Essential Travel Reveals The Top 10 Airports With The Best Gyms

Losing weight and staying healthy are a priority in our resolutions this year, according to Which? magazine. One way to get fitter is to use spare moments to exercise and those few hours waiting around for a flight can easily become an opportunity to get in a workout or swim as more and more airports have onsite fitness facilities. Essential Travel rounded up its favourite top ten airports to workout in.

Airport Health Club - Miami International Airport

It may be beautiful in Miami, but if you’re stuck in the airport thanks to a flight delay, it can get pretty boring. Luckily, the airport is home to a fantastic mini gym with all the equipment you may need. Or if you're more inclined for relaxation, why not make your way to the top of the airport’s Marriott Hotel to lounge beside the palm tree shaded pool, which is surrounded by a jogging track.

Airport Fitness And Wellness Club - Zurich International Airport

Zurich Airport now houses the Airport Fitness and Wellness Club, a 2,000-square-metre club is located on the basement floor with a sauna room in the shape of an aeroplane, cardio and strength equipment, a steam bath and massage facilities. And the fitness club even has traditional Chinese medicine available.

Start! - Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport

Minneapolis Airport has teamed up with the American Heart Association in its campaign to promote exercising, healthy eating and maintaining a healthy heart. The campaign, Start! Walking Program, has resulted in a 1.4-mile walking path being added to the terminal. As this is a looped path, visitors to the airport can join from any terminal and complete it by ending at the place where they started. And there’s even an option to extend your walk.

G-Force Health Club - Dubai International Airport

The G-Force Health Club is situated in the Sheikh Rashid Terminal in the Dubai International Hotel. For about £8 an hour, you can make use of the treadmills, stationary bikes, the weight section and more. You can also buy a longer package if you'd like more time to make use of the steam rooms and saunas. Best of all, the health club is open 24 hours a day and there are also superb shower facilities for you to freshen up before your next flight - complete with towels, toiletries and hair-dryers.

Yoga Room - San Francisco International Airport

Designed by the same architects as San Francisco Airport’s Terminal 2, comes the Yoga Room. The room has already become a popular spot for travellers to unwind - something that’s quite rare to encounter in the midst of the usual rush taking place at airports. It has features such as a floating wall and is painted in tranquil blues to produce a feeling of serenity in the room. In early 2012, felt-rock creations were also added to the room to create the same atmosphere as a Zen Garden. To find the room, look for the signs of a person in a lotus position.
 

Ambassador Transit Hotel Fitness Centre - Singapore Changi Airport
The Ambassador Transit Hotel Fitness Centre in the Ambassador Lounge located in Terminal 2 is open 24 hours a day, and offers more than your typical cardio and strength training equipment. For just £12 a day, you not only have access to the gym, but also the pool and showers. You are even given some basic toiletries and can rent gym clothes if you need to.

The Absolute Spa - Vancouver International Airport

The airport’s 24 hour gym is located inside the Fairmont Hotel. The Absolute Spa welcomes all travellers for a workout, even those who aren’t guests. Probably one of its best features is a mechanised lap pool which allows you to adjust the current according to how challenging you want your swim to be. And there’s even a special dryer for your swimming suits so that you don’t have to go onto your flight with wet laundry. If you’re looking for a more calming and serene workout, then try out one of the yoga or pilates classes which runs at about £10/a day.

Living Well Heathrow - London Heathrow Airport Terminal 4

This gym is complete with modern and stylish gym apparatus. Visitors can also make use of the calming, swimming pool before they go to "expel all their toxins" in the sauna or steam room. The gym even offers the service of personal trainers to help you along and can provide swimming lessons. There are also beauty treatment facilities on offer to refresh you after the long flight.

Sheraton Fitness And Spa - Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Here you can work on your fitness levels and get your heartrate up with some cardio, sweat it out in the steam rooms and then take a wonderfully cleansing shower in one of the large rainforest showers. Once you’ve exercised and showered, you can treat yourself (and your muscles) to a massage. If your muscles really took a gruelling workout, the centre even has physiotherapists on hand to sort out any aches and pains. The Sheraton Fitness and Spa is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Marriott Leisure Club - Manchester Airport

This club features cardio machines, weights and even a complimentary fitness class. Personal trainers are also on standby to give you helpful tips and motivate you to get a great workout. The club has an indoor pool and a whirlpool, but no need to come too prepared as towels will be provided. Alternatively, why not catch up on your tan in the solarium? Even if you went to the coldest destination on holiday, you can still return home looking like you were in the Caribbean.

If you still have time to play with, or getting fit just isn't your thing, then you can also relax away from the hustle and bustle in an airport lounge where you'll be able to chill with complimnetary drinks, snacks, newspapers and magazines.

 

Essential Travel is one of the UK's leading online travel extra providers, providing priority access to the most sought after car parks, hotels and lounges at all major airports across the UK. Essential Travel is now part of Thomas Cook UK and Ireland. For further information visit www.essentialtravel.co.uk or call 0845 803 5434.

Spicy dahl soup recipe

I love Indian dahl soup, and yesterday a friend asked me if I would make some of it for her as she felt under the weather. This is the recipe I used, and is notable particularly because it contains very few of the ingredients you would expect. However at 8pm on a Sunday night it was all I had, and seemed to be remarkably successful nonetheless.

250g split red lentils
2 onions
1 heaped tablespoon garam masala powder
1250ml chicken stock
half a lemon
salt and pepper
oil

Fry the onions in the oil on a low heat until translucent, then add the curry powder and heat through. Stir in the lentils and then add the stock. Cook on a medium heat for about half an hour until the lentils break down, then whiz with a blender. Add a couple of hefty squeezes of lemon juice, and season to serve. If I had any fresh coriander I might have sprinkled some on top, but predictably I didn't.