Summertime calls for ease (apparently), but the sunny social season isn’t free of demands and a frenetic pace that feels like the livin’ is less than easy. It’s tempting to skip a workout (no shame) and even harder to treat yourself to something other than the large cup of Joe that enables you to power through it all.
But in the Hamptons, there are numerous ways to give your body TLC, whether it’s a sweat session, healing massage or yoga class that feeds the mind, body and soul. These spas and fitness studios — and, spoiler alert, some offer services you’d expect at both — allow everyone from locals to summer vacationers the chance to slow down (even when the workout is fast). Take time for yourself and stay well all summer long at these Hamptons fitness studios and spas.
Lifted Wellness Studio
65 Montauk Highway, East Hampton
Fitness influencer and former Nike master trainer Holly Rilinger used mental and physical strength throughout her basketball career (she made the WNBA despite being 5’4). She’s since applied that to her method at Lifted, which she’s bringing to East Hampton seven days per week through mid-October. Her strength, HIIT, metabolic conditioning and yoga-based mobility classes integrate meditation. Marissa Ivana, who Hamptons’ fitness enthusiasts will remember from her tenure as wellness director and master trainer at Topping Rose House, has been tapped to teach barre, dance and pilates. Or, lean more heavily into mindfulness as longtime NYC yoga instructor and Reiki practitioner Jennifer Ford teaches restorative yoga classes. And if you want to kill two birds, check out the “Reps and Rosé” class on Thursday, which is exactly what it sounds like — a hybrid of fitness classes and happy hour.
Wave Wellness
34 Bay Street, Suite #203, Sag Harbor
Business and life partners Stephanie Esposito and Lisa Zaloga opened Wave this spring with a focus on hands-on treatments that are akin to hitting a reset button on the body. The goal? Progress and healing, not perfection. Think Swedish-lymphatic massages designed to soothe muscles and encourage fluid movement within the lymph system. CryoToning and CryoFacials use cold temperatures to firm skin and reduce signs of aging. Private yoga sessions, breathwork and Reiki turn the focus inward.
Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa
An oceanfront resort and spa with sweeping views of the Atlantic, Gurney’s has become a destination at The End for people needing a refresh. The sprawling seawater spa taps into its seafaring surroundings, using marine-based ingredients for facials that give skin a sun-kissed glow. Couples can indulge in a romance retreat massage that includes bubbly and chocolate. Wellness classes, a fitness center and tennis courts open the door for physical activity if you fancy.
Elements Barre Fit
68 Newtown Lane, Suite 6, East Hampton
Andrea Fornarola helped usher in the barre craze in East Hampton when she opened this bright, airy studio with a wall full of windows in the spring of 2015. Known for answering her own emails, Fornarola’s personable approach created a welcoming atmosphere that has made a membership with Elements a summertime staple for her longtime customers. Barre isn’t one-size-fits-all, and the class offerings match that. Barre/stretch classes are ideal for recovery, and high-energy barre/sweat ones with non-stop cardio are designed to build endurance and strength. Barre/toned fuses pilates and barre-dance mixes in choreography that’s so fun you won’t notice the burn until the next day.
Activated Wellness
13 Grand Ave, Shelter Island Heights
Sag Harbor-born Amber Pagano opened Activated Wellness this spring, a ferry ride from her hometown. Now a massage therapist and functional strength coach, she infuses her knowledge of fitness and recovery with a uniquely holistic approach to movement. Services include in-studio and at-home personal training, small-group (five-person) classes that blend weight training and breathwork and therapeutic sports massages to speed up recovery.
Shelter Island Pilates & Barre
8 Grand Avenue and 57 North Ferry Road, Shelter Island
A former professional dancer and breast-cancer survivor, founder and owner Suzette Smith understands stress on the body, both physical, emotional and societal. At her studio, she strives to provide a place that takes the entire body into consideration, helping her clients to both feel good physically and emotionally about their bodies. Since 2004, her duo of studios (one focused on pilates, the other on barre) have helped countless locals and visitors to the island find a restorative routine to feeling and looking fit.
DanceBody Hamptons
2357 Montauk Hwy., Bridgehampton
That meme about dancing like no one’s watching? It might as well have originated here. The high-energy classes at DanceBody’s Bridgehampton outpost are designed to keep fitness fun. Classes are full of energy and accessible for all levels and body types — something the instructors hang their hats — er, leggings — on. Classes combine strength and cardio, and some slow things down to focus on stability. A hip-hop hits class is all about the beats.
Montauk Salt Cave
Montauk Salt Cave opened in 2015 and instantly became a hit for its Himalayan salt rocks imported from Pakistan, leaving people breathing deeper and easier. It was so popular that CEO and owner Shannon Coppola opened two more in Huntington and New York City. The inspiration came when Coppola’s son, Oliver, who was born with a chronic cough, had success nixing the issue at a salt cave after other remedies like nebulizers and steroids did not. The cave has a special room for kids with finely-ground salt that resembles the sandy beaches Montauk is lauded for, while the adult room has more traditional, coarse salt. Himalayan Meditation and Reiki sessions are available for small groups, individuals and special events.
Shou Sugi Ban House
This boutique wellness retreat and spa is a Hamptons hideaway tucked on a quiet backroad. The intimate resort boasts 13 villas designed for weekend escapes. The airy, minimalist cream color palate on everything from the linens to the complementary white slippers is immediately soothing. Zero-proofers rejoice: the resort doesn’t serve booze — it’s unnecessary when you’re next-level blissed out. Day visits are also available for people who can’t spend the night. Massages, bodywork and facials are among the many spa offerings.
Yoga Shanti
Founded by internationally-known yoga instructor Colleen Saidman Yee, Yoga Shanti is a sought-after studio for beginners and instructors looking to learn more and is a method in keeping with ancient yoga traditions that focus on mind-body connections adapted to contemporary times. Classes are uplifting and don’t ask you to “push past your limits,” as others might.
Body 5 Fitness
74 Old Riverhead Rd, Westhampton Beach
This spacious 6,000-square-foot studio leaves plenty of room to move. And the offerings, including personal training and nutrition counseling, leave room to grow for people at any stage of a fitness and wellness journey. Body Shok classes, a hit in NYC, have arrived at the Westhampton studio. Expect HIIT classes combining strength and resistance training, rowing, agility and cardio (including work on a treadmill and rowing machine) that will have you breaking a sweat quickly.
