Best fitness spas

Spas aren’t just about relaxation and spa treatments. You can kick-start a fitness, weight loss or detox regime, or join a wellness retreat at a health club spa, then reward your muscles in the hydro pool and give your skin a work-out in the sauna and steam room.

The benefits of having a spa-plus-gym are many.

Motivation: We find we are far more inclined to go to a gym with a spa attached.

Training: Most high-end spas attract the best instructors and therapists in their field. You can have a programme tailored specifically for your needs or kick-start your new year at a fitness retreat.

Facilities: The gym facilities are often high-end. The luxurious swimming pools at spas are far from the usual municipal chlorine cauldrons with floating plasters. Many are outdoor with hydrotherapy pools with stunning views and large enough for a serious workout. And let's not forget the changing rooms...

Choice: Combine your gym regime with swimming, HIIT, barre or yoga class, outdoor tai chi, and even a jog around the grounds. 

Membership: Gives you access to the spa as well as special offers.

Food: The best spas offer healthy meals, many with plant-based options and some even have an in-house nutritionist. 

Setting: Many of our favourite spa gyms come with inspiring and rejuvenating views.

So, pack your trainers along with your swimsuit and pick a spa that tickles your fitness fancy.

Pennyhill Park

There are so many ways to find fitspiration at this luxury Surrey spa, from their impressive gym, personal training and over 50 classes in the studio with a sprung floor, to the enormous indoor and outdoor pools. You can take your fitness regime home with their MyWellness App. No wonder the England Rugby squad are based at Pennyhill.

Source Spa and Wellness at Saunton Sands

We can’t think of a more beautiful and natural setting to get fit. Run along the stunning North Devon beach and through the dunes or join the hotel’s surf school and ride the Atlantic waves. At the hotel, enjoy tennis, yoga, Pilates, tai chi, kickboxercise or work out in the gym. Swim in the outdoor pool with ocean views. After, take time out to enjoy the stunning Source Spa.

Old Thorns

This spa is a hidden gem in the Hampshire countryside and has an amazing health club. The Elevation Gym is a wonder to behold – it’s huge, filled with state-of-the-art machines (including a Boditrax analysis) and has views over the gardens. There are 26 different classes, too. Make sure you pack your trainers along with your swimsuit.

Cottonmill Spa at Sopwell House

Cottonmill is such a stylish new spa, their gym will not disappoint. Light pours in through the Georgian windows overlooking the gardens, and there are zoned areas for weights, training and cardio. In the studio, alongside the usual yoga and boxercise they have barre classes and Tabata (the Japanese version of HIIT).

Lanesborough Club and Spa

The gym in this jewellery box of luxury is like a hall of mirrors with ‘best in breed’ equipment, a training studio, classes and personal trainers. It is also home to Bodhimaya, which fuses nutrition with biomarker analysis, as well as meditation and stress management. Catering for the elite, there are trainers on hand as well as a physiotherapist, osteopath, dietician and chiropractors.

Three Graces Spa at Grantley Hall

The Elite Gym must be the poshest looking work-out space we have ever seen. One area equipped with running machines even has carpets and pillars trimmed in gold. Another is more industrial for serious weightlifting. The Health and Performance Centre has a cryotherapy chamber, altitude training facilities, underwater treadmill and a 3D body scanner.

Hoar Cross Hall

It often helps to get healthy in groups, so team up with friends for support and then treat yourselves to a day at this large and impressive country house spa. The spa food is delicious and healthy. It also has a gym and fitness classes, as well as a newly resurfaced tennis court for warmer weather.