Steve Wynn's Encore hotel, left, in Las Vegas
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For sybarites, the Encore features a new nightspot called XS. The line forms the moment the joint opens, at 10 p.m. Here you can witness young women in high heels and minidresses play tug-of-war with modesty, as they alternately pull up on the top of the garment and down on the bottom, since there isn't enough fabric to do both at once. Modesty never stood a chance.
Above the buzz of the casino, life changes dramatically. The hotel is 48 floors of tranquility. Primary colors take a backseat, and neutrals, Zen greens and black dominate the color palette in the suites, all of it magnified by those giant windows. You are trying not to call it elegant, because that's not supposed to happen in Vegas, but the Encore exudes elegance right down to the European antiques that decorate some of the lounge areas. There's a separate check-in area for the tower suites that just oozes calm. (Watch TIME's video on Macau's gambling scene.)
The rooms are all suites, measuring from 650 sq. ft. for a resort suite to 1,400 sq. ft. for a parlor suite — or bigger than your average New York City apartment. Way bigger. The living room in the suites, designed by Todd-Avery Lenahan of ABA Design Studio, have houndstooth wall coverings, warm-toned carpet and the requisite flat-screen TV, which you can watch from a comfy couch. There's a wet bar and a fridge for entertaining — we invited some friends over to share the view, and the room easily accommodated a dozen visitors. The bedroom has yet another giant screen that swings out from the wall — very important if you are going to watch a game from the whirlpool tub in the bathroom, where, once again, neutrals predominate. There's a large walk-in shower and a thoughtfully designed twin-sink vanity that can lodge every health and beauty product that any self-respecting woman would haul to Las Vegas. (See the five best places to travel in a recession.)
Even before Wynn and others moved to Macau, the former Portuguese colony and den of iniquity that is now part of the People's Republic of Gambling, Las Vegas was catering to its Asian clientele. The Encore is no exception. The elevator panel shows the floors climbing to 63, but floors numbered from 40 to 49 are missing, since the pronunciation for the number four in Cantonese and Mandarin is too close to the word for death. Very bad chi. On the life-fulfilling side, the Encore has a 60,000-sq.-ft. spa and gym that caters to any marathon-running, mani-pedi-wearing Zen master. Entry to the treatment rooms is through a colonnade of massive vases and brass lanterns, which culminates in a statue of the Buddha. There are couple's therapy rooms (for spa therapy, silly; not talking about your marital issues), plus separate, oversize spa rooms for men and women that have huge hot tubs, cold plunges and waterfall showers. Usage costs $30 a day, although multiday discounts are available. (See pictures of Macau.)
There's plenty to entertain you at the Encore, even if you don't like to play the tables. If you can tear yourself away from the spa, there's a perfectly pleasant outdoor pool (one section of which allows topless sunbathing, though I demurred); a $500-a-round golf course designed by Tom Fazio and Wynn; and La Rêve, the impressive, water-themed acrobatic show. The beauty of the Wynn is that you don't ever have to leave the grounds of the resort to enjoy yourself for a couple of days. All of Las Vegas is a screaming buy at this point, but if living well is the best revenge for recession, this is the place to do it.