Vacationing doesn’t have to add junk to your trunk. Head to Hawaii for boot camp and get a beach bod without hitting the gym. Bonus: you’ll find your inner surf diva and muscles you didn’t even know you had.

Let’s face it: vacationing doesn’t exactly do your figure any favors. Sure, you might rush the gym pre-trip, squeezing in some extra cardio so you can squeeze into your skinny jeans, but once you hit paradise the gloves come off. Enter Surf and Bikini Boot Camp at the new Waikiki EDITION in O’ahu, a four-day calorie torcher/healthy-eating escape that tricks you into getting in shape.
If boot camp brings to mind Spartan barracks lacking amenities, scratch that thought. You are at an Ian Schrager-designed hotel, after all. Famed from his Studio 54 days, the visionary has paired up with Marriott to create the EDITION, the first in the friendly yet fabulous brand.
Ever so slightly removed from the regular Joes at the beach, the Hawaiian hot spot has the feel of an exclusive oasis, like you’re in the VIP section behind the velvet ropes. The tree-dotted pool deck is outfitted with white umbrellas, white loungers and plush white day beds where the see-and-be-seen vibe pulsates with chill-out music. Any minute a sunglass-clad celeb could come striding by (psst: Christina Aguilera has crashed in the brag-worthy penthouse. It goes for $10,000 a night.) The white wonderland continues through the lobby, past the artsy arrangement of surfboards by artist Herbie Fletcher, and through the 353 rooms. The custom down bed, 46-inch flat-screen TV and glass-enclosed shower make you wonder if you really are in fact in boot camp.
Just like the runways reinvented the military look, the EDITION has elevated exercise. Designed by world-champion surfer Daize Goodwin and celeb nutritionist Corey Coopersmith, this is fitness gone chic.
So what are you signing up for, exactly? The five-second version is this: Day 1: yoga, hike, surf, spa. Day 2: cardio, paddleboard, yoga. Day 3: core, hike, surf, spa. Day 4: kayak, yoga, exhale. Sounds exhausting, but the once-a-month camp—which caps at 16 participants to keep it intimate—has a sneaky way of whipping you into shape. In keeping with the fresh and fabulous feel, a team of pros puts you through the paces. There’s yoga teacher Sarah Reese who traded in her dance shoes for downward dog. She has a keen eye and an even better ability to tell you how to tweak a posture for max results.
Next up is Evan Valiere, surfer extraordinaire and swell of a guy. Raised in Hawaii and surfing since diapers, out on the waves he’ll almost make you forget that your arms are exhausted from all that paddling.
The third threat is Sonja Lyth, a pint-size fireball whose smile is so infectious that you’ll forgive her—perhaps even thank her—for making your obliques and booty burn. Rounding out the team are a handful of in-the-know outdoor enthusiasts raised on the Island anxious to share secret spots and local lingo.

 

Enthusiastic instructors plus picturesque outings take the work out of workout. Take hiking. Putting one foot in front of the other could be considered monotonous, but in the hands of local guides, who narrate the trip with interesting tidbits, you won’t even realize your glutes are screaming. The lush jungle setting and panoramic views don’t hurt either. And then you reach a waterfall and muscle complaints are quickly swept aside so you can submerge yourself into the pristine water.
The same goes for water sports. It’s tough to feel like you’re exerting yourself when you’re paddelboarding in turquoise waters or kayaking to a secluded beach for an alfresco lunch. But the pièce de résistance has to be surfing. Burning calories is just a bonus to the rush you’ll get riding the waves.
A good-for-you menu is also part of the regimen, but don’t confuse healthy with sparse. You’ll quickly learn that food doesn’t have to be soaked in sauce, drenched in salt or swimming in butter to taste good. When you let food’s natural flavor shine, you can eat a whole lot more. We’re talking grilled salmon, sweet potato, kale, steel-cut oats and, of course, pineapple, mango and papaya. Noshing next to a waterfall or having it delivered to your room during downtime only adds to the decadence.
Speaking of decadence, lest not forget the spa. Two strategically timed treatments selected from a scintillating menu of ahhh-inducing massages and body scrubs instantly erase muscle complaints. The therapists have a magician’s ability to make kinks and knots disappear with a wave of their fingers.
It’s not until the plane ride home, when you finally have a chance to come down off your Hawaiian high, that you realize your muscles are so-ore (in a good way). You’ll also be leaving more enlightened thanks to your laundry list of lessons learned, namely: yoga feels good, exercise is fun, eating healthy doesn’t mean starving and, with a few days to focus just on you, you can accomplish a heck of a lot more than a lighter, leaner physique. Not bad for a four-day, all-inclusive holiday.

TO LEARN MORE
Waikiki EDITION www.editionhotels.com.
Total cost of the program is $775 (single occupancy) per day and includes an upgrade to an ocean-view room, meals, spa treatments and all activities.