Opened in August, the 661-room Tempo by Hilton Times Square is located within TSX Broadway, a new 46-story tower featuring retail and entertainment spaces including the historic Palace Theatre. Fitness and wellness are a priority at the hotel, whose communal lobby features a signature hydration station with alkaline filtered water. Nine wellness rooms are each outfitted with a Peloton bike, access to a digital library of fitness content, a yoga mat, and resistance bands. Peloton bikes and other top-of-the-line equipment are also found in the hotel’s fitness center. Incorporating large windows with Times Square views, the gym “builds upon the narrative for the hotel’s overall vision and Tempo’s design principle, ‘better, not more,’” explained Josh Held, associate principal of Wimberly Interiors, the interior designer for the hotel. “A generously laid-out space was designed with intention and purpose that fosters a dynamic fitness journey.” Equipment includes Excite Live Synchro and Excite Live Run for cardio; Hampton three-tier flat tray dumbbell rack, Element+ Adjustable bench, and Hampton vertical dumbbell rack for strength training; Outrace W-1 for functional fitness; and stretch pads with wall-mounted storage. However, the overall experience for guests was the main design consideration, “rather than the singular focus of traditional gym equipment such as a lunge pad and multi-exercise cable machines,” Held added. At the same time, the design minimizes decorative elements both to control costs and keep the focus on exercise. Ultimately, “we were able to design a comfortable and inspiring fitness center without compromising on important elements such as large-scale backlit mirrors, full hydration station, and state-of-the-art equipment,” Held concluded.
1Industrial Aesthetic
Raw materials such as blackened steel and plaster were incorporated into the design. “They are balanced out with rich wood, large-scale mirrors, and a signature Tempo moment to create a sharp, industrial, contemporary aesthetic,” Held described.
2Motivating Message
“A quote by Robert Frost is called out as it is the driving force of the hotel’s narrative for exploration,” Held explained. “The brand prioritized a concept of inspirational messaging to incorporate into the design of the fitness center.”
3Symbolic Lighting
The hotel’s design creates many “look up moments.” “These are opportunities where the design of the space makes use of all surfaces to reinforce the story,” said Held. “Being at the heart of Times Square and the crossroads of the world, we created a custom lighting fixture that is an abstraction of the city streets.”
4Multi-use Runway
The runway down the center of the gym is marked with numbers spaced one meter apart for use as a lunge pad or with sled-type equipment.
