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Jun 4

I went to a ‘fitness hotel’ in Dubai, where execs shell out thousands for grueling workouts, luxe recovery sessions, and … – Fortune

Fitness Comments Off on I went to a ‘fitness hotel’ in Dubai, where execs shell out thousands for grueling workouts, luxe recovery sessions, and … – Fortune

Go on vacation. Come back ripped.

Thats the enticing pitchto be an all-expenses-paid guinea pig for a new kind of luxe fitness hotel, Dubais SIRO One Zaabeel. What better way to celebrate the big 5-0 than by calling in some reinforcements for my midlife battle with the bulge? I book it, dreaming of my shiny new six-pack and feeling fitter already.

Only as I board my flight to Dubai do I wonder: What exactly have I signed up for? Kerzner International Resorts fresh-out-of-the-box concept promises an experience engineered to power your performance. Is that code for fat camp in the desert? Have I enrolled to be the plaything of some sadistic exArmy drill sergeant? Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

In SIRO One Zaabeels unorthodox lobby, an athletic meeter-and-greeter hands me an espresso, activating my parasympathetic nervous system to calm me down.

It becomes clear where Ive landed: a boot camp for modern-day Masters of the Universe. The urban resort boasts six floors of state-of-the-art fitness and recovery laboratories, spacious performance-optimized rooms with ensuite fitness areas, and access to 11 top-notch restaurants, each offering mesmerizing views of Dubais vertiginous skyline.

Courtesy of Natelee Cocks/SIRO

If you believe the 40-foot real-estate-company billboards at the airport of this science-fictional city, Dubai is the future of the future. And indeed, the tiny, oil-rich nation of the United Arab Emiratesa federation of sheikhdoms with more than $1.5trillion in its various sovereign wealth fundsseems to have a finger in every global enterprise, from artificial intelligence to sports. Dubai, with its glistening skyscrapers, has become a gilded playground for Russian oligarchs, European aristocrats, American tech gurus, Indian tycoons, and Chinese asset managers.

Kerznerowned by the Investment Corp. of Dubairuns an empire of opulent hotels, including the 2,400-room Atlantis complex on Dubais artificial archipelago, the Palmthe haunt of countless influencers, as well as A-listers such as Beyonc and J.Lo.

SIRO deviates somewhat from that tried-and-tested hedonic path: There are no endless buffets, waterslides, or frolics with captive dolphins here. With 229 rooms ranging from $435 to $1,765 for suites that come with punching bags and treadmills, and packages promising to biohack your well-being with precision, the resort instead offers a launchpad for the worlds corporate overlordsa place to lift weights alongside professional soccer players and prep for Paleo-powered pitches to the prince.

Our global obsession with getting and staying in shape is expected to power massive growth in wellness-focused travel. A March report from the Global Wellness Institute estimates that the global wellness-tourism market has grown 50% faster than the overall tourism industry in recent years. Thats why hoteliers are testing concepts that combine the accoutrements of spas, health clubs, and ultra-high-end hotelsincluding the luxe Equinox Hotel in New York.

At SIRO, I sip an immunity-boosting shot as I go over my eating habits with Heeral Shivnani, SIRO Hotels in-house nutritionist. She benchmarks my weight and my fat-to-muscle ratio before issuing an eating plan for the next three days.

The resorts formula relies upon the yin and yang of hard workouts balanced with luxe recovery and dining. The fitness lab offers cycling, CrossFit, and weight training. A spiral staircase sweeps you elegantly up to the hotels recovery lab, with an immaculate yoga studio, ice-plunge baths, a cryotherapy chamber, a sauna, a Pilates area, andzen zones to escape your phone.

Ruling over these labs are SIROs master trainers, including my personal trainer, the South African Runet Van Heerden, who is charged with supersizing me in the next 48 hours. My jet lag buys me something of a pass in my first workout: A low-key weights session clears away some of the cobwebs from the flight. As Runet puts me through my paces, I look around and try to establish the pecking order. Im happy to see that theres one guy whos plainly in worse shape than I ama corporate executive type who probably spends more time with spreadsheets and pitch decks than kettlebells.

It becomes clear where Ive landed: a boot camp for modern-day masters of the universe.

But before my smugness has a chance to settle in, Im told that the testing group includes soccer legend and SIRO brand ambassador Zlatan Ibrahimovic (a hero of mine, and the model for the character Zava on Apple TVs Ted Lasso). Zlatans former club, AC Milan (which he now advises), helped shape a training and recovery protocol for SIRO, modeled on the teams.

I keep an eye out for Zlatan as I head to the recovery lab where Mark, my masseur, irons the contours of an airplane seat out of my back. He then ups the detox stakes with an ultraviolet treatment, before sending me into a meditative trance with a vibroacoustic therapy session. Feeling rejuvenated, I head to my suite to change into something casual for a Thai dinner.

Courtesy of SIRO

In the elevator, I bump into the ridiculously handsome British travel entrepreneur Jeremy Jauncey, whos here with his wife, Pia Wurtzbach, a former Miss Universe. Mr.Universe and I chat about his preparations for Hyrox, the World Series of fitness training. Bronzed, ripped, and perfectly groomedInstagram was invented for this man.

Have you tried the compression therapy? he asks me. Its amazing.

Jaunceys fat-free form leaves me doubting dinner, but the friendly waitress refuses to follow Heerals dietary instructions, instead plying me with turmeric-spiced cauliflower and caramel-crusted venison.

Day two follows a similar cycle of workout, well-being, and culinary indulgence. I wonder, in my fugue state: Have I enrolled myself in some kind of experiment in which Im stuffed with food, then stuck on a treadmill to marble my meat like a side of human Wagyu?

After an emotional breath-work session with Slovenian yogi Petra Nemethova, I finally catch a glimpse of a tall, ponytailed Swede in a Gucci tracksuit. Zlatan!I dash out to slide between him and his car and interview the notoriously taciturn football legend. SIROs great, he tells me. Dubais great. Zlatans great, he does not say.But its true, and we both know it.

Feeling like Ted Lasso after signing Zava for Richmond AFC, Im pumped. My second session with Runet is a HIIT bruiser, but I power through and then fire up my mitochondria with five minutes of subzero temperatures in SIROs cryotherapy chamber.

By day three, I can feel the endorphins taking over. I put the pedal to the metal with some AC Milandesigned core conditioning. Lunch is an actual Wagyu steak, and I even sneak in an extra boxing session in my suite.

I dont have that six-pack after just three days, but Im feeling fantastic. I raid the healthiest minibar in the world for kombucha, trail mix, and SIROs addictive cacao-coconut protein balls for the flight, and pop in on Heeral to say thank-you and goodbye.

She puts me on her high-tech scales to see how Ive fared in this wicked experiment: Even after gorging for four days, Ive lost fat and gained muscle.

See? she says. This is the place to be. No pain, all gain.

This article appeared in the June/July 2024 issue of Fortune with the headline Blurring the lines of fitness and luxury amid the sci-fi glitz of Dubai.

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I went to a 'fitness hotel' in Dubai, where execs shell out thousands for grueling workouts, luxe recovery sessions, and ... - Fortune

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