Last week I had the opportunity to visit Chicago for a few days with Swissotel Chicago! I hadn’t been to Chicago in a few years so it was good to go back for a visit!

As much as I love traveling, it can really throw me out of my normal routine. You know what I mean? The workouts seem to disappear, and all the sudden all you want to eat is pizza and wine?! This is all well and good for the first couple days, but then your body is like, okay I’d like to have some balance please.

I typically have a love hate relationship with traveling for this reason, but after a few days of staying at the Swissotel in Chicago and experiencing their vitality suite, I honestly felt pretty rejuvenated even though I had been traveling at that point for 10 days.

The Swissotel just launched their vitality suite which is all about finding that balance. They understand that whether you’re traveling for leisure or work, people feel better when they have some semblance of their normal routine. When it comes to working out, eating well, and getting enough sleep, they know what a difference this makes.

In general, the food they served us was from their vitality menu. All of it was super healthy, but also filling and delicious! Whether I’m traveling for work or leisure, in my experience this is hard to master. Food is either filling and delicious, but not the healthiest and you are left feeling sluggish and overly full after. Or food is super healthy but doesn’t have a ton of flavor, or you are left feeling hungry. This was definitely not the case with the Swissotel. And it’s great because they offer options depending on what you’re in the mood for. I totally get sometimes you want a burger and fries! That why, at their bar for example, they had a bar menu and their vitality menu. So whatever you’re in the food for there is something to fit your needs. The last day we were there, we were able to take a cooking class with their chef’s which was so fun! They gave us several healthy recipes to take back with us, in addition to tips for meal prepping.

They always had the freshest food ready for us! This was taken from the vitality suite one night during a cocktail reception.

All their cocktail ingredients were fresh and natural. These Grey Goose martinis were made with fresh goji berries!

Aside from the food and ensuring that you have healthy options available, they also made sure that workouts were a priority! In their vitality suite, they had a workout area which had all the equipment you needed for a good workout.  There was a rowing machine, a Peloton bike, cables, medicine balls, sandbag dumbbells, a latter, etc. One of the mornings we were there, I got to workout with their trainer. It was just a 30-minute session but it was super effective, which I think is especially key for when you’re traveling! We also did yoga one morning which was a great way to incorporate movement while being able to take time to meditate (which is something I love to start my day with). When you’re traveling, you don’t want to, nor do you have time, to spend over an hour in the gym. I loved how the Swissotel found a way to seamless incorporate an effective workout into your travel schedule.

With Rachel (@justdimpleit) and Britney (@fittybritttty) in the vitality suite post workout!

The bedroom in the vitality suite. Every room had amazing views of the city

The living room of the vitality suite–more amazing views. I loved all the windows and natural light.

Overall the suite was absolutely gorgeous and in general their approach to health and wellness while traveling made me think why aren’t more hotels including these aspects? During and after the trip, I felt so much better returning home. I didn’t feel like I needed to “make up” for lost workouts, or poor eating. Overall it was a great balance of enjoying Chicago while still feeling like I had parts of my routine that made me feel good on a daily basis.

What do you guys struggle with most when you travel? Do you feel like having hotels like the Swissotel and the vitality suite would help you find a better balance?