Forget Mall Walking: Radisson Blu Mall of America Has a Great Gym

The pool at the Radisson Blu Mall of America

Malls have become popular with walking groups, who power through the climate controlled environments, often just as stores are opening and crowds are thin. But at the Radisson Blu Mall of America you can follow your fitness routine at a big gym, next to a huge indoor pool.

I am not a swimmer, but the clean, perfect temperature pool enticed me. Large windows let the sun stream in, and the families using the facility were all happy. The family-friendly hotel provides special adult only hours for lap swimmers.

The fitness center at Radisson Blu Mall of America

The gym offered everything needed for a great workout; thick yoga mats for stretching, mirrors so you could watch your form, stability balls and bosu balls. There were plenty of free weights, cardio machines and soft towels for mopping up sweat.

Blue light fixtures at the gym

The gym even had blue light fixtures to reflect the Radisson color scheme.

Note: I was a guest of Radisson Blu Mall of America. Opinions expressed are my own.

Feeling Lucky? Avoid The Slots And Exercise At MGM Grand Detroit's Excellent Gym

Treadmills at the MGM Grand Detroit's gym

Most travelers don’t choose a hotel solely based on the fitness center, but once they have found a great work out space, they often return. Such is the case the the MGM Grand in Detroit; the excellent exercise facility, deluxe spa and gorgeous pool make me yearn to return.

Stability and Bosu balls

Every treadmill or cardio machine was stocked with its own towel and water bottle, plus individual screen. Of course you could also get a chilled towel, another towel form the stacks of thick, plush towels, and a glass of citrus infused water. You could even grab a piece of fruit for a post-workout snack.

There are plenty of free weights, weight benches, stability balls and a Bosu ball. And there is plenty of space to use all the equipment.  There are also weight machines and mirrors so you can watch your form.

The empty glowing pool at the MGM Grand Detroit

If you remember a bathing suit, you can take advantage of the pool, which has comfy lounges and, at least when I checked it out early in the mornings, few visitors.

Westin Workout: Borrow Some Gym Clothes

The workout clothes at the Westin

Nothing is worse than carving out time on vacation to exercise - and then realizing that you left your gym clothes home. I of course NEVER forget anything when I pack (!) but for journalistic purposes wanted to test out the Westin Hotel program, where for $5 you get work out clothes (and keep the socks).

I was a little grossed out by the idea - I approach rental bowling shoes with trepidation - but the clothing I got was completely clean and hardly used. Plus, the sneakers get new insoles after each use, so there's no weird sweat smell.

The lending program is a partnership with New Balance, so all the gear is their brand. And it comes in a mesh laundry bag to leave in your room. I tried out the program at the Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport, where I was staying for the North American International Auto Show.

New Balance running shoes and laundry bag

I was very happy with the capris, short sleeve shirt and sports bra, which all fit perfectly. The running shoes were not so great - they fit, but I buy sneakers that my feet need and these were not right. But for working out in the fitness center, and even for using the elliptical machine, they were fine.

The socks were another matter. I like that you get to keep the socks - but why send a woman men's socks? They were too big and not very padded.

One thing that I really loved - I didn't have to bring home gross sweaty clothes.  Not that MY clothes stink, but my husband is one of those guys who is just dripping after a few minutes of exercise and even when he puts his gym clothes in a plastic bag, the whole suitcase reeks.  It's almost worth the $5 to save our luggage.

If you are a serious athlete, you will want your own workout clothes, but for almost any causal athlete, these are a great solution.

My only question is - how about a swimsuit rental program? There was an empty pool, and I had no suit...

Fitness on Vacation: Now the Kids Hit the Gym

The fitness center at the Embassy Suites in Savannah

Time was, the first thing my kids checked out at a hotel was the pool. Before we'd even memorized our room number they'd pulled out their bathing suits and asked to go swim.

