●○○○○While the hotel speaks for itself, we wish someone would speak for the fitness facilities. Hidden three levels beneath the lobby (take the painfully slow elevator to the Spa), the best that can be said for this gym is its' proximity to great running in nearby Central Park (see map above).
Once signed in, you'll be underwhelmed to find a bare-bones selection of awkward, budget equipment cramped in a poorly lit, windowless, room not much larger than the average Delxue Terrace Suite. Too many of the wrong size dumb-bells and not enough of the most commonly used weights.
When it comes to selectorized tools, it appears as if a cunning Cybex rep unloaded every piece of rejected experimental equipment in the warehouse.
One upside: it's almost always empty.
Skip The Four Seasons' gym and walk across town to Equinox at Columbus Circle (Time Warner Center) or take a cab to Clay on West 14th.
Suggestions
- Someone at Toronto HQ needs to visit London's Brown's Hotel gym in Mayfair. Yes, similarly sized and subterranean - but soothingly designed with an edited selection of the most useful equipment and popular quantity of free weights.
- Update the lighting: the space currently feels more like an office supply storage closet.
- Spend $100,000 on decent treadmills / ellipticals / selectorized equipment.
- Differentiate the hotel from The Carlyle and St. Regis with a truly standout fitness facility that will be loved by your guests and attract an interesting mix of locals who can afford high non-guest memberships.
