Training Resorts for Serious Athletes: Zamaya, Wanderlust Bali & Club La Santa

A fitness resort is a hotel with a great gym. The places in this guide go further. They are training complexes: whole sites where the gym, fight halls, pools, track, recovery area, kitchen and beds all exist to support people who train once or twice a day, every day.

They suit a training camp, a pre-competition block, or a holiday where training is the main event. If you want something gentler, with spa days and a big gym on the side, our guide to fitness resorts worth booking is a better fit.

Zamaya, Tulum, Mexico

Best for: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, striking, and hybrid athletes who want everything on one campus.

Zamaya is a purpose-built training campus in the jungle outside Tulum, on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. It opened in 2026, and its biggest headline is that it is the new base for B-Team Jiu-Jitsu, the team co-founded by Craig Jones. That makes it one of the few places where you can train alongside top-level grapplers and stay in a luxury hotel on the same site.

Pre-opening tours and retreat listings describe seven training areas. They include:

• a large, air-conditioned jiu-jitsu hall, reported at around 20 m by 20 m
• a boxing and Muay Thai area with a ring, an octagon and a row of heavy bags
• a large covered, fully matted main gym with free weights, machines and a bodyweight area
• a Pilates studio and a running track that loops through the grounds

Recovery is a big part of the offer. Visitors report a sauna, a jacuzzi, three ice baths, a flotation room and a set of massage rooms, plus a traditional temazcal sweat lodge. Accommodation is split between a boutique hotel and 48 three-bedroom villas, and there is a performance nutrition restaurant on site. Retreat operators running weeks there list CrossFit, Hyrox, HIIT, Olympic lifting, yoga and combat sessions.

Zamaya is new, and some details reported before opening may have changed. Check the current facilities, class passes and camp dates on its own website before you book.

Wanderlust Fitness Village, Canggu, Bali

Best for: CrossFit, Hyrox and anyone who wants a high-energy group training scene.

Wanderlust has been running since 2016 and is one of the best-known training venues in Bali. The site covers 4,000 m² and has five training halls: CrossFit, Hyrox, a fight centre for boxing and kickboxing, a functional training room and an open gym. The timetable runs to more than 65 classes a week, with CrossFit and Hyrox sessions several times every day, plus weightlifting, gymnastics strength, conditioning and stretching classes.

Between sessions there is a 25-metre lap pool, a lounge pool, ice plunge pools, a jacuzzi and a sauna, and a café serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is an on-site hotel too, and Wanderlust runs its own fitness retreats.

The big advantage for travellers is flexibility. You do not have to book a camp: Wanderlust sells day, three-day, weekly and four-week passes that include classes, the pools and the recovery area. That means you can stay anywhere in Canggu and train there as often as you like. Our Canggu gym guide covers the other strong gyms in the area if you want variety.

Club La Santa, Lanzarote, Spain

Best for: triathletes, swimmers, cyclists, and families where only some of you want to train.

Club La Santa, near Tinajo on the north-west coast of Lanzarote, has been a sports resort since the early 1980s and is one of the largest in Europe. It covers around 75,000 m², with more than 80 sports facilities and over 500 activities a week, open to all ages and levels.

For endurance athletes it is hard to beat. There are three heated 50-metre pools, a saltwater lagoon for open water swimming, an athletics track, a fitness centre for strength and cardio, a spin studio, and a large bike centre with hire bikes and a mechanic workshop. The club also organises IRONMAN Lanzarote, one of the toughest races in the IRONMAN calendar, which has run since 1992. Lanzarote's winds, hills and warm winters make it a popular place for spring training blocks.

Accommodation ranges from renovated apartments in the original part of the resort to newer suites by the lagoon. It works well for a mixed group: one person can do a long ride while others take classes, play team sports or use the pools.

How to plan a training trip

• Build up for the first three days. Heat, jet lag and a new timetable add up fast. Do one session a day before you go to two.
• Plan your recovery days. One easy day in every three or four keeps you training all week instead of breaking down by day five.
• Drink more than you think you need. In Bali and Tulum you will sweat heavily, so add electrolytes to your water on two-session days.
• Bring the right kit. A gi and rash guards for Zamaya, grips and lifting shoes for Wanderlust, and your own bike pedals and saddle for Club La Santa.
• Check the event calendar. Big camps, competitions and races can fill rooms and classes months ahead.