Florida hotel becomes nude resort to stay open

10:59 AM, Jul 13, 2012   |    comments
  • “We were born naked. None of us came here with clothes on to begin with. And it's so peaceful and relaxing,” explained Joe Wagner of Orlando, Fla., with his wife, Cindy, at a poolside table. By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today
  • Linda Moore and Rick Norry at Fawlty Towers. Of the resort, Bob Morton, executive director of the Naturist Action Committee of Oshkosh, Wis., says: “My hat's off to them. They're trying something different. His non-profit group fights for nudists' rights in communities across the USA. By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today
  • Linda Moore and partner Rick Norry in the pool, The American Association for Nude Recreation estimates that nude recreation has grown into a $440 million annual industry. By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today
  • After nearly going under as a struggling motel, Fawlty Towers resort in Cocoa Beach, Fla., reopened May 1 as a re-branded, clothing-optional resort. By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today
  • Linda Moore and partner Rick Norry, both of Vero Beach, enjoy a beer at the pool. By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today.
  • John Boehler of Cocoa Beach at the bar. In a similar business-model switch, the shuttered Mira Vista Resort in Tuscon, Ariz., reopened as a nudist facility in May 2006. The historic property formerly operated as a guest ranch, a shelter for abused women funded by Suzanne Somers, and a gay health spa before closing in December 2005, said Suzanne Schell, co-owner. By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today
  • Debra Key, a Cocoa Beach resident who is involved in Girl Scouts, complained to commissioners that Fawlty Towers could corrupt children's minds and attract prostitution. “It doesn't stay behind closed doors. The type of perversion that comes to these places – they bring the drugs along with it, the sexual promiscuity,” Key told commissioners. But City Attorney Skip Fowler later determined that Fawlty Towers is operating in a legal fashion. By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today
  • The changes are not without controversy. Two days after the grand re-opening of Faulty Towers, the Cocoa Beach City Commission ordered research on whether the facility ran afoul of hotel, health, alcohol or public-nudity regulations. By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today
  • “Look around,” Cindy Wagner said, waving her arm at bare-skinned sunbathers around the pool. “You can be 100 pounds. You can be 500 pounds. No one cares.” By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today
  • Fawlty Towers manager David Broad says weekend business is brisk, and the no-clothes strategy has saved the 32-room facility from fiscal oblivion. It has also made it one of a growing number of resorts establishing nudist-friendly facilities as a way to weather the lingering sluggish economy. By Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today
    
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COCOA BEACH, Fla. -- Nude men and women lounge around the shimmering pool on sunny weekends at Fawlty Towers Resort here, chatting in beach chairs and soaking up rays in the buff. After nearly going under as a struggling motel, Fawlty Towers reopened May 1 as a re-branded, clothing-optional resort. Now, manager David Broad says weekend business is brisk, and the no-clothes strategy has saved the 32-room facility from fiscal oblivion. It has also made it one of a growing number of resorts establishing nudist-friendly facilities as a way to weather the lingering economic downturn.

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