gyms with sauna near me

Joining a gym that has a pool, sauna, or hot tub allows you to experience the many benefits of swimming as part of your workout program, including being able to do non-weight-bearing exercise.

As well, most gyms that have pools come with saunas or hot tubs, which have been shown to enhance muscle recovery after a tough workout, and may aid rehabilitation after major surgery or significant injuries.

So which are the best gyms with pools, saunas, and hot tubs?

• GoodLife Fitness
• YMCA
• World Gym
• LA Fitness
• Equinox
• Life Time Fitness
• Gold’s Gym
• Onelife Fitness
• 24 Hour Fitness
• Crunch Fitness

Before you commit to purchasing a membership at one of your local gyms, I’ll cover each of these facilities in greater detail, including the rules around using the pools, how to access them, and how each of these gyms clean and maintain their facilities.

Why Should You Consider A Gym With A Pool, Sauna, or Hot Tub?

Some of the best reasons why you should consider joining a gym with a pool, sauna, or hot tub include:

• Enhanced recovery
• Variety in your workouts
• Family-friendly
• Availability of group classes
• Reduced stress on the joints

Enhanced Recovery

The hot temperatures in the sauna and steam room can reduce inflammation and muscle soreness, speeding up your recovery. It may also boost your endurance and improve your tolerance to heat, meaning you’re able to handle the increase in core body temperature that occurs during intense or prolonged exercise.

Regularly using the sauna can lower your blood pressure, which may improve your heart health by lowering blood pressure. It can also decrease the symptoms of arthritis (particularly in the knee) and asthma by improving lung function and capacity.

Variety in Your Workouts

Having a swimming pool available gives you the option to add more variety to your workouts. If you don’t fancy your usual resistance training workout or you want to switch up your cardio, you can jump in the pool instead. This variety can help to keep you motivated.

Family-Friendly

If you have children, you can bring them along to the gym when there is a swimming pool available. Swimming is one of the best family-friendly forms of exercise that encourages your children to get moving.

Availability of Group Classes

There is a huge range of different pool-based exercise classes that are offered by gyms across America. If you enjoy working out with others, join a gym with a pool so you can enjoy water aerobics, water polo, or swimming-focused circuit training with your friends.

Reduced Stress On The Joints

Swimming is one of the best forms of non-weight-bearing exercise. If you suffer from joint pain or osteoarthritis, it’s a great alternative to other forms of cardio to get your heart rate up and your muscles working.

If you’re recovering from an injury, swimming can be a great temporary replacement for your usual exercise routine to relieve stress on your joints.

Gyms With Pools, Steam Rooms, & Hot Tubs: 10 Options

1. GoodLife Fitness

GoodLife Fitness offers three different membership plans that allow you to access the pool facilities with different conditions. They are:

• Essential – $26.99 every other week
• Premium – $31.99 every other week
• Ultimate – $36.99 every other week

All of these membership plans allow you to access the swimming pools, but you can only use the sauna if you’re on the Ultimate plan.

With the essential plan, you select one home gym, which is the only pool facility that you can access. However, with the Premium and Ultimate options, you can choose any of the 200+ GoodLife gyms, so you have a wider range of pools and saunas to choose from.

GoodLife Fitness is also known for its extensive aqua class timetable.

They offer multiple classes, including Aqua Abs, Aqua Athletic Training, Aqua Fit, and Aqua Zumba. Their classes range from low to high intensity and you can even filter their online timetable according to your preferences.

They have a detailed health and safety protocol, which they call The GoodLife Standard. This includes their best practices for infection prevention, cleaning, and sanitization of the pool areas.

Who Should Use the Goodlife Pool?

If you love water-based group workouts, GoodLife is one of the best options for you. You can burn calories and get toned with their range of low-impact, high-energy aqua classes.

Interested in learning more about Goodlife Fitness, check out our complete Goodlife Fitness Review.

2. YMCA

The YMCA is a family-friendly facility that offers childcare services so you can keep your kids occupied while you take a dip in the pool.

While most YMCA locations have a pool, sauna, and hot tub, some locations even have indoor and outdoor pools with slides.

