Vitaal to Health (Colon Cleanse & Detox Retreat Marbella)

Member Name: helencb

Product:	Colon Cleanse & Detox Retreat Marbella
Date:	07/12/05 (1826 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: If you think "Mind over Matter" then the program will be good for you

Disadvantages: lets itself down with approach towards clientele

It was a chance text from my sister, inviting me to visit Detox Marbella or Vortex Vitaal that led to my recent trip to Marbella - being my 4th detox in as many years. Somehow 50 weeks of filling the body with typical Western foodstuffs it doesn't deserve, followed by two weeks of intense cleansing might not be the perfect solution to long term health, but still it is better than nothing!

Booking
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I made initial enquiries to Detox Marbella/Vortex Vitaal via their website - www.detoxmarbella.com and received a response within a couple of hours, despite this being a Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately the resort were unable to accommodate me on the same week as my sister, but having spent much of the last nine months staying in hotel rooms (it's an occupational hazard in my industry!) I decided I would make the trip regardless. After several emails back and forth regarding availability, I was able to secure a two week period during October, arriving just one week after my sister departed.

I was particularly taken with the website and the standard of accommodation and location, and felt this offered a high quality compared to the other resort retreats I had visited. The cost was more expensive at €1400 for a two week Superior Cleanse (current exchange rate approx €1.50 to £1, but this seemed reasonable value when considering the distance from the UK compared with other resorts such as Hippocrates in Australia or Spa Samui in Thailand)

Overall at this stage of the process I was impressed with the response to my enquiries and felt as though my booking was being acknowledged personally, as indeed did my sister when she was making her own reservation.

Shorter cleanses are available at reduced cost and in addition there is a reduction of up to 20% from the Web price for two people sharing a double or twin room.

Payment
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An initial payment of 50% needs to be made within seven days of booking or your reservation will be released. Unfortunately the organisation will only take payment by wire transfer, and so this will involve a trip to your branch. Although I have never wired money in my life until this point, my bank, Lloyds TSB were able to handle this without any difficulty and for a fee of £20. In actual fact, unless you want to carry a large amount of cash with you, you will need to wire the remainder of the payment prior to arrival. According to their terms and conditions, payment must be made in full on arrival.

Confirmation of Booking
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Once we had agreed dates I was sent a ten page document outlining the benefits of good intestinal health and the power of colonic cleansing in avoiding serious illness etc. I was also sent an outline of the program itself. This was perhaps to be the toughest program ever, with a full 12 days of fasting, taking in only essential herbs in tablet form, together with shakes, juices and ginger tea. The program itself also outlined two colonics per day and was indeed almost identical to the program at Spa Samui in Thailand which I had completed with my sister in 2004. Not easy, but a kick start to better living, and therefore an investment in time and money that I felt was important for me.

Arrival
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Airport transfers were bookable via Detox Marbella for an additional €30 per trip, although I had not elected to take advantage of this service and I had booked hotel accommodation for the first and last night's stay in Spain.

Unfortunately it was from arrival that the stark difference between the website promises and reality started to become apparent. Unlike most of Detox Marbella's guests that I met, I was not so shocked about the actual accommodation, as my sister had texted me to say it was "actually an apartment". That is correct. The website which artistically describes the resort as:

Quote : "Set amidst cork oak groves, our accommodation facility is the residential retreat alternative in one of the most select enclaves in Europe. Few facilities, like ours can boast such extraordinarily unique natural surroundings, declared a World Biosphere Reservation by UNESCO, yet the development is just a step away from Marbella, the main exponent of quality lifestyle in southern Europe. The building is linked by delightful pathways which are an invitation to a leisurely stroll. The spacious landscaped public areas with luxuriant, well-tended vegetation ensure the development blends into the natural surroundings, while well-designed layout ensures homes are positioned to enjoy maximum daylight and optimum views.
The spacious architect-landscaped grounds are a veritable Garden of Eden, where a leisurely stroll or a swim in any of the beautifully designed swimming pools is total bliss. Enjoy the wide range of excellent facilities provided at the leisure and sports club on our grounds, including a 9-hold par course, three paddle tennis and tennis courts, gymnasium, sauna, putting green and restaurant."

