Sweating it out in luxury and style: Tracking India's rise of elite gyms

Places offer high-tech services and exclusive amenities to transform fitness into a premium social experience

Walk into D’MONDE club in New Delhi or a Fitness First centre in Mumbai and you will find gyms are no longer about treadmills and dumbbells alone. They’re about luxury, status and networking. With their Turkish hammams, aerial yoga sessions and AI-powered health tracking, gyms have made fitness a lifestyle experience for the rich.

 

Natasha Narang says the gym at her luxury Gurugram condominium is a “world-class fitness arena”. “There’s a professional boxing ring, a rock climbing wall, a Pilates studio and a yoga room that opens onto a private sunken courtyard for aerial yoga and outdoor sessions,” says Narang, a fashion designer.

 

The Indian gym industry earned $1.15 billion as revenue in 2023, according to TechSci Research. It is projected to be worth $2.5 billion by 2028, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 16.8 per cent from 2024 to 2028. Growing health awareness, which is driven by concerns about lifestyle diseases linked to sedentary habits, is fuelling demand for gyms. At premium gyms, members have a variety of options.

 

D’MONDE in Chanakyapuri, the national capital’s embassy enclave, is an invitation-only club and its gym has cryotherapy pods, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, aerial yoga, Turkish hammams, and a “nutrition-forward” café. “Membership is highly selective, making it as much about networking as it is about fitness,” says Akhil Mehta, director for sales and marketing at D'MONDE Members Club.

 

(A cryotherapy pod is an enclosed chamber that uses extreme cold to reduce inflammation and aid muscle recovery and hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment where a patient breathes pure oxygen inside a pressurised chamber to promote accelerated healing and tissue repair.)

 

Camellias Club in Gurugram, arguably India’s most extravagant residential club in the namesake residential society, spreads over 160,000 sq. ft. and has seven “energy zones”, including a 70,000 sq. ft gym, rock climbing wall, boxing ring, juice bars, bowling alley, and spa.

 

RK Fitness gyms in Dwarka and Paschim Vihar in West Delhi have crèches and health cafés; One Million in Janakpuri, southwest Delhi, has multiple levels and offers personal training studios, post-workout recovery lounges, and luxury locker rooms.

 

Luxury gyms are designed with the help of architects, lighting specialists and spa consultants to create an environment where wellness feels indulgent.

 

In Mumbai, gyms often double up as celebrity hangouts. I Think Fitness in Bandra West is a favourite with Bollywood’s A-list and its sunlit interiors, boutique design and organic café make it as much a social hub as a workout destination. “At I Think Fitness, it’s impossible not to feel motivated,” says Maira Malhotra, a 27-year-old branding consultant who uses the gym often.

 

“The place is buzzing with energy — celebs, athletes, even DJs spinning live during evening sessions. There’s functional training, reformer Pilates, rooftop yoga — it’s a social scene as much as it is a workout. Honestly, half the reason I come is because the crowd is as inspiring as the equipment,” she says.

 

Matching I Thinks’ allure is Nitrro Bespoke Fitness, which has sprawling gyms in Breach Candy and Powai. Spread across 20,000 sq. ft each, the gyms feature DJ zones, juice bars, and physiotherapy services.

 

Fitness First, an international health club and gym brand, has gyms in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai that offer yoga and nutrition coaching, and plush lounge areas. Annual membership fee is Rs 65,000.

 

Annual membership fees for certain gyms in Hyderabad and Chennai ranges from Rs 50,000 to more than Rs 2 lakh, branding themselves as “couture fitness” brands. Historic Royal Willingdon Sports Club and Otters Club in Mumbai and Gymkhana in Delhi continue to thrive. Besides working out at gyms, members can play golf, tennis or squash at such institutions.

 

Dr Richa Mishra, a physiotherapist and vice-president of operations at Anytime Fitness India, says the gym chain’s members “want to pop in anytime, follow personalised programmes, and feel as if they are part of a supportive culture.” Anytime gyms are open 24×7 access, and they have the latest equipment and trainers who design personalised fitness plans.

 

Anytime tracks gym members’ fitness progress with body composition analysis, strength and endurance tests, mobility checks, and lifestyle assessments. “A member with low energy and high cholesterol could, within three months, go from struggling to walk 2 km to jogging 5 km with ease,” says Mishra.

 

Technogym, an Italian manufacturer of high-end fitness equipment, follows a preventive care concept called Healthness, using artificial intelligence (AI) to predict disease risks. Technogym Checkup stations measure gym members’ health and then use AI to make tailored fitness programmes. Technogym has boutique showrooms in Bengaluru and Delhi and has partnerships with premium hotels.

 

Monthly membership fees for luxury gyms range from Rs 5,000, Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 or more. Such gyms provide advanced equipment, spa, nutrition counselling, personal trainers, and curated group classes like yoga, Pilates, and high-intensity training. Luxury fitness centres also emphasize ambiance, personalised attention, and premium amenities like swimming pools, saunas, cafes, and lounge areas, creating a complete lifestyle experience rather than just a workout space.  Know more about gym memberships and fees here.