The perfect vacation not only delivers R & R but inspires you to live healthier when youre back at home. Our experts started with a list of the countrys 100 major hotel brands, from the American Hotel and Lodging Association. We culled the group to 20 semi-finalists that offer the best overall healthy practices, with the help of Jim Kaese, co-founder of Athletic Minded Traveler.
Then we analyzed each contender, using a range of criteria developed with our expert panel (below) including fitness offerings, healthy dining and in-room menus, comfortable beds, attention to air quality, and innovative programs for relaxation and renewal. Each judge rated each hotel chain on a scale of 1 to 10 in his or her own areas of expertise, and these scores were averaged to yield the final scores, and rankings.
Meet the Experts
Desi Bartlett, MS, CPT, is a Los Angeles–based personal trainer, and the creator of the DVD workouts Yoga for Beginners, 3-in-1 Total Body Fitness, and Prenatal Yoga.
Maureen Callahan, MS, RD, is a nutritionist, cookbook author, and two-time winner of the James Beard Foundation Award for food writing.
Mary Cordaro is an environmental consultant on healthy-building projects, and is a frequent contributor and Advisory Board member for ahealthygreenhome.com.
Jim Kaese is an author and a co-founder of Athletic-Minded Traveler, which operates the largest online healthy-travel site.
Bill Tulin is a co-author of Travel Fitness: Feel Better, Perform Better on the Road.