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While New York is definitely a city you can nearly guarantee getting your steps in and likely surpassing them (that walk through the Delta terminal out of LaGuardia seems like a mile on its own), having a great gym in your hotel surely makes it easier to maintain your fitness routine during your travels. However, not all hotel gyms are created equally, and more often than not, they haven’t historically been treated as a selling point for choosing your accommodations.
So, I’ve done the tireless research selecting a variety of properties and spending some time working out in their gyms to bring you options to choose the best gym for you. Whether you need classes or may want to visit a sauna or spa after, fly in and out of New York a lot or need a basic treadmill and dumbbells, I got you covered. These hotel gyms are a far cry from those once-overlooked basement nooks with a treadmill under the horrible glow of fluorescent lights.
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Virgin Hotel NYC: Best 360 Wellness Experience
The newest of the bunch, New York City’s Virgin Hotel opened in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan in 2023. The property managed to create a functional, spacious feeling hotel room (that you can even remotely work in) right in the heart of NYC, which is a challenge. The bathroom vanity sits outside of the separate toilet and shower, making each space usable even while the other is occupied.
Located on the 5th floor, the corner gym has floor to ceiling windows, gets loads of light and has lots of mirrors. There are plenty of options for cardio – multiple treadmills and ellipticals, two Technogym bikes and a rowing machine. While the selection of machines are limited to upper body (besides the cable machine), they have the staple dumbbells, medicine balls, yoga mats and foam rollers. However, down the hall from the gym they have a fitness class studio with yoga and barre options as well as little Aprés skincare goodies.
Finally, to complete the wellness offering at Virgin, hotel guests also have access to their Exhale Spa (who also powers the fitness studio) location on the property. This offers access to their Hammam, snow room and sauna at the spa and the hotel pool. And, the cherry on top for any NYC visitor, there’s an incredible view of the Empire State Building from the gym, the studio and the pool deck. For a hotel gym, this is a great option.
Equinox Hotel: Best Gym & Hotel Room Combo
As we know, Equinox has an established reputation as a gym – sexy, kind of serious and no phones. The manifestation of the brand as a hotel does not disappoint. Located in the Hudson Yards neighborhood of Manhattan, rich materials and darker neutrals make for sleek, spacious rooms.
Most importantly, however, the Equinox lifestyle really extends into the rooms as well. Subtle tech supports your wellness journey. From the bedside iPad climate and lighting controls are optimized for ideal sleeping conditions. And, in addition to the minibar, there’s a full wellness cupboard with different supplements, sleep masks, and teas above the foam roller, yoga blocks and resistance bands.
Because the hotel gym is a fully functioning Equinox location, it has everything you’d desire right below your room. The 60,000 square foot facility includes the gym itself, an indoor salt water lap pool, hot and cold plunges, multiple group fitness rooms with a full class schedule, outdoor barrel sauna (in the winter, only) and an outdoor heated rooftop pool. Within the locker rooms, there are both a dry sauna and steam room.
Any equipment imaginable is literally available here from pilates rings, resistance bands and balancing boards to a wide array of machines, multiple squat racks and enough cardio options to have multiple classes at once. There are trainers everywhere to answer questions. And, they even have massage guns on hand. You’ll be able to do a wide variety of physical activities with stunning city and Hudson River views from 20 stories up. The only drawback is how busy it is, and that’s because it is a gym first – a popular one at that. It’s open from 5:30 AM to 11 PM. You may have to wait for machines on occasion, and it will never be a hotel gym you have all to yourself. It’s definitely a place to see and be seen working out, if you’re into that.
TWA Hotel: Best For Frequent Travelers To New York
Pulling up at the TWA Hotel is like taking a 60-year step back in time. The once-TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport sat largely unused for 15 years before renovations began. Upon arrival at the Eero Saarinen-designed arched valet, Frank Sinatra is belting out of the speakers. It’s much gentler than most chaotic airport arrivals.
However, the era-defining architecture and decor does not extend to the gym. Despite being the ugliest on this list and having zero windows, there are many positives. First of all, at 10,000 square feet it claims it’s the biggest hotel gym in the world. There is so much equipment and such diversity in what’s available. An array of dumbbells (sets in both the main room and the yoga room) and kettlebells, three squat racks, multiple TRX strap stations, a 14-bike Peloton room, plyometric foam boxes, aerobic steps or risers, tons of machines to cover your complete body in addition to multi-station machines, a punching bag, rows of treadmills – the options are almost overwhelming.
The locker rooms did not get overlooked as this is also a fully functioning gym and not just for hotel guests. There are showers, hair dryers and steamers, and they are fully stocked with toiletries – toothbrushes, mouthwash, toothpaste, q-tips, razors and shower caps. And, the locker room is immaculate.
There doesn’t appear to be a ton of foot traffic despite a very affordable membership being available for all airport and airline workers. (It’s also open 24 hours a day.) If you spend a lot of time at JFK and are trying to maintain a routine despite being on the road all the time, this is the spot for you.
1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge: Most Thorough Hotel Gym
The only new build under the 1 Hotel umbrella, the Brooklyn Bridge location was thoughtfully built and decorated to honor the East River-side location with reclaimed wood from the nearby Domino Sugar Factory and other repurposed materials throughout. It’s a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certified hotel. Tons of native plants line the 194-room property really highlight the lushness up against the downtown Manhattan skyline views from the urban oasis.
The decor and intention carries over into the room where guests will find more live plants, a filtered drinking water faucet, and a 5 minute hourglass to encourage shorter showers. Each room also has a yoga mat and foam roller.
Located on the second floor, the wraparound windows put your workout directly into the greenery of the trees in the front of the property. An average hotel sized gym, it has an impressive selection of equipment and is organized in a way that affords comfort and space for multiple people working out at once. For cardio, there are three treadmills (including one Woodway), three bikes (two Pelotons and an air bike), an elliptical and a rowing machine.
In addition to your basic medicine balls, mats and foam rollers, there’s also a set of TRX straps, battle ropes, different cushion pads and BOSU ball. Guests can opt for dumbbells or kettlebells, and there’s a full squat rack.
Although a pretty average sized hotel gym (maybe a tiny bit bigger and more aligned with the space Brooklyn offers versus Manhattan), 1 Hotel gym’s diversity of equipment, design and location within the hotel make it the most thorough hotel gym that you might just have to yourself. It’s also home to my favorite hotel pool in the city.
The Bowery Hotel: The Biggest Flex
Significantly unlike every other on this list, the Bowery Hotel gym’s decor looks like an eccentric, native New Yorker’s East Village subterranean townhome den (or library, even). Despite only being erected 18 years ago, the Bowery Hotel feels like an old New York staple. From the year-round fire in their dimly lit lobby to their Oushak rugs throughout the building, it’s an understated celeb haunt with heavy velvet drapes for their floor to ceiling in-room windows and big marble bathtubs. With only 135 rooms, they are often nearly at full capacity.
The gym’s equipment is minimal, so if you’re in there, you know what you’re doing. Like working out in an adult-sized terrarium, there are dumbbells and bench, a cable machine, an elliptical, a recumbent bike, a treadmill, yoga mats and a selection of brown leather (read: chic) medicine balls.
Subtle details like the old school, mechanical physicians scale, colorful tilework, patina mirrors, vintage clock and glass cups next to a glass water jug aside a stack of New York Times newspapers round out the aesthetic. And, somehow the gothic pendant light and sconces give off warm light – great for selfies and not feeling like you're working out in a basement. The Bowery Hotel is a huge subtle flex in itself, but if you can fit your own fitness routine in while staying, it’s very likely others can tell you can get a full body workout in with a set of dumbbells.
