I've been going to this gym since it was cardinal fitness. Since it changed to charter fitness it's gradually gone downhill. If a machine breaks, it takes 6-8 weeks before it's fixed, walls are in need if patching and painting, lockers are dirty as well as sinks, and walls in the locker room. Staff are sometimes friendly but other times they just sit in the office on their cell phones. If it gets much nastier I think I'm going somewhere else. A shame since it's close to my house and reasonably priced. One year later and this place continually goes downhill. Again, the only reason I continue to go here is it's four blocks from my house. It's such a great location and could be such a nice gym with a little TLC. Obviously the owner doesn't give a shit. You can tell, it's nearly empty most of the time. Disgusting photos from the men's locker room and holes in the wall in the gym area read more

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Why so shabby, Charter Fitness Urbana? This month marks my tenth year of membership at this location. (When I joined, it was Cardinal Fitness.) I do like this gym for many reasons. The location is ideal. The staff is friendly. The clientele is generally friendly and low-key: all ages and degrees of fitness work out here. But I do think we deserve a bit more. Safe and operating (working) machines. Better, consistent maintenance on machines and building. Regularly replaced mats for stretching and floor work (I did not take a photo of the mats: of the few available, they are peely and punctured.) I will continue to subscribe to Charter Fitness Urbana for the time-being: as I mentioned, it's convenient and I suppose I am loathe to change (old dog and all that). But, honestly, I don't feel very appreciated and if they don't up their game, I will need to seek a cleaner, better maintenanced place to work out. read more

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Awful customer service. Went in twice to start the 5 day trial and they acted like they didn't want any more members. They were so rude; never offered to show us the gym and sent us away saying we missed the 5 day trial. 0 stars. read more

Im not sure why everyone is so negative about this gym! I have had nothing but great things happen since I joined! It is a cheap gym but they offered a good deal on 64 sessions of personal training and im so happy I decided to sign up!! My trainers name is Jensen and she's the best! Fun to train with and works me hard at the same time! Also.. They include team classes and its a great work out with a fun trainer! I definitely recommend joining this gym! read more

Charter Fitness - Proof that my trainer at this gym has helped me! - Gyms Near Me - Urbana, Illinois

We had a membership before, had no problem dropping our membership. This time we signed up used it from January to May. We new we had to pay for the whole year. We waited until Dec. that's when we dropped my $10.00 membership. Took my husbands down from $19.99, to $10.00. Due to Charters miss handling of our account, they kept charging us our old fee, plus the new fee. For a total of $ 39.99 on January 18th. Plus a additintional amount of $39.99 for his membership fee on February 6th. And again on 2/18 the three monthly charges of another total of $39.99. I called and explained the wrongful charges to Adam from the Galen Dr in Champaign location. He told me they had lost the paper work, but saw where my husband had come in and changed his membership.he said he would talk to his manager and try to get these fees retro back to me. On the 25th of February, I had two more charges come out of $39.99 each. So again on February 28th I called and spoke with Adam he said he would get the charges reversed. By this time I am really upset, they have taken $139.96 over the amount we agreeded upon. I told him I wanted all memberships dropped. He said he would get that done and he would do his best to make us happy. I called and spoke with ABC Financial, u of I Credit union. Had to cancel my debt cards. On March 3rd, Adam told my Husband he was sorry, the money would be back in our account by March 10th a Friday at the latest. Well that Friday went by, and here we are on March 15th, with no resolution! My husband Jeff is supposed to talk to Adam today. This is crazy! How on earth do you get a company to the right thing. No stars for you Charter Fitness, Cardinal Fitness, and ABC Financial. Let's get that money back you stole out of our account. $ 139.96. read more

