The latest glow-up of the hotel gym isn't about high-end equipment, but about creating wacky fitness experiences as unforgettable as the stay itself.
A lot has changed for the hotel gym in recent years. Once a sad, whiffy room housing a treadmill from the fax-machine era, today a hotel's fitness spec is as vital as its sheets' thread count. Big-name PTs fill rooms like a celebrity chef, and when it comes to workouts, quirky is the new currency. From rural retreats turning farm machinery into HIIT classes to training sessions set in tourist attractions, these hotel workouts are redefining the flex.
Farm Fit
Heckfield Place, Hampshire
@heckfield_place
Pray for your freshly washed yoga set – it's about to get dirty. Inspired by tasks on Heckfield Place's biodynamic farm (whose produce is used by its Georgian country house-turned-restaurant, Marle), this 90-minute outdoor circuit is a very literal incarnation of grunt work. You'll heave hay bales, flip tractor tyres, manoeuvre wheelbarrows, haul milk churns and lug logs – all while navigating muddy ground and British weather. The result? Gruelling but grin-inducing cardio, strength-training and balance work. Because who needs a tan for holiday bragging rights when you can flaunt a hard-earned callus?
Druidic yoga
Forestis, Dolomites
@forestis.dolomites
Some 1800 metres up in the treetops of South Tyrol, Forestis's mystical setting lends itself to otherworldly fitness. Here, the original wellness influencers weren't trainers – they were Celtic druids. Their movement theory, WYDA, resembles Qi Gong or yoga in its movements and mindfulness, but is unique in its connection with the great outdoors. At Forestis, WYDA sessions begin beside the pine tree you feel most drawn to, while on rainy days sessions move indoors to a studio infused with the scent of local wood. Take relaxation one step further with the hotel's outdoor stone and stick massages. Sauna infusions are offered each evening, where fanning rituals disperse the aromas of heated wood and essential oils, alongside Samhain silent meditation to soothe frayed nerves.
Horse connection therapy
Nihi Sumba, Sumba
@nihi
On Sumba island near Bali, horses hold spiritual weight in the ancestral Marapu religion, believed to carry the souls of warriors. At Nihi's luxe wilderness resort, this reverence becomes ritual: it's the world's first spa with in-house therapists on hooves. Sea-swim with the herd or try equine connection therapy: a mix of horse whispering, yoga and reiki in equine presence. One participant said that a shy foal resting its head on her cheek for ten minutes outdid any psychotherapy she'd tried. Take that, neigh-sayers.
Surf simulator
Cheval Blanc Randheli, Maldives
@chevalblancrandheli
(Image: Shaarif Anees Water Sports)
If any Maldivian resort is going to up its fitness rep(s), it's Cheval Blanc's ultra-chiselled Randheli outpost. One private island is devoted solely to grass and hard-surface tennis courts, but the real curveball? The Maldives' only surf simulator. Water is pumped over a contoured surface to mimic wave-riding, with flow adjusted to your level – be it seasoned daredevil or just daring to stand up. After all that legwork, bob in your villa's 12.5m infinity pool, lapped up for serious swimming as standard. Truly a new wave of luxury.
Vertical workout
Equinox Hotel New York
@equinoxhotels
(Image: Noah Sahady)
Here's a collab that'll leave your quads weeping. NYC's fitness-focused Equinox Hotel has partnered with Vessel, its reflective-walled Hudson Yards neighbour, to create a stair-based workout that really burns. Of Vessel's 154 flights (or, wince, 2,500 steps), half are featured in the Vessel Run, combining stair sprints with bodyweight exercises. The catch? You do this circuit twice. Alleviate your suffering with sensational views from the landmark, then hit the cryotherapy chamber to reduce inflammation and speed recovery. It's tourism with a touch of torture.
Longe-côte - French Water Hiking
Lily of the Valley, St Tropez
@lilyofthevalleyhotel
A Philippe Starck-designed wellness retreat in Cap Lardier nature reserve sounds like the perfect place to put your feet up. Well, not quite. Lily of the Valley's quirkiest outdoor pursuit is Longe-côte – an endurance-boosting workout performed by hiking in waist- or chest-deep water using a paddle for stability against the current. Developed in the mid-noughties by French rowing coach Thomas Wallyn, it builds full-body strength without joint crunching. Imagine French Riviera promenading, minus lofty wardrobe requirements.
Indoor golf
Janu Tokyo
@janutokyo
The debut outpost of Janu – Aman's younger, more social-experience-led sister brand – doesn't stray from its wellness DNA. Its impressive four-storey spa includes one of Tokyo's largest gyms (with the city's only in-hotel boxing ring), a 25m pool for laps and a lounge pool for socialising, plus a recovery suite with a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Even reading the list is a workout. Alongside rarely seen hotel offerings like aerial yoga and kickboxing, a next-gen golf simulator lets you play 18 holes virtually against friends – all without shedding your spa robe.
Outdoor boxing
Six Senses Ibiza
@sixsenses.ibiza
Six Senses Ibiza's longevity-focused Rosebar is led by Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Hyman, where in-house experts consult on everything from functional medicine to nutrition. Workouts are tackled equally seriously: an athlete-grade gym is complemented by hardcore recovery tools – cryotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, acupressure boots and a red-light sauna. We're not saying you're going to need them, but in-house boxing coach Riccardo Persia has been jabbing since he was 14 and the outdoor ring is in the shade, giving you no excuses not to hook yourself up.
Dark Exposure
Amangiri, Utah
@amangiri
In contrast to shouty workout classes, Amangiri channels the quiet discretion of its stone desert suites into a surreal wellness experience known as Dark Exposure. Inside a light-sealed room in the Floatation Pavilion, you're guided through affirmation-based meditations and breathwork. Based on sensory deprivation theory, whereby removing light stimulation induces deeper relaxation, the goal is a non-whirring brain and greater self-acceptance. Continue the vibe with ASMR sessions, sound-bowl therapy or yoga on top of a giant rock formation called Tower Butte, having been sent by helicopter, as you do.
Desert tightrope walking
Miraval Arizona, Tucson
@miravalarizona
At Miraval, you could head to the spa - that's a luxury wellness resort's raison d'etre, right? Or you could walk straight past it to the Sonoran Desert to tackle the ominously monikered Challenge Course. First, climb a 10-metre pole to a horizontal tightrope. As you teeter across (harnessed in), there are ropes hanging down to grab - but it's a mighty test of footwork and focus. In Giant's Ladder, pairs work together to scale rungs as tall as humans. Finally, zipline back down to earth. Phew. You may need a spa day after all.
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