How to Be a Tiny Bit Healthier When in Vegas: Vdara Hotel and Spa at Aria Review

When people think of Las Vegas, some things immediately come to mind: gambling, drinking, buffet-style eating, general debauchery. These aren’t always necessarily bad things if done in moderation. Smoke-filled hotels and casinos, however, are where I draw the line. This why I often stay at the non-smoking luxury hotel, Vdara Hotel & Spa. Yes, that exists in Vegas! As a bonus, the Aria Hotel Spa is right next to it too.

Why I’m obsessed with the Vdara Hotel & Spa:

Non-smoking hotel, in all the public hotel areas, as well as the rooms. No more walking through clouds of smoke just to get to the lobby!
It’s a smaller hotel compared to the other Las Vegas hotels with endlessly long hallways (read: the Venetian Resort), so it doesn’t take as long to get to the room elevators. This is important when wearing uncomfortable heels, as you (I) tend to do in Vegas.
No casino in the hotel, so you don’t have to walk through a dizzying maze of hallways and levels just to get to the lobby.
But–the Aria Resort & Casino is right next door and less than a minute’s walk away if you want the full-on luxury casino hotel experience.
The Bellagio hotel is also connected to Vdara through an internal walkway, so you never even have to step outside, which is helpful in Las Vegas, where it can get to 106 degrees F (41 C)!
Parking – They only have valet parking since they don’t have their own garage so it’s FREE valet parking! Sometimes self parking in those cavernous large hotel garages can be a pain and far away from the lobby. It’s easier with the Vdara since the valet is right in front of the lobby.

Room:

It’s an all suite-hotel, meaning that you have a sitting space, with a wall separating the living room and bed areas.
This is a standard Vdara suite. The cheapest room is still pretty nice!
Kitchenette with microwave, separate kitchen sink, electric burner, empty fridge. The store in the lobby even has grocery items that you can buy and cook in your room.
Huge bathroom with the fastest-filling bathtub I’ve ever seen.
Big bathtub that fills up fast
Love that the curtains and blackout shades are controlled by a switch on the wall–because I’m lazy.
Shampoo, conditioner and lotion are vegan, and free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates.

Why I’m obsessed with the Spa at the Aria Hotel:

Inside the locker room at the Spa at Aria. With cold and hot pools, I could stay in there for hours.

If you’re a guest of Vdara or Aria Resort & Casino, pay $40 for the day to use the gym, any of the special rooms and all the locker room facilities, like the sauna, steam room, cold and hot pools. There’s also an outdoor co-ed pool.
Shio Salt Room – A salt room’s air is supposedly good for you when you are congested or have a cold, repairs skin issues like eczema, and helps a whole host of physical problems. Like recovering from a hangover which *sometimes* happens in Vegas.;) Even if you don’t have any of these maladies, it’s just plain relaxing in there. You might taste a bit of salt on your lips if you’ve been in there a while and your skin might be a bit softer. You can go in fully dressed and doesn’t require a spa robe. Comfy vibrating recliner chairs and dim lighting make it conducive for a good nap. I stay for about 30-45 minutes or even more if it’s not crowded.
Shio Salt Room with the walls made of salt blocks. This is me under my blanket.
Ganbanyoku heated stone beds from Japan – You can lie down on these hard stone beds in a dark room and just relax into the heat. I usually do this without a robe and then put a towel over me, since it’s co-ed in there. Their site explains: “Not only do our ganbanyoku beds soothe muscles and accelerate metabolism, they also allow for increased circulation while heating your inner core.” Not sure what it’s really doing internally, but it feels good!
The Japanese heated stone beds. It’s usually much darker in there so you can fall asleep under a towel.

Booking Tips

I joined the M Life program for free to get automatic discounts of up to 15% on all of their hotels when booking through them, which include Vdara, Aria, Bellagio, MGM Grand and others. You can also use the M Life card when gambling to get points to redeem for stores and a whole host of offers. I primarily use it for the hotel discounts.
Vdara room are cheaper than Aria because it doesn’t offer a casino in its hotel, but it’s just as nice, if not nicer.
I like to stay in Vegas for a maximum of 3 days–any more and I start to lose touch with reality. Perfect for a weekend trip.

Addresses:

Vdara Hotel & Spa: 2600 W Harmon Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89158

The Spa at Aria Resort & Casino: 3730 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109 (Located next to The Pool on the 2nd Level Promenade)

Hours: Mon – Sun, 5:00 AM – 8:00 PM