I checked into UK’s kinkiest Airbnb kitted out with sex slings & spanking bench…one feature is not for the faint-hearted

OPENING the door to my Airbnb for the night I give the place a quick once over. At first glance it ticks all the right boxes – it’s open plan, smells fresh, and looks spotlessly clean. It’s newly decorated in gorgeous bright colours too, but this bolthole is anything but ordinary. Mel Fallowfield checked into the Boutique Dungeon, located in a beautiful street of Regency houses Credit: Olivia West Our writer posing in the golden shower at the kinky Airbnb Credit: Olivia West There’s plenty of choice on the equipment front, including a state-of-the-art tailor made leather sex sling, which cost an astonishing £5,000 to install Credit: Olivia West Situated in a beautiful street of Regency houses just a few minutes’ walk from both the Brighton sea front and the town centre’s shops, its three rooms offer pure delight to those looking to fulfil their ultimate sexual fantasies. It isn’t for the faint hearted and I blink as I wander around, the walls adorned with whips and paddles. It’s a reflection of Britain’s shifting sexual tastes, as kink goes mainstream. Membership of racy dating app Feeld has surged by 30 per cent year on year since 2022, while the UK’s sex toy market keeps climbing – valued at £1.5 billion in 2022 and predicted to hit a sizzling £2.6 billion by 2030. I continue my exploration, but notice that instead of an assortment of tempting spirits on the drinks trolley, there’s a huge array of sex toys – some of them eye-wateringly enormous. And it slowly dawns on me that I was barking up the wrong tree when I saw the metal cage in the corner of the open plan living space and fondly thought, ‘Oh how lovely, it’s dog friendly’. I’d checked into the Boutique Dungeon, one of three kinky pads owned and run by Calandra Balfour, 46, a dominatrix who’s been in the adult industry for over 20 years. She also runs two sex shops in Brighton and in 2018 turned her hand to the lucrative short term rental market. By 2019, Calandra had taken on a second property which she kitted out herself, and the third, where I’m staying, welcomed its first visitors in 2021. And business is booming. Calandra charges £300 a night to those who are into this sort of thing. There’s certainly a market for it – she typically gets booked up three months in advance. Calandra tells me: “I got into this when a dominatrix friend died. She’d run one of the properties as a dungeon for years and when she died her son took over, but didn’t take to it. “It makes me laugh as we have quite a few couples who drop their kids off at university and then come and stay with us. Their kids imagine them weeping about the empty nest, actually they’re relishing their new found freedom. “We’ve had couples come here to propose and others who want to try out expensive bondage equipment and sex toys before they buy them. I’m happy to give the uninitiated a tour and show them how to use everything. “And as an extra I can give lessons on being a dominatrix – but that’s arranged separately. “Some clients ask what will show up on their bank statement or ask to pay in cash – which we don’t accept – so I presume some people are cheating.” There’s also a spanking bench and a gold leafed St Andrews Cross taking pride of place in the sitting room Credit: Olivia West The rental is soundproof so as not to disturb the neighbours Credit: Olivia West The Boutique Dungeon is one of three kinky pads owned and run by Calandra Balfour, 46 Credit: Olivia West There’s plenty of choice on the equipment front, from the state-of-the-art tailor made leather sex sling, which cost an astonishing £5,000 to install, to a spanking bench and a gold leafed St Andrews Cross taking pride of place in the sitting room – used within the BDSM community for playful restraining. In total Calandra’s pumped £40,000 into the property. One of her biggest expenditures was on sound proofing so as not to disturb the neighbours. She laughs: “People are quite used to sounds of ecstasy, but we have specialist sex machines and one of the neighbours complained about the noise – saying it was like a washing machine stuck on the spin cycle which created rumbling in their house. “So we spent £10,000 just on sound proofing. People are quite used to sounds of ecstasy, but we have specialist sex machines and one of the neighbours complained about the noise Calandra “We don’t want to fall out with neighbours, though the boutique is in a well-to-do area and I know they feel we are lowering the tone. “We got quite a few complaints, though mostly when people went outside to smoke and got a bit rowdy and that could happen with any AirBnb.” It’s not just chuntering neighbours that give rise to specific problems. Calandra spends £150 a week on complementary lubes and condoms in her three ‘dungeons’, having the silk sheets laundered costs £1,000 a month and she spends £2,250 on cleaning alone. She explains: “I have to pay over the odds for cleaners as you never know what might be left behind. And of course they have to sterilise the