Hotels: 8 Fun Workout Extras to Take Advantage of on Vacation

West Coast hotels are finding more exciting ways to keep you moving.

The vacation sweat session: necessary if you want to stick to a fitness routine while on holiday, or gorge guilt-free on fresh-baked pastries, rich gourmet dinners and bacon-with-everything breakfasts.The hotel gym: even when it’s fully stocked with 21st Century equipment and a working TV, it would be great if the workout options were as diverse as your trip’s itinerary.In response, eight West Coast hotels have stepped up with a range of creative fitness extras for guests looking to get physical, physical—everything from city running tours to sunrise yoga sessions with an ocean view: 1. Forget Your Runners on PurposeThe Westin Resort & Spa in Whistler has teamed up with New Balance to create its very own gear-lending program for guests. Running shoes alone are known to take up a lot of luggage real estate, so the Stay in Gear program ($5) supplies the shoes, as well as New Balance socks, shorts and shirts while you stay at the resort. Now you don’t have to decide between packing stilettos or sneakers.2. Jogging Tours are the New Walking Tours All the educational storytelling that comes with a city walking tour, now with added calorie burn. The Four Seasons Vancouver offers the Discover Vancouver Morning Jog year-round every week. And the hotel manager even joins in when his schedule permits.3. Save the World, One Workout at a TimeIs this the future of fitness? The gym in Victoria’s Hotel Grand Pacific now has energy-saving machines, specially designed to convert workout energy into electricity. The SportsArt Green System machines come in treadmill, eilpitcal and stationary bike varieties and the energy made from using the machines is transferred back to the grid to help power the athletic club. Bonus: There’s even a green rewards program, where guests’ sweat equity is tracked to earn EcoPoints, which can be redeemed for discounts at the hotel and local shops.4. Bike the City Like a LocalThe Varscona Hotel on Whyte in Edmonton just brought in complimentary Marin San Rafael road bikes for guests. Cyclists will also be equipped with a helmet, lock and backpack so they can cruise the Old Strathcona neighbourhood and river valley, stopping to shop and eat when it pleases.5. Run Concierge Anyone?Every Tuesday and Wednesday at 6 a.m. during the summer, the Westin Edmonton’s official Run Concierge leads guests on a 5-kilometre course. The hotel also has running maps for guests who’d rather burn calories solo, or head out at a later start time.6. Calling all GolfersFor golf enthusiasts, the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald is a hole-in-one. TaylorMade golf clubs are freely available for visitors who want to play any of greater Edmonton’s 80-plus golf courses.7. Seaside Sun Salutes Yoga is one of the most popular offerings for hotel guests at the moment, and Oak Bay Beach Hotel in Victoria is taking the trend seaside. The yoga-with-an-ocean-view kicks off at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday, weather permitting, on the garden terrace.8. Backstage Pass to Hiking WhistlerFurther proof the fitness concierge trend is catching on, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler employs a full-time Whistler Experience Guide to tour travellers on all kinds of outdoor adventures, including local favourites like the hiking trail through the Ancient Cedars north of the village, or the biking tour along the tree-lined Valley Trail that ends with a jump in one of Whistler’s four swimming lakes.