I joined fitness first as the Gym group was too far away. Was expecting a much improved offering as it’s over double the price but have been consistently disappointed. The gym area is mostly single use machines, they do have 4 squat racks now but not an effective use of space such as a beaver fit. Lots of the machines are old/second hand and take up lots of space. Changing rooms are in a very poor state with lots of broke. Doors, dirty lockers and a large portion are kept permanently so you can’t use them. Management are aware and don’t seem to do anything about it. Picture taken at closing time on Sunday when everyone has left. Showers are in a poor state with several boiler outages this year meaning no hot water. Toilet facilities are quite dirty and today the toilet is leaking so to mop up the water staff have used the towels provided to guests. While I’m sure they wash them that is pretty disgusting.
I gotta this 5 stars today cleanliness was immaculate today. Not my home gym so not usually here. Sauna and steam room in great working order unlike at the Balham branch! Pool was sparkling clean aswell. Yeah the changing rooms are definitely dated but made up for it with the cleanliness. Oh and that dryer thing for the swimming shorts in tip top working order.
It's a decent gym most of the times, but since it got very warm outside, the AC doesn't work and it still hasn't been fixed. It's very suffocating inside and the big fan doesn't do much. What's more disappointing is that we don't get any communication regarding this issue. I've noticed that other people mentioned this in their reviews but the answers were generic without any ETA on fixing this. So far I tried to ignore the cleanliness issue but it's quite bad. In the last few times I've come to the gym, one toilet doesn't work, and the other 2 are too dirty to be used in the women's bathroom. The gym has potential and I would love to continue coming here but it's getting harder each time as it's clear that the management doesn't care about very basic stuff like AC, clean toilets (and clean showers and gym in general...) or functioning equipment. Other gyms like The Gym were brilliant at communicating with the clients about any issues and when they will be solved as well as at keeping th gym clean and sanitary. And at a much much much lower price.
I came to this gym as I was in the area and it’s in my tier membership. Unfortunately everything from cleanliness to professionalism were absent. I read the reviews on here before I came thinking that people were being a little dramatic but unfortunately all negative comments are indeed correct. Firstly, the class that I had booked in for ran about five minutes late. That’s fine, thankfully I wasn’t in a rush but unprofessional all the same. Secondly, during said class, the “trainer” (and I use this term loosely because he did not seem to have a clue about what he was doing) spent majority of the class trying to fix a 80 year old man’s form rather than actual teaching / pushing or motivating. Literally 30 minutes of the day and he didn’t seem bothered about teaching or anything. Also not a very welcoming or kind environment at the reception to walk into. Giving three stars was a bit generous.
Whilst all the negative comments are true, it is important to put it in perspective. On the whole this location is adequate and I have had a perfect workout every time I have attended. There are loads of amazing classes with motivated and committed instructors too. No it is not a perfect gym but in my 6 months of attendance, other than the blocked pipes in the mens changing rooms I would say the gym meets basic needs very well. Some effort is needed in applying the comments the members suggest and in keeping machines up to date and running. Personally I am pretty happy with the place.