I started at this gym in December of 2010 - at that time it was Cardinal fitness. After I joined I saw a lot of improvements to the location and equipment and was happy there at $20/month plus a $40 yearly fee. At this rate I was allowed to go to any location and bring in a guest. In April of 2012 the gym was purchased by Charter Fitness and things started going downhill. I finally ended my membership in May 2015. During this 4.5 year span I visited this gym 641 times (I keep a chart). I'm 6' 1", 220lb with visible abs, and can run a 5.5 minute mile, so I know a little bit about fitness and I've also visited many fitness facilities around the country. After Charter bought the place there was a huge increase in posters, banners, and ads all over the gym, and a complete dissolution of repair and upkeep efforts. Charter also advertised a lower $10/mo rate but I stuck with my $20/mo deal since I liked bringing in guests. In the 3+ years that Charter has owned the gym I've not seen any significant improvement or repair. There are several wall mirrors that were broken that were removed but never replaced. A broken water fountain was removed and never replaced (they just pushed a towel rack where it used to be). Simple things like shoulder pads for the squat rack are always busted and ignored. The ceiling near the locker rooms has been leaking almost a year now and the staff keep cycling out buckets. Worn out gym mat? Just toss it and don't replace it. I used to bring in lots of tenants (I own properties nearby) and friends as guests, and more than a dozen have become members. Strangers at the gym (even people who were using Charter's trainers) started asking for workout advice, but I remembered my contract disallowed training/instruction of any kind without written permission. I approached the managers one day and explained that I'd been bringing in a lot of new people and that people would frequently ask me how to do things and that I wanted to be able to instruct them without violating my contract terms. I was told very rudely and sternly that if I was seen instructing they would have to stop me and that I would never get permission to do so because it would be "taking money out of their trainer's pockets", even if I was doing it for free. I stopped bringing in guests and generally stopped helping other people at the gym. Twice during my membership there were promotions to get free months. I qualified twice but never got the months off my bill. Cheated $40. What finally made me cave was when I tried for the umpteenth time to switch down to the $10/mo rate. I'd been paying $20 for years after the $10 was advertised but since I stopped bringing in guests I started to inquire about switching to the base rate. Same story every time: "oh, if you switch now there'll be these fees but if you wait there might be a new promotion next month." Getting irritated I spoke to AGM Daniel Wiggs, and GM Jonathan Hinds telling them that I'd been a customer for almost 5 years and I just wanted to pay the same rate that's advertised on the sign, but got the same bullshit about how it was impossible to waive the fees etc... They wanted to keep the $20 monthly I'd just paid the day before, charge $40 to cancel, charge another $20 monthly plus the $40 yearly because you have to notify 30 days in advance and those were upcoming within the next 30 days, then charge $40 to rejoin, then $10 monthly. Did you follow that? $160+10 for an existing member to get the advertised rate. I argued with them for 10 minutes and was told numerous times that it wasn't even possible for them to change the fees because they don't have control of it and that I'd have to contact ABC Financial. Hinds was unprofessional and rude the entire time - I can't believe anyone who hire a guy like that to manage their gym. At one point he walked away from me in the middle of talking to check on some sports game on the tv. Finally he snakeishly asked, "if we got rid of the $40 cancellation fee would you sign a new contract today?" At this point I was furious because he'd clearly just lied to me over and over about not being able to alter the fees. I called him out on this and he tried to feed me more lies. I told them I was done with their gym, cancel my membership I'm not dealing you anymore, and left. Afraid of further charges, I simply canceled that credit card. A few months later I did go back as a guest and was turned away because I had a past-due account - $123.90 due. Apparently Hinds never processed my cancellation. Checked around - it seems difficult to find anyone who hasn't been through some billing hassle with Charter. Many simply ended up eating the cost of absurd fees. Since quitting Charter I've successfully steered several of my new tenants and friends away from the gym and will continue to do so until they change their tactics. If you're still considering joining, just figure in ~$100-200 in extra bullshit. read more

Definitely sign up here if you like scummy places to work out at. Lockers smell like ass constantly. Water fountain rarely is in working order and when it is it is warm water. I always thought it was odd until I met the GM. He would rather mouth off to customers then have a mature conversation. Was told false information by an employee on the phone and instead of apologizing he basically said I was lying. Over 19.95. Which clearly means the world to someone who can't keep a facility not "out of order". read more

Updating to a one-star review for a few reasons. 1) They've recently cut their weekday closing time from 11 PM to 9 PM. 2) Everything that I mentioned as being broken in my last review is still broken, as well as many more things (lightswitch cover plates, more mirrors, walls, shower rack, lockers). 3) Staff has become incredibly lazy and rude. Lazy because they spend the entire time I'm there sitting at the front desk playing on their cell phones or watching some sports game when the bathrooms are filthy, trash cans full, free weights section a mess, etc. Rude because they consistently turn off the music and televisions anywhere from 20-30 minutes early (even when someone is clearly watching the program) and defend themselves by claiming "It's in the rule book" or that they're just trying to get things shut down by closing time. If it's in the rule book, then it must be a new rule because 5 years ago, the old staff actually waited until closing time to turn things off. If they're trying to get things closed on time, they should spend that 20-30 minutes doing closing, rather than playing on their cell phones. It literally takes a minute to turn off the music and televisions, so I don't know why they have to do it so early, other than to irritate the customers. They've also turned off the main lights when people are still working out (seems dangerous to suddenly put someone in the dark when they're holding something heavy) and will also turn off the locker room lights without checking if people are still changing. I also once witnessed an employee locking the door 15 minutes before closing (essentially giving the middle finger to someone who wants to workout for 15 minutes). The employees also never reprimand people for dropping the weights, and in some cases even cheer them on for doing a single deadlift of 585 pounds, then dropping the bar from waist-height. Hey buddy, doing that is going to damage the floor and split the rubber from the plates, and since nothing that gets broken is ever fixed, you're just ruining equipment trying to be like Arnold. Please, please, PLEASE get new staff members to do closing time, ones that actually care about the upkeep of the gym and making sure clients have a nice workout. It boggles my mind that Planet Fitness down the road charges the exact same price, but is open 24/7, clean, well-maintained, and with working equipment. If you have a car, I seriously advise you to consider going there instead. read more

