Dubrovnik Hotels With Tennis Courts and Serious Fitness, Ranked
Tennis court at a Dubrovnik hotel
Eight hotels for active travellers — courts, running routes, and gyms that go beyond a treadmill in a broom cupboard.
What active travellers get in Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a peculiar city for a fitness holiday. The Old Town is stepped and unrunnable, the coastal roads are narrow with fast traffic and no verges, and there is no lap pool anywhere in the city. What Dubrovnik does have: excellent open-water swimming (May to October), the Srđ hill hike, a handful of hotel tennis programmes, and a couple of gyms that are genuinely serious. If exercise is part of your trip plan, hotel choice matters a lot — most hotels have small gyms designed for the wallwalk crowd, not the training-week traveller.
The tennis scene is smaller than you would expect for a coastal resort area. Three hotels have proper courts: Sun Gardens, Rixos Premium, and Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera. Court hire runs €25-40 per hour, with lessons €50-70 per hour with a pro. The season for tennis is April to October; July and August are hot enough that early morning (07:00-10:00) and evening (17:00-20:00) are the only comfortable slots. Book courts at check-in — the good slots go quickly.
1. Sun Gardens Dubrovnik — the tennis hotel
Sun Gardens has five clay courts and two hard courts, with a dedicated tennis coach and a proper coaching programme. From €280 room rate. Court hire is €30 per hour, lessons €60. The courts are floodlit and playable in the evenings, which matters in summer. The programme runs a weekly round-robin tournament for guests, junior clinics, and adult group lessons at 10:00 and 17:00 daily. This is the closest thing Dubrovnik has to a tennis resort in the Iberian sense.
The gym is also the best on this list: 300 square metres, Technogym equipment, free weights up to 40kg dumbbells, cable machines, and enough space to actually train rather than queue. A group fitness studio runs yoga, HIIT and pilates classes daily. The catch is location: 15 kilometres from the Old Town, meaning your holiday centres on the resort. If tennis and gym time are the primary trip goal, this is the correct booking.
2. Rixos Premium Dubrovnik — the runner-up
Rixos Premium has two clay courts and one hard court, with lessons available (€65 per hour) and equipment rental. From €240. Courts are floodlit and well-maintained but book out quickly in season. Fewer tennis-focused amenities than Sun Gardens — no junior programme, no daily group lessons — but the court quality is comparable. Good option if you want tennis plus city access (fifteen-minute taxi to the Old Town).
The gym is very good — 200 square metres, Technogym equipment, some free weights (dumbbells to 30kg, one squat rack), and a functional training area. Not as extensive as Sun Gardens but better than any other city-side hotel. Group classes are limited to two per day. The indoor pool is 20 metres, which is short for lap swimming but usable. Runner tip: the Lapad promenade (2.5km flat pedestrian loop) is the best morning running route in the city; the Rixos is 500 metres from it.
3. Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera — the value tennis
Sheraton Riviera has two hard courts (€25/hour) and a coach available for lessons (€50). From €200. The tennis programme is minimal — no group clinics — but the courts themselves are decent. Best for guests who want to play a couple of matches during a beach holiday rather than serious training. The location in Srebreno gives you a flat coastal path for running (about 4km each way to Cavtat) which is the most usable running route on the coast.
The gym is mid-sized (150 square metres) with Technogym equipment and dumbbells to 25kg. Adequate for maintenance training, not for serious lifting. The hammam and spa are the best on this list, which matters if training is part of a broader wellness week. Value-wise, Sheraton Riviera is the best-priced hotel where you can genuinely play tennis, use a real gym, and get a proper spa in the same property.
4. Excelsior — the runner's hotel
The Excelsior has no tennis courts but is included here because it has the best runner's location in central Dubrovnik. From €420. The hotel sits at the base of the Sveti Jakov trail, a steep 40-minute climb to a viewpoint overlooking the Old Town — hard interval training if you want it, or a scenic tempo run. The road east from the hotel toward Ploče is quiet in the morning and gives you a 5km loop back through Ploče Gate.
