Originally Posted by
SkiAdcock
Marriott's not booking equipment for top athletes, they're booking for the average person who wants to stay healthy/keep in shape.
I remember reading in Runner's World that one of the top marathon runners in the world (forgot his name; it's been a few years since I read the article) headed out the door for a quick 15-minute run because he was limited in time before some public events. His fellow marathoners said why are you bothering? He said because while it's short, it's still 15 minutes of exercise, keeping the body in shape, enjoying the outdoors & it beats doing 15 minutes of nothing. @:-) I've always kept that in mind. Sometimes you have time for long work-outs; sometimes you don't, but something is better than nothing.
BTW - there's a Travel Health & Fitness forum on FT. Some of the folk who post there do centuries, etc.
Cheers.
I know plenty of people who are not "athletes" but the gym is extremely important.
Even an average runner can tell the difference between a good and crappy treadmill. Or crappy weight set, or crappy exercise bike, or crappy elliptical, etc.
Decent equipment should be looked at as long-term capital investments by hotels. Good stuff will last many years so the cost differential becomes noise.
I've got many stories of crazy workouts but I have no issue waking up early to get workouts in. Some people get up and read the paper, others hit the gym.
This brings up the topic of some Marriott hotels restricting gym hours (supposed to be 24 hr by policy) or turning off the HVAC. Yet another topic of discussion.....
And by the way, any elite endurance athlete won't be elite for very long doing 15 minute workouts.
PS: Thanks for travel tip on fitness forum. I make it a point to research hotel fitness facilities before booking now but have been duped a few times.