Not the prettiest but it was functional

Now, they want to keep to their exercise regimens. One daughter is captain of her college's Ultimate team, another is on he high school track and Ultimate teams and the other just works out regularly. So  when we stayed at the Embassy Suites Savannah recently, we all trekked down to the fitness center to get in our regular exercise.

Treadmills waiting for us

What I love about Embassy Suites (besides the room for a family of 5) is the free full breakfast - and the opportunity to grab a cup of coffee and a banana before working out, then eating more after we worked out and showered. (Note: breakfast only goes till 10, so you have to time this right. But we had full days planned in Savannah, so we made sure the girls got an early - ish - start).

A surprise - the outdoor pool was warm enough for winter swimming

The gym had everything we needed; treadmills, with individual screens, stability balls, weight benches and yoga mats. There were foam rollers, free weights, and a bosu ball substitute that worked just fine.

Healthy breakfast options

About the only problem was the empty cold water dispenser. Perhaps since we were in the south we were supposed to bring in some sweet tea.

We had great weather for December - 70s during the day and warm enough to swim in the heated pool.

Hotel Monaco: Staying Fit While Eating Around Philly

The well equipped gym at Hotel Monaco in Philadelphia

Philadelphia has become a foodie paradise, and vegetarians and vegans will find plenty of places where they can fill their bellies.

The pulley machine

But what to do about belly bloat? If you stay at the Hotel Monaco, you can work out at the excellent gym. The bright, spotless gym has state of the art cardio equipment, all with their own television screens - or you can watch the hive of activity below around the Liberty Bell.

There are also stability balls and a bosu ball, hula hoops, free weights and weight machines and weighted balls. The large pulley machine intimidated me.

Cardio machines at Hotel Monaco

The gym also keeps in mind creature comforts, with a water cooler, soft towels - and chilled ones - ear buds if you've forgotten, newspapers - even fresh fruit so you don't hit the mini bar and negate all that exercise.

If you are shy about your workout, you can use the yoga mat in your room.

Gym amenities include chilled towels

Group fitness fans can take one of the free weekly classes; cardio sculpting at 6:30am on Wednesdays, or cardio boxing, also on Wednesdays at 6pm. Of course, that cuts right into the free daily cocktail social hour...

If you prefer to get your cardio outside, take one of the free bikes for a spin. The hotel is right on a bike lane and you can easily zip over to Fairmont Park.

Working it in Louisville - Fitness at the 21C

Staring at a stone wall can be a little claustrophobic

On a recent work trip to Louisville, Kentucky, I stayed at the 21C museum hotel, a cool boutique hotel downtown. I was excited to hop on one of the free bikes, but the only ones there after breakfast had flat tires, so I had to use the fitness center.

That is not a problem for me, but this basement space had a dungeon-like quality; it was cramped and windowless (of course - as was my room, which was a surprise).

This tiny space was where you could use the stability ball

But the fitness center did have a large flat screen television, which I was able to tune into a food show; I like to watch cooking while I burn off calories. And there was a mirrored wall so I could watch my form.

The compact space had a couple of stability, free weights, a yoga mat (not much room to stretch) and towels. Normally, I wouldn't mention the fact that there were towels, but I just returned from another business trip where the much larger fitness center had no towels. So I won't take those for granted any more!

Luxury Spa, Luxury Gym: Lodge at Woodloch

The Lodge at Woodloch's gym; a playground for adults

Whether you are an avid exerciser, or just looking to dip your toe into starting a fitness program, the Lodge at Woodloch offers an array of exercise classes, plus a state of the art gym, so you can work out on your spa getaway.
The gym had all the toys I love; bosu balls, stability balls, box steps, free weights and weigh benches, plus a few goodies - hula hoops, a barre for stretching, and a priceless view when you use the cardio machines.

Look at those trees outside the gym

Woodloch is set in the Poconos, and the wooded backdrop is quite an inspiration. Plus, if you grow bored with the exercise equipment, you can bike, paddle a kayak, run outside, hike. There are yoga classes and guided meditations.

