Customer Reviews

The Athletic-Minded Traveler: Where To Work Out And Stay When Fitness Is A Priority

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've actually used this book in a number of the cities and it saved me time and energy trying to find someplace to workout.

Real information the hotels won't give you. How many times have we called hotels and been told they have something only to get there and its not the case?

This book will make working out on the road extremely simple whether you are a casual athlete or an Ironman Triathlete!!!!

This book contains the information I am constantly having to call around for and delivers it with a humorous touch! I travel a lot and hate to miss out on a training session. This book covers every major city and is dead on with the best in strength training and cardio equipment. Add to it that they have located the good pools (not the crap ones that are either filthy or require you to swim in a fish bowl) and you are on your way to some quality swim work outs. As a female CEO, I appreciate the fact that the authors have also scoped out the safety factor for runs so that I can decide whether to hit the tread mill or go for a safe jog. An online version that can be updated would be greatly appreciated as would additional cities. I have it sitting on my desk so that I can consult it and advise my assistant as to which hotel to book. Funny how it keeps ending up in others' offices as they seek to plan their business travels!

I gave several of these as xmas gifts to friends who travel for business
and all of them can't stop raving about how useful it is--the authors
obviously did their homework. I even got an email from one of my friends
while he was on a business trip to tell me that he just got back from a
health club recommended in the book where he ended up running next to a
woman who asked him out for a date! Bet the authors never thought they
would be making love matches!

If you travel and regularly use a fitness facility, you need this book. Kaese and Huddle have created a unique compilation of over 500 unbiased recommendations regarding hotel/resort fitness offerings. As a triathlete who is often training on the road, I find this a great tool. You'll find out things like how many Star Trac treadmills, what kind of elliptical trainers, how long is that lap pool and also local recommendations like a great running route. Get one for yourself to check it out and you may find yourself sending copies to others who will find it to be a great, thoughtful gift.


Allen C. Ho, MD

The Athletic-Minded Traveler is a travel guide especially for the fitness-conscious. Focusing on the biggest and most-visited cities across America, The Athletic-Minded Traveler lists hotels that match one's budget and athletic needs, rates the quality of exercise equipment at recommended hotels and health clubs, recommends running routes, showcases verified lap pools with detailed specs, and much more. A superb resource packed cover to cover with addresses, highlights, websites, and phone numbers of quality exercise locations, and is a "must" for the health-conscious jet-setter.

I received the Athletic Minded Traveler for Christmas. I was skeptical at first since I thought it was just another travel guide. Once I started looking at the book, however, I realized that it was extrememly helpful and the pithy writing made it a pleasure to read. Morover, the easy to use summary for the hotels allowed me to quickly and easily choose a hotel on my first business trip of 2006. (The guide was right on the money about the hotel.) This is an invaluable tool for anyone who travels, whether for business or pleasure--it even covers smaller cities like Cleveland and Madison, WI). Today, whilst surfing the web I found the author's website, which expands on the book. The site has even more information such as running routes and thorough restaurants recommendations for healthy eating on the road. From now on, I'm going to consult the book and the web site before I travel.

As an auditor for a Fortune 500 company, I live on the road. That lifestyle doesn't easily go with training for an Ironman. With this book, I can go into any city and have the confidence of knowing where to work out (especially swimming which tends to be the hardest to find), which hotels to stay at and also where certain places of interest are. Jim Kaese and Paul Huddle have done an amazing job in compiling this very useful list together. It is the first thing I pack when I'm getting ready to leave the house. We owe them a great deal of thanks for making our athletic lives that much easier. It is a must for anyone who enjoys working out while away from home.

Jim Kaese and Paul Huddle have given us a reference work, not a discussion of what it means to be an athletic-minded traveler nor how to become athletic minded if you are a traveler doubling as a couch potato.

Mind the subtitle: 'Where to work out and stay when fitness is a priority.'

If a reference book for your or your travel agent is what you need, this is your book.

If you want to figure out how to maintain some level of fitness in an ever-changing travel environment that seems to mock the very thought of it, this is not your book. Those books do exist (see my other reviews) and you'd be wise to buy one of them.

The book under review here is organized by major U.S. metropolitan areas. Since airport fitness facilities are still not widely available, the writers have to presume you're willing to part company with two taxi fares for many of the venues. Things get a little better on the hotel side, where noticable improvement in most major hotel chains now makes it possible to get a workout without falling down the steps, where you are fortunate to be found within the week.

Bottom line: the book delivers what the subtitle promises.

I still use this book even though it is several years old. It's a nice reference. But what really helps me out when I travel is the web portal this same company created. [...] covers way more places than the book ever could. And there are running route maps, loads of pictures of the work out places, and even yoga studios. The online resource also recommends places to eat for every destination. And there is a good mix of places (cafes, business meeting type places, vegetarian, diners, even markets that have prepared food).

So if you like having a "book"in hand, this one still works, but if you need a lot more cities (Europe, Canada) and pictures, and places to eat and other stuff, also check out the online version.

JUST QUICKLY SKIMMED THROUGH YOUR BOOK.
THIS IS GOOD FOR THE BEGINER, BUT I CAN NAME AT LEAST A DOZEN HIGH ENERGY TOP OF THE LINE PLACES TO WORK-OUT WHILE TRAVELING.
I CAN DO THAT IN ABOUT THREE MORE CITIES.
I THINK THIS IS GOOD FOR TRAVELERS IN THEIR OWN HOTEL.
PERIOD.
MY WIFE COMPETES IN TRI'S ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND I AM THE VACATION PLANNER.
WE BOTH LIKE TO HAVE UPDATED EQUIPMENT WHEN WE TRAVEL, SO I MAKE IT A POINT TO INVESTIGATE THE AREAS.
NICE ATTEMPT, BUT THEY MISSED MANY GREAT PLACES.

AL