Image from Oakwood Hangzhou website

Despite the apparent lack of good it does me I tend to spend quite a lot of time in the gym. The lack of progress has probably got something to do with diet, or better yet, the liquid diet taken on board most days, but hey, I would be a proper round guy if I didnt go.

Feel Well Gym on Yile Road, just north of WenEr West Road used to fulfil my 2 gym requirements: close to home; cheap. There are no bells and whistles, and more often than not the bathroom stinks of piss. (Does cheap make the smell of 3-day old urine in the showers acceptable?) But it was quiet in the morning and so one could change in the tiny locker room (I affectionately call it ‘the monkey cage’) without accidently inserting your nose in someone’s arse crack. I am not scared of crowds or of naked men, but terrified when both attributes come together. The sauna was rarely on, and in any case, the black slime that seemed to cover most surfaces made the place pretty repulsive. Of course that was nothing compared to some guy spreadeagled naked on his back scratching is scrotum. (Hence monkey cage). Lastly, like all cafes and gyms, Feel Well opens at 10am. I guess the only poeple that can actually afford to go to these places can also skip work…

So when the serviced apartment lot, Oakwood Residences, set up shop in Hangzhou, I thought I would go and have a look. Wohoho. Great. The place is not really close to home, and isnt really cheap either, but the sauna works, and is clean and even switched on! The locker rooms are also a little small, but well-appointed and I could certainly live in the showers, the swimming pool is big and flat, and the treadmills each have BBC and HBO. Paradise. And the place opens at 6.30 in the morning. You can be there before the Hangzhou rush-hour and stay there until the rush-hour is over. What more could I want.

Went this morning for a swim. Arrived at 7.30 and nobody was in the pool, the lockers, or the gym. I had this million dollar exercise facility all to my little self. My swim, well a swim is a swim, no? Then on to breakfast. Breakfast might well be worth the price, bottomless espresso coffee, fresh-cooked eggs, croissant, cheese, sushi, bacon, baked beans, you get the gist, but honestly is a little expensive for me for every day. The buffet with 10% gym membership discount still came to 110Y. Sadly there is no a la carte option with some eggs on toast, or coffee and bread. Certainly going to mention that to the boss.

Anyhows, if you’re looking for a gym that is nearly as good as the Hyatt with a much more stomachable price, then have a peak in Oakwood.