The ‘Y’ offers some of the cheapest membership prices that you’ll find ($29/month for 18-29 year olds and $39/month for adults over 30 years old) and they offer partner and family memberships at a slight discount ($64/month for up to two adults).

Pool access is available with every membership. Children must be supervised by an adult at all times around the pool and gym areas unless you’re using the YMCA’s childcare facilities.

The YMCA locations offer a range of swimming lessons and courses that you and your children can participate in. During these sessions, you will learn important swim skills in and around the water. Their lessons include three options – basic, safety, and survival swim skills.

The downside to the gyms is the difficulty in reserving a time slot for the pool. The YMCA is a popular franchise and you will often find that the pools are packed, especially during peak hours. You need to schedule and book your swim sessions well in advance and you will often find yourself booking several days ahead of time to reserve your desired time slot.

Many of the YMCA’s aquatic classes are either early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid work and school hours. If you normally work out at either of these times of the day, you might have to rearrange your usual schedule to squeeze in time for one of their swimming classes.

Who Should Use the YMCA Pool?

The YMCA is the best option if you’re looking for an affordable, family-friendly gym with a pool. You can get the whole family involved with the many swim lessons and classes that the YMCA offers.

Interested in learning more about YMCA, check out our complete YMCA Review.

3. World Gym

World Gym is known for its extensive range of free weights, strength machines, and cardio machines, but they also have pools and saunas in most locations.

The gym is open 24/7 but there is very little information regarding the pool opening hours available online since the pool hours will vary from location to location.

As well, World Gym doesn’t offer aqua classes like other gyms with pools.

The costs of World Gym memberships vary depending on the specific location but they start at around $20/month. They offer an all-access, three-month, and one-month membership plan, all of which include access to the pools and saunas.

Many World Gym locations offer childcare services too, so if you have children, you can bring them along to the gym while you go for a swim.

Who should use the World Gym pool?

World Gym is great for those who are not avid swimmers but love having the option of being able to use the pool or sauna after your workout. When we visited World Gym we absolutely LOVED their weight room (which you can read more about in the link below). But the pool is just so-so. Best to be used only if you want to occasionally go for a swim.

Interested in learning more about World Gym, check out our complete World Gym Review.

4. LA Fitness

Although you won’t find an LA Fitness club in every state of America, most of their locations have pools and saunas, so if there’s one near you, it’s likely to have an indoor lap pool at the very least.

The membership costs vary between locations, but they start at around $40, making it ideal if you’re on a budget. No matter the membership plan you’re on, you can access the pools and sauna at no extra charge.

LA Fitness isn’t open 24/7 but their locations are usually open from around 5 am to 11 pm, which is ideal if you enjoy swimming before or after work.

From reviews online, the cleanliness of each location also varies. Although their pools aren’t dirty, some will be better maintained than others.

Most locations will offer at least one water-based class called Aquafit. But, the class schedule is not as extensive as other gyms mentioned in this article. The pool is mostly for lap swimming and has 3 lanes available at most pools.

Who Should Use the LA Fitness Pool?

LA Fitness is ideal if you’re looking for a budget-friendly gym with a pool and/or sauna but you’re not too bothered about having the best, most high-quality facilities.

Interested in learning more about LA Fitness, check out our complete LA Fitness Review.

5. Equinox

Equinox gyms are usually exclusive to larger cities, but they’re definitely one of the best gyms with pools. Most locations have indoor pools but some offer outdoor pools too.

You can expect to pay at least $100/month for a membership at Equinox (and up to $300/month in major cities), so they’re more expensive than average. Luckily, these plans will include access to the pool or sauna if your location has these amenities.

Most Equinox locations have an Olympic-sized indoor pool (50 meters in length). You’ll be able to find a sauna and steam room in most locations too. They offer pool-based workouts that target every muscle group, from low-intensity to high-intensity. To try out their classes, you will need to be an existing member ‒ you can’t simply drop in for an aqua aerobics class.

