Hotels put year-round fitness plans in play

NEW YORK — A new year, a new opportunity to get healthy: Resolutions to exercise more and eat right are popular come Jan 1. With all of these intentions in mind, hotels typically offer limited-time fitness- and nutrition-themed packages to attract guests for stays during the first few months of the year. In 2017, however, some properties are changing their approach by introducing wellness programs and packages that travelers can take advantage of at any time.

“The hotel industry is realiSing that travelers today want to stay on top of their health all the time, not just as a New Year’s resolution, so they’re now using January as an opportunity to launch long-term wellness initiatives,” said Sean Hennessy, a hotel consultant and an assistant professor of hospitality at the Jonathan M Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism at New York University.

Several Westin hotels are introducing fitness programs in January, including the Westin Austin Downtown in Austin, Texas, which will host the weeklong Lean Seventeen in each quarter of the year. This program is inclusive of a cross-fit class, rooftop yoga, guided runs of downtown, a juicing class and a seminar taught by Michael Cerrie, executive chef of the property’s restaurant Stella San Jac, on how to make healthy food taste delicious. All Lean Seventeen activities are free; guests pay for accommodations, and nightly rates begin at US$199 (S$288).

In addition, the hotel has a wellness package available anytime that includes a private guided run, a yoga class, a daily green juice, a class on either healthy cooking or juicing, a massage and a loan of New Balance workout clothes and sneakers. Nightly rates from US$339.

Other properties with new ways to stay healthy in 2017 include Brown’s Hotel, a Rocco Forte hotel in London. Guests and others can enjoy Tea-Tox, a healthy version of the traditionally rich English afternoon tea with creations like spinach bread with miso-glazed salmon and radish and a raw white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. The price is US$64.

Edition Hotels, a brand with four properties, including ones in Miami Beach, Florida, and London, has teamed with the wellness collective Yoga for Bad People to offer three free on-demand yoga videos through in-room televisions.

Mukul Beach, Golf and Spa in Guacalito de la Isla, Nicaragua, has a new yoga retreat for two people available all year; it includes accommodations for six nights, all meals, five private yoga sessions, six 90-minute spa treatments and a choice of a private cooking class or a private guided hike. Nightly rates from US$820.

Borgo Egnazia in Puglia, Italy, is introducing a three-day wellness program, Fu’re, which means “outside” in the Apulian dialect, where guests participate in creative activities meant to integrate the body and mind, like running sessions with a shaman and classes on local dance. From 1,720 euros (S$2607).

In La Quinta, California, the La Quinta Resort and Club has a spa getaway package for two people that includes unlimited fitness classes (power yoga and spinning are part of the schedule), a healthy breakfast with dishes like steel-cut oatmeal and a US$200 spa credit. Nightly rates from US$349.

In Zurich, the Baur au Lac has a two-night Zurich Fit package for two people that includes a personal training session for each person, a daily green smoothie, a healthy breakfast and one healthy lunch. From US$1,700.

And for a total immersion in health — no package required — Even Hotels, from Intercontinental Hotels Group, a brand where exercise and nutrition are a big focus, is scheduled to open five US locations in 2017; the first, in the Midtown East section of Manhattan, is opening later in January.

All guest rooms at Even Hotels have an exercise area with resistance bands, a stability ball and a yoga mat; a series of free on-demand guided video workouts incorporate this equipment. All properties also have a grab-and-go area selling nutritionally balanced dishes like a kale and quinoa salad. THE NEW YORK TIMES