August 8th, 2007
Sun and sand, super-sized - Trade Talk - Freedom Paradise in Cancun, Mexico is first resort for fat people - Brief Article
Calling it a “size-friendly vacation club,” Mexican investors have opened what they claim is the world’s first resort for fat holiday-goers.
“We have a huge market,” says Freedom Paradise resort’s Jurriann Klink. “The whole world is getting bigger and bigger. There’s even a term for global obesity–globesity.” Mexican investors spent US$10 million to adapt an existing Cancun hotel “to meet the special needs of the plus-size vacationer,” says commercial director Klink. That means wide doorways; strong chairs without arm rests; swimming pools that require just a few steps to enter; king- and queen-sized beds; and extra-large bathrooms with grab bars and higher toilets.
“I salute any organization that promotes size acceptance,” says Frances White, who sits on the board of the California-based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. The resort is marketing through fat-acceptance organizations to lure U.S. and European beach lovers, along with hefty Latin Americans, otherwise scared away by travel brochures bursting with bikini-clad beauties.
Located on a secluded Cancun beach three kilometers from its nearest neighbor, Freedom Paradise charges $195 per person a night.