The sauna features theatre-style lighting and club-quality sound system / Nicole Wozniak at Resorts World Las Vegas
The new Awana Spa and Wellness at Resorts World in Las Vegas features a wellness experience unavailable anywhere else in the US: a grand-scale event sauna, with the capacity to seat an audience of up to 40 people who sit together and enjoy the theatrical art of sauna aufguss.
Inspired by the European tradition of communal bathing, where a sauna is not only a place for rest and rejuvenation, but also a social gathering point that builds community and bonding around the shared purpose of wellbeing.
Awana’s theatre-inspired, 360sq ft sauna was created by Design for Leisure (DFL) in collaboration with aufguss consultants Lasse Eriksen, vice president of Aufguss-WM and Rob Keijzer, a three-time world aufguss champion and professional trainer – in collaboration with spa consultant Cary Collier at Blu Spas.
Design details The sauna, from Klafs, is made from Canadian Hemlock shaped to the contour of the curved walls – a key feature of the spa’s sacred geometric design.
Event saunas must be designed and built for purpose, and Awana’s has been specially created for sauna aufguss performances, with theatre-style lighting and a club-quality sound system, complete with sub-woofers hidden under the benches and capable of high volumes.
Space between the centrally-positioned heater and the first bench ensure sauna masters are able to move freely among guests, performing elaborate moves with their dancing towels that are choreographed to music, lighting and their own custom aromatherapy.
The sauna heater has also been manufactured to suit aufguss performances, as it acts as the focal point, being creatively clad in marble and illuminated for maximum visual impact. The heater needs to be powerful enough to quickly reheat the sauna rocks after each dramatic infusion of water and/or aromatic ice balls by the sauna master.
Training the masters Sauna aufguss has evolved significantly in recent decades as a performance art and can be anything from an elaborate and theatrical show with mesmerising towel work and audiences clapping and singing, to quieter, almost out-of-body, meditative journeys and sound baths.
Traditionally, aufguss was less ritualistic and more utilitarian: sauna attendants (or masters) were on hand to help circulate heat, humidity and infusions, without much fanfare. But times change and now, a new breed of enthusiastic and dedicated sauna masters is constantly evolving the art, making it far more performative and interactive.
“It’s hard to think of a better place than the Las Vegas strip for the first event sauna in America,” says DFL CEO, Don Genders. “There’s an amazing pool of talented performers living locally, many of whom have already embraced wellness in their daily lives and appeared in large Las Vegas shows, such as Cirque du Soleil. Clearly, sauna masters with that kind of talent will be able to capture the attention of Vegas spa-goers.”
Genders, alongside Eriksen and Keijzer, spent a week at the property working with spa director Jennifer Lynn Raftery training a team of sauna masters in the art of aufguss.
Prior to the European team’s arrival, Awana’s new sauna masters had watched aufguss YouTube videos and were already performing their own, uniquely American sauna theatrics. Eriksen predicted this would be a precursor of things to come, saying: “I can already see this team of sauna masters taking the Aufguss World Masters by storm in the not-so-distant future.” Raftery has already offered Awana to host the first-ever North American heat of this event.
If the enthusiasm of guests at Awana is any indication, sauna aufguss is destined to make its way to many more spas in the US. All came out buzzing, saying they’d never experienced anything like it. Aufguss is an entertaining, emotional and spirit-lifting way to enjoy true wellness benefits.
Aufguss fun in Vegas
Lisa Starr enjoyed her first US aufguss experience
Professional dancers have been trained as sauna masters / photo:s Lisa Starr
If you want to visit a fabulous spa, few cities in the US have more to offer than Las Vegas. Each of the many casino hotels offers massive spa and wellness spaces, but the new Awana Spa at Resorts World has debuted a novelty that no other spa in the US can boast – an event sauna.
My visit turned out to be the perfect antidote to fatigue caused by several days of sensory bombardment at a busy trade show.
