Detox Marbella (aka Vortex Vital) - fast and cleanse (Colon Cleanse & Detox Retreat Marbella)

Member Name: Cat19

Product:	Colon Cleanse & Detox Retreat Marbella
Date:	20/02/06 (2833 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: absolutely none

Disadvantages: poor value for money, tedious, poor location, inaccurately marketed

Two years ago i travelled to Spa Samui in Thailand and did a 7 day fasting / cleasning program. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and at the end felt i could easily do a few more days. Last year i decided that it was time for another such fasting / cleansing program but not wanting to travel to Thailand again i searched for somewhere closer to home and found Detox Marbella.

I chose this resort because of its proximity to the UK, because the program sounded well constructed and because the accommodation was described as luxurious and the resort was described as being set in acres of lush vegetation, with several swimming pools dotted around. Indeed the photographs on the website supported this. I decided to book myself in for two weeks and the cost was €1,400 of which i had to send 50% to a bank account in Holland in advance and the rest i had to pay in cash shortly after arrival.

I have noticed that since i have travelled the price for a 14 night stay has increased to €1,775 with an additional €300 for the better room, this is a staggering 48% increase in six months!

I was astonished upon arriving to find that the scale of operations was much smaller than i had expected and in fact the proprietors simply placed all guests together in one rented four bedroom appartment in a large, unfinished development. The photographs on the website were of this development rather than Detox Marbella facilities as it suggests.

There did not appear to be any consideration towards security, the rooms did not have locks and after two days when a couple finished their program, i found myself sharing an apartment for a couple of days, (and an apartment with no phone and very isolated), with only a man i met for the first time two days earlier. Like all the guests i shared with during the two weeks, he was perfectly pleasant and respectable but it was highly presumptious to assume that this arrangement would be acceptable to customers and surely only a matter of time before there are problems of some kind or another.

There was only one bedroom upstairs in the property as the other upstairs room was used as a treatment room for massages. For my first few days i was in a downstairs bedroom, it did not have an ensuite bathroom (as was advertised) and as this was a family apartment it was not soundproofed and i was not able to relax or sleep because of noise from other guests watching TV right outside my room. After a few days i was moved to an upstairs room with en suite which was quite comfortable, however had i been in the first room for 2 weeks i would have been very unhappy and there was no price differential for a clearly better standard of room at the time, although they have since increased the price significantly for the better room!

The next two weeks were the longest two weeks of my life.

The apartment complex was up a mountain and i quickly started to feel trapped and isolated as there were no links to the nearest town and very little to do in the apartment itself except read and watch TV. There was a gym for the residents of the complex however going to the gym seemed unwise for people fasting and in any case this too was not easily accessible being down a long winding path and the walk back up extremely off-putting.

i did consider killing some time by having a massage however this was cost-prohibitive at €65 which included a mark up of €15 by the proprietor for the use of a room and bed to have massage on!

The program itself was somethng of an ordeal. During my previous fast in Thailand, at no time did i feel hungry and nor did i find taking the herbal supplements and drinks a chore. I cannot even remember how many tablets i had to take at Deox Marbella each day but it was A LOT! in addition there was a foul black drink to take several times a day called drawing powder.

The worst aspect though was the hunger, i felt starving most of the time. This was not helped by the fruit juices we were given which were in fact watered down by about 10 to 1, were made once or twice a day and often ran out. The proprietor would come to the apartment twice a day to make new ones but if they ran out inbetween then we just had to make do with water, which was also quite foul tasting strange as that may sound.

I was also disappointed to find that the promised daily colonics were in fact every other day. I was told that this was because we were given oxy powder instead which was supposed ot have the same effect. Well i can say with some authority having done twice daily colonics in Thailand that it did not have the same effect. Also even if that were the case then why does the plan on the website state that colonics are daily?

I did mention several times that i did not find the combination of colonic and oxy powder effective. In response I had my oxy powder dosage increased gradually up to 11 tablets and after a few days of that i was told that the problem must be that i am "seriously ill". not great to hear at 35 years old!

i continued with the program and kept my mouth shut about many things, mainly because i felt trapped and virtually at the mercy of the owners with no access to a telephone, internet etc. Hopwever i did decide to leave a day early and spent my last night in Marbella town.

On the morning i was due to leave and in the couple of days before i was hounded to write in the comments book and indeed and finally i was stood over as i wrote something. i did not think i would be taken to the town until i did!

My comment was along the line of "this was hard work but i am glad i stuck it out" (indeed i was for €1400 euro no refunds given), i then said that i had at least lost a stone and felt more determined. This comment found its way onto the company's website as a "testimonial", i did ask for it to be removed from the site and it was.

I came away thinking that despite the difficulties, i had at least lost a stone. Alas this was not to be, presumably it was just water as within a week i was back to my pre-clense weight (and no i did not go on a fast food binge immediately afterwards)!

Updated 11th July
====================

The owner of Detox Marbella (aka Vortex Vital) has contacted dooyoo to advise that there is a new name, accommodation and facilities, although they certainly used both names when i booked.

Having just checked out their website, i can see that they now tell you to book your own accommodation in a recommended resort. Unfortunately the Vortex Vital / Detox Marbella price for a one week stay is now a mere €50 a week less than i paid per week but now excluding accommodation which sounds like even worse value for money to me if that is possible.

The program looks the same as described in my review above even down to the diluted juices. I have no idea if customer service and awareness has been improved since i went there and nor if the website now contains a more accurate picture of what you get.

Summary: this program and accommodation falls a long way short of the marketing.