I've been trying to quit this gym for over 2 years but apparently it has to be done in person. It's a hot mess all around. From customer service to locker rooms and equipment. Just terrible. read more

Charter Fitness is a basic, no frills gym. The locker rooms get kind of cramped in the evening, but it isn't too crowded out on the floor. For $10 a month, this isn't so bad. What is bad is the gym's absurd policies. If you explore a five day trial membership with them, they don't scan your ID: they hold onto it at the front desk-- something that seems completely unnecessary. When you become a member, if you want to quit, you have to quit in person. Move away from the area? Too bad for you. They claim that they "need" your signature in order to cancel the membership. You'll have to mail a letter through SNAIL MAIL to end things. That's an absurd way to nickel-and-dime another $10 out of a former member. There are much better options. Edit: Found out today that Charter CHARGES MEMBERS FOR AN ADDITIONAL MONTH AFTER THEY CANCEL. Absolutely ridiculous. read more

Very disorganized and irresponsible company. Asked for a cancelation multiple times and they kept charging. Promised to refund me the extra charges but refunded just 30% of them for some reason. Avoid Charter Fitness by all means! read more

My girlfriend (now wife) joined charter fitness in January 2016. It was a really cool membership deal that allowed her to bring guests, and so I was able to work out at the University gym some days and with her days she wanted to lift. I have been lifting weights since 2003 and have experienced numerous gyms. This one in particular has a very friendly neighborhood feel to it, with extremely friendly and helpful staff. The members and staff during our time there (we have since moved out of state) created a really nice community atmosphere that allowed people new to fitness as well as long time exercise enthusiasts to feel equally at home. The personal trainers are very knowledgeable and the staff are always friendly and helpful. The current GM (Jeremy) who took over just before we moved was an employee for the duration of my wife's membership and takes a "customer first" approach to management. I have no doubt he will continue to promote the atmosphere that made charter such a wonderful experience for my wife and I. I highly recommend this gym to students looking to escape the rush hour crowds of the university gym or to locals of all fitness levels looking for an extremely competitive priced gym. read more

I've been coming here at least 3 times a week for about 10 months now. It's walking distance from my house and it works great for me. They have a wide range of equipment, plenty of treadmills, and a fair amount of weight machines as well. They also have a reasonable amount of equipment for regular weightlifting and space to do your own stretching or bodyweight exercises. It gets pretty crowded at peak hours (12-1 and 3-7 PM) so I avoid those, but otherwise there aren't too many people around, which I like. The employees have always been courteous and friendly to me. The equipment is clean and they have spray bottles and towels for you to spray down your machines after you use it. The locker rooms are quite tiny, which is another reason I avoid going at peak hours, but they always seem fairly clean to me. I signed up when it was only a $10 enrollment fee and at $10 a month. They do have a $40 fee that's once a year (in April). I would much rather have it as part of the monthly bill instead, but oh well. read more

I would give this gym less than 1 star if I was able. The fees associated with this gym are ridiculous. Not only do you have to mail in your member cancelation, they will charge you until they receive your cancellation (even if you call them) and if those charges include another annual fee, they won't refund that to you either. WOULD NEVER use this gym or recommend it to others. read more

THIS PLACE IS A RIP-OFF. I cancelled my subscription 3 months ago, but they kept charging me. They even charged another service fee for the next YEAR! I feel there should be easier ways to steal money!!! read more

This place is the worst of all places in the UC area. I believe the heating here is set on 85°F. In the summer there is not AC Moreover the Isacc who wrote the previous review is probably one of the employees because this place is terrible. Nobody can rate more than one star since the machine are Out of Order and the temperature in that place does not permit a proper work out There are other places around for the same price. I do not recommend it to anyone read more

