A superb fitness centre situated just of the main road. Has a big gym, excellent changing…read morefacilities, many sports gyms and a small cafe downstairs. Esporta also has a pool, jacuzzi and sauna present if you prefer to take a more relaxed attitude to fitness.

It is as good as it looks in the pics and there is more depth to this club than one might think…read more This is just not simply a Gym; there are additional classes (no extra cost) throughout the day and into the evening from anything from Yoga, Zumba, pilates to spin cycle and aerobics classes etc etc. its not cheap but it is good value if you take classes along with swimming and normal gym work. It has everything you could need. An example yoga it has six different yoga teachers at different times, styles and days the choice is exceptional I know because I go to most of the Yoga classes! BoaT

The park plaza certainly is a jack of all trades. From the fabulous hotel itself to the excellent…read moreLaguna bar and this, the spa and gym smack bang in the middle of Cardiff. A friend of mine was a member there and so suggested I come and try it out for the day. Of course we bypassed the gym and went straight for the equally taxing pool/steam room/jacuzzi. The pool area is an oasis of calm in the middle of a very busy city. The walls are tranquil blue and it's has the feeling of being pure indulgence. The water is treated with a combination of UV and chlorine which means you don't get that OTT feeling of dry horrible skin that you get in other pools that just use chlorine. People watching is great here, for some reason the most beautiful men in Cardiff chose to swim at this establishment. Great if you're a bit of a perve like me but it's advisable to keep your wits about you to avoid drowning.

In this area of the city centre there are at least three good gyms all competing for membership:…read morethis, the Laguna Health & Spa at the Park Plaza Hotel; Vitality, around the corner, which is based upstairs above Henry's Bar on Park Place and doesn't have a pool; and the Hilton's small LivingWell gym, which can get busy during peak times. This cluster of gyms in close proximity has created plenty of competition between them to attract membership, so there are usually some promotions on at each of them to try to lure you in. The Laguna is good for those into swimming, and its pool is filtered using UV rather than just chlorine (unlike the Hilton's LivingWell pool), which makes for a less chemical swimming experience. They have a relaxing jacuzzi and a steam room next to the pool, and the changing rooms are very smartly done out. Here you definitely get the feeling you can indulge rather than just exercise hard, and it's a relaxing space to spend some time after work or at the weekend. If you want a real treat, the spa also has a range of beauty and relaxation treatments, most of them fairly expensive (as is the case with most spas). They also have a proper gym, of course, and about 35 exercise classes a week (unlike the Hilton LivingWell, which has no space to hold group classes). The gym has cardio vascular stations including treadmills, rowers, cross-trainers, steppers and walking machines, plus fixed resistance stations, a free weight area, a warm up and stretching area, a Power-Plate® Machine, and screens showing sport, news and music while you work out.

Ultimate Fitness Centre is a newly opened gym and kickboxing facility opened just off City Road. It…read moreseems to be a replacement for the old Cardiff Kick Boxing outlet at 166 City Road. Denzil Lawrence and Spiro Micallef who used to operate out of this facility are now using Ultimate Fitness Centre, and the new premises carries the Cardiff Kickboxing insignia. I don't profess to know a huge amount about kickboxing, but it seems that Ultimate Fitness Centre are offering something a little different. Lee, a Muay Thai instructor, claims that Ultimate Fitness Centre are the only authentic Muay Thai Club in Cardiff, Barry, Rhondda and Vale of Glamorgan. He says that "there are many who claim this but can't back it with results, documentation or history". Apparently Muay Thai is different from kickboxing in that it is technically superior, and therefore I imagine it presents more of a challenge. Ring Lee for further details: 07792204881 Denzil Lawrence: 07932 253849 Spiro Micallef: 07710 477524

I have a lot of pent-up rage, so I thought taking a few classes at the Ultimate Fitness Centre…read morewould be like therapy, only funner. Armed with my fellow female partner-in-crime, I was ready for my first tutorial in ass kicking. The tuition is one of several offered by the gym, which includes a beginner class on Mondays and Thursdays at 6. You feel like you're in an authentic set up here, which of course adds to the Rocky-esque experience I was hoping for. The warm-up includes running, push-ups and sit-ups, followed by pairing up with a partner for a lesson in punching, kicking and elbow wielding (my favourite) using standard boxing gloves and pads. As my friend and I were the only two girls in the class, our instructor took extra time to explain self-defence manoeuvres which fell on gracious ears. The class is only £4 for the hour, and no sign up or registration is required. I'd recommend purchasing your own set of gloves, as the ones on offer smell like what you'd expect from sweaty boxing gear. Yeah, this ain't nothing like Boxercise. And I'm so going back.

