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| September Issue — Behold the latest travel niche: nude sailings on elegant cruise ships, nude weeks at Caribbean beach resorts, nude charter flights from Miami to Cancún (marketed under the slogan, “Fly Nude, Dude!”). According to the American Association for Nude Recreation, the number of Americans choosing to vacation au naturel is soaring, and attention should be paid. | |||
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SO, ACTING on behalf of our forward-thinking readers, we’ve
surveyed the growing number of utterly respectable hotels, resorts,
camps, and B&Bs where clothing is optional and then selected those
whose rates are almost all under $100 a night for a double room. CALIFORNIA Harbin Hot Springs (707/987-2477, www.harbin.org), located north of San Francisco, is a nonprofit retreat and workshop center tucked up in its own 2,000-acre wooded valley. You can soak in the buff in the five hot-springs pools and stay overnight in the Victorian-style hotel or cabins (basic doubles go for $80, dorm beds for $35). Morningside Inn (800/916-2668, www.morningsideinn.com) is a recently remodeled bed-and-breakfast-style inn with a pool and hot tub on private grounds in the nudist-friendly desert oasis of Palm Springs. The host, Jill, offers six large suites (some with patios) and four standard rooms starting at $95. FLORIDA |
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Atlantic Shores Resort (800/547-0715, www.glresorts.com) is a gay-popular (but open to everyone) resort with nude sunbathing at its large pool and bar built along the shoreline of Key West. It has 72 spiffy rooms with rates beginning at $75, frequent outdoor parties and events, and even an outdoor cinema with movies for $5 (sorry, you have to wear shorts for that). Cypress Cove (888/683-3140, www.cypresscoveresort.com), near Kissimmee, has been around since 1964 and its 250 acres come with a huge pool, restaurant, bar, gym, spa treatments, tennis courts, and even a children’s playground. The 84 motel-style villa rooms start at $96 per double. Paradise Lakes (813/949-9327, www.nudetravel.tv/resorts/paradiselakes) just outside of Tampa claims to be the largest nudist resort in the United States, with room for more than 600 residents on 72 acres, including four pools and three hot tubs, boutiques, a nude disco, tennis courts, restaurants, a poolside snack shop and bar, fishing lake, and workout area. Poolside guest rooms start at $75. |
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HAWAII The Banana Patch (800/988-2246, www.bananabanana.com) is a group of cozy vacation cottages (with full kitchens) on the Big Island of Hawaii, tailored for the naturist visitor. You can sunbathe amid a tropical garden of fruit and coffee trees, and there’s a private whirlpool spa as well. Rates start at $85. Hangin’ Loose (866/543-6324, www.hanginloose.com) is another naturist-run lodging on the Big Island, offering cottages and comfortable yurts to rent (starting at $80 a night), with a small pool and tanning deck amid a manicured tropical plantation. They can even arrange hikes to lava flows and nude horseback rides on the beach. Kalani (800/800-6886, www.kalani.com) is not an exclusively nudist retreat, but offers separate nudist-week events, as well as clothing-optional swimming in the pool and hot tubs after dark. This retreat center, bordering a nature preserve and close to a nude black-sand beach, offers yoga workshops, hula lessons, and massage therapy. Rooms are $60 for single travelers (you may have to share with another single), while private doubles go for $110. Maui Sun Club (808/248-7220, www.mauisunclub.com) specifically caters to naturists. It’s located on 19 lush acres, complete with a wood-burning hot tub, near a large state beach park. Their jungle cabin with a kitchenette and open-air shower starts at $95 per couple. LOUISIANA The Dive Inn Guesthouse (888/788-3483, www.thediveinn.com) is a unique, clothing-optional B&B in New Orleans, with a large indoor pool under a hangar-type structure (the place used to be a scuba school). The rather fancy rooms start at only $75, and the Dive Inn is a short walk away from the St. Charles streetcar line. |
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MISSOURI Lady Godiva’s Inn (636/274-3994, www.ladygodivasinn.com) is 35 miles southwest of St. Louis on a 12-acre, cedar and oak tree-filled ranch where Arabian horses are raised. The inn includes a hot tub, decks, a pool table, and trails, and meals can be arranged upon request. Rooms begin at $60. CANADA The Four Seasons Family Nudist Resort (905/659-7784, www.thefourseasons.com), located on 200 acres 40 minutes from Toronto, is one of the biggest nudist resorts in Canada, with lots of events, parties, and sports tournaments. Club membership costs just CAD$35 (US$26) per day per couple, and a standard room (with shared bath) per night is a measly CAD$54 (US$40), bringing your total cost to US$66 per couple. For those prices, you can easily splurge on the deluxe rooms for CAD$77 (US$57). The Manor House (613/591-6317, www.echelon.ca/sunshinemanor), near Ottawa, consists of a country house (with a home theater and cozy wood stove), heated indoor pool, and backyard patio, all clothing optional. Guests also have access to tennis, volleyball, and basketball courts. Rooms start at CAD$79 (US$59) and include a European breakfast. Oasis Niagara Guesthouse (905/353-0223, www.oasisniagara.com) is a gay-owned, clothing-optional B&B open to all nudists, located just steps from the Niagara Gorge. The clean, modern-colonial home has a quiet garden, hot tub, and a large solarium. Rooms start at an amazing CAD$55 (US$41). |
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JAMAICA Resort Euphoria (440/285-8684, www.resorteuphoria.com) in Negril, Jamaica, touts itself as the only AANR-approved resort in the Caribbean. All of the property’s 30 air-conditioned rooms (starting at $80) look over the ocean, and the entire grounds, beach, and pool are, happily, clothing optional. The entire place is safe and clean, and families are welcome. MEXICO Cabañas Copal (no phone; book through www.cabanascopal.com) is a rustic, natural getaway on a nude beach in Tulúm, along the Yucatán’s Mayan Riviera. The entire property is clothing optional (you have to throw some threads on for the restaurant). The resort is perfectly comfortable but has no electricity, opting for romantic candlelight instead. There’s yoga and massage, too. Cabanas with shared bath start at an easy $35, while garden kings go for $60. |
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Playa Sonrisa (011-52/983-838-1872, www.playasonrisa.com) is located in a tranquil corner of the Yucatán, about four miles north of the Belize border. The quiet resort markets to naturists, and a private beach, restaurant, and nude sea sports are available. Garden-view cabins start at $75, while beachfront cabanas are $95, including breakfast, as well as the use of kayaks and sports gear. Copyright © 2003 Newsweek Budget Travel, Inc. Matthew Link is an associate editor of Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel |
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