Athletic-Minded Traveler's Hotel Fit List: The 10 Healthiest U.S. Business Hotels
The 10 Healthiest Business Hotels in the U.S.
Athletic-Minded Traveler ® is fortunate to have played a significant role in the travel industry’s reprioritization of health and fitness over the past ten years. When we released our first travel guidebook in 2004, most hotels viewed their gyms as unnecessary and costly investments. Things have changed. Today hotels, health clubs, resorts, cruise companies, etc., are responding to our Athletic-Minded mantra and recognizing that travelers care, significantly, about staying healthy and active while on the road. And, frequent fliers benefit from this breakthrough. Research shows that exercising travelers perform better work than their non-exercising colleagues.
Athletic-Minded Traveler® has built a healthy-travel focused web portal, published a mountain of healthy-travel content, and has become a leading expert and consultant to global companies in the travel and fitness industries. Much work still remains, but we are gratified when we discover hotels like the ten below that drink the Athletic-Minded Traveler® flavor of Kool Aid.
Congratulations to the following business hotels for doing an unbelievable job of helping travelers keep pace with their careers and their healthy lifestyles:
In alphabetical order:
Business travelers to downtown Miami have no excuse to skip the sweat. Four Seasons Miami’s 50,000-square-foot workout nirvana (owned/operated by Sports Club/LA) makes fitness fanatics drool over the scads of cutting-edge machines, weights, and over-the-top features. Everything about the club screams 21st Century technology. Daily class schedules are displayed via interactive 50-inch plasma touch screens and the options are diverse and plentiful. Each of the 70+ cardio machines comes equipped with its own satellite receiving LCD screen. Large windows flood the facility with Florida sunshine. And the shower facilities resemble a luxurious spa. After experiencing this facility, you will dread returning to your relatively mundane hometown gym.
Swimmers will not enjoy competition-quality lapping, but this Four Seasons doesn’t leave them high and dry. Two outdoor swim venues--a main pool and shallow wading pool--will help with post-workout cool down or relaxation. The main pool is long enough for some back and forth stroking, but an absence of bottom-stripes and lane-lines prevents a lengthy lap workout.
Joggers and walkers are accommodated with custom maps showing routes and distances starting/finishing from the hotel’s front door.
San Francisco is the left coast’s business hub and finding your fitness form is easily achieved at this stellar property. Four Seasons San Francisco extends complimentary guest privileges to the in-building Sports Club/LA. Boasting over 120,000-square-feet of health conscious opportunities in a museum-like environment, workout addicts will never want to leave. Hundreds of the latest cardio machines, many with attached plasma screens, sparkle like new. Any strength routine is possible in the 10,000-square-foot weight training gym—the size of some entire health clubs. Whatever your passion, you’ll find it here. Group therapy makes a strong showing too, with endless class options from “Iron Body” to Hatha Yoga to “Peace Core” to “Combat”. Wow!
With all the space, there better be a true lap pool, right? This property comes through with an 8-lane, 25-yard water box marked with floating lines and bottom stripes. Narrow lanes preclude sharing, but they are each wide enough for one hard-core swimmer.
Post-workout relaxation and therapy are available at the full service spa.
The workout value goes up when you can refuel with healthy eats onsite! The club’s blu restaurant offers a healthy and tasty lunch and dinner menu, and the café offers grab and go eats, smoothies and juices as early as 6a. Blu Restaurant.
Located on the outskirts of downtown Dallas’ business heart, this hotel behemoth makes good, athletic-minded, use of its sprawling 45 acres. Most noticeable are the walking paths that meander through seven acres of sculptured grounds behind the hotel towers. Though somewhat curvy for jogging, the paths still create a unique walking experience.
At the end of the walking paths, Hilton’s best active-lifestyle benefit is access (complimentary for Hilton Honors Silver members and higher) to an 80,000-square-foot health club. Verandah Club is an athletic enthusiasts' playground. Once inside, land and water lovers alike will revel in an assortment of workout options that make hearts pitter-patter, even beyond top notch cardio and strength machines: A full basketball court, racquetball/squash courts, a boxing space, and a 25-meter indoor lap pool, to name a few. This venue is the best all-around health club in Dallas metro, let alone a fantastic hotel workout option
You can’t find 18 wooded acres in downtown Houston, so Houstonian built its beautifully serene and scenic hotel, health club, and spa in the Galleria area--another robust business and retail district in Texas’ largest city.
The Houstonian Health Club and Trellis Spa is an enormous, 125,000-square-feet of fitness bliss stocked with equipment, weights, and machinery, lined up as far as the eye can see. Nearly 300 machines from ten equipment manufacturers are on display so picky exercisers with brand allegiances will likely find their favorites. Joggers wanting to remain indoors have treadmills as an option and a 1/9-mile indoor track. Racquet courts are another choice and the U.S. Padel Team even calls Houstonian home. Make a wish for a group class and likely it will be granted. And, because one of something is not enough here, Houstonian sports three remarkable pools: A 10-lane x 25-yard long lapper, a relaxation/therapeutic pool (also with a lap lane), and a recreation pool complete with 32-foot waterslide. Our fish-like friends will never want to leave!
Pre or post-workout wellness pampering is provided here to the ‘nth degree. Professional rubs, makeovers, and therapies are costly but worth the equity. Who knew Houston could be so healthy?
Hyatt at The Bellevue – Philadelphia
In the midst of Philly’s commercial buzz, this upscale Hyatt property caters to business travelers and their healthy lifestyle needs. All hotel guests receive complimentary access to the adjoining Sporting Club at Bellevue—a 93,000-square-foot fitness fantasy with a multi-level atrium floor-plan that includes a NBA-sized basketball court on the bottom, a 1/12-mile indoor track at the top, and myriad fitness spaces in between. Weight and cardio areas, racquet sport courts, and a café/juice bar are examples. Swimmers, too, are included in the fun. Sporting Club’s 25-meter competition lap pool is easily the best in the city. Yoga and meditation rooms round out a true wellness experience.