With professional dancers who’ve been trained as sauna masters to create an immersive and entertaining heat experience, Awana’s aufguss experience included aromatherapy, special lighting effects and accompanying music in a choice of different sauna shows throughout the day.
The sauna masters added a heightened element of performance and sizzle to my sauna experience, which helped me forget how long I’d been sweating.
After the sauna I was presented with a multitude of relaxation options, including six vitality pools, a heated crystal laconium, steamrooms, cool mist showers, tepidarium chairs and an experiential rain walk – all of which are available with any spa treatment at the facility or by using a special Fountain of Youth pass.
Healthy snacks and beverages were also available in the delightful mixed-sex relaxation space, equipped with loungers and TV screens, where I relaxed and got a foot treatment while watching TV.
Awana’s internationally-inspired spa treatment menu focuses on end results, with the desired effect of each listed. I enjoyed the 90-minute Machu Picchu massage, which incorporated aromatherapy and crystals for balancing, and was delivered by a very skilled therapist. The treatment rooms featured a soothing earth-toned colour palette and beautiful lighting, while the calm environment allowed me to forget that I was only steps away from the Las Vegas strip.
Finding the spa within the massive, three-hotel building wasn’t easy, but it was well worth the effort.
The sauna masters added a heightened element of performance and sizzle to my sauna experience
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2022 issue 1
"When you know you're doing things right, you have power" – Deborah Szekely talks to Spa Business
Spa People: Zoe Wall
Zoe Wall talks about driving the global spa and wellness agenda at Kerzner
New opening: Healing oasis
Zoya, a new integrative health and wellbeing retreat, is opening in the Middle East, as Megan Whitby reports
Interview: Deborah Szekely
As the 'godmother of spa' approaches her 100th birthday, Jan Kitchen travelled to Rancho La Puerta to find out more about her extraordinary life
First Person: Siempre Mejor!
After 82 years, Rancho La Puerta is
still beloved among guests around
the world, who return year after
year for a dose of holistic wellbeing.
Jane Kitchen spent a week at the
Mexican resort to discover how the
spirit of ‘Siempre mejor!’ or ‘Always
better!’ lives on in the 21st century
Sponsored: Phytomer: Celebrating the sea
The story surrounding Phytomer is one of a unique wellness vision, a loyal family, remarkable marine science and pioneering skincare. We talk to deputy general manager Mathilde Gédouin-Lagarde as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary
GWS: Boston strong
If you missed the GWS – or even if you were there – Jane Kitchen's detailed report will give you endless useful actionable insights
Promotion: Yon-ka: Plant power
Benefiting from its founders’ passion for plants, Yon-Ka’s new brand identity reflects its past and its continued research into the healing power of plants which enables the company to craft innovative formulas that deliver results
First person: Paradise at Preidlhof
Lisa Starr travelled to Italy to interview Patrizia Bortolin for Spa Business and experience all that Preidlhof has to offer
Q&A: Patrizia Bortolin
Lisa Starr talks to the award winning visionary
who’s injecting new vigour into Preidlhof
Promotion: Reconnect with ISPA
After a two-year absence, ISPA’s annual Conference offers its
members an opportunity to reconnect and to learn more about
the available tools that can help them recharge their businesses
Q&A: Daniele Vastolo
Chiva-Som has opened a major new property in Qatar, with treatments focused on Traditional Arabic and Islamic Medicine. We talk to the GM
Research: Human nature
Anne Dimon reports on the latest research insights from the Wellness Tourism Association
Saunas: Aufguss
The first aufguss sauna experience in the US has opened in Las Vegas, as Cassandra Cavanah reports
Software: Getting (Hyper) personal
Software that drives generational marketing can create hyper-personalised offerings, as Karen Maxwell discovers
Supplier showcase: Art of Cryo: Best of both worlds
Art of Cryo is blending its high-performance cryotherapy
solutions with intermittent vacuum therapy to offer a
complete and effective whole-body wellness experience
Promotion: Comfort Zone
From 2022, Comfort Zone’s products are going plastic-neutral, certified by Plastic Bank
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
The sauna features theatre-style lighting and club-quality sound system / Nicole Wozniak at Resorts World Las Vegas
The new Awana Spa and Wellness at Resorts World in Las Vegas features a wellness experience unavailable anywhere else in the US: a grand-scale event sauna, with the capacity to seat an audience of up to 40 people who sit together and enjoy the theatrical art of sauna aufguss.
