Who we are.

Makahiya is a luxury health and fitness hotel in Sri Lanka, South Asia. Perched between palm trees and paddy fields, our active getaway has everything you need for the ultimate bootcamp holiday – including a first-class gym and infinity pool. We believe in good grub, great people and genuine encouragement. So come climb our hill in Unawatuna to meet, eat and sweat with a like-minded community we call the Makahiya Massive.

Meet the team.

JAMES JONES

@just.ask.jimmy

Man lifting two bags in a gym or fitness area with plants in the background.

Co-founder. Trainer. Dad.

James started his fitness career as a PE teacher in the UK. Several years and a few dodgy haircuts later, Mr Jones still loves leading classes and doling out detentions – although the conditions in Sri Lanka are a far cry from the frozen rugby pitches he formerly frequented. Easily distracted by building supplies, big dinners and bad jokes, he remains a sucker for team sports – especially ones where he gets to grab other sweaty men.

Favourite food: Literally anything. Food is fuel and James will gobble it all in search of protein.

Favourite exercise: Deadlifts. Every. Time.

LIZZIE CHITTY

@lizziechitty

A woman in workout clothes and sneakers pulling heavy battle ropes during a workout at a gym or fitness center.

Co-founder. Trainer. Mum.

Lizzie’s been a fitness fan since her days as an inbox-filler in the Big Smoke. Between spin classes and spinning plates, James got her hooked on weights. Bitten by the lifting bug, she swapped the London bustle for building muscle: Lizzie trained as a PT in 2017 and she’s been pressing ever since. With baby Dusty now a part of her training repertoire, Lizzie’s also launched Team Bump – a workout platform for mums to be.

Favourite food: Fish & chips. You can take the girl out of England, but she’ll still crave a battered haddock.

Favourite exercise: Squats. It’s a love/hate kinda thing, but those buns won’t tone themselves.

Build a gym in Sri Lanka, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Actually, most people said we were mad. What started as a holiday to somewhere new soon became plans to build something bigger. But not too much bigger: we left the UK in 2016 to launch a little guest house. You know, something cosy by the beach? Fast-forward a few years and we were halfway up a tropical hill, sweating buckets while we unloaded custom gym equipment into a former quarry.

We know, we know. We’ve seen Grand Designs. And we know Kevin McCloud would judge us for jumping in at the deep end. But with a site on our hands and a wobbly pencil sketch in our heads, Makahiya was in the making.

To keep our training brains busy during the build, we began bootcamp classes on nearby Unawatuna beach. Which got us thinking: why hire a site crew when there’s a ready source of strength standing right here on the sand? So with the promise that one day they’d be training at the island’s ultimate active retreat, we convinced a few hardy fitness fans to haul floor tiles, cement sacks and all sorts up the slope.

The Makahiya Story.

Having tempted them with talk of “functional carries”, these committed lifters became the inaugural members of the Makahiya Massive. And our crew’s grown substantially since: Dusty – our baby bruiser and chalkboard assistant – joined the team in 2020.

We’ve gained more than members and muscles along the way. Officially trained as PTs, the construction process has given us a further education in Sri Lankan site safety (flip flops are standard issue), how to stay hydrated (king coconuts, of course) and the best way to integrate a street dog into your crew. Billy might be gruff, but this was his turf long before we got here.

Through hardships and lockdowns, we adapted to survive. Fuelled by a desire to make Makahiya happen, we got by with the help of friends, family and French press coffee. And here we are today: in full swing, hosting guests from far and wide, helping like-minded movers and sweaters to reach their goals in workout paradise. Sure, we still have power cuts. And sure, our hill is just as steep. But if our story has shown us anything, it’s that with guts, determination and the right attitude, anyone can make the climb. Preferably while carrying building supplies.

@makahiyafitness

We don’t do fitness #forthegram, but it’s where our worldwide crew connects. Follow for class calendars, menu specials and regular mugshots of the Makahiya Massive.