Longevity – just on the outside

Longevity is a 5 star wellness resort just outside Caldas de Monchique. During our stay we had a ‘free’ trial day to use their spa – sauna and steam room, indoor and outdoor swimming pool and attend a class in yoga. (We had the pleasure to be treated to this experience because one of our partnering organisations was relationship mingling with one of the managers of the hotel and they needed that day a few more faces to make the hotel feel more lively.) This somewhat stopped me to write about Longevity before, as I don’t really have much positive to say. Simultaneously, I also do not feel like ‘ranting’ about it as now the hotel is there and planted, providing some local employment possibilities and the best needs to be made from it in collaboration with Caldas and Monchique residents to drive tourists and people to it to use the resources on offer. My main points of criticism are: The superficial treatment of ‘wellbeing’ – apply some creams, messages, throw tablets and do more sports thinking that this would create long term change; and the alienated bubble to the surrounding of the Serra de Monchique. Furthermore, design-wise: ‘time less design’ as referred to in Longevity equals: ‘dead and meaningless’ objects as decoration, there is not even a single relevance to ‘locally made’ and there is an obvious imbalance of how little money must have been spend on the information design – seeing the program leaflet just makes me chowder let alone the building layout. It’s the impersonation of the three P: ‘planet’, ‘people’, ‘profit’, can’t you tell?!