A holiday on the eastern Corniche, with a few sessions in it
Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort sits at the eastern end of the Corniche. This page is for guests on holiday there: days that drift between the pool, the sea and long lunches, and a wish to train properly a few times without turning the week into a training camp.
RPM has nothing to do with the hotel. It has one club, on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, so every visit means leaving the resort and coming back. Read a resort guest's guide to reaching RPM in Al Manhal first, then decide how many visits the week can carry.
Give each visit a different job
With so few sessions, repeating one workout three times wastes two of them. Give each visit something only a full club can host, and the week covers far more ground.
| Visit | Its job | What the session holds | What it uses at RPM |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Find your working weights again | A squat or leg press, a bench press and a pulldown, then cable work for the upper back | The squat rack with colour bumper plates, benches, plate-loaded machines and cable towers |
| Second | Conditioning that a hotel room cannot host | Sled pushes on the turf lane, battle ropes, kettlebell swings and slam balls in short rounds | The functional area |
| Third | The heaviest session of the week, or a coached one | The first visit repeated a little heavier, or an hour handed over to a coach | Personal training, booked a day or two ahead |
Only managing two visits? Keep the first and the third. A resort week tends to include plenty of swimming and walking for the rest.
Women who would rather train among women can move any of the three into the Ladies section, which has its own strength and cardio equipment and the Pilates studio. Ask first whether a visitor's access covers it.
The resort days in between
How a visit goes is usually decided the day before it. A long afternoon in the sun followed by a late dinner is a poor run-up to a heavy session, so shape the gaps as carefully as the visits.
- Keep the pool day before a visit gentle: easy lengths rather than hours of diving and racing.
- Walk on the Corniche in the cooler months, early or after sunset. From May to September, stick to the hours around dawn and after dark, or stay indoors.
- Drink water steadily through any day spent outdoors, more than you would at home.
- On mornings without a visit, run through a short mobility routine in the room to loosen hips and shoulders after a day on a sun lounger.
- Never put a visit on the morning after a late night. Move it, or drop it.
None of this is training. It just means you turn up to the next visit rested instead of sunburnt.
Leaving the eastern Corniche by road
The mapped route sets off along Corniche Street and finishes on Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Street (Airport Road) into AD HUB, a short cross-island trip by the route box's reckoning. A taxi from the hotel does the job as well as a hire car. If you drive, AD HUB has free on-site parking, and a lift goes up to Level 4.
| 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.
Early opening lets a visit come before breakfast, and late opening fits one in after the beach has emptied. On Fridays the club keeps shorter hours.
Sorting access and kit before the first visit
- Send the team your dates. Ask whether a day pass is available for each visit, or a weekly pass covering all of them, and what each one includes. Both are time-sensitive, so have availability and price confirmed for your dates.
- Keep one pair of flat, firm trainers for the gym, and keep them out of the beach bag.
- Note the weights you use on the first visit so the third can build on them, then take the notes home.
- Your bag and phone can go in a keypad locker in the changing area. Check with the team about showers, and whether to bring your own towel.
Not sure any visit is worth leaving the resort for? Hotel fitness room or full gym sets out what each kind of space can take, and it is worth reading before you message anyone.
Questions, answered.
Does the Sheraton have any link with RPM?
None. RPM is an independent club with a single address, Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, and the route box shows the mapped drive from the eastern Corniche.
Will two or three visits do anything for my fitness?
They will not build much, and on holiday they do not need to. What they usually do is keep your main lifts familiar, so the first week back at your own gym feels like carrying on rather than starting over.
I have not lifted for months. Should I restart on holiday?
It can be a good moment, because you have time. Book the first visit with a coach through personal training, keep the weights modest, and leave the heaviest session for the end of the week.
Can I swap the conditioning visit for something at the hotel?
Ask the hotel what its fitness room holds. Sled work on turf and heavy bags are not what most hotel rooms are set up for, which makes that the visit most worth the drive.
Should I add the sauna or ice bath after a visit?
Only if your pass includes the recovery suite, so ask. After a day of sun, more heat may not appeal, and anyone who is pregnant or has a heart condition should check with a doctor before using the sauna, the steam room or the ice bath.