It's hard not to notice that San Francisco's Hotel Zetta is a lot like the city itself: high-tech, artsy and just plain fun. And taking a cue from the city's health-conscious vibe, the Zetta, part of the Viceroy Hotel Group's "urban retreat" collection, recently partnered with health-focused city guide creators Well + Away to design wellness-focused rooms for their guests.
As a guest of the 116-room hotel on a recent visit, I stayed in one of the new Well + Away rooms. The first thing you notice when you walk into the room is the Peloton stationary bike, a state-of-the-art machine that enables users to access both live-stream and on-demand classes via the touchscreen panel mounted on the front.
In addition to the bike, the hotel's five Well + Away rooms offer guests complimentary healthy snacks ranging from energy bars to single servings of apple cider vinegar. They also feature Muse headsets, a brain-sensing device that plays weather sounds that vary depending on the state of your mind as you meditate. There's even a colorfully labeled "naughty drawer" with some goodies for couples who are looking to get an alternative form of exercise.
The Well + Away rooms at the Zetta feature Peloton stationary bikes.
Never having tried a Peloton bike, or any kind of stationary bike class for that matter, I was anxious to experience it. I chose an '80s rock-themed class, and for the next 30 minutes I huffed and puffed my way along to songs by Journey and Ozzy Osbourne while an uber-enthusiastic teacher provided instructions and encouragement. Between the bike, the healthy snacks and the meditation headsets, it's easy to see how guests could stay fit without leaving their room.
"We wanted to give guests the tools to seamlessly stay in their wellness routine while they are on the road," said Margaux Lushing, founder of Well + Away.
The common areas of the Zetta also reflect the hotel's focus on fun, wellness and technology. There's a virtual reality booth in the lobby, which was constantly in use during my brief stay, and guests can rent Oculus virtual reality headsets from the front desk.
Viceroy area director of sales and marketing Aaron Feeney said that with San Francisco being such a hub for technology, the decision to incorporate that into the hotel was a natural one: "We're always trying to find new ways to bring that cutting edge technology to the hotel and to our guests."
For old-fashioned fun, there's a giant Plinko-style board in the lobby, onto which guests can launch small soccer balls from a game room on the second floor. The game room also has a pool table and a shuffleboard table as well as several TVs and comfortable seating areas, all of which are serviced by the S&R Lounge lobby bar.
With all of the hotel's amenities, it would be easy to spend most of your time indoors, but most visitors to San Francisco are going to want to get out and see the city, and the Zetta is ideally located for that. It's located in the city's hip SoMa (South of Market) district, home to nightclubs, upscale dining options and cultural attractions such as the Museum of Modern Art.
It's just half a block away from the Fifth and Market area, where there's a huge variety of brand-name shops, a boarding station for the city's famous cable cars and the Powell Street metro stop, from where there's easy access to San Francisco Airport. The hotel is also a 40-minute walk from Fisherman's Wharf, passing through Union Square and Chinatown on the way.
Rates at the Hotel Zetta start at $299. For more information, visit www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/en/zetta.