The following reviews have been written by our members.

Clover Spa & Hotel

Birmingham

9th January 2011

Hi all. I've just come back from my visit to Clover Spa having spent the majority of Saturday day and Saturday night there. As promised to some, I thought i'd write down a few thoughts on the whole trip.

I have little frame of reference because although i've been to one or two textile spas i'm not a regular, nor have i ever had regular access to a facility with a sauna or hot tub. I'm also a relative newcomer to social nudity but even so...this is such an amazing place! To be honest I had quite a difficult Christmas for various reasons so I was desparate for some 'me' time, and this was my present to myself. It did mean a loooong round trip but it definitely achieved its goal, which was to finally help me relax.

Here's a few observations:

The building: The hotal spa is essentially an completely renevated extended house with 7 bedrooms. All the facilities are perfectly designed for an intimate social occasion of upto 20 guests (with day visitors) including the spa, lounge and garden. It would be ideal for a club getaway! Nudity is permitted at any time and in any place in the complex except for reception. Reception into which you walk from the front entrance is really a small cubicle! It has 3 swipe pass doors for staff, day visitors (to the changing room) and the hotel for staying guests. There's no way you could mistakenly walk nude into it, and no way outside visitors could 'come across unclothed guests' so the hotel immediately puts out an air of relaxed intimicy and security which from my point of view was nicely designed.

The room: The hotel rooms are contemporary with laaaaarrrrge plasma TVs. I stayed in probably the smallest double and the TV took up an entire wall! The en suite floor was heated which was nice and the bed was lovely (if a tiny bit soft for me but i have preference for a hard mattress). There was a complimentary magazine and all in all the room was perfect for my purposes but then I didn't plan to stay in there very much except to sleep!

The spa: This was fantastic! Everything has been planned so well and is in the right place with one exception (see massage!) The sauna, hot tub and showers are wonderful. The plunge pool is still not in use BUT we're talking here about a 5 foot by 5 foot dunking pool, not a swimming pool. The plunge is about 6 foot deep for a cold 'dunk' after a sauna, so a cold blast from the shower did the same job of making me rosy red and glowing! The pool was therefore not missed. The steam room wasn't my cup of tea as i preferred the dry heat of the sauna but looked to be working fine. Hopping in and out at the right time between steam events seemed to be the order of the day as they were very powerful and hot!

The garden: Still needs some work as it is presently a blank canvas but for a few shrubs around the hot tub, but the garden is a perfect size if the hotal were full. I had a walk around after my massage and could have done with a few of the trees growing a bit as one or two neighbouring windows could see over but i didn't worry about it. The willow is a lovely centre point and with landscaping and the tree lit on a warm late summer evening, the ambiance would be lovely.

The massage: I had a swedish massage by Adrian. I was the best massage I have ever had. Period. Man's a genius. The only 'slight' issue was that the massage room is next to the bar, so there were one or two moment's when i jumped from someone laughing or the cooker buzzer going off! A minor quibble though and the massage was so good it didn't detract from being 10/10.

The staff: Tim, Oscar and Adrian were very good people and very welcoming. Another female duty manager was also there (I didn't catch her name) and a therapist, Jenna, was on holiday. Oscar is 'the man' lol. Tim has even put thought into the balance between male and female staff so that women aren't put off by there being too many men around! It appears that Tim has put every effort in and is holding out a branch to all naturists and saying..."this is what you want...come and make it a success". If I would say anything as a bottom-line it would be "This could be the start of better things for naturism in this country...go and make it a massive success and more will follow". Tim and I chatted a good bit about the plan for attracting customers and for setting the ethos at the right level so as to bring in the 'right sort' of customer. However Tim's got to make money...so time will tell whether it will work with the current marketing.

The food: Simple but good value since you're not paying any extra. No five course banquets here. The menu has small lunch/tea items like pasta, quiche, paninis, salad and cheesecake (although as an added bonus there's a regular supply of fresh brownies too..help yourself!) . I guess you could order everything on the menu but Tim may frown at you! The unlimited drinks were great though and very nice to wander from spa to lounge to drink and then go back...very relaxing.