**PSA TO PEOPLE CONSIDERING SWITCHING TO URBANA CHARTER-DONT DO IT**. Charter Fitness in a general sense only cares about getting more money out of you. I was just charged my monthly membership fee six days ago and canceled my membership yesterday. They insist that they still need to charge me for another month of membership even though my current month that I've already paid for is valid for another 3 weeks. And because they are charging me for another month for no reason, they are also making me pay the yearly service fee. It ONLY overlaps because I'm being forced to pay for another month AFTER my current month expires. When I started to question the person who was taking care of me about why I would be charged a service fee that covers the next year, when I won't be a member of the gym for any part of that year, he fumbles and makes up some crap that makes it seem like the $39.99 fee was covering the past year instead of the next year. What a load of shit. Anyways, I just said OK since about 4 other people were waiting behind me trying to cancel as well. Wish I would have gotten his name, because he probably misled the other gang of people waiting to GTFO of this trap of an establishment. At least some people are starting to get the hint that this place is worthless. But guess what, if you scroll through these reviews you will see that everyone says the same thing. Don't just overlook these things or shrug them off. You willllllllll get screwed. That is a promise. Everything about this place physically is garbage as well. Ive been a member there for multiple years and as long as I've been there, the same machines have been broken with more just piling up. They never bother to fix them and their staff is all so new that I'm not convinced that anyone is certain about what their talking about. Even when machines dont have "Out of order" signs, you are probably still out of luck. Maybe 1 in every 10 machines works. The space is probably going to cave in on itself soon anyways. The ceiling is literally crumbling apart. I was in one day and noticed that the white ceiling panels were crumbling and changing color and smelling up the place. Turns out water had been leaking above the ceiling for multiple days at that point and rotting out all the ceiling. They just let this stuff happen. Tell me Charter, how is it that you can't handle fixing any of the machines you charge people to use, but you can throw a few new flatscreens up every so often? After calling into membership services to attempt to get this sorted out, they tell me that I am supposed to mail in some form that I was supposed to have been given. Never received that. I guess only time will tell (since no person seems to be able to) if I continue to get charged for many more months to come. Don't waste your time here, you'd be better off buying hand weights in the workout section of Walmart... read more

This place is dirty and poorly managed; much of the equipment is broken or about to break. The manager John is arrogant and sexist. Their business practices are shady. They cannot keep good trainers. The only competent administrative personnel are the greeters at the front desk. Avoid like the plague. read more

I have been coming to Charter Fitness for years. If we want to cut right to the chase, SAVE YOUR TIME AND MONEY, go else where. I have a friend who worked at Charter and she/he (to keep it anonymous) said that there were many sexual harassment problems during her/his time working there. They also make it really hard for one to cancel their contract and wont tell you about the $40 enrollment free until you're done sighing up. The main manager is a snake, he gives special treatment to some members, while other members get treated unfairly. For example: When you get a new card or forget to pay your membership one month Charter fines you a $15 late fee. One month I forgot to pay my membership and I got charged the $15 late fee, big whoop. Anyway a few months later I changed my card and the employees forgot to inform me until I racked late fee's around $60. I was shocked, anyway to make a long story short I paid my late fee's to find out a friend of mine ran into the same problem, but got her late fee's waved. She talked to the main manager and he said he could "work something out" why didn't I get the same treatment when I talked to him? I bet his boss would love to know he's losing the company's money but waving late fee's here and there for "special people".. The bathrooms are disgusting as well, they're always out of paper towels and TP. The shower walls are coated in yellow gung, ITS NASTY. Don't even get me started on the hair balls located in the bottom of the shower. Equipment is broken all the time treadmills,stair steppers and even things in the free weight area. The employees are NEVER BUSY, in fact I would often see them on their phones, including the main manager himself. Charter is never really THAT BUSY, but it looks so bad that they're all on their phones. My personal favorite is when there are no towels, the bathrooms are nasty and the gym is a mess and you see one of them on their phone or shooting the breeze with another guest. I'v heard many inside stories from past employees about how crooked this place is, I won't go into detail, but if I were you I would walk on down to Planet Fitness, same prices better management. read more