The gym is small (100 square metres) but well-equipped for a hotel of this class: Technogym cardio, dumbbells to 22kg, cable stack. The pool is small (18m) and not for laps. Best combined with the Sveti Jakov hike and open-water swimming off the hotel's private jetty from May onward. If you want a training week that focuses on running, hiking and swimming rather than tennis and lifting, this is a good base. Not the pick for a barbell-focused week.
5. Villa Dubrovnik — swim and hike
Villa Dubrovnik has no tennis and a small gym (60 square metres) with basic Technogym cardio and dumbbells to 15kg. From €600. The reason it makes this list is the open-water swimming from the private jetty is exceptional — deep, clear, and quiet enough for real swim sessions rather than splash-around swimming. From May to October you can put in a proper 40-minute swim before breakfast without interruption. The Sveti Jakov trail passes above the hotel.
This is the wrong hotel for a training holiday but the right hotel for a wellness holiday that includes some exercise. If your fitness goal is a daily 2km swim in warm open water plus a hike, this is a good base and the setting compensates for the tiny gym. The catch is the price — you are not paying for the fitness, you are paying for everything else. Consider this hotel only if the other Villa Dubrovnik features (setting, service, food) justify the rate.
6-7. Valamar Lacroma and Valamar Collection President
Valamar Lacroma has a decent hotel gym (150 square metres) and no tennis courts, but its location on Babin Kuk gives access to the peninsula's paths and coastal roads for running. From €190. The gym has Technogym cardio, cable machines, and dumbbells to 25kg. Group fitness classes daily (yoga, pilates, HIIT). Solid mid-range option for maintenance training during a family holiday.
Valamar Collection President is the more upscale sister property with a slightly better gym and adults-only wing. From €290. Same equipment level but quieter. Neither hotel has tennis but both are within 300 metres of the Babin Kuk tennis club, where courts can be hired hourly (€20/hour) even by non-members. This is the cheapest way to play tennis in Dubrovnik if you are prepared to walk to a club rather than expect an on-property court.
8. Grand Villa Argentina — the outlier
Grand Villa Argentina has no tennis and a small gym, but is included for the runners because it sits at the eastern edge of the Old Town with quick access to the Ploče Gate coastal road. From €400. The road east through Ploče toward Kono is quiet in the morning, gently rolling, and about 4km each way with cliff views — probably the best run in central Dubrovnik once you go past the immediate hotel cluster. The private beach is small but usable for cool-down swims.
The gym is 80 square metres with Technogym cardio, some dumbbells (to 22kg), and one cable machine. Adequate for maintenance, not training. The reason to book Argentina is location and views rather than fitness facilities. If your fitness routine is a morning run plus a swim plus stretching, this works. If you need racks and platforms, book Sun Gardens or Rixos instead. Skip if you actually care about tennis — even the closest club is 25 minutes away.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Ploče.
The Lapad promenade (2.5km flat pedestrian loop), the coastal road east from Ploče toward Kono, the Cavtat-to-Srebreno seafront path (8km round trip), and the Sveti Jakov trail (steep). Avoid running on the roads outside Pile or the main coastal highway — narrow, no verge, fast traffic. Early morning is essential in summer.
Yes — the Babin Kuk tennis club rents courts hourly to non-members at €20-25 per hour. Book by phone or through your hotel concierge. There are also public courts in Lapad but they are basic. The resort courts at Sun Gardens and Rixos are only bookable if you are staying at the property.
There is no dedicated 25m or 50m pool in Dubrovnik. Rixos has a 20m indoor pool that works for short lap swimming. The best option is open water: from May to October the sea off Villa Dubrovnik, Excelsior's jetty, Banje beach and the Lapad platforms is warm enough and calm enough for real swim training. Bring goggles and a swim buoy.
