I tried Altea Active, Vancouver's newest luxury gym, and here's what it's like
I’m standing up on the pedals of my spin bike, sprinting for my life, as the instructor in front of us shouts precisely how many watts of energy we should be producing while a Dom Dolla song dictates the tempo.
Our power readings are displayed on a screen at the front of the class, a product of how much resistance we’ve added and how mercilessly we turn the pedals. It’s anonymous — only identified by bike number. But we see in real-time whether we’re in the correct range of revolutions per minute the instructor wants.
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It’s Altea’s Bolt class, one of three types of spin classes offered at its brand-new Olympic Village location in Vancouver.
Founded in Winnipeg, the luxury gym chain has been expanding across Canada in recent years. It opened doors last week on West 6th Avenue in the Best Buy headquarters building.
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The space is massive. Clocking in at 43,000 square feet, it has six class studios, spa-like change rooms, lounge areas for working remotely and enjoying a post-workout snack, and strength and cardio equipment spread over three floors. Oh, and did we mention the massage and cold therapy chairs?
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With 10 Olympic lifting platforms, this club may even eliminate the wait for a squat rack.
Altea markets itself as being the very best, period. It’s a luxury gym crafted after each of its community’s needs. In Vancouver, for example, there’s a run club. Over in Winnipeg, where its clientele is mostly families, there’s a swim lesson program at its pool.
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Of course, membership at West 6th doesn’t come cheap. The Gold level membership, the most affordable, costs about $93 bi-weekly before tax. And that’s with a one-year commitment.
Coming in at just under $200 monthly before tax, Altea is quadruple the price of a monthly membership to a City of Vancouver recreation centre. It’s more than double a YMCA membership. It is cheaper than Equinox though, the city’s other high-end, multi-facility gym.
But for those who enjoy workout classes and find themselves shelling out $25 to $35 multiple times a week for spin, yoga, or boot camps, plus a gym membership, it might be nice to roll all these into one at Altea — not to mention the ability to study or work remotely from its cafe and lounges.
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Plus, there’s child-minding available on site which could be a major selling point for busy parents. It costs $15 for two hours of child-minding, or parents who bring their kids regularly can get an add-on to their membership that gives them unlimited access.
And you certainly can do it all at Altea, and even more you didn’t know you wanted to try. There’s a studio dedicated entirely to antigravity fitness, where students sit in hammocks to learn aerial yoga.
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Up in the hot yoga studio, the vibes get extra cozy with a gas fireplace.
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And right next door is the reformer Pilates studio.
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Located right at the base of the Cambie Bridge near Olympic Village SkyTrain station, it also offers two hours of free parking in a bid to entice members from all over the city.
Altea characterizes itself not as a gym — but as a social wellness club to nurture a healthier, fulfilling lifestyle. It’s certainly beautiful, with a massive footprint and plethora of offerings — and a price tag to match.
For those with room in the budget who want a one-stop shop for all their fitness needs, this new Olympic Village behemoth could be the solution. For others, it’s a glimpse into how we could live if we weren’t shelling out so much on rent every month.
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