A Welcome Change

Alder wood lockers in the men’s locker room add elegance to the updated space.

Updated, stylish locker rooms with adjoining lounges have become popular amenities at Los Altos (Calif.) G&CC’s renovated fitness center.

When the Los Altos (Calif.) Golf & Country Club decided to build an enhanced fitness center, updating the locker rooms was an integral part of the plan.

The club’s old changing rooms were small and hadn’t been updated in many years, says General Manager Randall Bertao. “The wet areas were definitely in need of repair,” he notes. The women’s facility had an adjoining lounge that functioned mostly as a card room, but there was no similar room next door to the men’s area.

To create space for the new amenities, Los Altos built an 11,000-sq. ft. addition to its clubhouse. The state-of-the-art fitness facility takes up 3,500 sq. ft., leaving 7,500 sq. ft. for the locker rooms and lounges. The primary focus, Bertao says, was on providing changing rooms that were elegant, solid, and rich-looking.

To that end, the club selected wood lockers made of alder as each room’s centerpiece. The lockers are equipped with keypads, so members don’t have to pack combination locks. Proprietary members are assigned one locker, while the remainder can be rented on a monthly basis. Between the two rooms, there are approximately 700 lockers.

The old changing rooms had full and half lockers, but that led to disagreements about who got the larger storage spaces. The trend, Bertao says, is toward installing shorter, wider lockers that have the same interior space as their taller cousins. The increased horizontal space better accommodates items like laptop bags, equipment carriers and large purses.

The ladies’ changing room features rounded mirrors
over granite countertops, and textured sandstone floors.

The locker areas are carpeted, but the wet parts of the room feature textured sandstone that keeps the floor from getting too slippery. All showers are private, and one shower in both the men’s and women’s rooms is built to Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Water-saving features include low-flow toilets and shower heads. To help members relax after a workout, each locker room has a wet and dry sauna and a Jacuzzi.

The main difference between the men’s and women’s areas is the color schemes. Darker locker stains and shades were selected for the men’s side, Bertao says, while the women’s side favors shades of beige. The ladies also got decorative round mirrors over their granite-topped vanities, while those in the men’s room are a more traditional, rectangular shape.

The changing rooms are accessible from inside the clubhouse as well as the golf course and other exterior parts of the property. “We totally secured that new building,” Bertao says, noting that safety was another top priority. Members need a key fob to gain access.

Women’s lounge

Next to each locker room is a spacious new lounge. Notable features in the men’s area include a fireplace, bar, televisions, and large windows that overlook the 18th hole. Instead of putting a bar in the women’s lounge, there is a counter for cookies and pots of coffee and tea. Members can order meals from the main kitchen and have them delivered to the lounges.

The locker rooms opened in December 2013, which happened to be the same year Los Altos celebrated its 90th anniversary. So far, member feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “When we first took members through on a walking tour, people were pretty blown away,” Bertao says. ”They told us they’re as nice as anything they’ve seen anywhere.” And when the new fitness center opened a few months later, members had a beautiful place to clean up, unwind, and prepare for the rest of their day.

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