I was a member of Esporta for 3 years and really enjoyed my time as a member there. Why did I quit…read moremy membership? My circumstances changed and I felt it was a little too expensive to keep paying the membership. Luckily for me I used to go almost daily at around 2pm when the club was very quiet. After an hour in the gym I would go to the sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and pool which I pretty much had all to myself. I used to sit in the tub over looking the pool fantasizing I was a billionaire and this was my house. I often considered calling security whenever another member tried to join me in the tub. As far as price is concerned they are more expensive but also better and more well equipped than Fitness First and not as expensive and not as good as David Lloyd.

I was a member here for about seven years and always used it at peak time (my kids were training…read morenext door). The good thing was that I always managed to get on a machine even though it was busy. And, mostly, there was enough room to swim. The pool is pretty small, only about fifteen meters but warm and clean. I went to a number of classes - the aerobics was a tad challenging but the 'body in balance' was just the job during a stressful week. Conveniently located next to the National Tennis Centre so the same desk deals with courts, tournaments and coaching. And conveniently for parents there's also a nice café with good coffee. And conveniently for kids they also do chips.

Miskin Manor Health Club is a member's only fitness facility and is part of the Miskin Manor…read moreresort. As well as boasting a large swimming pool, a studio and a fully stocked gym, they also offer many fitness classes such as spin cycling, boxercise and yoga. There is also a fully equipped spa area that features such utilities as a sauna and steam room. The gym itself has numerous treadmills, a number of state of the art exercise bikes and cross trainers as well as a variety of rowing machines, while there are also several weights machines nearby. These include a pec deck, a lat pulldown, a shoulder press and an ab curl machine, as well as others. The weights room has an excellent dumbbell rack that goes from 5kg-50kg and is more than enough for the average gym-goer. There is also a brand new smith machine and a really good set of cables, although the cables have a set weight limit that can seem a little light if you're after a heavy chest workout. There is also a bar by the entrance that offers a wide array of drinks and snacks, including protein shakes which is ideal if you forget to pack a post-workout shake. The club boasts many assets that make it a great place to be a member; however, this is a prime example of something being too good to be true. The membership is very expensive (which they have conveniently brushed over on their website) and, although you get use of the facilities, you will still have to pay extra for use of the classes even if you are a member. Even a day pass will set you back £8, so it's far from cheap to become a regular here. A little on the pricey side for my liking, but if you can afford it, then you have a lot of good facilities at your finger tips.

Esporta is a Health Club located just off Avondale Road in Cwmbran. It used to be Club Indigo, but…read morechanged to Esporta a few years back. It features a full modern gym, swimming pool, aerobics room, cafe and children's creche, and as part fo the building there is a health and beauty section, where you can get your hair cut, nails done, waxing and other beauty treatments. I used to be a member at this gym, and the facilities are of a high quality, the staff are very friendly and make a point of saying your name when you enter and it is a great place to relax after work or on weekends. The gym does get quite busy at 5 pm though.

Here I have many more memories than any other swimming pool in Cardiff and I had my swimming…read morelessons here. We also had school swimming lesson sessions, which were in extremely large groups and we had the lessons for long hours of the day, but they were fun and were different. They have children parties with cold and hot drinks and food. This pool was opened in 1989 and it has a refurbished fitness suit. It also has a cafe; tennis courts/badminton courts, squash courts, community suit, a bar, a crèche, junior activities, parties, changing rooms, toilets, showers, lockers, and vending machines. I always loved going here as a kid and loved to spend our jumping in the pool and swimming many lengths and splashing about in the waves. I keep having this place appear in my dreams, but I'm never in the pool I'm often walking around the place, or in a queue, or a room training/fitness, aerobics, and yoga. It is a fantastic local pool and it's great for all tourists and anybody really, children will just simply love it. People over the age of sixty years old go free; all ages can go in for between the prices of £1.50p - £3 during the hours of 10am - 7pm.

Another great leisure centre from Cardiff City Council. It has one of those pools that are really…read moregood for toddlers with a sloping shoreline so they can toddle in without going out of their depth. This is where I took mine when they were tiny. There's also a deep bit for proper swimming with lanes a dedicated times for different swimmers. The whole centre has a friendly feel. There are also lots of other good things for kids like gymnastics, trampolining and soft play. For adults there's aerobics, fit-ball, circuits and the very latest craze - Zumba (a dance class based on a combination of rumba and salsa).

This is as fairly old leisure centre, but just a couple of years ago it had a revamp with lots of…read morenew facilities added. It attracts a lot of regular school and community group visits, so is still a well-used facility. It now has a 72-station gym / fitness suite, cardio theatre, dance studio, spinning room, community room and a smaller teaching pool in addition to its original 25-metre pool. They have a range of classes on offer, from yoga to soft play for little ones - and there's a strong community feel to the place. The on site café serves basic hot and cold snacks such as paninis and jacket potatoes if you're hungry after your swim. If you live in the area, it's worth checking out - but not worth a special trip over to Ely.