Healing Waters Sanctuary — Hotel in Great Britain

My mother and I travelled to Glastonbury last week for what we expected to be a rejuvenating, stress-free, and peaceful break. We have always loved the town and its vibe, and this time, it was the only factor that made our 300 mile trip worthwhile.

We were naively enticed by Healing Waters’ misleading facade as a ‘spiritual sanctuary’ - an illusion that was promptly shattered for us upon arrival, but one that I think the owners have genuinely convinced themselves over time to be the truth. Ironically, Healing Waters induced for us the very feelings of stress and anxiety that it bases it’s entire ethos around combatting.

Firstly, the owner Juliet had actually double booked the property, so at short notice we were informed that we would actually have to stay in another property ‘just down the road’. This wasn’t too much of a concern, and we were totally understanding. These things happen. So, we begin the walk on foot to the other house.

My mum had paid for two treatments (£120) the day before arriving. These were paid for in good faith, with a belief that Healing Waters would be a professional and efficient business that actually provides the therapies that it advertises. Upon arrival, we were greeted by another woman, who had no idea that we had paid for these therapies, despite the email correspondence which ensured our therapies the day prior. She told us that the main therapist was actually away for a few days, and suggested that we book something in town instead. Not a problem, we thought. We’ll just get the therapies refunded and book something in town.

However, Juliet instead refunded my poor mum HALF of the £120, citing ‘admin fees for setting up the bank transfer’ as the reason. Things such as this are part and parcel of owning an establishment, and should not come out of the pocket of customers. This is why we pay such high prices per night, to cover the excruciatingly difficult tasks like setting up bank transfers. Disgraceful.

In addition to my mum being robbed by ostensibly kind ladies, somebody thought it would also be okay to pick up my hair accessory and keep it for themselves whilst we took a nap in our room.

Overall, our money was more important than our well-being, which was not what we expected from a ‘healing sanctuary’. Disingenuous and money-oriented: I sincerely hope that the owners can be healed in the way they so hypocritically encourage within others.

Kind Regards

EDIT: in response to the owners comment, no you did not refund her! You refunded her sixty pounds! HALF of what...

The backyard view can not be beat! It’s gorgeous. However there are no healing waters on the property which is extremely misleading and why I booked the place to begin with. You can’t even walk to a water source that’s on the property so no idea what is up with the name.

Please understand this is shared space with no privacy in the house so if you happen to be sharing space with a very sick person coughing all over everything then you’re at risk to get sick as well, which is unfortunately what happened with my stay and why I had to leave and pay for accommodation elsewhere with no refund. I was offered a room in the owners personal house but after that experience I did not feel comfortable staying in anyone else’s home since I had to pass a covid test to make it home or be denied return to my country. I also missed out on the workshop I flew 7 hours to attend because of being exposed to a sick person. This of course could have been prevented by asking guest to cancel if they are sick however since you must prepay (redflag) And it’s quite expensive for shared space, I doubt anyone would fess up to being sick anyway.

The lack of care or concern for this situation was alarming. The owner did not address the sick person but instead pointed out that I knew it was shared space, and there are no refunds. It was also scary to me to listen to a man cough for 3 hours straight with all signs of being very sick and contagious (he said he didn’t know if it was a cold, the flu, or Covid) and they had a group arriving the next day to rent the house for the weekend -the sick man was still staying for a day while they would be there! The house was very expensive to rent- did they warn the people arriving?

If you are with a whole group renting the place out and you know every one this will work for you. If you are a solo traveler book elsewhere -there are cheaper, nicer, and more private options. I ended up staying at the Premier Inn and it was cheaper than my booking here. Again, this is a very expensive option for what is offered with no refunds...

I feel very privileged to have spent 10 magical days here in May (2021).

Healing Waters sanctuary is named after the heating spring in the field behind the property, one of the nine sacred springs of Avalon.

The field and spring are owned by the proprietor of Healing Waters. If you carry on walking across the field, past the spring, you come to the Healing Gardens community project where you can volunteer and take away glorious, fresh, organic produce.

In the far corner of the garden is another body of water, a small pond, where I used to go and meditate at dusk. If you believe in fairies, this is where you will find them.

The house is self catering and has a well equipped kitchen.  All basic breakfast needs are supplied and you can use the kitchen at any time of day to cook your own food.

The rooms and community areas are clean and well appointed. There is even a therapy / meditation room. A wide range of talented therapists and healers is available but best to book them early. I had three different treatments during my stay.

The rear terrace affords a stunning view of Glastonbury Tor. If you like to have your breakfast there early, you can watch the sun coming up behind the tor.

The tranquillity of the of the place is partly due to it's location right on the St. Michael lay line, partly due to the high vibrations of staff and visitors and partly due to the fact that there is no Wi-Fi in the house. If you really need Wi-Fi would suggest bringing your own portable router.

To say that my visit was life transforming is no exaggeration. I will never again be the same man who arrived, and I mean that in a very, very good way.

I really love this place and hope to be able to return again soon (if they can put...