Inspired by the European tradition of communal bathing, where a sauna is not only a place for rest and rejuvenation, but also a social gathering point that builds community and bonding around the shared purpose of wellbeing.
Awana’s theatre-inspired, 360sq ft sauna was created by Design for Leisure (DFL) in collaboration with aufguss consultants Lasse Eriksen, vice president of Aufguss-WM and Rob Keijzer, a three-time world aufguss champion and professional trainer – in collaboration with spa consultant Cary Collier at Blu Spas.
Design details The sauna, from Klafs, is made from Canadian Hemlock shaped to the contour of the curved walls – a key feature of the spa’s sacred geometric design.
Event saunas must be designed and built for purpose, and Awana’s has been specially created for sauna aufguss performances, with theatre-style lighting and a club-quality sound system, complete with sub-woofers hidden under the benches and capable of high volumes.
Space between the centrally-positioned heater and the first bench ensure sauna masters are able to move freely among guests, performing elaborate moves with their dancing towels that are choreographed to music, lighting and their own custom aromatherapy.
The sauna heater has also been manufactured to suit aufguss performances, as it acts as the focal point, being creatively clad in marble and illuminated for maximum visual impact. The heater needs to be powerful enough to quickly reheat the sauna rocks after each dramatic infusion of water and/or aromatic ice balls by the sauna master.
Training the masters Sauna aufguss has evolved significantly in recent decades as a performance art and can be anything from an elaborate and theatrical show with mesmerising towel work and audiences clapping and singing, to quieter, almost out-of-body, meditative journeys and sound baths.
Traditionally, aufguss was less ritualistic and more utilitarian: sauna attendants (or masters) were on hand to help circulate heat, humidity and infusions, without much fanfare. But times change and now, a new breed of enthusiastic and dedicated sauna masters is constantly evolving the art, making it far more performative and interactive.
“It’s hard to think of a better place than the Las Vegas strip for the first event sauna in America,” says DFL CEO, Don Genders. “There’s an amazing pool of talented performers living locally, many of whom have already embraced wellness in their daily lives and appeared in large Las Vegas shows, such as Cirque du Soleil. Clearly, sauna masters with that kind of talent will be able to capture the attention of Vegas spa-goers.”
Genders, alongside Eriksen and Keijzer, spent a week at the property working with spa director Jennifer Lynn Raftery training a team of sauna masters in the art of aufguss.
Prior to the European team’s arrival, Awana’s new sauna masters had watched aufguss YouTube videos and were already performing their own, uniquely American sauna theatrics. Eriksen predicted this would be a precursor of things to come, saying: “I can already see this team of sauna masters taking the Aufguss World Masters by storm in the not-so-distant future.” Raftery has already offered Awana to host the first-ever North American heat of this event.
If the enthusiasm of guests at Awana is any indication, sauna aufguss is destined to make its way to many more spas in the US. All came out buzzing, saying they’d never experienced anything like it. Aufguss is an entertaining, emotional and spirit-lifting way to enjoy true wellness benefits.
Aufguss fun in Vegas
Lisa Starr enjoyed her first US aufguss experience
Professional dancers have been trained as sauna masters / photo:s Lisa Starr
If you want to visit a fabulous spa, few cities in the US have more to offer than Las Vegas. Each of the many casino hotels offers massive spa and wellness spaces, but the new Awana Spa at Resorts World has debuted a novelty that no other spa in the US can boast – an event sauna.
My visit turned out to be the perfect antidote to fatigue caused by several days of sensory bombardment at a busy trade show.
