Choosing where to train, not how
This page settles one question: which gym earns your two or three sessions on a trip of a few days. How to fit those sessions round meetings, jet lag and the heat is a separate job, covered in keeping training through a business trip.
Start with access, because nothing else matters if you cannot get in. Short-term passes change, so ask each gym before you fly. For RPM, the weekly pass page lists what to confirm with the team: whether a pass is available for your dates, its price, what it includes and which section it covers.
The work-trip gym scorecard
Score each gym 0, 1 or 2 on every line, multiply by the weight and add up. The maximum is 28. A gym that scores 0 on either of the first two lines is out, whatever its total.
| Criterion | Weight | Full marks when | Ask before you fly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access in writing | ×3 | Availability, price, start day and section confirmed for your dates | Is a pass available on these dates, and for which days? |
| Hours against your slot | ×3 | Open before your first meeting or after your last, Friday included | What are your Friday and weekend hours? |
| The trip at your hour | ×2 | Simple from where you stay or work, at the time you would go | Where should a driver drop me, and where do I park? |
| Kit your hotel gym lacks | ×2 | Racks, heavier dumbbells, cables or a sled, if you would miss them | Which areas can a pass holder use? |
| Check-in speed | ×1 | A short form and your passport, with no induction you did not ask for | Which ID do you need, and is there a form? |
| Getting meeting-ready | ×1 | Lockers, a mirror and a hairdryer, with showers and towels confirmed | Are there showers in my section? Should I bring a towel? |
| A receipt that works | ×1 | Itemised, with the gym's name and the date | Can you issue an itemised receipt? |
| A class or a coach | ×1 | Open to someone on a pass, if you want one | Can I join a class or book a coach on a pass? |
The weights assume two to five working days. On a stay of a week or more, raise the trip and the kit to ×3, because you will make the trip more often and want more variety.
Score your hotel gym on the same card. It usually wins on the trip and on check-in, and loses on kit, which tells you whether one session elsewhere is worth arranging.
Deal-breakers and tie-breakers
What makes a gym good for business travellers in Abu Dhabi?
Three things before anything else: you can get in on your dates without a negotiation at the desk, it opens when your meetings do not, and it gives you what your hotel gym cannot, usually heavier free weights, cables or a functional area. After that, speed decides it: a quick check-in, somewhere to get ready, and a receipt your finance team will accept. Equipment you will not touch in two or three sessions counts for little.
Strike a gym off at once in any of these cases:
- Nobody will confirm access in writing before your flight.
- Its hours miss the only slot your diary leaves, Friday included.
- You need a women-only space, and it cannot confirm one is open to someone on a pass.
- Your employer reimburses costs, and it cannot issue a proper receipt.
When two gyms tie, pick the one a colleague already uses, or the one you could return to on the next trip. A floor you already know saves the first ten minutes of every later visit.
Worked example: two gyms, one three-day trip
A visitor with meetings all day wants one heavy session and two short ones. Scores are 0 to 2, with the weighted score in brackets.
| Criterion | Weight | Gym A, by the meeting venue | Gym B, across town, full floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access in writing | ×3 | 2 (6) | 2 (6) |
| Hours against your slot | ×3 | 2 (6) | 1 (3) |
| The trip at your hour | ×2 | 2 (4) | 0 (0) |
| Kit your hotel gym lacks | ×2 | 0 (0) | 2 (4) |
| Check-in speed | ×1 | 2 (2) | 1 (1) |
| Getting meeting-ready | ×1 | 1 (1) | 2 (2) |
| A receipt that works | ×1 | 2 (2) | 2 (2) |
| A class or a coach | ×1 | 0 (0) | 1 (1) |
| Total out of 28 | 21 | 19 |
Gym A wins on the sums but has no rack. Because the heavy session is the one this visitor would hate to miss, the answer is to split: one trip to Gym B on the day with the earliest finish, and the two short sessions at Gym A or the hotel gym.
The total shows you the convenient choice, and the zeros show what it costs. If the zero is on something you can do without for three days, take the convenient gym.
If you come back every month
Regular visitors gain most from settling on one gym: check-in gets quicker, and you know where the racks are. Score it properly once, then re-check only access for the new dates and the hours, which many gyms change in Ramadan.
- Ask whether short-term access can be bought again on each trip, and how far ahead to message.
- Keep the gym's written answers in one message thread, so the next booking takes a minute.
- Ask your travel or finance team whether gym costs on trips are covered, before the first receipt.
- If colleagues fly in as often as you do, ask the gym about an arrangement for the company. RPM's corporate arrangements are tailored per organisation and confirmed on enquiry.
Filling in the card for RPM
RPM is one club, on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, with free on-site parking at AD HUB and a lift up to the floor. It is a gym you visit, not a hotel facility, so arrange any access directly with the team.
- Access: ask the team whether a day or weekly pass is available for your dates, what it costs, what it includes and which section it covers. Do not plan round a pass until they confirm it.
- Hours: early-morning and late-evening opening, with shorter Friday hours, shown below.
- Trip: it depends entirely on where you stay and meet, so check it at your hour.
- Kit: the floor photos show a squat rack with colour bumper plates, cable towers, plate-loaded machines and dumbbells, and the functional area has a turf lane with a sled, plus kettlebells and battle ropes.
- Getting ready: keypad lockers in the changing area and a grooming hub with hairdryers and products. Ask about showers in your section and whether to bring a towel.
- Sections: men train in the Mixed section. The women-only Ladies section has its own strength and cardio equipment and the Pilates studio.
| Days | Opening hours |
|---|---|
| Saturday to Thursday | 06:00–23:00 |
| Friday | 09:00–22:00 |
Hours can change, for example during Ramadan. Confirm with the team before a late or early visit.
To send every question in one message before the trip, use what visitors should ask about gym access, and add two of your own: whether a pass includes the recovery suite, and whether the team can issue a receipt.
Questions, answered.
Does the scorecard change in Ramadan?
The hours line does. Working hours are often shorter, many people train after iftar, and gym hours often change for the month, so re-score hours with the Ramadan timetable in hand.
Is a weekly pass worth it if I only train twice?
Often not, but it depends on the prices you are quoted and whether passes are available for your dates. Day passes or a weekly pass runs the break-even sum.
A colleague and I want to train together. What should we check?
That each of you has access confirmed for the same dates, and that you can use the same area. At RPM, men train in the Mixed section, so a man and a woman training together would use the Mixed section.