(source: www.detoxmarbella.com, Freely Available in the public domain)

Sounds idyllic? Well in fact, the "Facility" is a four bedroom/four bathroomed apartment in a modern development around 20 minutes from Marbella itself. It DOES have pathways and the facilities as mentioned however the apartment itself is a good 20 minute walk from the Golf Clubhouse - which might not sound like much, but when it is uphill ALL the way back and you haven't eaten for a fortnight - its not exactly convenient!

Given that there are only 4 bedrooms, including one which is used as a Massage Treatment room, the maximum number of guests at any one time is 6. Although guests pay the same price regardless of the room allocated, one room did not even have an en suite bathroom, despite the assurances of the website. This room was also at road level and given the whole estate was still very much a construction site, guests who were allocated this room were disappointed to say the least.

There were in fact four or five public swimming pools within the complex, but these were not exclusively for the guests at Detox Marbella, but for all guests at the sprawling complex that is De Soto Apartments, Marbella.

I had been allocated the best room in the house, which included two balconies (neither of which actually caught any sunlight unfortunately!). The room was also spacious, and included a spa whirlpool bath. I actually felt a bit guilty about this room though! My sister had had the downstairs room to start with on her stay, but had managed to get herself moved to the better room a couple of weeks earlier.

There were no real facilities at the complex itself and the nearest village - Elviria - was around 4km away by winding mountain road. Downhill this would have been walkable except for the fact that the road was winding and there was no footpath. While Elviria itself had basic facilities such as a newsagents, internet café and supermarkets, the resort complex had no facilities or transport links to facilities whatsoever, which quickly led most guests to feel hemmed in and restricted in the surroundings.

While certainly not typical of Detox complexes, the apartment did have Sky TV and full access to all British TV channels under the basic Sky contract. I have to say that this was a blessing in disguise in whiling away the hours!

The Program
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I guess it is normal to be slightly nervous about enrolling for a program such as this, but given my previous experiences I was quietly alarmed almost from the time of arrival. All new guests were seated, and having only had polite introductions to each other we were quizzed as to our bowel movements and whether we used laxatives etc! Hardly the kind of questions that are going to elicit honest answers in a group situation……there was no personal consultations as had been intimated via the website.

The program itself had many similarities to the Spa Samui program, and in essence this meant that every 1.5 hours throughout the day from 7am until 9pm there was "something" to do, whether that be taking herbal supplements, or detox powders. All aspects of the program and common FAQ and problems were covered relatively well.

At this stage I had a concern about the quality of the natual fruit juices which were being served up. The website states that fresh fruit and vegetable juices were available all day. In actual fact there is only one proprietor at Detox Marbella and she would make jugsful of juice in the morning and in the evening. This did not sit well with me as the first rule of juicing is that juices should be made and drank immediately and not left to sit. When I make juices at home I would routinely drink them even before I attempted to wash the juicer…furthermore juices were being watered down in a 10 parts to 1 ratio. The cynic in me felt this was simply a cost reduction exercise as I had never experienced this anywhere else.

I was also disappointed that the two colonics a day which were advertised as part of the program appeared to have been cut to one colonic every TWO days. This was explained as being ok as a new supplement had been added to the program, but I felt this was an issue as only doing two colonics in a six day period was not what I was anticipating when I booked the Program.

With regards to the specifics of the program, there were various supplements including capsules, droplets and two powders. All in all I found these relatively straightforward to take with the exception of one called "Drawing Powder". This Black charcoal based powder should have been taken five times a day. I quickly reduced this to four, and reduced the dosage as I found it totally disgusting! In fact on my final day of the detox, I could not stomach it whatsoever. The powder is intended to draw all toxins from the bloodstream, but it was both the taste and consistency which made it extremely difficult to take.

Customer Service
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The proprietor is a self confessed "Control Freak" and this became very apparent from the first day. Without going into too much detail it quickly became apparent that certain practices were the way that they were as it appeared to suit the needs of the proprietor more than it suited the needs of the guest. Specific examples of this are the requirement for Fresh Juices, and not getting two colonics a day as portrayed via the website. Both of these situations resulted in some tense discussions before I was eventually elected as being responsible for Fresh Juicing for the whole group ( a success, as at least it was now fresh!) and for my being able to do one colonic every day (but I was told I would have to withdraw from another supplement).

