Well we visited BGHS yesterday evening and as far we are concerned it was perfect. (16th Aug 08)
We arrived at 6.15pm and we welcomed by a lady who explained that it was an Adult only spa and that swimming costumes were not allowed, when we acknowledged that this was fine she asked us to have a quick read of some rules, again we were asked if we were happy with the situation and paid £28 for our entry and two hot fluffy towels and a locker key. Saturday and Sunday nights after 6pm is for couples only.
Past the reception door is a reasonably sized locker room with a fluffy red carpet, couple of chairs, a hair drying area and a private changing cubicle.
Once we had removed our clothes and read the health & safety notices we were met by someone to guide us round the facilities. The lady who met us was fantastic, she had a two minute chat with us to give us an insight into the nature of the Spa then took through the door to the following…
A bar/lounge area: (Same level as entrance/changing rooms)
Couple of leather sofas, table and chairs and a bar that served hot & cold drinks, snacks and an endless supply of hot fluffy towels.
You deposit your key at this bar but remember your locker number or at least your name as this will be your tab for food and drink.
Wet area: (Downstairs)
At the bottom of the stairs are the only two toilets for the basement level then the door into the main Spa area. This area has a room ambient pool (IE un heated), several hot tubs, two steam rooms, two saunas and a few shower areas (one of which is an ice drench).
The atmosphere in this area is very polite, friendly and full of warm smiles for new and repeat guest.
People generally walk round with either their towels wrapped round them or with them casually draped over their shoulders, but other than the sauna areas you’ll be hanging your towels on one of the many rails.
Upstairs: (One level above the reception)
At the top of the stairs is another toilet, a sun bed room, a library/lounge area and a door marked ‘Rest Rooms’. The atmosphere and banter on this level is a little more playful but in no way intrusive or crude. Once you go through the ‘Rest Rooms’ door there doesn’t seem be any conversion only private whispers, the odd bit of laughter and the sound of sensual and sexual moans!
There are several small private rooms which have a ‘bed shelf’ and one that has two. These beds are certainly very high and are not very wide but there is enough room to get friendly with your partner.
In addition to these private rooms there is one larger private room which has 4 mats on a raised level (at about knee height).
After that there is another toilet and two large play areas, one is a square joined up matted area with 360 degree mirrors inviting none participants to discreetly view other couples.
There is one other area which is the largest of all the play areas which has several separate mats. When we were there we viewed 6 couples on the mats playing and watching the other couples on the mats next to them. This area seems to keep people in their couples and the mirrored area definitely seemed to be more for people who wanted to interact with the couples next to them.
Top level: (Two levels above the reception)
This area again has several separate mats at knee level but it is strictly for relaxing and not playing.
Beyond this area is a roof terrace which would usually have lounge mats for that all over tan!
All in all, in our view this is a fantastic place for a very gentle introduction to the lifestyle. My wife and I only played in a private room for two but the sexual atmosphere and erotic sounds from the nearby rooms was very arousing. We made two separate visits to the ‘Rest Rooms’ and each time we viewed several couples playing in each of the bigger open areas and the private room for four had a woman alone playing with herself and it appeared that her other half was looking for someone to join her/them.
Any apprehension we had (especially on my wife’s part) was removed about one minute into our tour. It is my guess that the lady who showed us round was the owner as she had great pride in the establishment and made us feel so at ease even though we were almost certainly the youngest couple in there.
So if there are people out there who are unsure where they should go to take their first step into the lifestyle then this place is certainly well worth your consideration, one things for sure, we will certainly be going back!