I joined this gym several years ago when it was Cardinal Fitness . It was convenient for me and the staff were helpful and friendly. They acknowledged you when you came in. The staff were always cleaning and taking care of the area. However after about 4 years that all changed. Staff became lazy and hardly acknowledged anyone. But, again, it was cheap and convenient. I left there to go somewhere closer, (because I moved out of the area), and I then left that gym to go to Charter in Champaign (due to close proximity to my job). I loved it there!!!! Friendly staff, great equipment, etc. However, since Champaign abruptly closed I have been forced to go back to Urbana. No big deal, I used to go there. Well.....when I went in to say I was back, the front desk staff was like, uh yeah, just go ahead and scan. It was as if I was a bother. I was not welcomed at all. The place has really become run down too. I noticed a lot of nasty ceiling tiles. On my next visit, the staff didn't even come out of the office. When I was leaving I went up the desk, and waited for someone to come out. Again, it seemed as if I was bothering them. Also, I counted SIX treadmills that were out of order, and one that I used was wobbly and about to tip over. And since Champaign closed, I have to drive an extra 10 minutes to get there. There are perks - cheap membership, good parking, convenient hours. read more

Tried to cancel my account over the phone twice to no avail. I forgot to cancel before I moved away. I was finally back in town today, went in to cancel, and was charged $74 TO CANCEL. I asked them to waive the fees because it was outrageous to pay that much to close an account, and they said they couldn't. Beware this cheap, initially inviting $10/month fee. I'm beyond upset with their scam to get my money. read more

Website is difficult to find info on. They do not show details of what each payment is for. They make it extremely difficult to cancel a membership and are not willing to work with you at all if there is confusion about fees. I had my auto renew set to "off" for my membership but still got charged the $40 annual fee (only got more information by calling, as the website offers virtually none) and they would not even consider a refund. I am making sure to completely cancel immediately and taking my business elsewhere. read more

I cancelled my account months ago and just received a call from a collections agency stating that I owed additional money because of a past due balance. No calls ever from anyone at Charter, but now a call from a collection agency. My account was direct deposit and I have proof that my bill was paid every month, yet I still have a past due balance? Member services tells me they can't do anything to help me. Just a shady attempt for them to get extra money out of me once I decided not to keep my membership with them. DO NOT JOIN THIS GYM unless you plan on being a member for the rest of your life. read more

Do yourself a favor and don't sign up here. There are probably plenty of gyms you can check out and hopefully their equipment and facilities are better than this Charter. I'd sure hate to think another place was as crappy as this place. Multiple machines are constantly "out-of-order" and take what seems to be weeks to get repaired. Currently their HVAC unit is not working and hasn't for a few weeks making it extra hot and steamy inside the gym. Locker room area is small, but they have three showers. Maybe take one shower out to expand the locker room area. I've never seen all three showers being used at the same time. There's only one single solitary water fountain for the 50+ people that can be there at primetime in the evenings, and each one of them want to fill their water bottles at the same time. (I try to fill my bottle before I leave my work). Mats are worn out, paper thin and falling apart. I pay the $19.95 per month so I can bring a guest, but I also pay an extra $49 for team training. So that's almost $70 per month; it should NOT be this bad for that cost. And don't forget there is also a yearly fee which I think is $39. The one thing going for them is that the staff are friendly but I think their hands are tied because of the higher-ups making the decisions. I feel bad for them because they hear the complaints day-in and day-out. I like my team trainer; that's the only reason I stay. If he leaves, I'll leave...in a heartbeat! read more

They suck the workers suck vacuuming and cleaning right next to you while you laying in the ground! Most arnt friendly at all seem super judgey read more

a lot of tricks being played in the hidden fees. this place does not give a rats ass about customer service. i am doing all of their customers a favor by forwarding all of the "fine print" to the attorney generals office for review. i believe their practices to be very deceitful! how the hell do you tell someone if they cancel before the 12 month agreement it is a $60 but if you cancel 1 day after they will hit your account for another annual service fee $43 (?) and since you're in the next billing cycle they hit your account for another $10.... what a crock!! read more

I would like to give this place a zero stars for their business practices, not because of the quality of the gym. Granted, I wanted to get the basic membership. There is no information provided on their website until you go in and learn there is a $39.99 annual free and a $49.99 one-time enrollment fee. I was told there may be promotions in the coming days and decided to wait for those. A mailer arrives (with delivery dates of 12/28 - 12/30) advertising a $10 enrollment fee. When I went in this afternoon, one of staff (who acted like the customer is an inconvenience to him) said the offer cannot be used at the gym but that it needs to be activated online. Online charges still showed $49.99 for enrollment. So, I went back to the gym and asked to speak with the manger of duty (a very courteous and professional staff member) who apologized and said the offer is only valid starting in January. Nowhere on the mailer does it say that. Nowhere on their registration site dedicated to the promotion, it says that. The first staff person who spoke with me either had no clue or did not bother to give out that information. The mailer does say the promotion expires on Jan 13th. read more