Beach vacations are supposed to be one thing: fun in the sun. But it's hard to relax when we feel ashamed and judged if our bodies aren't up to par with society's standards of beauty. But one resort in the Caribbean aims to change that — by being a total safe haven for plus-size people.
The idea struck James King after he saw plus-size people struggle at other resorts that he used to work at.
King told People magazine that at a resort in Grenada, he saw a young plus-size woman break a lounge chair when she sat down in it, and everyone laughed at her. The next day, he learned that she was being charged $150 for "destruction of hotel property," which he thought was "insane."
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"I tried to convince the owners that we needed furniture other than this plastic flimsy stuff, and they didn't care," he continued. "I decided that I had to do something."
Thus, The Resort was born, officially opening its doors about two years ago.
It took King around a decade to find the right strip of land to build upon: a five-mile stretch of private beach in Eleuthera, which is located in the Bahamas.
Then it was time to build, which wasn't an easy task. "The biggest issue was that no one manufactures for plus-size people," King told the magazine.
So he had to create and prototype all of the furniture, which took about "500 mistakes along the way."
His hard work paid off, and The Resort is already booked all year. "The response has been phenomenal," he said.
King explained to People:
"They bond in a commonality. It's people who have lived similar lives with the same issues, and all of a sudden most of the stigmas are gone, because nobody's staring at them. They just feel like they can identify. A lot of people who come have never met, but after just the first night it's like they've known each other for years."
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He reported that 10 percent of his bookings are repeat customers, proving how valuable his resort is to a community that's usually so marginalized.
Currently, the only way to stay at The Resort is to book the entire property for a flat fee of $16,400 for up to 24 people.
King is also currently planning to build another body-positive "sanctuary" on a nearby island.
However, if you don't have $16,400 sitting in your vacation fund, hopefully King's resort will at least inspire other resorts to start paying attention to every body type out there — because everyone deserves a judgment-free vacation.
