InterContinental Hotels Group opened the first hotel in their fitness and wellness brand EVEN in the city of Norwalk, Connecticut this week. The central idea of the hotel brand is catering to people who want an active wellness lifestyle through environment, diet and exercise.
Be Well-comed with infused cool water and scented hand towels. Reminds me of an in-flight before meal experience.
The hotel is four-story, 129 rooms, with public work areas, dining and social areas, natural outdoor spaces, and fitness centers. There are four more hotels in the works with two in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn and one in Rockville, MD. These are all high income bracket centers of commerce.
EVEN Norwalk Rate Check
Norwalk, CT sample rate for WELLNESS KING WITH GLASS ENCLOSED SHOWER is $119 Best Available Rate or 10% off with AAA rate at $107.10 AAA for Friday, July 11, 2014.
The same room is $219 BAR or $197.10 (AAA) on July 8, a weeknight Tuesday.
Designed with balance in mind, the wellness king is modern, natural with flexible work space, free wifi and wired internet, ample power outlets, 40in hdtv, in room training zone, fitness kit, led mood lighting, revitalizing shower, natural eo amenities, and all natural eucalyptus linens.
The deal for EVEN Norwalk at the $197.10 AAA weeknight rate is go for an award stay at 20,000 points, or EVEN better is 10,000 points + $70. That is a good IHG Rewards Club redemption value for 10,000 points.
Bare White Walls with phrases
You can check out photos of EVEN Norwalk here.
The room images of bare white walls remind me of hotels in Europe I have stayed with white sanitarium walls, clean lines and guests walking around in bath robes. Hard to say how this concept hotel brand will play out in a place like Atlanta or St. Louis? The fact that Atlanta is one of the city view sites on the wellwellwell.com website indicates EVEN may be coming soon.
Rooms feature adjustable mood lighting. Adjustable lighting sounds like a desirable feature to me.
Here is IHG’s description of EVEN hotels.
The EVEN brand helps travellers make healthier choices that impact every aspect of their personal wellness at an affordable price point. This is something no other hotel brand does. The brand is focused on ensuring guests Eat Well, Rest Easy, Keep Active and Accomplish More:
Eat Well
- A Simple.Natural.Good. food and beverage promise
- A menu of freshly prepared menu items that guests can tailor based on their preference
- Healthy grab-and-go items with clear nutritional and ingredient labelling
Rest Easy
- Guestroom flow and designed to reduce clutter and promote relaxation
- A Premium Sleep System featuring natural eucalyptus linens offering a cooler sleep
- Adjustable LED mood lighting
- Revitalizing showers with natural EO bath products
Keep Active
- An In-Room Training Zone workout using the EVEN Hotels Trainer
- Natural light filled three-zone Athletic Studio
- Spin and yoga classes help
- Regular General Manager-led morning community runs
Accomplish More
- Comfortable, ergonomically designed movable work spaces configured to integrate with their working preferences
- Fast and free Wi-Fi
- Easily accessible multi-media ports both in rooms and throughout common spaces
- Tablet-based digital programming
- 40-inch HDTV
“Outside the hotel, EVEN Hotels supports the needs of travellers through wellwellwell.com, a website and go-to source for travellers, designed to help them travel well wherever they are on the road.”
wellwellwell.com features articles on wellness lifestyle and acticities and consumer lifestyle choices.
EVEN appears to be an IHG brand property that will offer brand identity differentiation from the ubiquitous Holiday Inn Express with its 2,000+ hotels across the USA. I attended the Americas Lodging Investment Conference in 2013 and saw how big hotel chains pitch their hotel brands to real estate development companies and franchise owners. EVEN has an appeal that may resonate with owners looking for a lifestyle lodging brand to develop.
The hotel industry has given us Hyatt Place, Starwood’s Aloft and Element, Hilton Home2Suites, and Marriott Moxy as new brands of the past decade designed for millennial travelers. It will be interesting to see how EVEN plays out in this level playing field of three-star, upscale brands.
Time will tell if this lifestyle brand resonates with consumers in a way that commands a premium rate over the competitive set for the hotel market segment or if EVEN is viewed as a desirable hotel brand for the new breed of young urban professionals on business account travel.
News Source: IHG opens first EVEN Hotels property
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Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.
Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. Check out current hotel loyalty program offers across all the major chains in Loyalty Traveler’s monthly hotel promotions guide.
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