Escaping Geneva for la Santa fitness in Canary Island Lanzarote
LEFT GENEVA FOR A WEEK OF FITNESS IN CLUB LA SANTA, LANZAROTE
I just came back from a week of sports holiday !
I went to the Club la Santa in the Canary Islands, and had a fantastic time there !
I am so excited about it that I am writing this article, not directly related with Geneva. A lot of things I want to share in my head, but I'll try to structure them. In a nutshell, Club la Santa is a sport resort located in the Canary Island of Lanzarote, that offers a great experience: outdoor sport, great sun, beach, wellness centre and hikes, and opportunities to meet like minded people...all the details here.
Club la Santa: great resort for outdoor sports
Imagine: 9am, already quite sunny; wearing proudly your favorite fitness wear, you are heading to your first class of the day: loud energetic music & and a nice breeze. In front of you, a fitness instructor galvanized by the crowd. To your left, a great view of the Atlantic ocean. To your right, dozens of people motivated just like you. Feels A-MA-ZING !
Don't get me wrong when I say "outdoor activities": in la Santa, we practise all kinds of sport outdoor at every hour of the day, even the ones typical of airconditionned gyms: ultimate abs, HIIT, pilates, cross fit, TRX, street workout, step, pulse ballet bar, aerobics, zumba, salsa-like fitness, running, body combat, functional training, body pump, SU paddle, diving, etc.
You just cannot be bored. And regarding the facilities:
- 3 pools, 1 of which is an Olympic one
- 1 stadium for tracks
- football field
- basketball field
- 5+ tennis courts
- gym with machines
- wellness center
- leisure pool
Because I went here in June, the sun was strong between 11am and 6pm, but still bearable because of the nice breeze coming from the ocean! Honestly, I did not have any expectation but enjoyed sooo much being there. Even people with very pale skin seemed to do okay.
The fitness instructors, mostly Danish (la Santa is a Danish company), are mostly good looking young blonde women and young blonde men no older than 30, for most of them.
Club la Santa: peaceful and positive atmosphere
One of the great points about Club la Santa is, in my view, the peaceful atmosphere that has been created and maintained over the years. Without realizing it, I became so relaxed compared to how I am in Switzerland. I even noticed the release of tension in my neck (area I struggle with). I slept like a baby after each day spent outside breathing fresh air and exercising.... Vacationers there are Danish for 90%, 5% German and 5% English. No Swiss folks in sight.That said, the Club la Santa experience may feel different if you come for a training camp. The club hosts teams training for triathlon, swimming camps, military bootcamp type of exercises, etc. Basically, you choose how you want to go about training. I like to go hard at the gym and I never -almost- cheat myself while exercising. And I ended with severely sore muscles actually, even though I was not part a high level training group.
Special mention to the staff that was most helpful. I seized the opportunity to practice my Spanish, and think I did okay.
Food and accommodation in la Santa sport resort
My friend and I chose the half-board reservation and had lunch and dinner at the restaurant. The buffet offers a variety and dishes, fruits, etc. and caters for vegans.Because we pay attention to what we eat, we did not indulge in desserts nor cheese, but could see that there was a large choice of those as well. There is fish and meat everyday, we even had barbecue meat on one day. There are a variety of exotic fruits, pineapple, watermelon, mango to name a few.
To be noted that there are at least 3 different restaurants on the compound. If nothing suits you, you may want to buy your own food at the supermarket located onsite.
We even got the luxury of getting a nutrition class, in one of the business centres of the compound.
We stayed in a standard apartment, that included 1 bedroom for 2 people. Again, I was quite surprised to see the quality of the equipment and design. For the price we paid, I had lower expectations so it came as a positive surprise: the apartment had been recently renovated and I found the whole thing really well-thought. We had a private balcony designed to protect privacy but still bathed in sunlight, which was appreciated. No mosquito, no insect, no spider.
Nightlife and Activities outside of La Santa
People do complain that nightlife on the compound is almost nonexistent. But the Club proposes a show every evening so there is at least one lively area. There are a couple of bars there as well. But we were disappointed to see that these were almost empty every evening.To look for entertainment outside, the best is to rent a car and drive to different places. It takes about 30mn to get to the other side of the island and 45mn from the north to the south, so it is easy to get around.
As you know, Lanzarote is a volcanic island, so you get to hike close to volcanoes. The island produces aloe vera and some wine. If you enjoy sweet wine, you'll like the "Princesa Ico" locally produced white wine.
There are several markets you can visit, the one is Teguise market on Sundays is the closest.
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