The Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, is trialling an in-room fitness concept in conjunction with Star Trac.

Originally built in 1799, the hotel is currently undergoing redevelopment, with 32 new rooms being built in addition to refurbishments to nine existing rooms.

These 41 rooms are all being designed with the option to turn them into ‘fitness rooms’ – the hotel is, as general manager Roy Davies explains, located next to Newlands rugby ground and hosts many athletes who like to be able to exercise in their own time.

The concept will be trialled in five rooms from August; each will be kitted out with a Star Trac eSpinner and a Wii Fit.

If demand is sufficient, the hotel will increase the number of fitness rooms available and will start to market the concept to a wider audience – Davies believes it will also appeal to those not confident enough to exercise in the gym.

The initiative will complement the fitness offering already available at the hotel, where the gym is managed by Chris van Loggerenberg, former fitness trainer to the South African rugby team.