Pamper Palace

With the new year comes attempts to achieve a lean, clean, healthy lifestyle.

But these promises tend to fall victim to lack of willpower mere days after they are made. A resolution solution may be to temper lofty goals with a little kindness and a trip to one of the local day spas that have quickly and quietly popped up around the Las Vegas valley.

"People have become more and more knowledgeable and educated about total body health," Misty Chadwick, general manager of The Sports Club in Las Vegas, which recently opened the Oasis Spa within its facility, says. "They are not looking at it as just a luxury."

Amy So, a one-year resident of Las Vegas, incorporates a weekly workout with a personal trainer and a monthly spa treatment into her fitness routine to make it, well, less routine and more personal.

"I (use) the spa as part of my fitness (routine) for massages, facials and what not," So says, adding that the motivation the personal trainer provides and the rewards of the spa keep her disciplined and focused on staying healthy.

"They have everything I need," So says, laying a hand weight back on the rack for a heavier one her trainer, Brian Glut, firmly suggests. She rolls her eyes and smiles at him. "He doesn't let me get away with anything."

Definitions and services of spas vary -- from simple massage and facial treatments to the more elaborate body wraps, mud baths and fitness regimens. Spas in Las Vegas, in addition to the Oasis, are such facilities as Euphoria, the Grand Spa (at the MGM Grand), The Spa at Desert Inn and the Sporting House. Most local hotels have some form of spa, offering basic services.

"In the next year or so you'll see a big switch with new hotels opening up with a total wellness program," Lois Hartman, spa and pool manager at the Desert Inn, says.

Mark Burgett, director of recreation services for the Grand Spa, says that Las Vegas' international customer base is spa-savvy, making the town a virtual mud bath destination.

"Vegas is spa capital of the U.S.A. right now," Burgett says. "There is a big emphasis on spas now in all of the hotels and a lot more variety of treatments."

Gladys Hopkins Hillman, Oasis Spa manager at The Sports Club, says that people use spas as "pampering agents. But then they see what it does for their body and they learn about it and use it as a preventative measure."

Cathy Masterson McNeil, spokesperson for the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, has watched the industry grow to be accepted as a health habit rather than simple pampering.

"There are more and more clubs looking into offering spa type services," Masterson McNeil says. "(There is) an aging population joining health clubs, people with more of a discretionary income."

Count Maxine Oishan among them. "One of the reasons I moved to this area was for the club, it's part of my lifestyle," says Oishan, who retired to Las Vegas nine years ago and joined The Sports Club for spa and water exercises.

She uses the Oasis spa for "my well being," attending facials, massages and other treatments at the spa about once every 10 days, with workouts throughout the week.

"It makes me feel invigorated, takes away some aches and pains," Oishan says. "Massaging, I'm convinced, is the way to go. It is good for your mind, your muscles."

Vacationing golfer Marquerite Hussey says massage is an integral part of her fitness regime, especially as her body gets older.

"Massage relieves me, it takes away sore muscles where you can't swing (the club) properly," she says. "It's part of taking care of yourself long term."

The retired California businesswoman says she looks for spas when traveling to carry her home fitness routine over into her vacation. "I see more spas when I travel and at home with gyms than before," Hussey says.

A 1997 survey by Health Fitness Dynamics, Inc., a spa consulting, planning and management company since 1977, says that the average consumers are females ages 30-49 of all income levels who view spas as pampering palaces and a place to "maintain the fitness regimen that they have at home."

Rhonda Ferguson, a Sports Club member, has been working out to stay in top shape, although an injury sometimes keeps her from achieving maximum results.

"I use the massage for my injury ... and they have great skin care," she says, explaining that her vigorous workouts can wreck her fair skin.

"Awareness is a big part of it," Hillman says. "We are much more aware that our bodies and minds, our spirit, are not separate, they are one."

Deanna Sammons, a recent visitor to Las Vegas, has been working out with a personal trainer at home in Chicago, and checked out the Desert Inn Spa for a vacation treat.

"I have been taking care of myself, I hired a personal trainer the last couple of months, and I lost 15 inches," Sammons says, but the hectic holidays found her stressed. "I wanted a massage -- an hour of no responsibility."

She says the recent fitness kick she has experienced made her more aware of her body and its needs for healthy living, which includes relaxation.

"People are coming (to spas) to unload their stress, escape for just one hour, and that will change their whole personality," Jodie Smith, massage therapist at Oasis, says. "It's another way to deal with the body naturally, without taking aspirin, another way to rid yourself of pain."

Alison Conely, massage dispatcher at the Sporting House in Las Vegas, has been a witness to industry changes since 1990.

"In the last few years, it has become more mainstream," Conely says. "People are thinking of it as less of a luxury and more of a healthy habit. The image of massage has changed, it's now more professional. It's not a 'bath house' anymore."

To practice in Clark County, a massage therapist requires a degree from a recognized school and 500 hours of experience in techniques such as accupressure, deep tissue massage and reflexology.

"A massage therapist is trained in different techniques and each technique uses different principles to a different end," Conely explains. "When you overwork a muscle, which happens when you work out, you build up toxins. They get trapped in the muscle and it's not just uncomfortable, it's unhealthful."

Hillman says that the majority of clients at The Sports Club use the Oasis spa for better muscle agility and mobility, which requires a relaxed overall body.

"They come in, take a shower, get a massage and then go work out," Hillman says. "They come in before they play tennis or squash, and after to help with muscle movement and warm up to avoid injury."

"There is a movement of people looking to integrate mind/body emphasis," Masterson McNeil of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association says. "It all works together and that helps with what people are looking for in their lives now."

Burgett, of the Grand Spa, says spas are the next step in the country's fitness revolution that began in the '80s.

"It is an extension of people learning about taking care of themselves," Burgett says. "People are learning stress management and relaxation (which) are just as important to their lives as exercise."

The benefits of a spa trip, massage, an hour to calm and re-focus, are that they allow the fit body to enjoy a better workout, he says, and a fit body relaxes more deeply.

"People are becoming more educated ... and spas are popping up because of demand," Burgett says. "It's not just the wives who go to be pampered, everyone is discovering that once you start getting a massage and relax, you need that component to maintain the healthy lifestyle."

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