Network Magazine spring 2015 | Page 28

TRIBAL GATHERING An island escape that marries luxury with fitness could help you take your fitness offerings to the next level. WORDS: OLIVER KITCHINGMAN itness and wellness travel has been one of the biggest travel trends of recent years. People for whom fitness is integral to their lifestyle don’t want to put it on hiatus when they go on holiday, so the idea of combining the two can be very appealing. Similarly, if you’re a personal or group trainer, or mind body instructor, or if you deliver courses to upskill fitness professionals, the allure of training your tribe of clients or students in an exotic location can be strong. This is exactly the opportunity F 28 | NETWORK SPRING 2015 that Hotel Komune on the East Coast of Bali offers. Think ‘working holiday’ – and then some. As you arrive at the resort on Keramas Beach, a 45-minute drive from the airport, you find yourself in a tropical retreat, with the noise and bustle of Kuta already becoming a distant memory. Whatever your reason for coming, work or play, it’s time to unwind. I’m greeted with a welcoming smile and an iced tea as the friendly staff guide me down avenues of palms and giant taro leaves to my room, a clever design in cool tones of stone and blue. Inspiring surf images adorning the wall are a reminder that this place was created as a surf retreat, although its newly completed Health Hub confirms its transition into a fully-fledged fitness and wellbeing destination. In fact, I’m told, it has just played host to 85 trainee yoga instructors. And from what I’ve seen so far, I can see why they’d want this place to be their classroom. The next morning I wake early and make my way down to the beach, where a handful of surfers are floating in the pre-dawn ocean waiting to catch their first waves of the day. Soon, after early morning beach yoga and breakfast, their ‘surf widows’ assume their positions poolside, waiting to catch their first rays of the day. After getting the lay of the land, I make my way to the Beach Club for some breakfast overlooking the ocean and the distant island of Nusa Lembongan. As I try to choose from a range of local and western options to rival any Eastern Suburbs café back home, a couple of surfers lean against the edge of the nearby pool, checking out the surf breaking on the glitterin