Letting a residential property to use as a detox retreat

Reply to the comment left by "Puzzler " at "23/10/2013 - 08:45":

Thanks for the contact Puzzler. I've been touch with Sarah - the location is a bit further way from me than i was thinking. If i do go for the guest house option i would be looking in the Painswick area.

Reply to the comment left by "Helen Landlord" at "23/10/2013 - 18:00":

Hi helen,

I went on a detox retreat a couple of years ago. The people had rented a group of holiday cottages together that had the on site facility of an indoor swimming pool. they booked the whole place at a discount rate for the not so popular times of the year> I went in December a great time before the fattening!!!! They were full for Jan/Feb. Shredding off xmas. the company is called Sura Detox, if you speak dao to the guy who runs it I am sure he would give you some great advice.

Oh would just like to say how fantastic a detox is, would recommend it to any one> came out feeling like a new women. If you do set one up let me know and a big good luck.

Reply to the comment left by "sally lloyd" at "23/10/2013 - 19:42":

the way i wrote it sounds like they rented it for the whole 3 months, they just booked the week of the detox each month

Reply to the comment left by "sally lloyd" at "23/10/2013 - 19:42":

I looked at the website for Sura Detox - it has full 5* tourist board status so I doubt if it is rented unless on a long commercial lease. Plus you have to comply with all the environmental, food hygiene, planning, fire regulations which is a big outlay if you're going to rent a property for 6 months. They also provide a lot of skilled people, nutrition, yoga, counselling etc. who you would have to employ unless you have some of those skills yourself. Also what would you say, sorry we can't take bookings beyond 6 months in case my lease has ended?

That's what I was thinking Helen could do in Cheltenham, she could also stay herself to manage the detox activities so not being on her own doorstep for a week should not be an issue (it's only 10 miles if she had to nip home).

Helen hasn't said what her skillset is but there is a big pool in Cheltenham of nutritionists, therapist etc. to call upon

Reply to the comment left by "Puzzler " at "26/10/2013 - 10:54":

@puzzler they only book the whole place for a week at a time and employ the therapists for just that week. I can't remember exactly how many people were on it but about 25. I was in one of the cheapest rooms and it cost me over £900 others were paying £1,500. We shared the cottages with others. I think they are on a good earner there.

It could easily be done with a single holiday house on a small scale or somewhere where they have a little group of holiday cottages. I"m sure the site will have all the insurances necessary maybe you would just have to get public liability insurance. That way you can check out if there is the demand without having to fork out too much money. And there is no food costs LOL. Just the cost of some juices and psyllium husk.

I agree with Sally.

It would be a good idea to "test the market" first with a small scale operation, learn from the feedback, and adapt accordingly.

I do believe there is a niche for this type of offering so I hope Helen manages to get something off the ground. 🙂

This type of holiday - with vegetarian food - would certainly appeal to me!

Thanks for all your thoughts everyone.

I have been to a lot of juice retreats around the country and there are many different formats that work. Yes i know Sura Detox which is very good (although i slightly different formula to what i'm looking for). The format that i think is closest to what i'm looking for is Homefield Grange in Northampton (although now on a larger scale than i would be looking at). It looks like an option may have opened up in Painswick for me so I'm investigating this further.

I am very passionate about the benefits of juicing/juice fasting in improving health (even helping to heal illnesses), helping clear additions to foods and gradually helping people feel happier/clearer/more alive:-) Juice fasting is also great for losing weight!

Reply to the comment left by "sally lloyd" at "27/10/2013 - 09:20":

@Sally, sorry I tried to delete that post as I realised it was incorrect

Mark, why did that get posted?

However, you would have to have employers' and public liability, environmental health assessment for food service, fire safety, make sure that planning was in place. There is a difference once you start to provide services to the public. Holiday cottages would probably have some of those things but a purely residential property would not (and the buildings insurance would not permit it). That's why I thought a guest house or small hotel would be best as they have all that in place.

It does sound good though and as I'm nearby I will definitely try it if Helen goes ahead.

Hi mark no probs, don't think you would need employers liability as they just buy the services of other professionals who are self employed. They defo wouldn't need food hygiene as they starve you to death LOL

If you ever get the chance try a detox, you won't believe how alive and fantastic you will feel afterwards, lots of people lost loads of weight too.