From altitude workouts to ‘breath work’ holidays, these days hotels are charging for air.
The Conrad London St James hotel has launched “Skinny Rebel” altitude training in its on-site gym.
It has partnered with luxury personal instructors Train Dirty, which has designed a workout that incorporates the use of altitude masks to reduce oxygen flow, and high-intensity, full-body exercise with weights.
The regime is designed to raise people’s heart rate to 199 beats per minute (you could expect 160 bpm during a run), while burning up to 1,000 calories an hour.
According to a press release: “With less oxygen available in the air and less oxygen therefore circulating, the body makes captive changes as to how it uses oxygen as well as its available energy stores.
“Benefits include an increase in lung capacity, energy production, anaerobic threshold, mental focus, as well as breath re-training.”
The Conrad says it will be the only hotel in the country to offer this kind of training. Nicholas Chalmers, the general manager, said: “We are aiming to revolutionise the way the hospitality industry approaches fitness.”
Skinny Rebel workouts run weekly for both hotel guests and the general public. Workouts are priced at £40 for one 45-minute session or £35 each for six sessions.
Meanwhile, holistic boutique hotel Vivenda Miranda, in Portugal’s Algarve, is offering seven-day “breath work holidays”.
Designed to help achieve a calm state of mind, guests will learn the ancient arts of Tai Ji Quan and Qigong with leading instructor and Zen monk Carl Zimmerling.
The hotel says: “The foundation Tai Ji Quan and Qigong is the understanding of the flow of energy within our bodies.
“During these weeks, you will learn the practice of this ancient art and how through exercise you can develop an intimacy and awareness of the energy within your own body and mind and become in tune with its existence.”
Prices for package (available from October 24 to March 26, 2016) begin from €1,915 per person based on two people sharing a double room.
Tai Ji Quan, Qigong and breath work sessions with Zimmerling are also available for non-residents.
Over in Las Vegas, if you feel in need of some fresh air, you can pay to sit at an oxygen bar where O2 is pumped up your nose through a tube. They are located in hotels such as the Stratosphere, the Venetian and New York New York.