.Best Health Club/Gym

Towel service? Check. Top-of-the-line cardio equipment equipped with personal cable TVs? Check. Smiling staffers who know your name, and who, every so often, push a little cart stocked with glass pitchers of ice water through the carpeted gym for thirsty members lacking water bottles? Treadmills boasting iPod plug-in ports? Dozens of fitness classes with hip names like “Men on Mats” (Pilates for guys) and “AquaBo” (underwater kickboxing)? Triple check. Yes, this fitness fanatics’ paradise, housed in an equally chic hotel a stone’s throw from downtown Walnut Creek, is definitely a little over the top. But if you’re going to allow yourself the luxury of a workout in your time-strapped day, you might as well enjoy it, right? A little tip: Give yourself a time limit in the locker rooms. With two saunas, a spacious indoor Jacuzzi (to complement the one outdoors in the expansive pool complex), and double-headed showers, you may never want to return to reality. Of course, a hot stone massage in the club’s spa, or a glass of Cabernet at its casual cafe-bistro may help ease the transition.