Fitness centers: Moving out of the basement

JOI Design designed the Steigenberger Hamburg Day Spa with natural elements that tie the fitness center and spa area together.

Thankfully more thought and planning has gone into fitness centers at hotels these days, designers say. That means the stark, cave-like atmosphere of past hotel fitness facilities is gone. Hotel fitness centers are finally moving out of the basement and parking garage—in more ways than one.

Deborah Lloyd Forrest, principal with Forrest Perkins, said the biggest trend she’s seen in the past few years is hotels making fitness centers an amenity rather than an afterthought.

“They are finally out of the basement and the ugly part of the hotel,” she said. “Guests are no longer working out in a second-class closet space.”

Natural light and views are important in modern fitness center design. More guests take exercise seriously these days and they want to exercise in nice spaces. “Views are important; you don’t want to feel like you’re working out in a cave,” she said.

There is a resurgence and a recognized need to provide natural light, such as window walls, said Cara Shimkus Hall, principal with GH2 Hospitality Architects.

“While you’re on that treadmill or stair climber, you want to have that nice view to the outside, and in full-service hotels, those windows are much more expansive,” she said.

Hall also sees more hotels considering free floor space in their fitness centers when designing them. In the past, fitness centers would try to squeeze in as much equipment as possible. Nowadays, there’s space for guests to spread out yoga mats and get down on the floor for yoga, sit-ups or stretching.

“If you wanted floor space in the past, you were relegated to the free space under a weight machine. Not anymore,” Hall said.

Individually controlled televisions and iPod docking stations on fitness equipment are almost standard at higher-end hotels, Forrest said. They allow users to make the workout experience more personalized.

Peter Joehnk, managing director of JOI Design, based in Hamburg, Germany, said he usually designs hotels with a specific idea or theme, and then all areas of the hotel incorporate this theme, including the fitness center.

“More and more we integrate fitness and spa in a more open way, by combining them with a lounge area together, or a shared shower room,” he said. “Design-wise, the atmosphere becomes more relaxed. We try to use natural materials, like real wood, and we put a lot more effort into the lighting design now.”