My husband and I took a spin class, which was pretty much like any other spin class in a gym; not SoulCycle, but also not music at a bone-crunching volume. We also took a weight class with an energetic young instructor, who challenged us to push our limits. I wanted to take a bosu class, but three exercise classes in one day exceeds almost every limit, and I really wanted to take a cooking demo.

Two days was hardly enough to scratch the surface of Woodloch, but if you are there for a few more days, you can take advantage of more exercise classes and that great gym. The gym also had soft towels, headphones, and a bowl of fruit and nuts outside if your workout left you a little worn out.

History, Luxury - and a Modern gym

The Dearborn Inn, on Ford Motor Company property, is not your typical Marriott, though it is owned by the chain. The hotel is across the street from company headquarters and is convenient for visiting the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village and the Automotive Hall of Fame.

The historic inn has several outbuildings with rooms, along with rooms in the main part of the hotel, where you'll also find a bar, the lobby with a fireplace and a restaurant. The fitness center is also in the main building, and if you are staying in winter, you may want to make sure your room is not in one of the outlying buildings.  I had an icy sprint, in shorts, to the gym.

But the gym offers new cardio and strength equipment, along with little touches like headphones and a stack of magazines.

There is also a seasonal outdoor pool if that's how you get your workout. But no polar bear events for me - just that short wintry run was enough.

Airport Hotel: Gateway to Fitness

Most airport hotels are dreary affairs, selected by weary travelers as a last resort, or strictly for convenience. But  the Westin Detroit Metro Airport Hotel is an anomaly, a luxury hotel with great amenities, like its gym. 

The huge gym has state of the art cardio and strength machines, free weights, stability balls and space to stretch. And you can't use the excuse that you forgot your workout clothes - the Westin rents sneakers and workout clothing for $5.

There are headphones if you've forgotten yours, nice soft towels, and chilled towels for a super cool down.

They don't rent bathing suits and there is also a pool, if that's how you like to exercise. But shopping is right at your fingertips; you can stroll into the airport shops.

The Westin has its own security line, so you can get to your gate in just minutes. If you are lucky enough to be flying Delta, the gates are literally right there, but the private security line is an amazing perk.

And with all the extra time you save, you can spend more time exploring Detroit.

Brooklyn Heights Luxury Gym: Equinox

Many NYC gyms with Brooklyn branches treat their outer-borough siblings as poor relations. Not so Equinox, which has a luxury gym in Brooklyn Heights.

The 5 story fitness emporium includes a spa, a juice bar, coat check and kids' club.

The impeccably clean locker rooms have Kiehl's products, beautiful tile and large, soft towels.

There are also early morning, mid-day and evening classes, with a Pilates studio, spin room and yoga studio.

I was impressed with the number of weight benches, free wights and bosu balls scattered throughout, with trainers who actually returned equipment so you could easily find what you needed.

My only gripe with Equinox is that the cardio equiment only has a few overhead monitors, instead of individual screens. If you like to channel hop, you are limited by the choices, which on the day I exercised, were CNN, CNN and soaps. Doesn't anyone watch here E!?

But the gym also has great music pumping through, so you can remove your ear plugs and be more social.

Manchester Grand Hyatt: Fitness Challenge

San Diego is one of those cities where everyone is always in a good mood. Any why not? The picture perfect weather, with crystal clear blue skies and a temperate range make everyone happy.

In this kind of weather, you almost have to run, but if you are staying at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, right on the San Diego Bay, you will also want to check out the excellent fitness center.

The large gym has a ton of elliptical machines and treadmills, with individual screens, and a ton of free weights and weight machines.

Oddly, someone has absconded with weights below 8 pounds; perhaps visitors to southern California are known for their incredible biceps and shoulders? I do a routine on a bosu ball (there were 3!) that is almost impossible do do with anything over 5 pounds.

But apart from that snafu (do people really swipe weights from hotel gyms?) you can get a great workout here.  There are resistance bands, a stability balls, weighted balls and mats.  There are body bars and weight benches.

And, right outside, there are running and biking paths.