Unlike many other franchises, Equinox is not open 24/7 and they close in the early evening around 8-9 pm, so they might not be the best option if you enjoy swimming late at night. Unfortunately, this means that the pool is often crowded between 5 and 8 pm.

You can rest assured knowing that the pools, saunas, and steam rooms will be extremely clean. Equinox is known for its cleanliness and they offer a high-end luxury feel in their clubs.

Who Should Use the Equinox Pool?

Equinox pools are ideal for those of you who don’t mind paying for a more luxurious experience (towel service is included along with several other amenities). If you’re free during normal 9-5 working hours, you’ll be able to enjoy a relaxing swim in a clean, well-maintained pool.

Interested in learning more about Equinox, check out our complete Equinox Review.

6. Life Time Fitness

Life Time Fitness is one of the best options if you’re looking for gyms with aquatic facilities. There is a pool, sauna, and hot tub at almost every Life Time Fitness location.

The pools at Life Time Fitness locations are like no other. They aren’t your average gym pool. They’re more like the type of pool you’d find at a holiday resort. Some facilities have indoor or outdoor pools with large water slides or waterfalls, and many locations have separate pools that are exclusively for kids.

The downside to Life Time Fitness is the fact that their pools are often crowded due to their popularity with families and children. It’s not ideal if you’re looking for a relaxing dip in the pool after work. There have also been a few complaints that the staff doesn’t do anything about the kids running around the gym and sauna facilities.

However, their steam rooms are likely to be a little quieter. They are eucalyptus-infused, and they are well-maintained and extremely clean.

They offer a few different gym membership plans, with the two most common being their Standard and Signature membership plans, costing $169 and $249 respectively. Their prices aren’t the cheapest, but both of these plans offer any-time access to their gym and pool facilities. They also offer family memberships so you can take your kids along to the pool with you.

Who Should Use the Life Time Fitness Pool?

If you have kids and you want to keep them occupied for hours while you work out in the gym or spend some time in the sauna, Life Time Fitness is perfect. If you don’t have kids but you’re not too bothered about having a peaceful swimming session, it will be a suitable option for you too.

Interested in learning more about Life Time Fitness, check out our complete Life Time Fitness Review.

7. Gold’s Gym

Most, but not all, Gold’s Gym locations have indoor pools, saunas, and hot tubs. If you’re looking for an outdoor pool, you’ll need to search for one of the select few locations that offer this amenity.

Gold’s Gym offers standard-sized pools and saunas, but every location takes cleanliness very seriously. You can be certain that every Gold’s Gym location will be well-maintained and clean.

Their EFT yearly membership plans cost $39.99/month and this gives you access to their 700+ locations. So, if the club near you doesn’t have a pool, you’ll be able to access another club nearby that does offer aquatic amenities.

Many locations only offer access to the sauna and steam room on certain memberships. If you want to use either of these facilities, you’ll need to double-check the specifics of your membership with your club directly.

Unlike many of the best gyms with pools, Gold’s Gym is not open 24/7, but they are open between 4:30 am – 11 pm on weekdays, and between 7 am – 3 pm on weekends. You can use the aquatic facilities at any time during their opening hours. As well, they do not offer aqua classes.

Gold’s Gym offers childcare facilities so kids can be supervised while you swim. During peak hours, however, you may have to wait for a while to get your kids into the childcare area, as the facilities can get pretty busy.

Who Should Use the Gold’s Gym Pool?

Gold’s Gym is ideal if you enjoy taking a relaxing dip in the pool or sauna after your workout. Their facilities are basic but they’re good enough for the affordable membership prices.

Interested in learning more about Gold’s Gym, check out our complete Gold’s Gym Review.

8. Onelife Fitness

Onelife Fitness offers a premium gym experience with an extensive array of amenities, including pools, saunas, hydro-massage, and even whirlpools in some locations.

Although Onelife Fitness doesn’t have as many locations as some of their competitors, they provide well-maintained equipment and pool facilities, including saltwater pools and saunas.

Both their basic and premier memberships give you access to the full-sized pools and/or saunas if your location has these amenities. They offer aqua classes on most days of the week, including Aqua Fitness and Aqua Circuit. These classes are usually included in your memberships and are suitable for adults, teens, and children.

