One of the things I enjoy when traveling is a good hotel fitness center. For some hotels, they seem to be add-ons where they throw a small weight set, some mats, and a couple of not-that-great treadmills in a room. Even for the hotels where greater care is paid to equipping their fitness centers, there are still some things lacking. For me, that is good air movement/air-conditioning. It never seems like they get that one right!
If you like to enjoy some time on a treadmill when on the road while also enjoying the little things like a convenient bathroom and air conditioning you can control, there are some hotels where you can have all of it – right in your own room!
Want A Great Workout At A Hotel? Look For Rooms Like This!
Westin is a great brand (one of the SPG brands) that does a pretty good job of focusing on fitness for guests. Not only have they partnered with a large marathon brand (Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series) as the preferred hotel, but they also have a run concierge to cater to the needs of guests who are running those events.
Westin Well-Being Movement
In addition to that, they have a deal that lends you workout clothes, courtesy of New Balance. If you are traveling and either forgot to bring some with you or did not have the space, just borrow a set of workout clothes and you are on your way! They charged $5 for the lending of the gear, but you get to keep the new pair of socks that will accompany it.
Use the Gear Lending program from Westin to never be without workout gear! | Westin Workout site
To read more about Westin’s focus on fitness, check out this page.
WestinWorkout Rooms
You could workout right in the comfort of your own hotel room! | Westin Palace Milan Photo
One of the coolest things is that participating properties (not sure of them all) have a WestinWorkout Room as a room selection when you make your reservation. That’s right – you can have workout equipment right in your own hotel room!
While not bookable with points, the cash cost is typically just a little bit more than a regular room. You can choose from available rooms that offer either a Life Fitness bike or a treadmill and both come with Pilates equipment as well.
To see if the Westin you are booking has these rooms, scroll down on the Select Room page and look for room options like you see below. For some properties, you may have to scroll down pretty far on the Select Rate part of the page. Go past the ADA rooms and if the hotel has a WestinWorkout room, you will find it there.
Pick a room with a bike or a treadmill to get your workout done!
The above is for the Westin Washington Dulles. Unfortunately, Westin does not have one page that shows which of their properties have these fantastic rooms. Below is a list that I know have them though I know there are several others that I do not know about, yet (let me know in the comments if you know of one!).
- The Westin Prince, Toronto
- Westin Washington Dulles Airport
- The Westin Atlanta Airport
- The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort
- The Westin Oaks Houston At The Galleria
- The Westin Palace, Milan
- The Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport
- Westin O’Hare, Chicago
Is It Worth It?
For some of those locations, these rooms could make perfect sense. I have stayed at a few of them and even though I like to get my run in outside, hotels like the Westin in Detroit’s airport are great for this. That is a fantastic hotel that is right in the terminal of the airport – perfect for departing/arriving flights at any time. Being able to workout right in your room would be really great at that property.
At other properties like Milan, not so sure about wanting to run in my room! I think I would prefer to get out! Though, there are still times that having this type of setup would be useful. That the option is there is really nice. If you are not sure you want to do, you could always book a room with points now and ask for an upgrade later, even if you have to pay the difference.
A Lot To Love!
In the end, I like that Westin offers these rooms as options. I enjoy running while traveling and if I cannot get out to do it, I would love the option to be able to do it right in my own room. All done? Dash over to the bathroom for a shower or bath! Need a nice cold drink? Grab it from your own refrigerator or ice bucket! Not only that, but you have a bigger TV than you may have available in the fitness center – and you can watch what you want! I love watching baseball games while running so this would be perfect.
I do like the movement towards fitness that we are seeing at many hotels, and Westin is certainly a leader in that regard. From what I’ve seen, the hotel rooms that have fitness machines in them often cost more than a standard room. Hotels like EVEN are working to change this and make fitness the rule rather than the exception. And taken together – hotels like Westin and EVEN are fueling the movement toward healthy travel.
But back to the fitness machines in the room issue – sometimes I feel like this is more of a gimmick than a reality – how many hotels room at each property actually come equipped with these machines? In any event, I tend to look at this much like I look at room service. I’d prefer to work out in a well-equipped hotel fitness center rather than in my hotel room, just as I’d prefer to eat a meal in the hotel restaurant, rather than in my room. Its great I guess to have the option though.
With several of the properties I looked at, it is about $20 more for that room. I think I had read someplace before that there are only a few pet hotel.
This is why it is good for them to have these – I am the opposite as I don’t mind eating in my room and being able to just jump on the treadmill for a workout had always appealed to me. I used to love having the convenience of a treadmill, frig, and bathroom all within 15 feet. Course that mostly helps for 20+ milers …
Agree with everything you say. I forgot to mention – nice choice of a NON-SMOKING WestinWORKOUT room. Do they have a SMOKERS choice? ha!!
Good catch!
The Westin in Greenville, SC also offers these rooms. Amazing perk!