Working out in a hotel: the best fitness clubs around the world

The MOST SCENOGRAPHIC

Amanzoe, Peloponnese, Greece

For those looking for sea-view getaways in historic locations where they can keep up their fitness routine, the Amanzoe with its gym is ideal. The resort is home to UNESCO-protected ancient ruins, but according to Tim Blakey, personal trainer and founder of the workout app Primebody, the highlight is the outdoor, shaded weight area overlooking the Aegean Sea. "There is a gentle breeze, the sun is shining and you connect with nature while lifting weights," he says. Even in autumn, thanks to the mild climate (rooms from € 1,500).

Lo yoga studio dell’Amanzoe, in Grecia

TO RECOVER STRENGTH

Proper Hotels, Santa Monica

Proper is betting on longevity with Proper Club, the now renovated and expanded wellness centre in Santa Monica. The 24-hour gym offers three types of exercise bikes (Watt, Zwift and Peloton), two Pilates reformer machines and Woodway treadmills. 'It's an ecosystem for body and mind,' says interior designer Kelly Wearstler. For an extra fee (from $145), it is possible to rent a private room to regain strength. Here is the Ammortal Chamber, where reclining techno-chairs with pulsed electromagnetic fields and red light therapy reduce inflammation and combat jetlag. The VO2 max test for cardiovascular health, hydrogen therapy and other bio-optimising treatments are also available. You can then relax in the sun on the terrace after your workout, and don't be surprised if you bump into entrepreneur Bryan Johnson (rooms from €255).

La palestra del Proper Club, a Los Angeles. © Yoshihiro Makino

THE BEST OF SOHO HOUSES

White City, London

If London's Soho House is the benchmark for British hospitality, White City is the best place to stay when the gym is a priority. The workout spaces are in an underground bunker with wood-panelled walls and soft lighting, there is a Hyrox area, a cardio room with 14 treadmills, four stair climbers and different types of weights. It is so large and well stocked that you rarely have to wait to use a piece of equipment. Other examples of House, outside the UK, are Amsterdam and Rome: high-floor gyms with natural light and an elegant aesthetic (rooms from 230 €).

La palestra di Soho House, White City.

FOR FAMILIES

Gleneagles, Perthshire, Scotland

Gleneagles is the resort nestled in the Scottish countryside that offers ample space for families, with plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained, from padel and tennis courts to a 7-metre high bouldering wall, and a riding school. The golf course is a must, but there is also an indoor gym, swimming pool and hot tub, and a Theragun spa for recuperative massages on site (rooms from €683).

FOR BUSINESS

Siro One Za'abeel, Dubai

The Siro fitness and recovery lab in Dubai is spread over two floors and includes a sauna, cold tubs and a gym designed in collaboration with AC Milan, overlooking the Burj Khalifa. There is also a 25-metre track, a room with 17 exercise bikes, Hyrox and Pilates reformer classes (€45). For fitness and recovery room guests, Siro offers a free laundry service for three gym kits per day of stay. Those on a higher budget can also book one of six fitness suites (from €800), which includes treadmills, exercise bikes, punching bags, weight benches and dumbbells of various sizes. A small fridge in the lobby offers meals designed by the nutritionist that include all macronutrients (rooms from 300 €).

IN THE SIGN OF EXCLUSIVITY

Surrenne at Emory, Knightsbridge, London

Guests of the all-suite hotel The Emory have full access to the Surrenne, a comprehensive wellness club with only 140 selected members (€17,300 annual membership). The gym is small, but with 360-degree mirrors that broaden the perspective. Los Angeles celebrity personal trainer Tracy Anderson has linked her name to the Surrenne: it's the only place you can book a dance-cardio workout with her in the whole of the UK. Guests can request the Surrenne weight kit in their suite, which includes dumbbells, kettlebells, ropes, yoga blocks, elastic bands and a leather fitness ball. A Peloton exercise bike (€1,860 suite) can also be installed on request.