Fitness Challenge: Spin in Puerto Rico

Renting a car in Puerto Rico left us spinning our wheels, but we cycled for fun in a spin class at La Concha Resort. The state of the art gym has a limited number of exercise classes, one of which is a weekly spin class.

The bikes were not exactly current, but they did have clip on one side for cycling shoes and toe clips for those in sneakers. There were only four of us (there are about 8 bikes total) but we got a good cardio workout.

The instructor mixed the usual blend of jumps, sprints and uphill climbs into the 45 minute class and I calculated that we burned up enough calories for one poolside drink.

Those who like to spin in dimly lit rooms wouldn't like the sun-splashed studio where we had the class, but I'm not really a fan of the candle-lighted nightclub spin experience.

Really, what I wanted to do was bike outside; a bike lane ran down the middle of the street in front of our hotel - but the one bike store nearby was closed for vacation the entire time we were in Puerto Rico.

Fitness Challenge: La Concha Resort

We didn't go to Puerto Rico to exercise, but we had our own version of Jersey Shore once we got there: gym - beach -pool.

The fitness center at La Concha Resort offered the perfect way to stay in shape. The large gym, overlooking the spectacular beach, had a studio for classes, cardio machines with their own screens (though the televisions weren't working) and just about everything else you needed for a complete workout.

Stability balls, bosu balls, free weights, weight benches, clean mats, body bars and weighted balls were all in top notch shape. There were also weight machines, soft towels, and apples for after your workout.

Although the luxury resort was sold out when we visited, the fitness center was never too crowded - it is open 24/7 and was somehow spotless every time we stepped in.

And as you can see from the photo above, although we couldn't watch TV while we were on the elliptical (and there were also headphones in case you forgot yours) the view more than made up for it.

Skinny Jeans in Portland: Staying Fit

To fit in in Portland, you literally have to fit in - to skinny jeans. But with popular calorie bombs like Voodoo Doughnuts and Blue Star Donuts tempting you, your exercise regimen cannot take a back seat.

Thankfully for my bottom line, I stayed at the Hotel Monaco, which has a fully equipped fitness center. There were a couple of treadmills and elliptical trainers, with their own screens (one only seemed to play CNN but maybe that is a better choice for keeping my mind fit than Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

There were weight machines, free weights, weighted balls, barbells, foam rollers, stability balls and a bosu ball.

The gym also had a couple of mats, including a cushy one for gymnastics, plenty of soft towels and cold water, along with headphones.

I also liked the eco touch of a light sensor, so when I went there at 6am (still on New York time) the lights were off.

Radisson Hotel Utica: delivers on fitness

When I heard that the Radisson Hotel Utica had recently renovated its fitness center, I looked forward to staying there. The hotel, in upstate New York, has an indoor pool; on our visit over Memorial Day, it was 43 degrees and raining the whole time. So an outdoor pool would have an extremely short season.

And any other outdoor activity was curtailed, even though it was late May.

So we headed to the gym, a basement space with plenty of room. There were new treadmills and elliptical trainers, with individual TVs, a full array of Life Fitness weight machines, free weights and stability balls.

There were also mats, with space to use them, towels and water. 

It wasn't the most inspiring place - the blank walls could use some decoration, but it was more than ample.

The hotel also offers a free breakfast buffet on weekdays, though oddly of the four rooms our group reserved, only one was given the breakfast coupons. Free breakfast is one of our favorite family friendly amenities.

The Radisson has an elaborate Sunday brunch, with free-flowing champagne and made to order omelets.

Fitness on high: Grand Hyatt New York

The rooftop fitness center at the Grand Hyatt New York lives up to its lofty perch and noble name. This is a gym where you can find almost every piece of equipment you require to complete your fitness regimen.

The fitness center has stationary bicycles, treadmills and elliptical trainers, all with individual TV screens and iPod docks that charge your iPhone or iPod while you sweat.

There are stability balls, a bosu ball and a punching bag, with an assortment of gloves.