La Jolla’s concentration of biotech companies makes it a busy business traveler destination. Beyond beach running and Torrey Pines hiking, athletic-minded guests can get their sweat on at this Hyatt Regency. Travelers are welcomed at the front desk with custom jogging/walking maps showing routes that traverse neighboring UCSD.
Behind the hotel is a grade “A”, 25-meter lap pool with all the competition “fixins” (e.g., lane lines, bottom stripes, kick boards, pace clock, etc.) for the hardest of hard-core swimmers.
Traditional workouts can be performed on-site and for free inside Hyatt’s hotel gym sporting top-of-the-line Life Fitness equipment. While it’s better than an average hotel gym, Hyatt’s proximity and partnership with the next-door Sporting Club at Aventine is what really impresses.
Inside this exclusive facility with an atrium-like floor plan, the second story forms a wide circular balcony around the main-level creating an expansive workout space with high ceilings and contemporary décor. The Sporting Club stocks nothing but the latest in cutting-edge equipment and offers personal trainers and classes throughout the day. Our only “beef” with Hyatt is that guests still must pay $12/day admission for The Sporting Club. Hotels should be doing everything possible to encourage healthy lifestyles and access fees do not. (Hyatt frequent traveler members receive a discount.)
When business calls from Beantown, be sure to pack the athletic shoes. Intercontinental Boston is one of several hotels in the City’s hub that understands the needs of those who want to maintain their healthy lifestyles on the road.
Housing the most intimate workout facility on our list, the 2,200-square-foot space was designed with machines in separate zones and divided by internal walls. The knee-to-ceiling windows help bring Boston’s outside in and contribute to the space’s uplifting ambiance. Located on the 2nd floor, it is attended by staff for most of the day, and is available for free guest use 24/7. New Life Fitness cardio machines sparkle, gleam, and beg, for your heart beats with personal televisions attached. Ten separate weight stations offer well-rounded strength exercises. Dumbbells and a Smith machine for bench-pressing and squatting contribute to this facility’s appeal. Twice a week, a personal trainer-led class is offered for those desiring extra motivation. There is a pool here too, but its 45-foot length makes lengthy lap swimming arduous.
Similar to our other recommended hotels, Intercontinental Boston also prioritizes wellness via its spa. Massage, hot stone, hydrotherapy, body wraps, and other sumptuous services round out a holistic approach to guest treatment.
An incredibly impressive hotel with so many unique features, you'll have to stay at least three days just to experience it all. The 4,500-square-foot MET2 Fitness center located on the hotel's 20th floor includes wonderful Technogym cardio and strength equipment and the highest views from any gym on this list. We love sweating on a cardio machine while peering at the world far below.
This JW offers the widest variety of “extra” pursuits on the list, but all come at a cost. Yoga classes, tennis instruction, and virtual bowling are the least expensive, while basketball court rental and a golf school lessons are pricey. Nevertheless, boredom is not an option at this downtown Miami gem, so make time after your meetings to sweat and explore.
The first Radisson Blu in the U.S. sets a high standard in many ways, including fitness. Guests receive complimentary access to an 8,000-square-foot workout facility equipped with high-end Technogym and Cybex cardio equipment, a wide assortment of dumbbells and barbells, and 10+ Technogym selectorized strength stations. Two, 25-yard lap pools (one indoor/one seasonal outdoor), a 1/5-mile outdoor running oval, and a basketball half-court round out the stellar offerings.
Chicago is a favorite destination for conventions and business, but it also boasts one of the best outdoor jogging, walking, cycling, skating options--the 18-mile Lake Michigan Lakefront Trail. Radisson is located within a convenient half-mile of this unique outdoor waterfront route.
Renaissance ClubSport Walnut Creek
As one of the first brands to combine hospitality with a health club, Renaissance ClubSport creates a sweat and stay experience that will impress even the most dedicated exercise fiends. Renaissance’s 170-room hotel was built together with an 85,000-square-foot, private health club--ClubSport.
The unique facility is filled to the brim with cardio pieces (over 90), weight equipment (Hammer Strength, Cybex, Free Motion, etc.), five group exercise studios and a basketball court. Over 110 classes are taught each week, including the expected such as yoga and pilates and the more unexpected such as Insanity and Tae Boot. And, the aquatic center offers a splendid, 6-lane x 25-yard outdoor lap option as well as a convenient children’s pool. Hotel guests enjoy complimentary access to both the wet and dry workout opportunities.
In addition to the indoor treadmills, walkers and joggers can take their healthy habits outside too. The scenic, 33-mile, Iron Horse Regional Trail can be picked up across the street from the hotel.
Spa services are a good way to relax, rejuvinate, and reward yourself for following a healthy lifestyle while on the road. Renaissance’s R Spa makes such indulgences a reality with a full-line of therapeutic and beauty services.
Please contact the AMT editorial staff with any article-related questions via phone (619)491-0132 or keyboard info@athleticmindedtraveler.com.
Comments
I am glad to know about the
I am glad to know about the top 10 healthiest hotels in the world. Four Seasons Miami is my personal favorite place. It offers great amenities with room services. I have stayed there once and had a good time.
It appears that Miami is the
It appears that Miami is the healthiest city in terms of hotels. However, I am happy that California is the healthiest state.
San Francisco is that the
San Francisco is that the left coast’s business hub and finding your fitness kind is definitely achieved at this stellar property.
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