Movara Fitness Resort

About Movara Fitness Resort

Located in Ivins, Utah, among sandstone and red rocks, Movara Fitness Resort offers an all-inclusive fitness and weight-loss featured program. Healthy eating, extensive hikes and fitness classes, and health and wellness lectures are the heart of Movara’s weight-loss program.

The week-long program begins and ends on Sundays, and many guests stay multiple weeks at a time. Movara is an adult fitness resort, but children over 13 may attend with a parent or guardian.

Accommodations

Movara has 40 guest rooms on-site, but guests may also choose to stay locally in Ivins or another nearby town. Guest rooms offer two queen beds, and guests can stay with up to four people per room. Movara offers separate rates for a non-shared or shared room; if you are traveling alone but wish to get the shared-room rate, Movara will pair you up with one other solo guest.

Rooms are simple-yet-modern. While not large, you will likely not be spending much time in the room if you adhere to Movara’s fitness program, which keeps guests busy for most of the day.

Room accommodations include:

• Two queen beds
• Two closets
• Flatscreen TV
• Free Wi-Fi
• Full bathroom and additional vanity
• Bath products by Bee-Kind

Resort accommodations include:

• Paid laundry room on-site (quarters available at the front desk)
• Full gym with cardio and weight machines
• Heated pool, whirlpool, and sauna
• Rec room with pool table
• Full spa and salon
• Plentiful free parking on-site
• Not a pet-friendly resort

Fitness

Movara is a high-exercise fitness resort, with hikes and classes running from breakfast to dinner every day. All exercise classes and hikes are included in Movara’s fitness program.

Every weekday at Movara begins with a multiple-hour hike in and around Snow Canyon State Park. These hikes vary in difficulty and intensity, and hiking guides will slot guests in the appropriate group for their abilities and fitness goals. In the warmer months, kayaking is offered as an alternative to the morning hike.

Participating in Movara’s structured fitness program means 3-5 exercise classes per day in addition to the morning hiking, and each week’s program may include some of the following options:

• Cardio classes
• Boot-camp-style classes
• Strength classes
• PowerCore workouts
• Zumba dance
• Hip-hop dance
• Barre classes
• Pool classes

As a break from the workouts, Movara also offers several daily stretch, meditation, or yoga classes, which are recommended to help open or close the workout day. Movara guests have complimented the fitness and hiking staff, but some return guests have expressed disappointment with staff turnover and missing their favorite trainer or hiking guide from a previous stay.

This fitness resort does provide more intense exercise than other FitStays around the country, but the trainers will work with you to modify your program based on your abilities and fitness level.

Food

Healthy food is included in the program and part of the all-inclusive fee. Three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are served in addition to snacks.

The calories for the program range from 1,200-1,400, and guests can supplement with extra healthy snacks as needed. Food includes everything from healthy pizza to salads and soups.

Breakfast is served with your choice of roughly eight different options, from granola with almond milk and berries to eggs, turkey bacon, and toast. Lunch always starts with a soup, and dinner is served with a dessert.

Food is all served individually plated and served in a group dining room with other guests.  If you are feeling non-social, you can ask for your meal to be delivered to your room or boxed for you to take and eat when and where you please.

Extra protein, calories, allergies, vegetarian and veganism, and a wide-variety other dietary issues can all be accommodated during your stay.

Extras

Lectures on healthy habits and mindsets and a variety of other weight-loss issues, along with cooking classes, are also provided by the staff and are part of Movara’s program. Guests have commented positively about the classes and lectures to supplement the exercise and nutrition.

This resort offers spa services for an additional cost, including a variety of massage and salon services. For a small additional fee, guests can also do a Saturday hike in Zion National Park, located 1.25 hours from Movara’s campus, or can partake in additional personal training or other more personalized exercise classes.

Location

Movara Fitness Resort is located in Ivins, Utah about 20 minutes from St. George. The resort itself is on Utah’s Old Highway 91 on the southwest edge of Ivins. Movara is adjacent to Wittwer Canyon and the Santa Clara River, featuring hiking and biking trails right out the back door.

Movara is just a few miles away from Snow Canyon State Park. For more intense hikes, Zion National park is 1.25 hours away, and Bryce Canyon National Park is 2.5 hours away.

Guests flying into Movara typically arrive in Las Vegas and take a 2-hour shuttle or rental car ride, or fly directly into the St. George Airport and taxi or Uber to the resort.

Pricing

Movara offers the following weekly prices for a one-week stay:

• $2,295 per-person for a two-person shared room
• $2,995 for a single-occupancy room for a week

Longer stays receive additional discounts, and frequent guests can receive special loyalty rates after enough weeks at Movara.

Summary

Movara has many return guests, who cite the staff, food, hiking, and fitness classes as their reasons for coming back to the resort. This is a more exercise-focused weight-loss experience than many other FitStays, and comes at a more affordable price than many other options in this category.