The Santa of Swim, Bike, Run
We had spent months dying to check it out, followed by weeks barely able to contain our excitement, and we stand strong when we say in no way did Club La Santa disappoint.
In our first ‘post on the grid’ we summed it up with the words:
“Vast volcanic space, promised to make even breast stroke feel sexy”
Following 3 days of sunning, swimming and trail chasing we were echoing those words, with the addition of many more to compliment the community and activities available at the resort.
What’s it all about?
For us the attraction was trails for days, 50 metre pools and the outdoor crossfit space accommodating even the whackiest of coach Brad moves. It didn’t stop there. Whether it’s windsurfing, wine and tapas tours or tracks for moutain biking that you’re after, La Santa plays host to it all.
Each day, the timetable is filled with hours to educate, enjoy and enlighten. The coaches are trained up to offer top advice across a number of disciplines, with workshops and sessions catered to every level. With this comes top training facilities, and the option to hire almost anything you need including rackets, road bikes and golf clubs.
Most of the activities are included in your ‘stay rate’, but if you’re looking for something a little ‘extra’ there are some options to add a little more to your bill, and go beyond the main resort. These include volcano hikes, horseback riding and scuba diving.
If it’s evening entertainment you’re after, you can bet they’re not short on this either. From discos in the plaza, to live music at El Lago, there’s plenty to keep you content whilst you sip on that sought after G&T.
For those with little’uns there’s activities for them, featuring a creche, ‘Playtime’ kids club and a whole timetable of events tailored to them too.
Food is fuel, and there’s no denying with the jam packed days this is crucial to keeping you Club La Santa ready. There’s 5 restaurants on site, each offering a variety of cuisines. For the extra hungry days, Restaurant Atlantico offers up a buffet service charged between 12-16 euros (meal dependant) for all you can eat excellence. For us, a favourite was the pool bar which served a selection of seriously good (and hearty) salads, plus the pizza we needed prior to the La Santa half marathon (this takes place every single Tuesday).
What did we get up to?
We’re creatures of habit, and easily pleased, so to fill a few days we stuck to what we knew. We ran around volcanoes, we chased the track and we swam through sunrise. We also took full advantage of the warmer temps taking our strength session outside in the impressive ‘on site’ crossfit box.
The first night we arrived, we also opted into ‘Run School’, a 45 minute session dedicated to your run form. We covered position whilst you run, where you should land on your foot, and making the most of every stride. We followed this with a spicy session on the track, running 8x200m’s focusing on the form we’d worked to improve in the hour before.
We did also ‘try’ to take part in the ‘open water skills session’, but thanks to over excitement and a little laziness with checking details we ended up at the wrong pool (there are three 50m pools!) therefore missing the majority of the session.
When not working out, we indulged in the November sunshine, spending afternoons lost in books and podcasts, whilst giving the legs some time spent horizontal. We also often found ourselves back poolside post session, to give the legs a soak in the slightly nippy pool, serving as a ‘sort of’ ice bath and giving the muscles some much needed love.
We ate at all the restaurants (recap a little lower), including taking full advantage of Sushi night on a Tuesday at El Plaza. We also played our chances at the Green Team Quiz, whilst tucking into tempura and tuna norashi! As part of our ‘culinary recap’ we can also vouch for the generous gin servings, and pint of aperols. Hey, don’t judge us, we’re on holiday!
What do we wish we’d have done?
Three days was glorious, but we can guarantee we could have easily filled a few weeks (and we plan to do just that very soon).
As mentioned, the workshops are something we recommend you take full advantage of. Whether it’s a challenging swim squad session, or introduction to mountain biking, the green team (staff at La Santa) are on hand to guide you through. We did try and squeeze in two of these sessions, but sadly only made it to one, so with a little more time next round we’d work on getting more of these on schedule (and checking the meet point more carefully!).
Water-sports are also pretty big here. There’s stand-up paddle boarding, scuba diving and some excellent surf spots available to indulge in. With both of us being beginners at most of the above, we decided to dedicate our hours to activities we knew, but if (and when) we come back we’d love to give these a go!
During the week, you’ll also find a number of events put on by the team alongside the half marathon. These include mini triathlons, aquathlons and duathlons. Much to H’s disappointment the hours in the day, or energy in the legs wouldn’t allow for a bolt on race, but with a bit more time we’d definitely like to try our luck at one of these.
Competition aside, there are also many excursions as mentioned briefly above. The volcano hike was one on the bucket list, but sadly one to be saved as it takes up a half day. Having said that, some time is taken on a short bus ride, so if you are hoping to take on the trail, but can’t fit it within your own schedule, we’re sure there’s also the opportunity to go it alone.
How much would one trip set you back?
Whilst this trip was very kindly gifted, we’re itching to return and so have already looked at the pennies that need saving to make it possible. A breakdown of the types of apartments can be found here, they start from around £1,000/week for a twin bed apartment with a single sofa bed.
TTH x