Other equipment includes mats (though not a whole lot of room to stretch) and along with weight benches, free weights and weight machines. There are also kettle bells, medicine balls with handles, body bars and resistance bands.

Amenities include piles of soft towels, chilled towels, headphones and water.

Fairmont Southampton: Diet Buster of Fitness Enabler?

If you stay on the gold floor of a Fairmont hotel (about a $100 premium, and totally worth it if you are traveling with a family) you have access to a special lounge with a concierge. There is breakfast, tea with wonderful scones, an appetizer hour and a dessert hour.

This could wreak havoc on your diet. Luckily, the Fairmont in Southampton, Bermuda, also has a great gym, free if you join the free President’s Club. 

The fitness center, entered through the spa, has an extensive selection of free weights, stability balls, bosu balls (2!) and cardio equipment with individual screens overlooking the pool.

There are weight machines, weight benches, steps and ample stretching areas and yoga mats. Everything was pristine, and you could hydrate with chilled water or lemon water, and grab a piece of fruit after your workout. The fitness center could be a boutique gym in NYC.

There are also headphones if you forgot, soft towels, and showers, hair gel and hair spray in the changing rooms. This is ideal if you are traveling with your family and don’t want to fight over the one shower before dinner.

Note: I stayed at the Fairmont Southampton as a guest of the Bermuda Department of Tourism. Opinions are my own.

Fitness challenge: historic hotel

If you look at historical photos, people did not have gym fit bodies. If you had muscles, it was because you had a manual labor job. People of means had soft, un-muscled bodies.

Of course now, it is almost the opposite; those with means can afford gyms, trainers, adventure vacations. If you have a hankering to stay in a historic hotel, you usually have to make do with a tiny fitness room.

Such is the case at the Hotel Utica, a grand hotel from 1912 with glimmering chandeliers, elaborate plaster and intricate, restored woodwork. The ceilings soar in the lobby, but the fitness room brings you back down to earth.

The room has 3 ancient cardio machines – an elliptical, a treadmill and a stationary bike, 2 benches and free weights. There is a television, but no way to adjust the heat pouring into the room.

Nevertheless, it adequately serves to keep visitors on fitness routines and if you time your workout right, you can exercise to Kelly & Michael or reruns of Friends. Watching TV is a great motivator for me; to finish a show (or a second sitcom), I have to work out for an hour.

Fitness Challenge: M Gym

M Gym on the Upper East Side offers a great way for Manhattanites to work out for less. The gym has almost everything you need at a reduced rate. The 2 floor gym (you have to use external stairs to get between the floors) has an array of cardio equipment and free weights, and classes ranging from boot camp to yoga. You pay for what you use here; a month at the gym, a pack of classes, personal training. There are community classes at a reduced rate, and personal training for 2 that lets you and a buddy work out for less. The small gym has limited hours; you can only work out till 5 on weekends, and there is just one shower in each tiny locker room. But everything at the gym is clean and functional and if you don’t need all the bells and whistles, you can stay fit for less. The one thing it doesn’t offer is spin, though right downstairs, the boutique spin studio Flywheel has its intense classes. The 2 places have a relationship; Flywheel customers can shower at M gym, so gym members might be able to cut a deal on the occasional spin class.

Fitness Challenge: Okemo Mountain Resort

A gym at a ski resort may seem superfluous, but it actually comes in quite handy.

When we arrived at Okemo Mountain Resort, after a 5 hour drive, it was too late to ski, but just in time to use the spacious fitness center. We stayed at the Jackson Gore Inn, which requires an outdoor sprint of 20 yards to the Spring House. There, we found a fitness studio, (Zumba and yoga classes are $10) a racquetball court, and a gym with cardio machines, free weights, stability balls and a bosu ball. The cardio machines don't have their own screens; there are 2 large TVS, and music playing. But there are a variety of treadmills, stationary bikes and ellipticals to get your heart pumping. There are also mats, perfect for stretching sore muscles after a day on the slopes.