With professional dancers who’ve been trained as sauna masters to create an immersive and entertaining heat experience, Awana’s aufguss experience included aromatherapy, special lighting effects and accompanying music in a choice of different sauna shows throughout the day.
The sauna masters added a heightened element of performance and sizzle to my sauna experience, which helped me forget how long I’d been sweating.
After the sauna I was presented with a multitude of relaxation options, including six vitality pools, a heated crystal laconium, steamrooms, cool mist showers, tepidarium chairs and an experiential rain walk – all of which are available with any spa treatment at the facility or by using a special Fountain of Youth pass.
Healthy snacks and beverages were also available in the delightful mixed-sex relaxation space, equipped with loungers and TV screens, where I relaxed and got a foot treatment while watching TV.
Awana’s internationally-inspired spa treatment menu focuses on end results, with the desired effect of each listed. I enjoyed the 90-minute Machu Picchu massage, which incorporated aromatherapy and crystals for balancing, and was delivered by a very skilled therapist. The treatment rooms featured a soothing earth-toned colour palette and beautiful lighting, while the calm environment allowed me to forget that I was only steps away from the Las Vegas strip.
Finding the spa within the massive, three-hotel building wasn’t easy, but it was well worth the effort.
The sauna masters added a heightened element of performance and sizzle to my sauna experience
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2022 issue 1
"When you know you're doing things right, you have power" – Deborah Szekely talks to Spa Business
Spa People: Zoe Wall
Zoe Wall talks about driving the global spa and wellness agenda at Kerzner
New opening: Healing oasis
Zoya, a new integrative health and wellbeing retreat, is opening in the Middle East, as Megan Whitby reports
Interview: Deborah Szekely
As the 'godmother of spa' approaches her 100th birthday, Jan Kitchen travelled to Rancho La Puerta to find out more about her extraordinary life
First Person: Siempre Mejor!
After 82 years, Rancho La Puerta is
still beloved among guests around
the world, who return year after
year for a dose of holistic wellbeing.
Jane Kitchen spent a week at the
Mexican resort to discover how the
spirit of ‘Siempre mejor!’ or ‘Always
better!’ lives on in the 21st century
Sponsored: Phytomer: Celebrating the sea
The story surrounding Phytomer is one of a unique wellness vision, a loyal family, remarkable marine science and pioneering skincare. We talk to deputy general manager Mathilde Gédouin-Lagarde as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary
GWS: Boston strong
If you missed the GWS – or even if you were there – Jane Kitchen's detailed report will give you endless useful actionable insights
Promotion: Yon-ka: Plant power
Benefiting from its founders’ passion for plants, Yon-Ka’s new brand identity reflects its past and its continued research into the healing power of plants which enables the company to craft innovative formulas that deliver results
First person: Paradise at Preidlhof
Lisa Starr travelled to Italy to interview Patrizia Bortolin for Spa Business and experience all that Preidlhof has to offer
Q&A: Patrizia Bortolin
Lisa Starr talks to the award winning visionary
who’s injecting new vigour into Preidlhof
Promotion: Reconnect with ISPA
After a two-year absence, ISPA’s annual Conference offers its
members an opportunity to reconnect and to learn more about
the available tools that can help them recharge their businesses
Q&A: Daniele Vastolo
Chiva-Som has opened a major new property in Qatar, with treatments focused on Traditional Arabic and Islamic Medicine. We talk to the GM
Research: Human nature
Anne Dimon reports on the latest research insights from the Wellness Tourism Association
Saunas: Aufguss
The first aufguss sauna experience in the US has opened in Las Vegas, as Cassandra Cavanah reports
Software: Getting (Hyper) personal
Software that drives generational marketing can create hyper-personalised offerings, as Karen Maxwell discovers
Supplier showcase: Art of Cryo: Best of both worlds
Art of Cryo is blending its high-performance cryotherapy
solutions with intermittent vacuum therapy to offer a
complete and effective whole-body wellness experience
Promotion: Comfort Zone
From 2022, Comfort Zone’s products are going plastic-neutral, certified by Plastic Bank
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