Onelife Fitness also offers swimming lessons and programs to help children and adults of any age or ability learn how to swim in a fun and challenging way. They are not open 24/7, but their pools and saunas are available to use from around 5 am until 10 pm.

Who Should Use the Onelife Fitness Pool?

Onelife Fitness pools and saunas are perfect for those of you who enjoy keeping fit through group aqua classes with other gym members. They’re also great if you want to get your teens and young children involved in the fun!

Interested in learning more about Onelife Fitness, check out our complete Onelife Fitness Review.

9. 24 Hour Fitness

24 Hour Fitness offers one of the most affordable gym membership plans that include access to their pools, saunas, and group classes.

The 24 Hour Fitness membership plans vary depending on the specific location, but you can expect to pay around $56.99/month for a monthly plan or $51.99 for a 12-month contract.

These memberships include access to the aquatic facilities. You can access the pool at any time during their opening hours, but the saunas are usually time-restricted. Most of the 24 Hour Fitness locations are open 24/7, but a few locations follow blue laws, so are partially closed on Sundays. Blue laws are legal rules that prohibit certain leisure activities on a Sunday, such as shopping or using the gym.

They have a variety of pool classes, including Aqua Zumba and Aqua Bootcamp and most locations offer these classes as part of your membership with no additional fees.

Some of the 24 Hour Fitness don’t have the best reputations. Many clubs have had complaints in the past about there being mold in the sauna and shower facilities. However, most clubs are kept pretty clean. To be sure if your facility is clean or not, make sure to drop in before purchasing a membership.

Who Should Use the 24 Hour Fitness Pool?

The 24 Hour Fitness pool facilities aren’t going to be the cleanest you’ll ever use, but they are suitable if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option. Since they offer a couple of pool classes, 24 Hour Fitness might be ideal if you want to work out in a group setting.

Interested in learning more about 24 Hour Fitness, check out our complete 24 Hour Fitness Review.

10. Crunch Fitness

Crunch Fitness is last on the list of the best gyms with pools because only their larger, Signature clubs have a pool or sauna. Most locations do not offer a pool, sauna, or steam room.

Most Crunch Fitness locations don’t have a pool, sauna, or steam room, but if you live near a Signature club, you’ll probably find an indoor or outdoor pool. They don’t offer any aqua classes.

They offer a “base”, “peak”, and “peak results” membership plans, but only the “peak results” plan gives you access to the Signature clubs. However, even their most expensive plans are affordable, with the “peak results” memberships costing just $29.99/month plus taxes.

Who Should Use the Crunch Fitness Pool?

If you’re looking for a cheap and cheerful pool to use for casual swimming, Crunch Fitness will be an ideal option for you. However, you will need to find one of their Signature clubs to find a pool or sauna, and there are limited numbers of these clubs.

Interested in learning more about Crunch Fitness, check out our complete Crunch Fitness Review.

Gyms That Do Not Have Pools, Saunas, or Hot Tubs

The gyms in America that don’t offer pools, saunas, or hot tubs are:

• Anytime Fitness
• Planet Fitness
• Youfit
• Snap Fitness

Anytime Fitness

Anytime Fitness doesn’t have any pool or sauna facilities. However, they do offer a range of other membership benefitsthat you might enjoy.

Every location offers a range of fitness classes, including Zumba, boot camp, and Pilates. You can get a month-to-month contract that can be canceled at any time or transferred to another member. Some of the Anytime Fitness gyms have massage chairs, red light therapy, and tanning beds available.

Anytime Fitness is known for its friendly and inviting atmosphere. Each location holds regular challenges and social events throughout the year for its members, which gives you a chance to meet other like-minded individuals.

Interested in learning more about Anytime Fitness, check out our complete Anytime Fitness Review.

Planet Fitness

Although Planet Fitness doesn’t offer swimming pools, saunas, or steam rooms, they are known for offering a vast array of cardio machines. They are a suitable option for anybody, from beginners to keen gym-goers to bodybuilders.

