Ara Spa — Local services in Black Hawk

Whatever you do, DO NOT talk yourself out of this!!! When I first looked at these prices, I told my friend it was too much. But then I remembered, it’s okay to say yes when someone else wants to pay. And boy am I glad I did!

From the moment I called to check their availability from my hotel room, I had an 80-min massage booked in under 2 hours. Walking up to the spa, was like entering a corridor of serenity. Being shown around by Sullie, my personal concierge, I got to see everything I got to indulge in aside from my massage. For whatever high end service you purchase, you get your own locker to put your personal belongings in, a robe & sandals provided by them, then get to bask in the lounge. In the lounge, I was greeted by Simon, who had a fresh soda water with lemon and lime in it for me (since they asked when I called and that was what I requested). Not only that but the fireplace, chairs, soothing atmosphere and cucumbers on ice were a beautiful start to my beautiful experience. Wishing minutes, my masseuse Tom came to retrieve me from the lounge. At first I was hesitant to have a male work on me, especially an attractive one, but let me tell you, this massage was incredible. Not only was Tom’s strength on top of his hands softness exactly what my body needed, but his gentle spirit made me feel like an old friend was giving me a massage.

After that sort of therapy, one needs to sit and reflect. You don’t just leave after your massage, you get an experience. I got to wash off in their 12 small shower heads and 1 large rain head shower… I fear I may never be able to shower normally again. It was the greatest shower of my life to date. I then sat in their steam room, then moved to the sauna, then sat in the hot tub, all while enjoying multiple glasses of their fresh lemon and blueberry infused water. If food had been available to order, I would have. That’s how much I didn’t want to leave.

From the one-on-one attention and recommendations I got from the Manager April and Concierge Staff Sullie & Simon, to the massage by Simon and incredible overall experience, I am salivating to go back. Their kindness, continued cleanliness of their establishment, attentiveness to their clients, truly brought happy tears to my eyes. Now, I want to go back with my Mom, SIL, her Mom & all my gal pals for a ladies weekend getaway. Thank you for this incredible experience April, Sullie, Tom & Simon. I hope you get crab cakes soon and think of me :) Hope to be back within...

The massage I received was great. I will credit the masseuse with a job well done. No complaints there. However, everything else was pretty ridiculously bad. More of a management issue I think. We very clearly booked a 80 minute couples massage over the phone only to find out when we arrived that they only scheduled us for one person. Bad start. They were able to fit us in for a 50 minute couples massage 30 minutes later and discounted us 20% but still really annoyed. I wanted that full 80 min massage. Next I found out the men's jacuzzi tub was broken. I go in the sauna and find the door doesn't close all the way so it didn't get hot enough to break a sweat. I go into the steam room and it's off. After looking all over to figure out how to turn it on I finally put my clothes back on to go to the front desk and they had just forgotten to turn it on... so dumb. I go back to the steam room and by the time the steam built up enough to make it worth being in there I had run out of time and needed to go to my massage. After the massage, the shower I used vibrated horribly anytime the water temp wasn't all the way hot. BOTH showers were completely out of body wash and the mouth wash was empty too. To cap it off, the locker lock didn't work. I am 100% sure of the combo I used and it didn't unlock. I had to go out to the desk in my robe and have someone come unlock it for me. What a mess! Super disappointed and would...

My first time here at Ara Spa with my partner for a getaway. The massage therapists, Latoshia and Quinn, were nothing short of amazing! I’ve had rough massages in the past that leave me so sore and Latoshia absolutely took that into account, leaving me feeling so relaxed and rejuvenated. Truly this was a 5 star experience in relation to the service. But the spa itself had a few downsides. I didn’t realize the rest of the spa isn’t co-ed, maybe I missed it but I don’t think that is mentioned anywhere on the website. This was unfortunate as my partner and I wanted to enjoy the sauna and steam rooms together! I also do NOT recommend using their blow dryer in the locker rooms.. went to dry my hair and it sparked and caught fire, burning my cheek while I was drying my bangs. Left the blow dryer at the front desk and the desk staff just seemed worried to find a new blow dryer. A thank you to the kind stylist that offered to blow dry my hair though before she was off for the day! Would’ve loved a bit more accommodation considering the injury, which is why I am leaving this at 3 stars. If I were to come back to Blackhawk, I would go back to Monarch Spa. Same service pricing for way more amenities, caring front desk staff, and co-ed areas for better quality time...