Once upon a time, many years ago, some savvy person had the idea to wrap another person in wet, hot, dirt. This mud-wrapped person became the world’s first spagoer, and an exchange of $160 later, the world’s first mud bath was born. Now a resort hotel in Northern Italy is hoping for a similar game-changer with the “hay bath.” Modern Farmer reports that, for $45, the Hotel Heubad will cover you in a luxurious pile of fermented hay.
According to the Heubad, hay bathing has been around for centuries. Farmers (and stranded biblical characters) used to sleep in hay for convenience and found they would awake, shaking the straw from their heads, full of energy and verve. When others began to envy the vitality of these straw-sleepers, hay bathing became a thing.
Hotel Heubad promises only extra “fatty” hay for its guests. After being wrapped in “fatty” hot hay, the adventurous spagoer then lies on a waterbed, is wrapped in a sheet, and “can relax without first removing the entire hay.” Hot, itchy grass napping is a supposed treatment against stiff necks, muscle contractions, muscle cramps, stiff joints, and obesity. Hay: not just for horses.
