Gyms in Chiang Mai

Sawadee khaa! Welcome to my page on Gyms in Chiang Mai. I hope you’re enjoying one of my favourite Thai cities – full of culture and a little cooler than sweaty Bangkok. I made it here during SongKran festival, which meant that many gyms were sadly shut when I was here. However I still made it to four, which I’ll share with you in detail here.

1. O2 Gym

2. Gold Hillside Gym and Fitness

3. Harris Fitness Center

4. GYMkruoor

As always, you can click on individual gyms links for a full description of the facilities, images, opening hours and my review. Alternatively, see below for brief intros to each, comparisons and my recommendations.

Descriptions of Chiang Mai Gyms (cheapest first)

1. O2 Gym (Kampangdin Road Branch) – 60 baht

O2 Gym is part of a budget chain. This is the only branch I visited this time and it’s located just outside of the square that defines the old town, southeast of it. I found O2 Gym was superb value for money – the weights gym is huge and you’ll find a separate cardio area too which even has decent aircon! Amazing for the price. The downside is that the main weights gym is not air-conditioned, and although there’s ample floor space, you won’t mind much in the way of functional equipment. All in all, fantastic value.

 

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2. Gold Hillside Gym and Fitness – 80 baht

Gold Hillside Gym and Fitness is located northeast of the Old Town square, about 1km towards Nimmanhaemin. This fairly large facility offers a good range of weights, cardio and a dedicated studio for doing functional training, along with a good range of gym toys. It’s clean, tidy and best of all, well-airconditioned throughout. A true bargain for the price and well worth a visit.

 

3. Harris Fitness Center – 100 baht

Harris Fitness Center is located just a few hundred metres outside of the Old Town Square, also to the northeast. I really liked this large gym, on par with Western standards. You’ll find a good range of cardio and weights equipment, as well as a studio with a fair range of classes. Its facilities are probably the most modern of all those I visited – I really enjoyed my workout here and the owner is friendly too. It has less functional training equipment than Gold Hillside, but a more modern weights section.

4. GYMkruoor – 100 baht

Not my favourite, since the first thing I saw was caged birds on display by the window. The actual gym is much smaller than all of the above, although it has a huge open floor area next to it. There’s not much in the way of cardio equipment or resistance machines, but they do have fixed weight barbells, some functional training equipment and dumbbells up to 30kg. You won’t find any air con here, only fans. All in all, not great value for money, however it is well-located in the northeast corner of the square that defines the Old Town.

5. Maxx Professional Fitness – over 400 baht

I paid a brief visit to his luxurious gym but didn’t work out due to the hefty price tag. It certainly looked fantastic though, and is situated inside Maya Mall in Nimmanhaemin. It looked superior to the all the gyms above, so if money isn’t a factor, then it’s worth considering splashing out. (I haven’t done a full write up of this club as I didn’t use it)

 

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My Recommendations

Safety first – if you’re not used to tropical heat, I strongly recommend picking one of the air-conditioned clubs until you’re fully acclimatised. So, if you’re predominantly doing cardio, this covers all the above gyms except GYMkruoor. If not, also exclude O2 Gym.

If You’re on a Budget…

O2 Gym is the best value for money. It’s a large facility and the cheapest gym I used. Although it has all the equipment most people would use, beware the weights area is not air-conditioned. Take plenty of water in any case, especially if you’re walking there / back. Thankfully the cardio area is airconditioned – sweet relief!

Mid-Range Gyms in Chiang Mai

If you’re happy to spend 80 – 100 baht, for me there is little to separate Harris Fitness Center from Gold Hillside Gym. Which is best really depends on your workout style and how important location is to you, as they’re over 1km apart. Although Gold Hillside is slightly cheaper, the weights section is certainly not as attractive as Harris, which has more modern equipment. However if your main focus is cardio or floorwork, I would say Gold Hillside has the edge. Harris is the slightly classier of the two with nicer changing facilities. Whichever you choose, have a great workout!

If Money is No Object

If you’re happy to fork out for a good gym, Maxx Professional Fitness looked at a glance to be top of its game, located in an upmarket mall in Nimmanhaemin. It was clear from the comfy chairs in reception and the highly effective aircon that they don’t skimp on investing in this place. I didn’t use it so I can’t give more detail than that, but if you go, I’d recommend training off-peak times if you can, as it looked pretty busy late afternoon when I went to check it out.

Summary of Gyms in Chiang Mai

Whether you’re on a budget, prioritising gym location or aircon, have a great time in Chiang Mai. I also recommend a trip to Pai if you get the chance – this beautiful little town offers some great hiking opportunities, as well as getting away from all the traffic and hectic city life. You can also do hilltribe treks in homestay direct from Chiang Mai – ideal if you want to get away from it all!

I hope the above info helps you decide which Chiang Mai gym to use. If so and you like my site, please consider buying me a coffee. It helps to fund my travels and continue to research gyms, which I hope will benefit you and others on future travels.

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