If your idea of a vacation is lounging by a pool doing absolutely nothing, then Playitas might not be for you. As the most well-equipped sports resort on the Canarian island of Fuerteventura, it caters best for those who like to keep active.

Somehow, though, it seems to accommodate a wide spectrum of guests, from those who simply want to enjoy some downtime to serious athletes who use the resort as a training base. For most, it’s a place you come to get better — at swimming, cycling, running, golf, or simply at looking after yourself.

The welcome

This was our second visit to Playitas and so we knew that our flight would be landing too late for us make it to the resort’s restaurants, despite it being just a 30-minute transfer from the airport. Having communicated this in advance, the Playitas team kindly arranged for cold plates from the buffet to be waiting for us on arrival. The welcome was quietly efficient: someone directed us to the food that had been set aside, and the check-in formalities were completed after we’d eaten.

The room

Just as we did last visit, we stayed in the aparthotel section of Playitas in a studio apartment — the kind of family-friendly layout the resort specialises in. The studios are open-plan with a kitchenette and sofa-bed so the lounge doubles as a second bedroom when needed – practical, airy and unpretentious.

Our studio also had its own balcony with a sea view, and a sensibly-equipped kitchenette (microwave, hob and basic utensils) so you can rustle up a snack if the need ever grabs you.

The bathroom

There’s a sliding door to the bathroom and a powerful walk-in shower that does exactly what you want it to after a hard training session: hot, quick and efficient. Towels are generous and the toiletries are straightforward and sports-friendly — enough to feel cleanly looked after without being fussy. Practical layout and decent water pressure make it one of those hotel bathrooms that quietly earns your affection.

The facilities

Where do you start? Playitas is deliberately comprehensive — a small sporting town rather than a simple hotel.

The headline facility is the 50m eight-lane Olympic pool with starting blocks, an underground viewing gallery for technique work and all the training paraphernalia you’d expect (pull-buoys, paddles, fins). It’s a genuine training pool and is used for camps and competitions year round.

Around it sit other pools for leisure and recovery, and a packed exercise timetable that ranges from sun-salutation and mobility classes in the morning to strength, WOD and aqua-aerobics sessions later in the day.

Group classes are often free as part of the resort programme; specialist sessions and certain coached clinics carry a modest fee (for example, small technique groups and specialist workshops are typically priced from around €5 per session).

If you prefer to train solo you can hire lanes or sign up to coached swim squads, and there’s a Sports Booking desk for private coaching and physiotherapy appointments. For runners there is a tidy menu of mapped routes (from short loops to longer outings up to 23 km).

The weekly Lighthouse Race — a much-loved Playitas classic — is an out-and-back run to the Faro de La Entallada (roughly a 13–13.6 km round trip), a climb with a view that is both testing and wholly scenic. I looked forward to that mid-week fixture more than I expected; it gives the resort a little local flavour and a chance to measure progress against previous visits.

Cycling is catered for lavishly: the on-site Cycle Centre runs a fleet of over 250 bikes (road, gravel, e-bikes and mountain bikes), with mechanics, guided rides and route advice — a serious operation for keen cyclists.

The golf course is an 18-hole par-67 routed around volcanic contours; courts, padel, a climbing wall, and multiple outdoor sport zones mean there’s almost always something in motion.

The gym is a large, well-zoned 700m² space with cardio, a free-weight area and a functional training rig. For recovery there’s a spa and a physiotherapy/sports-massage service (my wife and son both booked sports massages; the therapists are experienced with athletic injuries and regeneration work).

There’s also an on-site sports shop and a useful sports-booking desk that makes organising classes, bike hire and physio straightforward. Plus plenty of social sporting events in the timetable that are self-run by guests.

In short: the kit list is deep and genuinely useful if you’re training or simply topping up fitness on holiday. And even if you don’t wish to partake in the many facilities on offer, that’s OK too, which means Playitas is also great for mixed groups and multi-generational trips where maybe not everyone wants to break sweat on holiday.

As for catering, Playitas runs a buffet system that is so generous in its offering that it caters for those who are trying to diet alongside athletes who are keen to consume as many calories as they realistically can. Even the fussiest of diners should easily find plenty to suit them.

Plentiful salads, grilled fish and lean meats, carbs for refuelling, and a hot-counter offering comfort food for post-session hunger are all on offer. If you’re on a training block you won’t feel short-changed; if you’re there as a family, you’ll find something for everyone.

The location

Playitas sits in Las Playitas on Fuerteventura’s east coast, a purposefully quiet stretch of island where the resort is very much the point of arrival. The drive from Fuerteventura Airport is roughly 30–35 minutes (around 40 km by road), with a taxis or shuttle services both available at a modest cost. If you seek local bustle, you won’t find much beyond the fishing village and Gran Tarajal nearby — and that’s exactly the resort’s selling point: minimal distraction, maximal focus.

Other nice touches

Small domestic pleasures punctuate the purposeful nature of the resort. On arrival we found a chilled bottle of fizz and a box of macaroons in the apartment — possibly a media courtesy rather than standard, but a very welcome gesture.

Sustainability is also taken seriously very seriously at Playitas where biodiversity and recycling initiatives are carefully adhered to (including on-site beehives and insect hotels, an eco garden, and a Playitas Nature programme promoting reusable bottles and cotton merchandise), so your active holiday doesn’t have to feel wasteful.

The cost

Pricing varies by season, room type and whether you book packages (training weeks, half-board, or full board). Package operators and OTAs often show good deals: nightly room rates can appear from low-season prices equivalent to around €100–€150 for a basic studio, with higher sums in peak season or for packages that include training programmes and meals; week-long training packages and coached camps are priced higher and typically include sports bookings, coaching and sometimes meals.

The best bit

Freedom to focus. Playitas gives you permission to be selfish about your own wellbeing: long coached swim sets at dawn, a steady tempo run with dramatic volcanic views, a bike loop timed to the light, and then recovery — pool, spa, a slow lunch and sleep. For anyone who wants to train without compromise (or switch off with purpose), that combination is the resort’s quiet superpower.

The final verdict

Playitas is what it says on the tin: a sports resort that also happens to be a comfortable place for a family holiday. It’s focused, efficient and pleasantly undemonstrative — you pay for the facilities and the programme rather than for ostentation. For us, it has delivered on every promise on both of our visits, with sensible, well-equipped accommodation, a huge and genuinely usable menu of facilities (the app is great for keeping you abreast of what’s on) and helpful staff.

Best of all, the Lighthouse Race gave me that satisfying measure of personal progress — I knocked just over five minutes off my time from two years earlier, which is reason enough to return and see if I can shave off a little more. If your idea of luxury is time and space to train, recover and return home fitter — and perhaps a little humbler — Playitas is very hard to beat.

Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored by Playitas.

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Telegraph.