Virgin Active, Repton Park

This 18th century hospital building in green and leafy Repton Park is an ideal base for Virgin Active’s enormous fitness centre. Should the novelty of the stunning swimming pool wear off, there’s an array of high-tech workouts to get stuck into.

Repton Park, Manor Road, Woodford Green, Essex, IG8 8GN

The Library

The beautiful ceiling, the giant model aeroplane, how does anyone get through bench-presses with those distractions? When an impressive synagogue went on sale in Notting Hill, the people behind The Library snapped it up for this fancy private members’ training club. It advises doing only 15 minutes of exercise a day, and as well as the kind of classes you’d expect; yoga, pilates, boxing, it also provides a calming reading area.

The Library 206-208 Kensington Park Road, W11 1NR

Varsity Hotel & Spa

Jasper Conran designed this bright barn conversion gym in Cambridge’s Varsity Hotel. Given that Rachel Weisz, Colin Firth and Ralph Fiennes count among the hotel’s guests, members could find themselves sweating it out with an A-lister. Post-workout and celebrity-spotting, wind down in the river-view Jacuzzi to watch the punts glide by.

The Varsity Hotel & Spa Thompson's Lane, Cambridge CB5 8AQ

Third Space

Welcome to the future.

Four floors of ultramodern fitness facilities make up central London’s ultra-modern Third Space gym, from a 20-metre ozone treated swimming pool, competition size boxing ring and three-storey climbing wall to an organic juice bar and chill out zones with or without DJs.

13 Sherwood St London, Greater London W1F 7BR

SP & CO.

Former professional cricketer Stephen Price called in interior design heavyweight Kelly Hoppen to create the sleek aesthetics for his Chelsea gym SP & Co. Its select 30-strong membership comprises celebrities and VIPs who each have seven experts to work on their individual health programs. It also boasts Europe’s most advanced ‘altitude chamber’.

3 Jubilee Place, Chelsea, London, SW3 3TD

Embody Fitness

Embody Fitness is a few steps away from London’s ancient Bank of England building, inside a renovated office. But there are no velour blinds or scratchy carpets here, it’s all glass chandeliers and sweeping staircases. As well as a grand exterior and swish interior, it’s run by Olympians and ex-athletes, which is either reassuring or terrifying.

1 Bartholomew Lane, London EC2N 2AX

Reynolds

There’s something delightfully gauche about turning a beautiful old chapel into a gym space but Reynolds in Bexley is, true to its word, a “lovingly converted” 19th century former house of prayer. With bright white pillars and authentic arched windows, it’s more sanctuary than sacrilege.

The Chapel, Chapel Walk, Bexley, Kent DA5 2DX

One Spa

A magnet for the rich and famous visiting Edinburgh, One Spa’s gym offers motivational mood lighting and natural materials, as well as all the best machines, but its big draw is its impressive outdoor rooftop hydro-pool.

8 Conference Square Edinburgh, EH3 8AN

Nutfield Priory Hotel and Spa

Another Victorian mansion, another gym opportunity. Nutfield Priory Hotel and Spa in Surrey recently ploughed £150,000 into a high-tech equipment overhaul for its fitness centre, which overlook the hotel’s smashingly manicured gardens.

Nutfield Rd Redhill, Surrey RH1 4EL

Luton Hoo Hotel

As well as being a swanky mansion-turned-five star hotel, Luton Hoo’s gym comes in Grade II listed stables, designed by Scottish neoclassical architect Robert Adam.

The Mansion House Luton, Bedford LU1 3TQ

The Laboratory

Feng Shui is not just for home interiors, and The Laboratory is a gym that pays testament to the ancient art. Uniquely housed in a former British Rail laboratory, members can break fitness barriers as they enjoy panoramic views overlooking the iconic Alexandra Palace.

The Ave, London N10 2QE

KX Gym

We’ve never been to a high-end Hollywood gym, but we imagine they all look like Chelsea’s KX. Kylie and Gwyneth have hallowed its glossy, minimalistic corridors… and it costs almost £8,000 for the first year.

151 Draycott Ave, City of London, SW3 3AL

Herb House

Not only does Limewood Hotel in Hampshire have a herb house – it has a herb house-come-gym. The third floor is a fitness haven filled with state-of-the art equipment, a pool and floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the forest.

Lime Wood, Beaulieu Rd, Lyndhurst, Hampshire SO43 7FZ

Harbour Club

Most famous as Princess Diana’s favourite off-duty hangout, the Harbour Club is still living up to its fit-for-royalty reputation. As well as the kind of snazzy equipment you’d expect from such a prestigious Chelsea fitness hub, there’s a stunning 25-metre pool for the hardcore swimmers and a smaller waterfall pool for the socialisers.

Watermeadow Lane, London SW6 2RR

David Lloyd Farnham

Resembling a Scandinavian Big Brother house, the latest offering from posh gym chain David Lloyd is its £15 million fitness mecca in Farnham, Surrey. As well as a pile of fancy fitness equipment, perhaps its best feature is a 25-metre indoor swimming pool for adult members – and a separate one for kids.

Monkton Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 9ND

Grace Belgravia

Kate Percival, the founder of Grace Belgravia, scoured London to find the perfect setting for her super luxurious women-only gym, before chancing upon a Grade II listed building on exclusive West Halkin Street. Melding classical and contemporary design, the private members club offers a spa, hamman, gym, Atelier, restaurant and bar, relaxation areas and library.

Grace Belgravia, 11c West Halkin Street, London SW1X 8JL

The Cube

Urban elegance is the theme of Birmingham’s five star theclubandspa, which has recently been treated to a massive interior refurbishment and a lick of paint courtesy of local firm Graffiti4hire.

The Cube, 196 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN

Equinox

Given that this American chain of high-end gyms is favoured by President Barack Obama, there's probably not much more we need to say. The brand moved over to the UK last year, setting up shop in affluent Kensington in what used to be the Rainbow Rooms, where Jagger, Bowie and the gang partied away the '70s.

99 Kensington High Street, Kensington W8 5SA

Virgin Active Aldersgate

One of the largest gym spaces in London, Virgin Active's Aldersgate £8 million gym makes the most of all the space with an anti-gravity yoga studio (top left), a disco-lit swimming pool and a rotating climbing wall.

The Gym, Stoke Park Country Club

Premier country clubs require plush gyms and no effort has been spared at Stoke Park's expansive fitness centre. With its high ceilings, mirrored walls, mood lighting and enormous fish tanks, there's little wonder it's been dubbed oone of the "Top 5 Sport Hotels in the World".

Stoke Park, Park Road, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, SL2 4PG