Sun, Sea and Strength: Luxury Fitness and Weight Loss Boot Camp in Alicante, Spain

A typical day here starts around 7:30am with a guided walk or a mobility session before breakfast, which is served buffet-style at 8:30. The morning training block runs from about 10am to noon and rotates through the week: resistance circuits one day, boxing-style pad work another, aqua fitness in the pool on the warmer days, and a coastal walk or hill session if the group fancies being outside. Lunch is at 1pm, and the afternoons are deliberately free — some people walk into the nearest town, others nap, and a few book a massage on-site. There's usually a late-afternoon yoga or stretching class around 5:30pm, then dinner at 7:30.

What separates this from a standard boot camp is the balance. You're training twice a day most days, but there's no 5am wake-up call and no shouting. The trainers — the programme uses a small team of qualified instructors with backgrounds in personal training and group fitness — adjust every session to who's in the room. If you've got a bad knee, you'll get a modification. If you're fitter than everyone else, you'll get loaded heavier. The result is that groups tend to be mixed: solo travellers in their 30s and 40s, couples, and the occasional pair of friends who booked together after a milestone birthday.

The location does a lot of the work. The retreat sits on Spain's Costa Blanca near Alicante, which means you get the white-coast beaches, warm mornings and a landscape that's flat enough for easy walking but hilly enough for a proper hike if you want one. The villa itself has a pool, gardens, and enough outdoor space that most sessions happen outside rather than in a gym. You're also close enough to Alicante to spend an afternoon in the city if you want a break from the programme — the old town, the castle, and the promenade are all worth a few hours.

Rooms are a mix of double and twin, and you can book shared or private. The whole place is run as an inclusive package — accommodation, all meals, all training sessions, and use of the pool and grounds are covered in the price. Extras like massage, transfers outside the set times, and alcohol beyond the wine with dinner are on you. The programme runs most of the year but closes in January, July, August and December, mainly because the Spanish summer heat makes outdoor training unpleasant and the winter months are quiet.

If you're comparing this to other fitness retreats, the thing to know is that it's not a detox or a juice fast. You eat real food, you train hard but sensibly, and you're expected to enjoy yourself. It's a reset rather than a punishment, and people tend to leave having lost a bit of weight, slept better, and picked up a few habits they keep at home.

What's included

- 7 nights accommodation in shared or private rooms - 3 daily meals (buffet breakfast, lunch, three-course dinner) - Wine with dinner - Daily fitness training sessions (twice daily most days) - Yoga and stretching classes - Aqua fitness sessions - Guided walks and optional hikes - Use of pool, gardens and terrace - Nutrition and recovery workshops - Set-time airport transfers on arrival and departure days

What's not included

- International flights - Travel insurance - Airport transfers outside set times - Massages and spa treatments - Alcoholic drinks beyond wine with dinner - Off-site meals and drinks - Personal expenses and shopping - Optional excursions