TRAVEL TREND:The Road to Wellville

Are you tired of the cramped fitness facilities that most hotels offer, or do you simply prefer the privacy of a home-gym? Then you’ll welcome the new trend in en-suite fitness, which allows guests to request in-room treadmills, stationary bikes, videos, personal trainers, spa services, as well as a handful of other healthy room services. Some hotels have been providing in-room massage and manicures for a while, but the menu has expanded to include personal aerobics, yoga sessions, and even holistic treatments.

By year’s end, Marriott and Renaissance hotels will have a Great Health/Fit For You program. Choose from a Body Rev exercise device and a video, a Traveling Trainer Kit with resistance tubes, or a Body Wedge 21 incline board with video; the healthy menu choices even include low-fat kids’ meals.

Kimpton Hotels such as Pacific Palisades Hotel in Vancouver, offer an Om Away from Home. Yoga devotees will find a basket with mat, block, and strap, as well as 24-hour TV yoga. A new Mind.Body.Spa. program will soon add Pilates, Core-Strength, and Stress Reduction to the Wellness Channel.

For ultimate luxury, the InSparation Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay cuddle you with luxurious touches like Kashwere bedding and robes and aromatherapy candles; a spa honor bar in the bathroom makes it fun to try new products “put your feet up on a reflexology cube and play the ancient Mancala game. Most Ritz-Carltons offer a Bath Menu, in-room exercise machines, and trainers. The Richel D’Ambra’s Spa at The Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia, even does in-room reiki.

The elegant Golden Door Spa Casitas at the Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa in Carefree,‚ Arizona, will also nurture you with soft Kashwere, along with complimentary Golden Door amenities and a cookbook. The minibar offers organic food and beverages, and you can preselect an eye pillow, Total Body video, yoga mat, or Art of Possibilities book from a special wellness menu.

Hilton, Double Tree, and Embassy Suites are launching Eat Right and Personal Performance programs. Four Seasons hotels have an In-Room Gym and more in some of their sumptuous suites. There is a WestinWORKOUT Room at the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa in Beverly Hills, California. The Omni Hotel in San Francisco provides a Get Fit Room and Ideal Nourishment menu. Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch Scottsdale is the first, but soon selected Hyatts will also feature Yoga Away and On Command TV, with workout, relaxation, and stress reduction videos. In your room at the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona, you can try Table Thai massage, Guided Imagery Mediation, and Biofeedback Sanctuary. And finally, Starwood’s Spa Collection promises Seven Pillars of Wellness: Beauty, Harmony, Aqua, Vitality, Life Balance, Nature, and Nutrition. On the road for business or pleasure, you’ll find hotel packages and programs to help you stay healthy and rest easier.