Equinox to launch retreats as the brand expands into travel
by Jane Kitchen | 18 Oct 2018
The offering will launch in April 2019 with a summit-chasing adventure in Morocco / Shutterstock/737960950
Fitness operator Equinox will move further into the lifestyle space with the launch of bespoke luxury travel experiences, featuring domestic and international multi-day journeys next year.
The offering, which will launch in April 2019 with a summit-chasing adventure in Morocco, comes as Equinox expands its global brand beyond luxury fitness clubs and into hospitality with the opening of Equinox Hotels in spring 2019.
The new experiences promise travel to undiscovered corners of the globe, all grounded with fitness and lifestyle programming that aligns with Equinox’s holistic approach to high-performance living.
“Equinox is already recognised globally for transforming the lives of our members with immersive experiences within the four walls of our clubs, so our move into travel is a natural — and almost inevitable — extension of our unmatched lifestyle proposition,” said Harvey Spevak, executive chair, managing partner, Equinox. “Equinox single-handedly invented the concept of fitness-as-lifestyle nearly 30 years ago, and now we are expanding our purview to include active, covetable experiences that empower our discerning members to connect with the world — and themselves.”
Conceived with its member community in mind, the Equinox travel experiences are intended for travellers who want to explore destinations through the lens of transformational health and life maximisation, the company said.
Equinox will also offer completely custom trip concepts and urban retreats developed in consultation with Equinox curators and based on an individual or group’s unique fitness and lifestyle goals. Trips will vary from physically intense adventures such as an Ethiopian journey that traces the birth of elite running and jet-serviced Adirondacks high-alpine hiking, to regenerative and mindfulness excursions to exquisite locales such as India.
A sample multi-day itinerary may include exclusive access to a personalised training session with a champion athlete, an exploration of ultra-seasonal cooking with a foraging experience hosted by a local chef, and a transformative mountaintop meditation at sunrise.
Equinox Hotels will also offer a coordinated program of urban-based travel experiences.
Equinox has enlisted Leah Howe, formerly of Toronto-based Butterfield & Robinson and New York’s Van Wyck & Van Wyck, to helm the effort.
Equinox operates 95 full-service health clubs globally focused on the company’s core tenets of movement, nutrition and regeneration, and offers a holistic approach to fitness, including spa services. In 2019, the company will open its first Equinox Hotel in New York.
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Fitness operator Equinox will move further into the lifestyle space with the launch of bespoke luxury travel experiences, featuring domestic and international multi-day journeys next year. The offering, which will launch in April 2019 with a summit-chasing adventure in Morocco, comes as Equinox expands its global brand beyond luxury fitness clubs and into hospitality with the opening of Equinox Hotels in spring 2019. The new experiences promise travel to undiscovered
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