (also at the Seaview Marriott in Galloway Township) bring highly acclaimed national spa chains to the city. And spas are not just confined to casino hotels. The recently opened Chelsea Hotel is completing work on a 10,000-square-foot Sea Spa with an emphasis on the traditional healing powers of Atlantic City's seaside locale that includes an open-air saltwater pool.

With amenities like this, the city's visitors are already beginning to expect fancy spas.

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