CHANGE THE WAY YOU VACATION WITH THESE HEALTHY HOTEL HACKS

It's summer time and we all know what that means! Family and friends visiting the west coast, travel plans, and mini trips all planned in our calendars. All of our summer plans shouldn't be an excuse for us to get off track and forget about our fitness goals. Instead, it should be a time we work on balance in our lives. I recently had my family visit and we decided to take a 3 day mini trip to Palm Springs, California. Granted, I will admit that living in California makes me feel like I am always on a vacation BUT this time around I really was using these 3 days as a getaway from a job I had just ended entailing long hours and little sleep and honestly I just needed a BREAK and some SANGRIA! I want you all to know it is possible to enjoy a relaxing getaway and stay balanced with your fitness goals at the same time by simply PLANNING AHEAD. Follow these steps to make your vacation most enjoyable, less stressful, and to help you stay on track and be healthy & balanced!

COMPARE HOTEL AMENITIES.

If you are taking a vacation near the beach research bike rentals ahead of time! They tend to be fairly cheap and a great way to see the area and get your blood flowing at the same time! 

These days we have so many resources that allow us to plan travel and book trips that we know we will end up being happy with. What is worse than showing up to a hotel and it not being anything you expected? Nobody wants that. So before you book your hotel make the INTERNET your NEW BEST FRIEND. Check out YELP reviews & photos, check for social media accounts at various hotels, and use #hashtags on Instagram to get a taste of what to expect before you commit to this hotel. If you have more questions like whether or not the gym is included in the price or if there might be an extra charge just CALL and ask!        

Before booking our stay at the Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs I decided to turn to YELP. I had stayed there before but to be honest I didn't even pack tennis shoes the last time! By spending just 5 minutes on YELP I found out this hotel had free bikes for riding from sunrise to sunset, the pool was open until midnight, the fitness center was open 24/7, AND best of all the hotel offered free yoga every morning! You better believe I was sold to book the room AND I utilized all of these awesome amenities! 

DO YOUR RESEARCH.

I took Cathy and Iva's classes at the Palm Desert Orangetheory located at  73-470 El Paseo #7, Palm Desert, CA 92260. They were both very friendly and great instructors! 

After finding a hotel I was happy with I decided to research the general area of Palm Springs to see if there was anything I would be interested in doing while I was there. I am a member of Orangetheory Fitness so I thought I would check their app to see if there was a location near by. Turns out there was a location 10 minutes away in Palm Dessert. I was determined to fit at least one class in and check out their studio! If you have Class Pass check that out too! Next, I turned to Instagram and after a few minutes of clicking around I came across a juice and smoothie bar 2 minutes from the Orangetheory. Perfect for a recovery protein shake after class! Finally, I texted a friend because I remember she had written about the Lululemon near Palm Springs being one of the best and few stores in California that was considered an outlet location with amazing deals. Turns out that was 15 minutes away from my hotel at the Desert Hills Outlet Mall and right on the way back to Los Angeles. I planned for that to be a short stop on my way back! 

By doing my research ahead of time I was able to do all of these things stress free:

• Attend two Orangetheory Fitness Classes at the Palm Dessert Location
• Purchase new workout gear after my workout that I hadn't seen at any other location yet!
• Try a yummy protein shake and taste my brothers acai bowl at The Fresh Juice Bar
• Enjoy a guilt-free meal at The Cheesecake Factory by discovering their new Skinny Menu which has so many good options! Loved the Falafel Salad! 
• Purchase a new Lululemon sports bra & Yoga Mat Bag for $70 

PACK SMART. 

My last tip for planning your trip is to pack smart. Once I found out I was planning on doing some physical activity and going to Orangetheory I made sure to pack accordingly. Tennis shoes were first to go in the bag! Knowing I would be taking a high intensity class I knew to pack my protein shaker and some protein in case I didn't have time to run to the juice bar after class. Normally, I snack on a boiled egg or yogurt before an early workout but when traveling I like to turn to my go-to bars such as Kind Bars, Rise Bars, or Quest Bars. Finally, after seeing a forecast of 100 degrees I filled an entire bag with half a case of water! You could never have enough AND most hotels charge $5 or more per bottled water in the room. I knew ahead of time that our fridge wasn't stocked so right away I filled it with my water bottles! As for the rest of my bag you better believe it was nothing but sports bras, my lulus, and some cute bikinis duh! 

Enjoy Yourself, Enjoy Vacay, Stay Balanced

AND

Stay FIT my FRIENDS.

XoXo, Brittney