THRIVE on Vacation

Noodle (pool and zucchini)? Check. 

Weights (dumbbell and scale)? Check.

Fun (of all kinds)? You bet. 

Add those things together, and you get the ingredients for one of the most popular programs happening daily across the country at participating resorts and properties in Marriott Vacation Club^®. 

The clubTHRIVE^® program takes fitness out of the gym and into unique resort settings. It enables Owners, Members, and guests to keep up their active lifestyles even while on vacation. 

“So many of Marriott Vacation Club’s resorts are located in beautiful natural settings,” said Joshua McMeans, director, Resort Activities. “That allows us to immerse our Owners, Members, and guests in activities outdoors instead of in the gym.” 

The popular program that originally started in 2014 was relaunched in 2024 with three main goals: Fuel. Focus. Fitness. And to make it even more special, each experience is tailored to incorporate locally infused elements. For instance, at Marriott’s MountainSide in Park City, Utah, the terrain offers summer hikes but winter snowshoeing. 

“Classes are customized to take advantage of what’s around their area,” added McMeans. 

Julie Winter, the lead fitness instructor and trainer at Marriott’s MountainSide, said she loves leading the hikes and snowshoeing excursions at the resort. The married mother of seven and outdoors lover is also a big fan of the boxing class, citing the “empowerment that the guests feel” during and after the session. She said she loves to see the team building that happens during clubTHRIVE activities.   

In addition to being curated by each resort, classes are designed to be just as accessible for beginners as those who are more advanced on their fitness journey. 

“I like to give options and motivate guests in a way that everyone in the room can feel confident and comfortable,” Winter says of her classes. “The way in which I structure all of my classes can be modified to challenge the most fit guest or accommodate someone who is just trying a class for the first time.”

This “vacation-minded fitness” approach encompasses programs including group fitness classes like stretch, yoga flow, aquaFIT, and wellness classes. Resorts that are part of clubTHRIVE require certain amenities, including walking or jogging maps, aqua weights and noodles, and small dumbbells.

And fans of the program are loyal. McMeans said top programs like Aquafit often have 50 to 75 participants at a time and are held multiple times per week. Yoga and stretch classes are also popular. 

Winter, who has been at Marriott’s MountainSide since November 2022 and has been lauded with many “Way to Go” awards by guests, has been interested in fitness since she was young. She’s been a personal trainer since she was 21 and competed in mixed martial arts competitions. 

“I am very passionate about helping people become healthy and feeling not only comfortable in their skin but confident in who they are physically, mentally, and emotionally,” Winter explains.

And it’s not just movement that’s emphasized. Resorts that have food and beverage offer healthy food and beverage options so participants can fuel their bodies for their active lifestyles even while on vacation.

To find out what’s available at each resort, check out the fitness schedules on the Marriott Vacation Club App.