My hip decided to pick the week before I left for Vegas to blow up with an unbelievably painful flare of what I assume is sciatica. I have had some intermittent hip pain for years which I have steadfastly ignored. That hurts.” It is particularly annoying when some new body part starts to hurt just a week before vacation. It is incredibly frustrating when your mind says “Go go go!” but your body says “Nope. Like most people of a certain age, I have begun to experience the aches and pains of osteoarthritis. Little did I know that it would turn out to be an actual medical necessity. When I booked this massage weeks before my trip, it was with the intention of just having a fun day. The morning time slot was between 7 and 9 am I believe and I chose 9 am. If you are using a Groupon the Spa specifies certain time slots that you can visit early morning and late afternoon. Whoo hoo! I think my meager budget can handle that! Sold! It was $115 and I happened to have a discount code that brought it down to $85. One day as I was perusing all the Vegas news as is my usual custom, I stumbled across a Groupon ad for a massage at the Spa at the Golden Nugget. I have always been envious of those who can book a spa day without worrying about the expense but that has never been my experience.

While that was a pleasurable experience it didn’t have the peaceful ZEN feeling I was looking for. I wanted a more luxurious space, with hot tubs and steam rooms etcetera (and preferably without other people in my massage room).

What is a REAL massage you ask? On another trip, I had had a massage at Happy Feet at El Cortez. On my recent Vegas vacation, I decided to treat myself to a REAL massage at the Golden Nugget Spa in downtown Las Vegas. Blonde4ever shares her experience at the Golden Nugget Spa

Spa at the golden nugget