For me I quickly came to the conclusion that the information I was being given was not backed up in fact. Advice was inconsistent across the group and given I had two altercations on the same day regarding the above issues, I developed an attitude of mind over matter. While the overall ambience being created was far from what the participants required, the general feeling was to "get on with it". A large part of any detox program is the space for emotional as well as physical detox, and it is in this area that Detox Marbella is not very well equipped whatsoever. At times it honestly felt like we were naughty school children who needed to be told how to behave - not a bunch of mature adults who had made conscious choice about their wellbeing.

It seemed almost impossible to be able to leave constructive feedback. Given that everyone I met was in their mid 30's minimum, with professional careers and capable of independent thinking I would not have anticipated that so much valuable feedback would fall completely on deaf ears by the proprietors. But there appeared to be a half baked excuse for every concern we had, and it was easy to get to the point where it wasn't worth the fight any longer. I am sure that most people did not regret they had invested their time and money into this particular program but I for one would have felt a lot more comfortable if I had not been concerned about basic needs or ensuring I wouldn't get caught "breaking the rules!!" - most of which appeared to be unwritten in any event.

The centre was able to offer massage treatments and the massage therapist was generally regarded as extremely competent by those who took treatments. While there is no doubt that massage therapy is beneficial to those on a detox program, as it can stimulate both the lymphatic system and the colon, these treatments were upwards of €65 an hour, which seemed excessive given that a course of three or four would have optimal benefit.

There did not appear to be any additional focus on detoxing other than on the nuitritional supplements themselves. For example no instruction was given on the importance of Skin Brushing, or how to deal with some of the side effects of a good cleanse, such as the effects on the tongue. Indeed there was no comment made regarding the use of perfumes and toiletries at the centre.

Another frustration was the insistence that the proprietors had to set up the colema boards themselves. This is certainly not the norm and it means a lot of work and effort from the proprietor. Ultimately this means that everyone is working to their timetable and once the boards are set up, there are no bathrooms in the place for general usage! Such a frustrating yet easily resolvable problem, if tight controls were released and personal responsibility meant just that.

End Results
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On the positive side, I did lose 17 lb in 14 days. I am certainly pleased with this result and it is a nice kick start to a healthier lifestyle, after spending much of the last year on the road, eating and drinking the wrong foods in hotels….

That said, I didn't feel totally cleansed throughout and not as cleansed as I have when undertaking similar programs for a similar length of time. I also found the program particularly challenging, primarily because of the Drawing Powder. The net effect of this was I was desperate to taste something more wholesome as soon as I could.

Overall
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For the money, I feel that Detox Marbella is lacking in personal client attention, and while my intention beforehand was that the resort would be a convenient place to visit, my stay has changed my view and I would certainly rather travel back to some of the more renowned resorts such as that in Portugal, Ko Samui or Australia.

Detox Marbella is still in its infancy, and although it is charging rates in excess of some of the more established resorts, it does not compete in terms of knowledge, or client service, and needs to address this before it expands. However I feel one of the major factors restricting its growth and development is the belief that the properietor has that no one else can be trusted to provide a service. Until they learn to overcome this, decisions about the running of the centre will always be made with the wrong outcomes in mind.

I had been swithering as to whether this centre deserved my one star rating, or slightly higher but given the total lack of focus or understanding for guest needs, together with what amounts to blatant misrepresentation on their website, I cannot justify any rating higher than one star.

I appreciate that some readers may be reading this article because they have already booked a stay at Detox Marbella. I personally do not think this place is suitable for a first time detox visit purely because of the lack of education provided. However at the same time, it will provide a surrounding that is conducive to a successful detox and therefore I would not worry unduly as long as you are well reasearched and are able to stand your ground with needs and wants. If anyone requires any specific information or has any questions please leave me a message and I will get back to you. Despite the costs and my negative review I am overall pleased that I took the time out to complete this fast and overall I feel a lot better for it - despite its faults


The owner of Detox Marbella (now trading as Vortex Vital or Vitaal) has contacted Dooyoo to advise that there are now new accommodation and facilities. I checked their new website and find that their program now excludes the accommodation and potential guests can obviously make their own comparisons. They also now state juices are diluted. Obviously I have not returned for a second visit and therefore my review stands as an accurate summary of my husband and my stay in October 2005. Vortex Vitaal also advised Dooyoo that this was their "new" name, however I wrote this review on Dooyoo last year, and I knew of that name and corresponding website back then so I am confused. However I was asked to make this point on my review, and I have.

Summary: Not as advertised, and unless you desperately want to go for health reasons, not recommended