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| image credit: denver.org |
During our weekend in Colorado for the Boarding Area Conference (BAcon), a first happened. Kim got kicked out of a place due to Lucas.
I was busy all weekend attending seminars about blogging, learning new tips and tricks to make my site better. Kim, Lucas and other +1’s (of BAcon attendees) didn’t have much planned, so the organizers- Boarding Area/ Randy Petersen arranged for a day at the historic Broadmoor Hotel’s Spa.
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For Kim, going to a spa wasn’t going to be easy without some help with Lucas.
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Luckily my good friend Rene’s (who blogs over at Delta Points) wife Lisa offered to pitch in and help Kim out. The plan was for Lisa to get her massage first. When she was done she would watch and entertain Lucas while Kim had her massage.
At first everything seemed fine. The professional staff of the Broadmoor Spa checked in all of the BAcon +1’s. Kim requested that her massage be in a time slot after Lisa’s. Lucas said hi to everyone, and all of the staff were very nice to him. They were all given robes to change into and shown the many areas they could relax in while they waited for their treatments. There was fresh fruit, water and other snacks which Lucas really enjoyed. Kim also brought a big bag with many things that would entertain our little toddler. He was really on his best behavior. He even entertained some ladies out on the veranda.
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After about a half hour Lisa was called in to get her massage. It was getting close to nap time so Kim decided to take Lucas into the locker area to try to get him to sleep. On the way there, Kim and Lucas crossed paths with the spa manager. She informed them that they would have to leave. The Broadmoor’s rule was that nobody under 16 years of age was allowed to be in the spa area. She told them that they were a 5 Star resort and they couldn’t have any children in the spa at all. She told Kim that she and Lucas could wait by the pool area (yeah that would be really fun with a baby and no bathing suits!)
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| How could anyone turn Lucas away? |
Kim was upset and confused. Had the manager and other spa employees not noticed Lucas’ presence for all of the time Kim had waited?
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Kim’s turn was coming up and she was now going to miss out. She had no way to get in touch with Lisa (she was in the middle of a massage) to tell her what was going on so she could try to coordinate a new plan. She also couldn’t imagine making Lisa watch Lucas by the pool area.
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Had the spa staff told Kim that Lucas was not allowed to be at the spa from the beginning she probably could have came up with a plan to make things work.
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From what I was told by Kim and other’s present, the hotel did not handle this situation appropriately. Giving Kim the proper information right away could have made her visit a more enjoyable one.
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Bad job Broadmoor Spa. Now I owe Kim a massage at a nice spa.
Very cute kid!
Thank you!
I can appreciate both sides of this – I do believe that the hotel handled this poorly, they should have let your wife know at the beginning of the appointment that children under 16 aren’t allowed, rather than letting her think that she was going to have a nice, relaxing massage. It is also incumbent on you (or your wife) to look into whether or not children are welcome and to not just assume because you made arrangements that it works for the facility.
I know that for me personally, when I go to a spa, I am there to relax and enjoy myself and while I am sure your son is very well behaved (all parents think their children are), for me having children there, raises my stress level, as I sit in wait for that inevitable flip-out/cry. We have become a society, at least in N. America where we believe that our children should be with us all of time and that simply isn’t the case. There is a time and a place for children – the spa just simply isn’t one of them.
I can totally see your point related to babies at spas. However, this was a group going so we didn’t think much further than going along.
Next time Kim would definitely confirm in advance if it was OK to bring Lucas.
On that note, I still think the Broadmoor still could’ve told Kim the rules from the get go and not after she was practically ready to go for the treatment.
They could have definitely have handled that better. I think it’s outrageous to expect a mother & child to wait out by the pool, especially because of the cooler weather.
It definitely could’ve been handled better by the spa but I think the pool was indoors!
He is very well behaved. I never saw him get fussy the entire weekend so it’s a shame Kim experienced this.
Thanks Grace! If the rules were told to Kim right away, I would totally understand. Nice meeting you at BAcon!