Stay healthy and feel great on any vacation with these healthy hotel options.
With the summer travel season kicking into high gear (along with your hopes of rocking that swimsuit during your trip), you probably don’t want your summer vacation to mean taking a vacation from your healthy-living goals.
After all, even if you love lounging on the beach, you might not want to run on it … in 90-plus temps … with sand in your sneakers. And if you’re planning to splurge every now and then during vacation on less-than-healthy foods, you probably want those foods be local, exotic, new-to-you treats purchased at quaint little shops when you’re out touring the town. That breakfast buffet French toast? You can have that at home.
Luckily, with more travelers than ever vacationing with fitness and nutrition in mind, more hotels are stepping up their healthy-travel game. Need some recommendations? Check out these five healthy hotel chains. You’ll be hard-pressed to vacation anywhere this summer where you won’t find them.
1. Hyatt Hotels
This summer, the massive hotel brand (it boasts more than 600 properties in 50-plus countries) announced that it’s rolling out a new wellness offering across all of its locations in partnership with Be Well by Dr. Frank Lipman.
The initiative, which is kicking off with Park Hyatt hotels in New York, Chicago and the District of Columbia, includes healthy refreshments upon arrival, curated in-room wellness amenities and increased fitness and healthy-menu options for guests. And that’s after taking into account Hyatt’s existing offerings including 24/7 access to in-hotel fitness studios, regular events with local gyms like Shred415 and concierges equipped with running maps or recommendations on every gym in a five- to 10-block radius of the hotel. Hey, some people just have to have their SoulCycle. Get more info at hyatt.com.
2. W Hotels
In the past, this swanky hotel chain has based its services and amenities on three “passion points:” music, fashion and design – but it recently upped its health focus with a fourth passion point, called fuel. Every W location worldwide (you can find them in major U.S. cities, as well as in Canada, Mexico, China and Europe), is embracing the new passion point in its own unique way.
For example, W Minneapolis has partnered with local bike shop Handsome Cycles to create a fleet of W-branded bikes and now hosts biking tours through the Twin Cities. The bike-obsessed general manager guides guests through the city’s greenways and around Lake Calhoun. Meanwhile, Trace restaurant, found in the W Austin, offers up locally sourced farm-to-table Texas fare. Email the W Chicago concierge before you stay and you can set up a personal sunrise yoga session overlooking Lake Michigan. Get more info at starwoodhotels.com/whotels.
3. Westin Hotels & Resorts
With hundreds of locations across the U.S. and abroad, Westin offers health-focused guests an impressive variety of health services dubbed “Sleep Well,” “Eat Well,” “Move Well,” “Feel Well” and “Play Well.
There’s not enough space to list all of the details here, but Sleep Well includes a menu of sleep-supporting superfoods and snacksavailable through in-room dining and developed in partnership with SuperFoodsRx. Eat Well offers up juices, smoothies and a healthy dining menu just for kids. Though Move Well, guests can borrow the hotel’s stock of New Balance shoes and gear (don’t worry, insoles are replaced after every wear!), get local running maps and hit up state-of-the-art fitness studios. Get more info at starwoodhotels.com/westin.
4. Kimpton Hotels
It’s hard to miss the wellness perks at any of this boutique hotel brand’s 60-some locations. Kimpton prides itself on offering complimentary bikes for all of its guests and stocking every room with a yoga mat. Meanwhile, the brand also regularly rotates “summer surprises,” such as fresh juice and granola through the lobbies and features restaurants that source local, seasonal ingredients.
And then, of course, there are its fitness centers. Among the most impressive is that of Kimpton’s Alexis Hotel in Seattle. A collaboration between the hotel, the Seattle Movement Project and the Seattle Bouldering Project, the resulting “Functional Fitness Room” has enough climbing holds, dumbbells, gymnastics rings, kettlebells, jump ropes, medicine balls and monkey bars to make any gym-goer drool … and sweat. Get more info at kimptonhotels.com.
5. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
This upscale hotel chain does sweat in the classiest way possible. Across its 44 U.S. locations, as well as nine in Europe, 18 in Africa, and 11 in Asia, guests can enjoy fitness offerings ranging from lit tennis courts and rooftop health clubs to bike rentals, seaside yoga and pool fitness classes.
But undoubtedly the coolest way to get your fitness on at Fairmont is with the hotels’ “canine ambassadors.” More than 10 Fairmont locations around the world have dogs on staff, many of them rescues or trained guide dogs. Email the concierge or ask at check-in, and you can schedule a fitness date with your hotel’s pooch. They love to go on walks or runs with guests. The concierge can even supply a map of the dogs’ favorite jaunts and spots to sniff out. Get more info at fairmont.com.
Corrected on July 5, 2016: A previous version of this story misidentified Be Well by Dr. Frank Lipman.