To wish that spas were like those in the Netherlands or Germany.

[ForalltheSaints]

DP and I lived near Rotterdam for a few years. We loved visiting the local spa, especially in the winter. A relaxing sauna, swim, and sometimes a meal. Conveniently located (the one we usually visited was a tram ride, the other we went to occasionally a bus ride from the local station), spacious, comfortable.

Since we came back to England we miss such facilities. I don't know if they ever existed or did the prevelance of American attitudes to such matters in England stop them ever being built. If like us, you think it is unpleasant to have a sauna with a swimming costume on, the only options are tiny places, remote ones, or places which are quite frankly full of men looking for something other than quiet relaxation. There is one hotel in Birmingham with a spa that fits the bill, but that seems about all.

AIBU to want a spa such as one we used to visit in the Netherlands? We go back maybe once a year.

[thebody]

So you sit naked and sweaty in a sauna? Mixed?

[ForalltheSaints]

Naked yes, sat on a large towel, or with it wrapped around you.

[FiscalCliffRocksThisTown]

Yes

[poocatcherchampion]

oooh tell me where in Birmingham?
totally agree op. its one of the things I miss about Germany.

[kelda]

We regularly go to the spa in Aachen and in ... Spa, Belgium.

Has anyone tried the Bath Spa?

[ForalltheSaints]

Clover Spa is the one in Birmingham

[BEEwitched]

I'm German and while I'm not keen on the Sauna I miss the hot spa baths, like this one: franken-therme.net/

Brilliant for people with skin issues and allergies, as well, and every time I visit my parents we go at least one. Next time I go back home I will have a 5 month old baby with me (err, mine, I'm not taking a random one) and I hope I can get some kind auntie or friend to babysit for me while we go!

[DogCalledRudis]

Try Latvia or Poland

[beccajoh]

You can't go naked at Bath Spa, but it is lovely.

[meiisme]

Oh, yes! Any investers who want to start a chain with me, first branch in the Northwest?

Also cycling lanes seperated with a barrier from car traffic on all roads.

[DisgraceToTheYChromosome]

Good luck with the second one. I was cycling in Holland and giving way to a car, when a local leaned out and said "Hey English, we don't kill cyclists in Nederland".

[NightCircus]

Do you swim naked too or put a costume on for that and remove for sauna?

[Grennie]

YANBU to want this. Y may BU to not understand the totally different culture here in terms of the idea of being naked in front of men and women you don't know.

[mousmous]

yanbu
and put austria on that list, too.
where I used to live is a huge adventure bath. with all sorts of slides and different temperature pools. plus sauna, gym,

[mousmous]

no swimmimg with costume, remove or sauna.

[Yama]

After a trip to Finland, dh wants to convert part of the garage into a sauna. Wonder how much it would cost.

[Wellthen]

The Turkish baths in Harrogate has single sex days where you can go naked. Or it did last time I went which was a while ago.

[meiisme]

Culture isn't so monolithic that all Brits are uncomfortable with naturist spa experiences, right? Some people on this thread are from the UK, there is already one facility in Birmingham (am definitely going first time I can flog the DC off on somebody), and there are other naturist facilities and groups around the country. So there obviously is some demand.

[mousmous]

tbh, just a clean swimming pool with a slide or two would be a good start.
most pools I have been to in the uk were filthy, even the very expensive ones...

[Grennie]

I have been to naturist spas in the UK. It is because of the culture in the UK that there are very few and they usually are only attended by a small group of people.

[Kittymautz]

These kind of places are not as popular, even in Germany, as they used to be. My ILs owned and ran these type of saunas with swimming pool, small bar and food etc in Germany for decades (my DP tells funny stories about having to talk to his naked school teachers at his parents' sauna!), but had to close in the last few years as enough people just weren't coming in to make a profit. They now have a massive swimming pool sized fish pond in their back garden!

[Sallyingforth]

As a life-long naturist I have always thought it strange that you have to cover up little bits of your body at the public pool.
Fortunately it's becoming accepted that you can be more natural on an increasing number of beaches. Perhaps in time we will become generally less prudish in the UK.

[meiisme]

Mmm, those kind of family-oriented naturist places are a lot less popular than they were in the Netherlands too. But spa/sauna days, where the nakedness is not so much a lifestyle choice and swimwear or covering towels are okay too, are quite a (luxury) treat for lots of people. Do you think there is really no market for that here? Provided you find a way to keep out people who come to look at naked people?

[Katiepoes]

I live in Holland and hate the mixed saunas. We had a work outing once to one, oh lord the horror. That was with a Swedish company, thankfully now I work for Americans that understand you might not want to sit next to flabby Dirk-Jan from Finance wearing only a smile. Yack.

[horsetowater]

I like the swimming pools in Germany, with indoor and outdoor areas saunas and slides, also the swimming ponds. All with cafes. Being naked in these environments would spoil it for me and would feel like being in a Carry On film. I couldn't take it seriously.

Their demise in Germany might be due to the fact that they now have a mega brothel industry with 20,000 prostitutes, they are probably a bit tired of nakedness now.