PRE- DISC

The Standard, Bangkok

This cosy hotel chain is known for its club atmosphere, but the gym offers a welcome respite. A bright, birch-plywood-clad space with Technogym stations that combine VersaClimber with adjacent benches, under which dumbbells are stored, optimising space and ensuring efficiency for functional training. Outside, there is a weight rack and a pull-up bar with a view of the city and Hollywood dance classes with 1980s disco music as a soundtrack (rooms from 145 €).

OUT TO THE TROPICS

Palm Heights, Grand Cayman

For those who plan a relaxing holiday but want to stay fit, Palm Heights on Grand Cayman Island is a design hotel perfect for the purpose. It offers one of the most comprehensive outdoor fitness facilities: boxer Ramla Ali trains here and has hosted retreats in the past. Designed by New York architect Dong-Ping Wong, the gym at the Garden Club includes an outdoor boxing ring, an artificial turf sprint track and weight racks - ideal for CrossFit and Hyrox practitioners who want to train outdoors. There are morning running meets, padel courts and the SUP yoga class at sunset trains both core and balance. Palm Heights Athletics, the in-house active sportswear brand, offers kits with bike shorts and boxing gloves (suites from €1,265).

BUDGET PROOF

Mob House, Paris

Mob House is a Parisian hotel with a surprising, budget-friendly sports offer. The minimalist, yet functional Japandi-style gymnasium is a wood-framed building with a refined, industrial look, built in an urban garden with wall-to-wall windows. It has a good list of equipment, with cardio machines and a weight rack, as well as a 20-metre outdoor pool (€ 100 rooms).

EVERYTHING FOR COURSES

Equinox Hotel, New York

Finding good fitness classes on holiday is expensive and time-consuming, and often no room can be found. The Equinox Hotel in New York offers a boutique gym with rooms and guests become members during their stay (membership fee here is €360 per month). Exclusive workouts include Best Butt Ever and a Skills + Drills swim class. At 5,500 square metres, the space is very large for a hotel gym. And the hotel is no different: soundproof rooms and customised mattresses reflect its ethos that sleep is a must in wellness (rooms from €800).

La piscina all’Equinox Hotel di New York.

SAVANA VIEW

Singita Sabora Tented Camp, Grumeti Reserve, Tanzania

Burpees, which combine squats, planks, squats and standing jumps, are done in a Karen Blixen-esque atmosphere at Sabora, the most classic of safari camps and lodges in the 142,000-hectare Grumeti Reserve. The fitness centre is located in a spacious tent, with exercise bikes, ellipticals and treadmills with breathtaking views, where you can admire zebras or elephants grazing under the acacias. There are dumbbells, elastic bands and balls for strength training and a relaxation area for yoga and classic Pilates (rooms from € 1,840).

Allenarsi vista savana al Singita Sabora, in Tanzania

PERFECT BETWEEN FITNESS AND WELLNESS

Como Metropolitan, Singapore

Christina Ong of Como Hotels is one of the leading experts on travelling wellness. The highlight of the brand's offering is in Singapore, where guests of Ong's Como Metropolitan hotel have unlimited access to the members-only Como Shambhala wellness space. Designed by Paola Navone, it is an oasis on the fourth floor and over 70 classes, from spinning to classic Pilates, take place in its four rooms every week. The 140-square-metre gym offers over twenty types of functional training equipment. There is also a room for infrared therapy, as well as hyperbaric rooms for oxygen therapy and cryotherapy, hot and cold hydrotherapy, with physiotherapists available on site (rooms from € 350).

FOR ADVENTURE-seekers

Alila Jabal Akhdar, Oman

A fitness centre is perched on the edge of a 300-metre cliff in the middle of the majestic Al-Hajar Mountains in Oman. The two separate areas for cardio training and meditation - all adjacent to the Alila Spa - are located in a glass-and-stone structure. In front of them are a large swimming pool and relaxation area, as well as a platform for practising yoga outdoors in front of beautiful views. What they excel at is the combination of fitness and outdoor activities, from guided hikes in the Wadi (€330 per couple) to the Via Ferrata network (€145. Rooms from €540).