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This Plus Size Resort Goes Viral in a Not-So-Good Way & We’re Not Having It

A plus size resort in the Bahamas has recently gone viral but not in a totally positive way.

The Resort, as it is simply called, is a tranquil getaway tucked away on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas that is exclusively available to plus size guests.

The Resort has been open for two years but because of its inclusion on a new British reality show, this body positive sanctuary has now gone viral with major media outlets such as People Magazine, The Daily Mail and The New York Post writing about it, in what seems like a fascination and curiosity on how a resort like this can exist and what it entails.

With a title like “At resort for the obese, super-strong chaise lounges and three buffets a day“, The New York Post makes it seem like The Resort is a gluttony paradise with guests being able to “let it all hang out”, have “worry-free sex” on sturdy steel-reinforced king size beds and eat three buffets a day. Several British media outlets are having a field day with their pun-intended jabs and comments.

So let’s turn this around and put a positive spin on it, as the average size of the American woman is a size 16/18, which is considered plus size. Plus size people are not an oddity; they are regular and NORMAL people just like everyone else.

Owner Shawn-James King decided to create The Resort as an effort to offer a beach getaway, free of scrutiny and uncomfortable accommodations that aren’t built for larger bodies.

King told People Magazine:

“On my first day working at a resort in Grenada, a young woman sat down in one of the loungers, and she went right through it, and everybody on the beach was laughing. The next day I was in my office, and I hear screaming and yelling, and she was having a fit because the owner’s policy was that she was charged $150 for destruction of hotel property. And I thought that it was insane.

I tried to convince the owners that we needed furniture other than this plastic flimsy stuff, and they didn’t care. I decided that I had to do something.”

He ensured that he had furniture that could accommodate plus size guests such as beds that hold up to 1,500 pounds and sturdy (not flimsy) lounge furniture. He told People that he realized that this type of furniture is not typically made for plus size people so he created his own.

And The Resort has been successful with King stating that he is booked all year round with his guests coming back as they enjoy a safe haven where they don’t have to worry about being laughed at or judged. They also meet other people in a community sense and bond with one another:

“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.”

The Resort is limited to just 24 people at a time, with guests booking the entire place at once for a flat fee of $16,400 to ensure privacy. That comes out to about $700 a person if you have a group of 24 people, which is not bad for an all-inclusive vacation.

King told People he plans to build another property on nearby Cat Island in The Bahamas for plus-size couples and singles.

And we love it!!!! We are just so disappointed at how the media is talking about The Resort. This is a great thing, allowing plus size people to go on vacation and truly feel at ease. What’s so wrong with that?

Want to learn more about The Resort? Click here.