Steam Power

After a late night of Las Vegas-style antics the confines of the hot, wet hammam at The Palms’ Drift might well be the prescription for feeling rejuvenated.

ESCAPING THE DRY, desert conditions of Arizona, I duck into the cool confines of Joya Spa at the new InterContinental Montelucia in Scottsdale. Diffuse light from candles and Moorish-style lanterns guides me up a curved, wrought-iron-railed staircase. Upstairs are the iridescent-tiled chambers of the hammam: hot, hotter and hottest heat and steam chambers, a private room for a vigorous rub-and-scrub-down, plus plunge pools and showers of varying temperatures. Taken in sequence, it’s a spa ritual that can last a whole afternoon.

Joya is the newest of a handful of Turkish-inspired spa baths that are bringing an ancient tradition to a new generation of wellness seekers. The combination of hot steam, cold dips and vigorous exfoliation is said not only to cleanse the skin but to purify and detox the body, even boosting your immune system with regular practice. Take a quick trip to the Far East at these hammam spas.

Ten Spa (Winnipeg)
On the top floor of the Fort Garry, the most traditional of hotels, is the Hamam at Ten Spa, a fresh take on the ancient ritual. The spa reception is mod-cool in white, with curvy contemporary furniture; wispy-curtained, white-linened beds in the relaxation area make for cozy post-treatment lounging. Wrapped in a traditional pestemal (a toga-style wrap), you’ll sip hot brew and enjoy a small sweet in the tea room first. Options inside the steamy marble hammam chamber itself include a self-administered aromatic salt-scrub or a sabun, which is an olive-oil soap gommage or rose-oil foot, scalp or body massage from a spa therapist.
Cool perk A tangy, invigorating post-treatment drink of ayran (a salty, creamy yogurt beverage).
Cost From $65, packages for parties of 6–12.
222 Broadway Ave., Winnipeg, 204-946-6520, 866-585-0772, tenspa.ca

Miraj Hammam Spa (Vancouver)
Since 2000, Surinder Bains has been bringing rain-chilled Vancouverites the steamy bathing tradition she remembers from a favourite hammam in Paris. The steam here is almost blindingly thick; the vapours and your cotton pestemal provide modesty in the hammam chamber. During the gommage you’ll lie on one of the marble benches while a therapist scrubs you with black Moroccan soap and a loofah mitt. Feel truly regal in the gilded red Sultana Lounge after your treatment, enjoying strong mint tea and Middle Eastern sweets.
Cool perk Thursdays are men’s nights; Sunday is couples’ day.
Cost From $109.
1495 W 6th Ave., Vancouver, 604-733-5151, mirajhammam.com

Drift Spa & Hammam and
QuaBaths & Spa (Las Vegas)
The Palms and Caesar’s Palace have created two very different takes on the communal bathing experience. Drift at Palms Place is a sexy and curvaceous hammam in earth-hued tiles of brown and gold. Caeser’s Qua is based on (surprise) ancient Roman bathing customs, with a huge marble expanse of three communal hot and cold mineral-water pools, plus a herbal steam room, a cedar laconium (ultra-hot chamber) and the Arctic Ice Room, where artificial snowflakes drift down to cool you off. Ask the in-house tea sommelier to pair a brew with your particular treatment. Drift Spa 4381 W Flamingo Rd., 702-944-3219, palmsplace.com (hammam access included with spa treatments) Qua Baths 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S, 866-782-0655, harrahs.com/qua ($45 [U.S.] for daily access to baths)

Joya Spa (Scottsdale, Arizona)
Relax on the heated benches in a gorgeously tiled warming room full of rosewater mist before being taken into a private hammam chamber. A beautiful mahogany table in the centre of the room is a comfortable perch for the gommage. A therapist applies a tingly eucalyptus-scented black soap applied with a wet kassa cloth (an alternative to the more vigorous loofah that’s sometimes used). Afterward, your skin glows from the gentle exfoliation. The bathing area’s pools and saunas are tiled in elaborate and exotic mosaics; our favourite is the breathtakingly refreshing cold deluge shower. Enjoy lunch or a dip on the spa’s private pool terrace after, or just relax on high wooden beds decked with spice-hued bolsters and cushions, enjoying one of Joya’s wellness tonics and elixirs: diamond (inner strength), sapphire (peace), ruby (energy), emerald (love) or jade (joy).
Cool perk A giant crystal glows at the curtained, starlit entrance, where you’re invited to place one of a selection of gemstones to set your intention or wish for your spa visit.
Cost $45 (U.S.) pool and terrace access; treatments from $100 (U.S.).
4949 E Lincoln Dr., Scottsdale, 480-627-3020, joyaspa.com wl