High-end health club operator Equinox has revealed the central role spas will play as it ventures into the world of hotels.

The company plans to enter the hotel space with a location opening in New York City’s Hudson Yards in 2019, which is set to have a major spa component. Many more hotels are set to follow – with up to 50 in the pipeline – and Spa Business has learnt that all will focus on movement and health, and all will have spas.

In an exclusive interview, Amanda Al-Masri, Equinox’s vice president of spa services, said that those spas will focus on the “regeneration aspect of high-performance living.”

She continued: “As in every aspect of our business, spa relies heavily on innovation, technology and expertise in our field, rather than relying on traditional expectations of what a spa should look like. Add in world-class service, design and facilities, and we feel confident that the hotel spas will stand alone in each market we enter.”

The hotels – which will be located in US urban markets and other gateway cities, including London – will also offer healthy food that’s tailored to the workout and travel regime of the guest, and will aim to maximise sleep quality by removing disruptors such as light pollution and noise. The target guest is one who already embraces a healthy lifestyle.

“The goal is to create the sense of community, personalisation and style we’re known for in our clubs, reinvisioned in a new, luxury-driven environment,” explained Al-Masri. “We want to raise the bar on what a hotel experience should feel like, and evolve the idea of travel as something that can fit seamlessly into a healthy lifestyle.”

For the Hudson Yards hotel, Equinox is working with designers Yabu Pushelberg to create a design concept rooted in a modern industrial aesthetic, with structural and mechanical systems left exposed.

Conceived as an entirely new hotel experience that meets the needs of the high-performance traveller, Yabu Pushelberg is tasked with creating a “modern haven for life maximisation.”

“The Equinox brand lives at the intersection of substance and style, and Equinox Hotels will evolve this concept, merging substance and style with impeccable service,” said Al-Masri. “Equinox Hotels is where the science of fitness meets the art of travel.”

To read the full interview with Al Masri in the latest issue of Spa Business, click here.