Whenever I travel I try to find a workout studio, preferably a spin class, near the hotel I am staying to experience SWEATworking in it's native lands.
It's rare that a hotel has a spin class inside it's fitness center.
Nothing against the solo Peloton rides found in most hotel gyms, but I like a live spin class with other humans and music communally pedaling to the beat of our own morning mind drums.
Recently, while on the road, I stayed in 2 consecutive hotels where each had its own respective spin class inside the hotel.
It was a rare treat to have back to back chances to spin at two different hotels.
I decided to compare the two workouts and call it The Battle of the Hotel Spin Class.
Below is my experience from both spin classes at the Hotel Del Coronado and Omni La Costa.
They have beach spin. This is literally, on the beach. It overlooks the Pacific Ocean on Coronado island. It is a gorgeous way to start the day.
Equipment: The hotel provides the bike, water, and instructor. You can wear tennis shoes or you can bring your spin shoes. Their pedals fit both types of clips. They do not provide shoes. But....one person in our group didn't have tennis shoes so the instructor gave the tennis shoes on her feet to our shoeless friend. They had the same size foot! Now, THAT is service!
Location: On the deck between the main pool and the ocean. Super easy to find just walk to the beach, to the middle of the hotel, and look for spin bikes.
About the class: This was a great workout. It was not difficult. If you've never taken a spin class this would be a good entry-level to try while traveling. There were no weights to lift and it was straight riding. There was no complicated choreography or a lot of jumping. It was a very simple streamlined beach class with sprints, cardio, and average effort. The instructor was extremely knowledgeable about the body and explained things well. Even though waves were crashing in the background, she was very easy to hear with music and waves.
The view: When was the last time you took a spin class and overlooked the ocean? NEVER! This is an experience you want to have. The class was at 7 am and we saw dolphins leaping and swimming the entire time. This was a big bonus and added extra excitement. Looking for dolphins in the water made the class go by fast.
After class: Take an easy cool-down 2-mile beach walk. You can stroll the sand or the boardwalk and watch the sunrise. Wander to the Market where you can get a post-workout cup of coffee, tea or water. I didn't have one but they had a dialectical selection of gorgeous breakfast sandwiches you can grab for post-ride nourishment.
How to sign up: It's super easy to go to the Hotel Del website, click experiences, click fitness center, and sign up online. https://hoteldel.com/experience/recreation/fitness-center/ When I checked in I confirmed with the front desk that I was signed up and they had me in the system.
Would I do it again? HELL YES! In fact, being a local
in San Diego, I'd go even if I wasn't staying at the hotel. It was a really nice outdoor experience and having that beach walk cool down after was a huge bonus to which I was not expecting.
Location: Their spin class is inside the hotel fitness center which is super easy to find near the pools.
The fitness center at Omni La Costa is pretty big compared to most hotel fitness centers. This is just one of many "side rooms" they have in addition to a large weight and cardio room. The two other rooms are for TRX and Pilates.
How to sign up: I tried to sign up online all week and was not successful. When I checked in
I asked: How do I sign up for spin tomorrow?
Front Desk said: Just show up
I was skeptical of this and probed further.
I asked: What happens if I get there and there are no bikes left?
Front Desk said: It's all walk up, it won't be busy, there will be a bike.
My fear of leaving it up to the SWEATworking Gods that early morning is that in a normal gym these classes are always the most frequently attended and it seemed impossible that I could just stroll into a 6:30 am spin studio without signing up and get a bike.
But, I left it up to fate and didn't press any further.
I shared the class with my colleague Malely who I've done many morning workouts all over the world.
She said: Awesome, where do we sign up
I said: We don't sign up, we just show up
She was just as skeptical as I was so we agreed to arrive 15 minutes early so we could get a bike.
We arrived. The room was empty. The sun was rising.
It was a pretty view from inside the room and we had our pick of bikes.
It was nice to have a little extra time to catch up, stretch, and warm up before class started. 6:25 am rolled around and 2 nice older gents sauntered into the room. They did not arrive together but they did know each other. One of the men wandered my way, looked at me, looked down, and then wandered to a bike on the end.
I said to him: Am I on your bike?
I got the sense that he went there every day and rode on a specific bike. In my home studio in San Diego, I always pick bike 29. (29 is my favorite number) so I know a thing or two about "your bike" moments.
He said: Yes, I normally ride the bike you're on but you take it. It will be a nice new perspective for me today. I normally ride that bike so I can look at the sunrise through the window.
I gave him a grateful nod and we waited for the instructor.
The view: He was right. My bike had the perfect morning view of the sunrise just past the pools, and over the golf course. It was stunning.
Equipment: The hotel does not supply spin shoes and my tennis shoes fit perfectly in their pedal cages. I did notice clips for DELTA clips but no hooks for SPD clips. But, it was early in the morning and I had just stolen a man's regular bike so I was preoccupied and didn't look that hard.
About the class: I had not taken a class like this before. The instructor was a very cool cat who got right to business as soon as he arrived at 6:28 am. We started promptly at 6:30 with a 7-minute warm-up. The music was on and he was mostly silent. At first, I thought: "OMG I am going to be so bored with this. I don't know if I can make it. I need someone talking to me or some choreography to pass the time." and then I leaned into it telling myself, "just listen to the music and use this as a nice 45-minute meditation"
I really liked it. It felt more like a High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout on a bike than a normal rhythm ride spin class. We did 3 - 5 minute bursts using the RPMs and levels on the bike. I grew fond of the silence, got into the music, and pushed myself even further than I had planned because of the rigid militant routine the instructor had planned for us.
I was red and sweaty when we were done and hope to do another class like that soon.
We told the instructor our feedback after class and he shared that his approach to class is about letting your body do the work and to embrace the silence. He said we have so much noise throughout the day that he doesn't like to invade the ears of his students and he wants us to use this as time to just focus on ourselves. Mission accomplished!
Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY. I liked that I could just walk up without a reservation, loved the sunrise window and the style of class was different.
It was such a great workout.
After Class: I walked over to the market off the main plaza of the hotel to get a decaf honey coconut hot latte which they did a delicious job making. The market there has so many fun souveniers too. I wasn't in the market to buy any at the time but mentally bookmarked it to return and get something fun from there soon.
What started as a battle turned out to be a celebration of two very unique spin classes at two very different hotels at opposite ends of San Diego. I wouldn't say one was better than the other because they both were fantastic with completely unique features. I would say you should definitely try them both the next time you're at either hotel. I am glad I got the chance to try out both, I will be back.
Some of my favorite non-hotel workout spots while on the road recently have been:
DEFINE Oakley-Cincinnati
Cyclebar-Houston, Cincinnati, Atlanta, San Diego-etc They seem to have a studio in most cities.
SPENGA- Ann Arbor
Your turn. What are your favorite workouts while on the road? What hotel gyms or hotel fitness classes do you love? Sharing is caring so share if you dare!
Mandi Graziano is a travel expert, professional sales speaker, and founder of Facetime Coaching Company. She's the co-creator of the Adventures in Business podcast and Vice President of Global Accounts for Hospitality Performance Network Global. She's on the road about 200 days a year and always looking for her next SWEATworking opportunity with friends, colleagues, and clients. If you have a hotel gym or hotel workout you love, let her know at www.mandigraziano.com
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