sex toys between each use and there are some specialist practices which people do. “It takes two people to turn the place around and we allow three hours after every check out, and a deep clean every week taking five hours. “The most annoying thing is when people use wax and baby oil without putting down towels. The sheets are made of silk and cost a fortune to replace and launder.” She is also on call 24/7 when she has guests in, as she explains: “People are forever getting into pickles. I particularly remember one bloke calling me up asking for a spare set of handcuff keys as they’d somehow managed to lose them in the heat of the moment. “Luckily, I’ve got a spare pair of handcuffs so I went down in person to help.” Calandra is a dominatrix who’s been in the adult industry for over 20 years Credit: Olivia West She runs and owns two sex shops in Brighton and in 2018 she turned her hand to the lucrative short term rental market Credit: Olivia West Calandra’s boutique AirBnb suits me down to the ground – it’s beautiful, the bed is comfortable and the bathroom is stocked with huge bottles of bubble bath – which, as a married woman with a husband firmly at home, is all I need during my brief stay. I want people to enjoy our toys, but I wish they didn’t enjoy them so much that they steal them – it costs us thousands every year Calandra Even freshly laundered, there’s a flicker of unease about how much action this bed has seen – and I imagine plenty of readers will be crossing their legs right about now. I soon get used to the mirrored ceiling over the bed and learn to ignore it and focus on the telly opposite instead. I found the ‘sex’ room, located on the top floor opposite the main bedroom, which is painted dark red and complete with a sling that is both fascinating and terrifying in equal measures. ‘Dip in and out of the action’ I quietly close the door and marvel that one of Calandra’s clients likes to be locked into the sling for hours at a time – it takes all sorts. Just around the corner sits Calandra’s two other properties – which are even more full on. The ‘original’ dungeon is down a side street, again a couple of minutes walk from the beach and shops. This has the same array of toys, spanking benches and BDSM crosses. If that wasn’t enough it also has a prison cell and a medical room, complete with a gynaecological chair and all sorts of implements that at first glance look like a doctor’s instruments. Among them are nipple clamps, you’re really spoilt for choice. Although my eyes were out on stalks and I kept exclaiming, ‘But where does that go?’, and, ‘That’s far too big’, I suspect most of her guests are thrilled with the array on offer. Yoga teacher, Sophie, 40 from London loved her first visit there six months ago so much she’s been back twice since. The mum left her 10-year-old son with his grandparents when she went away with her boyfriend, retail worker Tim, 55, who she’s been dating for a year. She says: “Tim surprised me with a visit there. We’d been talking about experimenting with some BDSM and so he booked it. “It works because you can dip in and out of the action – there’s normality blended with the kink. “When I first saw the sling, I shut the door on it, but because it was there, I slowly became curious and by the second night I was in it and it was great. “It felt like a very gentle introduction to BDSM, I wouldn’t want to go to a party to experiment and have people watching me. And I can’t exactly have restraints like a cross at home, with my son asking what it’s for. This is a bit of escapism from real life, where all the sex aids you might want to try are on tap and you can try them in safe but sexy space, when you want with no time restrictions Sophie “This is a bit of escapism from real life, where all the sex aids you might want to try are on tap and you can try them in safe but sexy space, when you want with no time restrictions. Equally you can just switch off from all of it and watch a film.” So is Calandra making a killing out of her kinky business? “They’re a good earner and it’s worth it, but it is hard work,” she says. “I used to have vanilla Airbnbs and for those I’d charge between £70 and £150 a night, so this is much more lucrative. “So many people rent out properties that it’s hard to stand out in that market.” Business may be booming, but Calandra admits it’s not all pleasure and profit. Their soaring popularity comes with a frustrating downside, as she explains: “I want people to enjoy our toys, but I wish they didn’t enjoy them so much that they steal them – it costs us thousands every year!” As I leave I feel glad that there’s a safe space for people to explore, after all what you’re doing in private and with consent is completely up to you. And there’s nothing wrong with a bit of sexy experimenting if that’s your cup of tea. I thought it might be seedy, but it really wasn’t, it was spotlessly clean. Though personally, I’m happiest with a hot cuppa, not a hot wax. My husband will be relieved to hear it. Mel in a metal cage located in the corner of the open plan living space Credit: Olivia West