The atmosphere: Quiet! I so wish the hotel had had more customers whilst I was there. I was at least fortunately that it wasn't completely empty. Another local couple had seen an ad in a magazine and I chatted to them in the sauna and tub. Both were very impressed too.

Me: I couldn't have been happier. Well I could have been but only if a few more people had been in the building. Being nude everywhere I went felt comfortable and natural. I chatted to Tim whilst eating my dinner nude and all 3 staff were dressed but I didn't feel out of place at any time. I came away feeling refreshed and happy and ready to face work and my hyperactive daughter again. I wouldn't hesitate in going back another time. It's worth the money and drive in my opinion. If any others need some company, I'll be there!

Overall: 10 out of 10. Top notch. Big thumbs. It's great that it's central. A club could go there together. It's great for a couple of which one may be nervous (Tim's words to me in an e-mail: "You don't have to be naked all the time. You can be, and others can be, but it's completely up to the individual"), and it was great for me...the dreaded single male. It's the right size so as to be intimate with personal service, but never cramped. As a community, we couldn't have wished for a better option of this type. Just go...

Review by Simon T

(Note from webmaster: this review was written in January!) 

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Holiday Reviews

Tan-y-ffordd

Way back, in I think February, on return from holiday I looked though my favourite naturist site to find catch up on what had been going on and I found that a competition had been posted. This was the sites first competition. Competitors were asked to answer 15 questions mainly about naturism and each one had to be answered within a two minute time limit. A “strap line” for the site was the tie-breaker. The prize was a week generously donated by Gordon and Liz (Naturist Couple) at their cottage, Tan-y-ffordd in Penuwch, near Tregaron. Well I answered all the15 questions correctly and supplied the tie-breaker “strap line” I forget what I suggested now but it was on the lines of “Naturist Corner natural place for naturists” I was delighted to be informed I’d won! It was the first time (and only time) I’ve won anything like this. My wife who is not so enthusiastic about the life style as me nevertheless looked forward to the week I’d arranged with Gordon during the first week in August. This was an ideal week as it gave me a chance to meet Tony and Irene who were staying at Tan-y-ffordd too. We arrived on the Saturday afternoon. The cottage is easy to find, as Gordon had explained, “Look for bronze figures in a field, passed the large duck pond then it’s us.” We found the figures, made out of paper machete and painted by the local children, saw the largest duck pond in Wales and then instantly recognised the cottage sign from the tan-y-ffordd web site. We had a huge welcome from Gordon and were introduced to Tony and Irene who plied us with tea. They were staying in Gordon’s large static caravan out on the naturist field at the back of the premises. It’s a slightly old but clean, roomy and well equipped ‘van. It overlooks a slight valley and is totally private. When we first arrived buzzards and red kites were flying overhead. Introductions over and tea drunk Gordon showed us “Twll Llygoden” or “The Mouse hole” It really is a mouse hole too, but no mice! The downstairs consists of a shower-room and toilet and a small but well equipped kitchen. The kitchen has a drop down table for convenience. These two rooms take up half the depth of the property. A narrow staircase leads to a room the full depth of the cottage. The back portion has a comfortable double bed and a dressing table and wardrobe. The wardrobe contained two dressing gowns to cover up when walking to the naturist field. The front portion has two comfy armchairs and a satellite TV. It’s an ideal place for two. A small word of warning. The cottage is surrounded by fields with sheep. The ones at the back are normal quiet animals whilst the ones at the front are old rescued sheep. One has no ears. They were cut off by some unspeakable individuals and this animal and others reside on the field to the front. Given the opportunity they bleat and like being fed bread. In truth they gave us nothing but amused pleasure. We’ve always wanted to explore when we’ve been away and I believe we did the area justice, retuning during the mid afternoon to enjoy a cuppa and a read. It gave me the opportunity to be naked but there never was any pressure for Linda to strip off. I love the hills so we first went to Strata Florida the site of an old monastery and then on the “green desert of Wales” a vast expanse of open wild moor land. You can drive along a narrow single track road to the glorious Trefi Pools and walk onto the “desert”. Just wonderful. We managed a visit to LLanerchaeron an old country mansion in the care of the National Trust. It’s high point to me was the old and large walled garden and lake. None I’m afraid naturist! A short distance away lies Aberaeron with its lovely pastel coloured cottages and houses. They sell a wicked honey ice cream there too. Lampeter is a small nearby town and is one of the locations to have the University of Wales. It’s a small campus but you can just walk in and have a look around. Gordon told us the challenge was to actually find Sainsburys, hidden away in the centre. Aberystwyth drew us to its fleshpots too, well at least the tea shop. It has a typical Victorian sea front with a pier and a small tram to the top of Constitutional Hill. There’s a castle there too but what took our interest was the small but intimate museum in an old cinema. Once we felt we’d done the place justice we moved up to Borth. A little to the north lies the Dovey River and at this point there are extensive sand dunes ideal for a little au natural sun bathing. The beach is not naturist so have a little care. Another foray took us to an area just south of Newquay. There are numerous coves along here. We parked up at one and I had a walk over the headland and found a deserted sandy cove. It was just right for a short naked swim. Tregaron is a small but pleasant village with a couple of pubs a church and teashop. Just to the north lies Cors Caron the Welsh National Nature (not naturist!) Reserve. It’s a wetlands and is full of wildlife. There’s a convenient walkway although if you have time and suitable footwear, i.e. boots or wellies you can do a four hour riverside walk right though the heart of the centre. One of the treasures of the week was a half mile walk or ride if you’re lazy to the Penuwch Inn. This pub provides what must be the best food in Wales. We went twice and on both occasions the food was sublime, plentiful and well priced. I can only conclude by saying what a welcoming couple Gordon and Liz are. If you like the quieter unsophisticated naturist venues then at least give Tan-y-ffordd serious consideration. We loved it. 

