A New Way of Spa Life –The Charcoal Experience

Enjoying the peace at a spa has been very popular for some time. But according to Carina Billetun, president of the corporation spaus in Sweden one should reflect on the risk of “McDonaldisation” in the spa business. “There is not one tourist from abroad who wants to come here just to find copies of the spas in his/her home country, they want to come here to find a Swedish spa”, Ms Billetun declares.

“A spa is similar to a lifestyle school”, says Ms Billetun, which means that a spa is intended for people that want to improve their quality of life, and therefore it is not only a luxurious ´spoil-yourself´ experience. Nowadays many people do not get happier cause of a new vase or other items. “We become more content if someone takes care of us”, Ms Billetun states.

At ISPA they say that “ultimately the spa experience is unique for each person, therefore each spa offers different services and treatments. Spas cater to people who want to improve their mind, body and spirit – whether they want to lose weight, get in shape, escape from daily stresses… Everyone is busier than ever before and they’re realizing that they must take time out to recharge their batteries and de-stress,” says ISPA President Lynne Walker McNees. “People no longer see spas as pampering, but instead as a requisite to staying healthy. The two main reasons that people go to spas are to relieve stress and feel relaxed.”

Henrik Rödjegård at The Charcoal Experience says that the simile of a spa and The Charcoal Experience on one hand is very striking, but on the other hand The Charcoal Experience is clearly very different from the traditional spa environment.

“We stay in the forest for a few days, in all kinds of weather, in simple lodging, doing some physical and rather dirty work. The possibility of getting wet, tired and sweaty is obvious in a different way than in the traditional spa. But still, there is no lack of comfort here. We serve hearty, mainly organic food, we do physical workouts and there is lots of free time for everyone when there is great potential for calming down the body as well as the mind. We heat up the sauna every day, and our sleeping bags are cosy. We believe that by getting in close contact with nature you also get in good touch with yourself - and with life itself”, Mr Rödjegård says with a smile.