StayFit Athletic Club

If you’re like me… a gym junkie when traveling… this is the hotel for you. Their «hotel» gym is no joke… it is huge!
It’s equipped with numerous cardio machines and even weights… They’re all Life Fitness… so it’s bit dinky in design…
BUT…
Not talking about design… it served its purpose… allowed me to keep at it with my ritual of working out in the morning.

One of the cleanest gyms I have ever been to!
I love how most of the members are hotel guests or business people working down Nicollet. so it never gets too crowded and there is always room on any of the machines.
The staff are extremely friendly and you can check out almost any equipments.
I think there used to be a squash court, which I almost wish would still be there… nonetheless, awesome gym.
One thing, I just wish the ladies locker room would be cleaned more frequently.

Based on Unilocal reviews I decided to check this place out. The classes sounded great and I was staying at the W Hotel nearby. When I got there I was told you have to be a guest of the hotel to use the facilities. Maybe they’ve changed their policies since the last review in 2009? Definitely not a fan.

I was staying at the Millennium Hotel and was desperately looking for a good gym for the weekend as the hotel’s gym is typical hotel gym: a few light dumbbells and some cardio/​weight machines. I walk across the street and boom, StayFit right there. It turns out it’s only $ 22 for a 3-​day pass, whereas I called some Life style gym nearby that was $ 50 for a day!!! WTF?
Anyway, so I happily paid $ 22 for 3-​days at StayFit (just added it to my room charge for the Millennium). The gym itself is clean, has all the weights I need and cardio if I wanted it, and there were few people in it. All I wanted to do this day was deadlifts followed by ergometer + box jumps: no problem. Tomorrow I’m going to do some free weight upper body stuff, no problem.
The gym is perfect for me. I don’t need group exercise or anything advanced, I just want my machines and free weights and I’m good to go. Kettlebells would be a great addition as well as proper boxes for box jumps, but that’s because I’m a big CrossFit fan.
The staff was very friendly and helpful. I’m still shocked that I’m paying $ 22 for three days across the street where there’s another gym 10 blocks away that charges $ 50 for a single day pass. WTF?

The Twin Cities boasts one of the highest rates of gym membership in America, and a tour of facilities through Minneapolis or St. Paul bears this out. Minneapolis is especially full of calorie-​burning places, such as the YMCA, YWCA, Liftetime Fitness – Target Center, Snap Fitness and the Firm. Having used or visited several of the other gyms previously, I recently settled upon the StayFit Athletic Club, obscurely tucked away in the Hyatt Hotel on Nicollet.
Despite StayFit’s attachment to the mother-​of-​all chain hotels, it manages to maintain it’s own identity, distinct from the hotel guest area, and avoids feeling like a tourist trap (then again, when I’m on vacation, do I think of exercise?). Most of its members are working professionals from the corporate towers up the street, as well as residents from the nearby Loring Park neighborhood.
StayFit is smaller than most of the other exercise havens in the city, and it lacks the Olympic size swimming pool and indoor running track that draws crowds to Lifetime and the Y, especially in winter. But it has more than the basic machines and free weights, as described by other reviewers. Classes, including aerobics, spin, and yoga, are also available at select hours (typically early AM and PM). While these classes may not possess the rigor of – nor are offered in the same breadth as – those at the Firm (regarded as the premier work-​out center in the city), they’re also less off-​putting, as they avoid the flashy gay nightclub vibe and endorphin-​overdosed staff that have come to define the Firm brand. StayFit seems tailored for those who want to sweat on their own without any fuss, and leave.
In terms of aesthetics, StayFit has a swank, boutique-​hotel atmosphere that resembles the Chambers more than it does the Hyatt. Rich, chocolate brown carpeting lines the lobby, which includes a seating area comprised of white, high-​back lounge chairs, a caramel tinted coffee table, dining tables, and a flat screen TV. The upstairs locker room is far cleaner than most I’ve been exposed to, and – at least in the men’s locker room – is free of the creepy, old, peeping Toms that regularly plague such settings.
Prices are a tiny bit higher than some of the other gyms, such as both Y’s and LifeTime, but there are two different kinds of membership plans: a lower rate plan for daytime users, and a higher rate plan for those interested in using the space day or night. To help lower the membership costs, check with StayFit to see if they have an arrangement with your employer and/​or health insurance.

Fantastic club. Excellent, clean facilities and plenty of things to do to mix up your workout if you get bored easily like me. They have a day pass for the low price of 11 bucks, which gives you access to everything.
The equipment is all high-​end (hammer strength, life fitness, etc.) and different rooms for each of the «disciplines» which I especially like, because I’m not one for people staring at me when I’m trying to break a sweat. That being said, there are a lot of beautiful people here — so if you’re a lazy SOB, let that incite you to get off your butt and work out! :-)
Free weights, machines, treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, yoga room, classes, basketball courts, sparring bags (yahoo!) and sauna, spa and steam room. I’ll be back for sure.

Probably the best gym in Minneapolis if not the Twin Cities. It’s on the sixth floor of the Hyatt in downtown Minneapolis.
— LCDs are built into all of the cardio machines so you can plug in your headphones and watch whatever you want.
— Weights and machines are all new and nice.
— Locker rooms are great. The lockers are of the type where you can set your own combination so you can use any of them. Sauna and hot tub as well.
— Basketball/​racquetball courts.
— Good trainers. I haven’t trained with any of them myself, but they are all ripped and know their stuff. One of them is Ben Williams, a former NFL player and winner of the NFL Strongman two times.
— Classes. I don’t make use of any of the classes (I’m mostly a weight lifter), but there are a number of them available from yoga to spinning.
— Parties. The gym already has a hip atmosphere and from time to time they’ll have a cocktail hour party. They’re always top notch.