Year-round snow in Las Vegas?

updated 6:25 p.m. ET June 13, 2007

LAS VEGAS - Some people come to Las Vegas to enjoy the clear skies and warm days, but at a new spa that opened at Caesars Palace there is a treatment room where it snows all year long.

Welcome to Qua's Arctic Ice Room, where "snow" gently descends from a domed ceiling through mint-infused air chilled to 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Romans enjoyed cooling down after a hot soak, and spa operators say such rapid cooling of the body has proven health benefits.

Or it may just give you the goosebumps.

"Even coming from somewhere that had a horrible winter, it was still very enjoyable," said Angela Wagner, a 35-year-old physician from northern Indiana. "I had been in the heat wrap and the sauna and the whirlpools. So after being in the warmer treatments, it just felt really good."

The blue pebble and mosaic tile-encrusted cold room at Qua Baths and Spa is just the latest feature in a booming Las Vegas spa industry. While casinos don't offer up their results, nationwide, spa revenue has been growing by about 18 percent a year since 2003 and was worth nearly $10 billion two years ago, according to the latest numbers from the International Spa Association.

When it opened in November, Qua doubled the size of Caesars previous spa to 50,000 square feet, and other spas, such as Spa Bellagio at The Bellagio hotel-casino and Canyon Ranch SpaClub at The Venetian have or are expanding, as well.

In all, Las Vegas has more than 30 spas, which offer everything from "watsu" floating massages, banana leaf wraps and crystal body art to Indian head rubs, hot rock treatments and Thai yoga therapy. The Ritz-Carlton Spa at Lake Las Vegas just outside of town even offers an array of treatments for men that include beer samples while receiving a pedicure.

Every major resort on the Strip has a spa facility, each touting a special feature or unique therapy, often from Asia or Europe, for relief from the excitement of gambling, relaxation after a big business trip or to prepare for a night on the town.

Slide show Vegas then and now See Las Vegas images, past and present, that make the city "fabulous." more photos

"People want to be adventurous," said Sandy Zanella, spokeswoman for MGM Mirage Inc., whose Spa Bellagio offers the only "watsu" treatment on the Strip. "They want something new and different and do something they can't get at home."

Qua's ice room, the only one of its kind in the United States, comes from the millennia-old European bathing tradition of using snow to cleanse the body, said Don Genders, a partner of Eurospa Technologies LLC, the room's creator. Ice is available in the room for those who want to rub it on steaming skin.

"They built these wooden cabins, heated them up with logs and rocks and would sit in them to sweat to actually cleanse their skin," Genders said.

Daily travel blog Daily postings from ‘the last honest travel site’

"The whole idea was that you'd get too hot sitting in the little cabin and you'd use the snow on the ground to wipe your body. That process of wiping the dirty sweat off your body with snow gets you cold again. So you go back in."

Cold rooms in Europe dip well below freezing, touting benefits to the immune and circulatory systems.

The Grand Hotel Bellevue & Spa's Ice Grotto in Gstaad, Switzerland, is a frigid minus 12 Celsius. The Schwaben Quellen spa and waterpark in Stuttgart, Germany, keeps a snow room at minus 17 C.

MORE FROM LUXURY

Luxury Section Front

Tasty (hidden) bites of the Big Apple High fashion carry-ons Despite tough times, Shanghai promotes luxury Top U.S. seaside inns Is this the world’s best hotel? Circle the globe in luxury — at discount prices Meaty luxury for your taste buds World's top hotel mini-bars add luxury to nuts Top of the world: The 10 best hotel balconies Forbes celebrity 100 getaways Luxury Section Front   Add Luxury headlines to your news reader: