Check in married, check out single! Luxury hotel sells $5,000 weekend divorce package complete with golf lessons, spa... and in-house lawyer

  • Gideon Putnam Resort & Spa in New York charges couples £5,000 for stay
  • Guests have the option of being filmed during the process for reality show
  • In between consulting attorney parties play golf, swim and enjoy massages

By India Sturgis For Mailonline

Published: 06:59 EST, 5 September 2014 | Updated: 09:03 EST, 5 September 2014

Divorce can be a turbulent time, so why not do it in extreme comfort?

That's the big sell behind Gideon Putnam Resort & Spa, a luxury resort in upstate New York's, latest venture.

Previously renowned for putting on lavish weddings the hotel and spa has turned it's attention to quick splits with $5,000 (£3,000) weekend divorce packages. 

For that amount you and your soon-to-be ex husband can make a weekend of it with access to the baths and spa, tennis, hiking, swimming, golf courses and ice skating, in between trips to your attorney.  

Excess baggage? Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa in Saratoga Springs in New York will take care of it

Excess baggage? Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa in Saratoga Springs in New York will take care of it

Sound like a nice way to break-up? The 'Divorce Hotel' has only two criteria: you must be a US citizen and agree to use the attorneys and mediators provided by the hotel. A jolly on the golf course this ain't - you have to be fully committed to your forthcoming divorce.

Over the weekend guests work with mediators to finalise the sticky details into a signed agreement and, if they choose, the whole process can be filmed as part of a new reality show made by A. Smith and Co., the production company behind Gordon Ramsay’s 'Kitchen Nightmares'. 

Visit the hotel's Roosevelt Baths for sanctuary from your other half before you make the break

Visit the hotel's Roosevelt Baths for sanctuary from your other half before you make the break

Program founder Jim Halfens told the New York Post, 'Practically, they are divorced after signing on Sunday.'

'After signing, all work is done and we send it to a judge who only puts a stamp on it to make it official.'

Halfens, who already runs similar projects in his native Netherlands, expects to start up his services at the end of September.

Rob Sgarlata, a hotel representative, stated, 'They want people to get into an environment that minimizes the stress of the situation and that's exactly what we offer.' 

Couples check into separate rooms and use a shared suite for 'mediation' talks

Couples check into separate rooms and use a shared suite for 'mediation' talks

He added, 'We welcome all kinds of guests.'

Problems could arise when weddings and divorces are held at the same time but Sgarlata says the hotel will keep the milestones separate.

'We would be sensitive to having them in different parts of the hotel,' he said.

 

 

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