Anytime Fitness offers some of the most affordable gym memberships in the whole country. They offer a Black Card membership option that enables you to use their massage chairs and tanning beds whenever you like. There is also a free trial so you can try the gym out before you commit to an annual membership.

Interested in learning more about Planet Fitness, check out our complete Planet Fitness Review.

Youfit

Although Youfit does not have pools, saunas, or steam rooms, they are still a great gym franchise with a variety of other amenities that are offered as part of your membership.

Youfit has a decent amount of cardio and strength equipment. They have everything you’re going to need to get a great workout done and their memberships are affordable. They also offer group classes and one-on-one personal training sessions if you’re looking for some extra guidance with your workouts.

Interested in learning more about Youfit, check out our complete Youfit Review.

Snap Fitness

Snap Fitness does not offer pools, saunas, or steam rooms. However, they have affordable memberships with no hidden fees and they are well-known for being extremely welcoming to everybody.

Snap Fitness is open 24/7 and is known for their friendly, welcoming environment. Although they offer fewer amenities than their competitors, most gyms have basic strength and cardio equipment. It’s a great option if you’re not really serious about working out and you want to avoid being surrounded by pro athletes and bodybuilders.

Interested in learning more about Snap Fitness, check out our complete Snap Fitness Review.

Is Access To The Pool Included In The Gym Membership?

The following gyms state that they offer pool access as part of one or more of their gym membership plans:

• GoodLife Fitness
• YMCA
• Life Time Fitness
• Gold’s Gym
• Onelife Fitness
• 24 Hour Fitness
• Crunch Fitness

You might need to pay additional fees to use the aquatic facilities in these gyms:

• LA Fitness
• Crunch Fitness

Pool, Sauna, & Hot Tub Rules At Most Gyms

The rules are similar amongst most of the best gyms with pools. Some gyms may be stricter than others, but the general rules follow basic gym etiquette.

It’s probably worth taking a look at each gym’s unique set of rules and regulations or going into your local facility and asking the staff directly. The gyms that offer childcare services and kids pools will likely have stricter rules for obvious reasons.

Here are some general rules to expect when you head to a gym with pool facilities:

• If you’re unwell, you should not use the aquatic facilities.

• You should wash your hands when entering the facility, or before using the pool or sauna.

• Clean up after yourself and don’t leave used tissues lying around.

• Don’t run in wet areas to avoid slips and falls.

• Get changed only in the allocated locker room facilities.

• Depending on the local or state rules, some gyms might require you to wear a mask when you’re not using the pool, sauna, or steam room.

How Clean Are Gym Pools, Saunas, or Hot Tubs?

Every one of the gyms listed above that offer pools, saunas, or steam rooms is kept in decent condition. Although some franchises have better reputations than others, all of them offer clean and well-maintained pool facilities.

If you’re looking for a prestigious gym that is known for the cleanliness of its pool and sauna areas, take a look at YMCA, Equinox, Life Time Fitness, and 24-Hour Fitness.

Other Gym Membership Resources

• 7 Best Gyms With Basketball Courts (Cost & What To Expect)
• 12 Best Gyms With Childcare (What To Expect, Rules, Cost)
• 11 Best Gyms With Classes (What’s Included, Schedule, & Types)
• 5 Best Gyms For College Students (With Student Discounts)
• 8 Best Gyms With Tanning (What’s Expected, Cost, How To Use)
• 9 Best Gyms With Trainers (And, How Not To Get Ripped Off)
• 18 Best Gyms With Showers (Cleanliness & What’s Included)
• Best Gyms for Beginners: My Top Picks + 7 Things to Consider
• 5 Best Gyms for Seniors (Plus, Are Gyms Free for Seniors?)
• 7 Gyms That Allow Kids & Teens (Polices & Prices Explained)

About The Author

Athina is a Biochemistry and Genetics graduate, and a qualified personal trainer with a passion for women’s health and fitness. She is passionate about helping women to learn more about the importance of the menstrual cycle and how to balance their hormones. She is the host and producer of Fertility and Freedom podcast, which covers all things women’s health and hormones.