Gyms In Hanoi

Hey and welcome to my page on Gyms In Hanoi!

I enjoyed several weeks here, during which I used six gyms and wrote about most of them in Floral and Book Cafe, a beautiful relaxing cafe to work from. I stayed at Hay Hostel, which provided one of the best included breakfasts I’ve had in Vietnam. This took the form of an awesome buffet with a large variety of fruit (including passion-fruit, pineapple and melon every day), bread with numerous spreads, local dishes such as noodle with coconut and best of all, freshly cooked eggs to your liking. I’ll be back.

Naturally, between all this eating, I was keen to find some good gyms. I’ll write a brief summary of each below – please click on individual gyms to see full details, including images, location, cost, opening hours, in depth description of facilities and equipment and my review.

Below this, I will make some comparisons and make some recommendations to you, though as ever I appreciate that choosing a gym is a personal thing. I hope this info helps. I’ve ordered the gyms with the most expensive day pass rate first.

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The Gyms I Used in Hanoi

1. Elite Fitness Vincom Center – VND 600k per day

If you’re looking for a large, luxury gym experience, then welcome to Elite Fitness. This chain is present in several cities and has never disappointed. Luxurious decor, well-functioning aircon, spacious facilities and fancy changing rooms are just a few of the things you can enjoy. As well as all the usual gym facilities, you’ll find a comprehensive class timetable here. And did I mention the pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room? For 600k a day though, I’d expect nothing less! It’s around 2km south of the lake where the Old Quarter is.

2. California Fitness & Yoga, Quận Hoàn Kiếm – VND 420k per day

Similarly large and a little cheaper is California Fitness. As luxury gyms go, this is still well up there, but perhaps a little less fancy that Elite Fitness. I’d be amazed if anyone came here disappointed though. You’ll find dumbbell free weights up to 115lbs and a vast amount of equipment to suit all workout styles. There’s a large astroturf type functional training area too and a jacuzzi. I didn’t go looking for saunas and other such relaxing facilities as I was too busy working out. You’ll find California Fitness a few hundred metres west of the south point of the lake.

3. TopGym Fitness and Yoga – VND 150k per day

Head 1.5km north of the lake for a great mid-range gym. It might not have the luxury of the above two, but for a fraction of the price, it has much of the equipment, split over two floors. One of these is well-air-conditioned too. I really liked this gym as it had an excellent range of everything including a functional training room. The ground floor is especially modern and attractive and upstairs is pretty good too. Staff were friendly and the price is very reasonable. You’ll find free weight dumbbells up to 40kg and barbells up to 45kg.

4. Olympia Vietnam – VND 60k per day

Olympia Vietnam reminded me of my old local sports centre growing up in the UK, back in the day. Perhaps it was the smell of the pool. Overall, this place is probably the best bang for buck. You’ll find it 1.5km south of town and the gym is huge. It’s set over several floors, well equipped with cardio, weights and functional equipment. You’ll also find a large studio here for classes.

Whilst the club is a step down (or two!) from the above listings in terms of decor which is rather dreary, it is in fact very well air-conditioned and a true bargain for the price. Whilst the equipment is not very modern it’s been well looked after. I’d go back.

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5. X-Men Fitness Gym – VND 50k per day

X-Men Fitness is around 1km northwest of the lake in the popular old-quarter. Whilst it’s better located than Olympia, it’s much smaller. It’s fractionally cheaper though and you can get a weekly rate of 200k. It’s popular with the locals and when I went, a bit too busy for comfort. But at least it has some aircon, which although not exactly cold, does help considerably. The weights here go up to 27.5kg (are the 30s missing?!) and although there’s a small separate area outside the main gym (no aircon), you won’t find any functional training equipment here sadly. The only real cardio equipment was treadmills and bikes, but there is a large studio. I didn’t find any class details though unfortunately.

6. AK Fitness & Yoga, Hanoi – VND 50k per day

You’ll find AK Fitness and Yoga just a block away from TopGym Fitness, close to the Old Quarter, north of the lake. I liked this logically organised gym which is spread over three floors. It’s fan-cooled and extremely well-equipped with weights, cardio and functional equipment. You’ll see a studio too, where some locals were having fun doing a dance class when I arrived. I didn’t see a timetable though.

This all-round gym is great value for money and well-located. For me the only thing missing was aircon, so train early.

7. CLB The Hinh Hoan Kiem -VND 25k per day

A gym for around $1! I couldn’t believe there was no-one there when I attended. Yes, it’s all rather old, the building looks neglected and the lady (presumably staff) was asleep on the floor when I arrived. But you’ll find plenty of gym equipment and a huge separate floor space area to train in. It is all rather warm though so go early and take a lot of water if you’re going to brave it!

 

Which Gym Should I Pick?

Well, as always it comes down to personal preferences. I’d be amazed if anyone could find much fault with either Elite Fitness or California Fitness, so if you’ve got money to spend, either of these would be ideal – go for Elite if you want a pool.

TopGym Fitness and Yoga is a great compromise between luxury and budget and had well-functioning aircon in the downstairs half of the gym when I went.

If you’re on a budget but can’t do without aircon (and I don’t blame you!), Olympia Gym is amazing value for money and the gym is absolutely awesome. Probably my all-round favourite weighing up all factors. Between AK Fitness and X-Men Fitness, I preferred AK, purely as it was bigger and better equipped.

And if you’re really keen to save money go for the cheap gym in Hanoi – CLB Fitness Hoan Kiem. For somewhere between $1 and £1 you’ve got dumbbells up to 40kg, some resistance machines, a fair range of cardio equipment and a tonne of floor space. All quite amazing! If you’re walking there, check out my full post on how to get there – you’ll find limited options for crossing the main road.

Summary of Gyms in Hanoi

Thanks for reading my work on gyms in Hanoi. I hope this helps you to find a gym to suit your needs. If you found this helpful and have a moment to spare, I’d really appreciate a coffee. Small donations from you, my readers, not only make my day, but they also help to fund my travels and coffee breaks. It’s during these that I write my next articles. 😀