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| - We had no intention of going to the spa when we booked our stay at Encore, but I'm sure glad we changed our minds. This may be partially by design, as you are forced to walk through the opulent spa lobby to get to the pool elevator.
I haven't been to many full-service spas in my life, but the Spa at Encore seemed to have everything you could ask for. The staff was professional, the space was clean and relaxing, and the massage was perfect. You can buy a day pass for $40, and spa access is included with the purchase of any spa services such as a massage.
The spa is separated by gender, and you enter your respective side via a lounge with fresh fruit and drinks and comfortable chairs, where you can relax, watch TV (silently), or read the paper/magazines. Lockers are included, as are slippers and a silky robe.
The steam room is so powerful you can't see more than a few inches in front of your face. The sauna was clean and smelled nice. There are a variety of showers to choose from, including a rain shower with body spray heads, a waterfall shower, and a regular shower like you'd find in your room. In the pool area, there are two hot soak pools, an 80-degree cold soak pool, and a 70-degree cold plunge pool, in addition to heated rock lounge chairs (the only part I didn't try, as I didn't realize they were heated).
The highlight of my experience was the massage. I booked the custom massage, and my massage therapist was Lucy. Before the massage, you relax in the tranquility suite, where there are comfy lounge chairs, beverages, and magazines to peruse. Your therapist will find you there and guide you to your massage room (through the fancy "lantern room" that seems to be the focus of all the pictures). You can tailor the custom massage to any area you want, and while expressed a preference for head and neck, she still massaged my whole body (which I appreciated). The massage itself was positively transcendent. I have rarely felt as zen and centered as I did at times during that massage. Lucy checked in just enough to ensure the pressure and temperature were OK, but not so much that it pulled me out of the experience. My only wish is that I could have laid in the massage room a little longer after she finished (and maybe taken a nap). The massage wasn't cheap at $170 (+$30 for the hot oil scalp treatment + tip), but it really made my vacation relaxing. This was a common theme among our group, as the three others I polled thought their massages were fantastic and some of the best they have received (both the custom massage and the deep tissue).
If you've got a few hours to kill or get tired of trying to find a chair by the pool, consider heading up to the spa for an hour or two of quiet relaxation. You'll thank yourself for it.
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