Going to a spa is supposed to be an absolute treat. A relaxing, sensory experience that makes you feel pampered and cared for.
Paper Pants
But all too often, a spa or salon visit can be marred by the ignominy of having to strip off in front of a barely-out-of-her-teens, size ten therapist who clearly hasn’t seen what’s under a fat person’s robe before...and step into paper pants that feel like cheese wire. Not only that, but paper pants look absolutely ridiculous and believe me, when you’re a size 22, the only thing you can think about for the duration of a treatment is “please God, don’t make me cough.” Can you imagine the potential embarrassment factor of splitting your paper knickers mid bikini wax? Oh no, please never let that happen to me. One wrong move and the silly pants are toast...
So, with this in mind, and not to mention the ‘can’t quite get the robe done up’ or ‘towel? This is what you call a TOWEL?’ scenario, I went in search of fat-friendly havens of relaxation, places designed to make even the chubbiest among us feel like princesses for a day.
Wall of silence
The first thing I was met with was a wall of silence. I approached several well known spas direct, and the only one to come back to me straight away was Champneys. Now, I’ve been to Champneys myself, and although it was some time ago, I do remember enjoying the experience. I sampled the delights of Champneys at Tring, the ‘original' Champneys, and was pleasantly surprised that both my friend and I felt totally at home there. Neither of us are a size ten, and my friend admitted at the time that she’d entered the spa with some trepidation. I’d already been to several spas and knew the drill by then, but you still worry when you go to somewhere as swanky as Champneys that it’s going to be very exclusive and everyone is going to be thinner than you!
Sharon Scott, from Champneys, told me,
"Champneys are happy to welcome women of all sizes. We do have extra large robes, slippers and towels, and our therapists are used to dealing with women of every size and age.
“The paper pants are one size but they are designed to fit all. As you are probably aware they have elastic at the sides so the paper area is not designed to cover the whole area anyway.
“I believe many of our treatments would make any women feel good. The body treatments that make the skin feel soft are particularly good. We have a fabulous body treatment called Bed of Roses – this begins with a full body exfoliation followed by an application of body butter. While it’s being absorbed you relax and enjoy a massage of the feet and scalp, which will leave you feeling cleansed, nourished and soothed with the gentle fragrance of rose.”
Although experience would lead me to believe that the one size pants may just about fit all (but they certainly aren’t comfortable if you have a backside big enough for its own postcode) I’ll give Champneys the benefit of the doubt just for telling me about that gorgeous treatment!
What about the towels and robes?
Next to respond was Ragdale Hall, another popular and well-known spa, and the winner of the Professional Beauty Residential Spa of the Year 2008 award. Vicky Taylor told me that Ragdale positively encourages people of all sizes, and likes to think they are catered for. On the practical side, she assured me that not only does Ragdale offer variable sized paper knickers (so they do exist after all) but that their towels are all bath sheet size and they have robes suitable for all sizes too.
To make things even more welcoming, for people who really are what she described as ‘larger than average’ Ragdale have specially designed larger treatment couches, so that presumably the bigger clients don’t feel the need to cling on to the sides for dear life to avoid the horrible “I’m going to fall off this thing if I so much as move” feeling! Vicky added that Ragdale offers so many welcoming, pampering treatments that would make a larger lady feel amazing, she couldn’t pick just one.
“We like to provide a cosy, welcoming place for our visitors to enjoy, and we aren’t intimidating at all,” she told me. “Ragdale Hall is a very lovely environment...for everyone.”
Sensitive spa
Another spa that makes the grade when it comes to catering for curvy lasses is Eastthorpe Hall, not surprisingly another winner in the Professional Spa awards 2008. Sam Pearce, one of the partners at Eastthorpe waxed lyrical about what they offer larger people. According to Sam, a delighted Eastthorpe Hall client recently said that one of the things she loved about Eastthorpe Hall is that “it isn't run by 18 year old twigs!”
Eastthorpe believe that one of the reasons they have been winning awards is because of their sensitivity to clients of all shapes and sizes. One particularly favourable review was written recently by a journalist who hadn't undressed in front of anyone at all for the last 14 years and after realising how safe and secure she felt with her therapist (Nicola – the spa manager) she was relaxed and peaceful enough to have a treatment. Sam told me, “She is now a regular - and we can't keep her clothes on!”
She added, “we don't do one size fits all treatments here, because we just don't believe in them – and we even have ladies in cancer remission who are so relaxed here that they throw off their wigs and prosthetic boobs and throw caution to the wind!”
“Life would be so boring if everyone were the same, the stereotypical image of women in the media is totally unobtainable - we actually offer a treatment called Space - this treatment can be performed with the client fully dressed and the results are phenomenal - we have a Mongolian Yurt in the grounds that is just for you, totally private and just wonderful. To us size isn't an issue and it never has been. We know that we make clients feel comfortable in their own skin, whatever shape, size, colour or orientation.”
Eastthorpe Hall goes as far as to say that the majority of their clientele are actually on the larger side – and as a last comment Sam added,
“No, scrap that - the majority of our clients are women who are normal!”
Champneys: http://www.champneys.com/
Ragdale Hall: http://www.ragdalehall.co.uk/
Eastthorpe Hall: http://www.eastthorpe.co.uk/
