Westin Hotels & Resorts has announced a complete refresh of the WestinWORKOUT® program to match the evolving fitness trends among guests and further enhance the brand’s goal of promoting well-being in travel. Westin is transforming fitness facilities at its 186 hotels around the world into highly-designed fitness studios featuring new equipment, blue-light therapy and more. The new fitness studios will roll-out globally throughout 2012.
Westin’s in-house Design Team studied guest behavior and found that the Westin guest desires a more-well-rounded, holistic fitness experience, including more options for stretching, yoga and fitness classes. To capitalize on this trend, Westin chose to remove select pieces of equipment that guests were not using as frequently in order to provide more floor space for these types of activities. Finally, versatile pulley machines were added to smaller fitness studios to further maximize space and provide a greater range of workout options.
Westin worked with Philips to create ideal lighting for the re-designed fitness studios and is the first hotel brand to introduce ActiViva Lighting, Philips’ new energizing fluorescent lighting, into its gym facilities. This cutting-edge blue light technology positively influences well-being and will help to make guests feel more alert, awake and energized in target workout areas such as the cardio zone. Additionally, the lighting will be customized in all workout zones to coincide with the type of exercise taking place in each specific area.
The custom-created design of Westin’s new fitness studio, a departure from the typical gym aesthetic, was also driven by the changing trends of how people work out. Instead of black rubber floors, the Westin Design Team chose to use a natural, soft-tone color palette and organic materials including textural woven flooring. Inspired by nature, each fitness studio will also display a full-size art mural entitled “Step Up” – a reflective image of people running up a grassy hill, illustrating Westin’s goal of helping guests leave feeling better than when they arrived. A built-in entry millwork unit was also added in order to house guests’ essentials, such as towels and water, in one place.