Starwood Hotels

Fitness

In-Room Fitness Amenities Offered at 5 Popular US Hotel Chains

Hotel gyms are becoming so state-of-the-art nowadays that you really just need to show up in your shorts and running shoes and you will have access to all the amenities your workout routine could ever require.

hotel yogaHotel gyms are becoming so state-of-the-art nowadays that you really just need to show up in your shorts and running shoes and you will have access to all the amenities your workout routine could ever require. Hotel chains are even stepping it up a notch by offering in-room workout gear for guests, as an increasing amount of women are keen on exercising in the comfort of their own room — why compromise privacy and convenience?

Here's a rundown of the big hotel names that are bringing the workout to you, in the comfort and safety of your own hotel room.

  1. Westin Hotels and Resorts: Various Westin locations across the country offer a program called RunWestin complete with a running concierge who leads guests on runs and even acts as a tour guide while pounding the pavement. This running group is available for all guests of varying running levels, and if you'd rather run solo, you can grab or download a provided trail map. Forget your shoes? No problem. Your Westin hotel just may be one of the properties that has teamed up with New Balance so you can borrow shoes, shorts, shirts, sports bras, and socks during your stay!

    The Westin also offers the option of booking a guest room that comes with a treadmill, a stationary bike, dumbbells, fitness DVDs, resistance bands, and stability balls. So you never have to worry about leaving your room to work out!

Here are more hotels that offer in-room exercise gear.

News

Jean-Georges Creating "the Applebee's of Haute Cuisine"

Famed chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten is up for one of this year's most prestigious James Beard Awards, but that's hardly the biggest thing on his mind.

Famed chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten is up for one of this year's most prestigious James Beard Awards, but that's hardly the biggest thing on his mind. Fortune profiles the New York chef and his aggressive plans to open 50 new restaurants in the next five years.

Vongerichten, who already has 24 restaurants under his belt, has created a joint venture, Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges, with Starwood Hotels and Catterton Partners, a private equity firm credited with turning P.F. Chang's into a national chain. The company's goal? To bring high-end cuisine to the masses in the same way Starbucks brought designer coffee to every corner of the world.

The venture will expand Vongerichten's name with three prototype restaurants: J&G Steakhouse, a steakhouse inspired by the success of Prime in Las Vegas; Spice Market, an homage to Asian street food based on the chef's wildly successful flagship in New York; and Market, a showcase for Vongerichten's signature dishes, such as tuna-wasabi pizza.

This year, Mexico City, Barcelona, Washington, Boston, and Milan are scheduled to open — although Austin, Aspen, and Dubai have already been put on hold given the uncertain economic times. Vongerichten is confident he's got the tools he needs to succeed — and if he doesn't, he can sell the restaurants and remove his name from all of them.

While the heavy expansion may sound overly ambitious given the economic recession, it's not all that different from what others — like Wolfgang Puck — have done. I question whether the Jean-Georges brand can succeed without becoming diluted. What do you think? Do you see this expansion plan being a success?

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