Fitness buffs may have a new option for hotel stays soon: The New York company that runs Equinox fitness clubs is launching a hospitality brand intended for health-conscious travelers willing to pay for high-end fitness facilities and amenities while on the road.
Equinox expects to open its first hotel in 2018 at the Related Cos. Hudson Yards development under way on Manhattan's West Side. The hotel's Yabu Pushelberg-designed property will include indoor and outdoor swimming pools and, at 60,000 square feet, the largest-ever Equinox gym. A Los Angeles hotel is slated to open in 2019.
Equinox eventually expects to open as many as 75 hotels worldwide. Related, which is the company's majority owner, expects to invest or raise "several billion" dollars for Equinox hotels over the next few years, a Related spokeswoman said.
"We are appealing to the discriminating consumer who lives an active lifestyle and wants to have that as a hotel experience," said Harvey Spevak, chief executive of Equinox, which has 75 locations in the U.S., London and Toronto.