Click thumbnail to enlarge.

Aberystwyth Cors Caron Cottage Cove - South of Newquay Naturist Field Sheep named 'Eh'

Review by Davie

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Harbin Hot Springs, California

During 2007 my wife and I toured Northern California. On previous visits to the US we had visited textile hot springs and we wanted to take the waters again. Before we left I’d searched the web and found several hot springs and swimming holes. Time on these holidays is always tight and Harbin seemed the best bet. The site informed me that some areas were clothes optional.

On arrival, and without pre-booking, the staff could not have been more helpful and even swapped a room to make ours more accessible. It was clearly pointed out it was a clothes optional site except for the restaurants and within sight of any public roads.

In practice the vast majority of people took the option to be naked around the pool area and remained clothed elsewhere. We were lodged in an amazing dome like structure a little way from the centre. These looked if they’d come from another planet. Nudity seemed acceptable in this area too. There were a further two pools here and we had use of these during the late evening. Bathing under the Californian stars was amazing.

The central area has several pools. There is a swimming pool at a normal temperature and a heart shaped hot pool to relax and talk in. There is another hot pool to float about in and just relax. There is little talking in this pool. This pool is fed from an extremely hot pool. It’s hard to get into this cauldron as the temperature is somewhere around 110 deg F and maybe a little more. Next door is a freezing plunge pool!

My wife put her cossie on, but not for long! The ambience of this place is wonderful and the food is an oasis of taste.

I’ve no photos as camera and mobile phones are not allowed for reasons of peace and privacy. There was icing on the cake as the mulberry tree was in season and they tasted, well wow!

Harbin is along a small road out of Middletown, a town south of Clearwater and north of Calistoga where there are more hot springs. If we return to California it’s at the top of the list, and this time for more than 24 hours. There are reviews of this place on the web. The vast majority are positive. We took it as we found it, and loved it. I've no doubt there are other similiar places to explore. For now, I'll leave you to find them.

Review by Davie 

 

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