I signed up for a membership at Virgin Active hoping to improve my fitness. When I was encouraged…read moreto try a personal training session, I agreed as long as we could meet biweekly to fit my budget. I was initially told this would not be a problem. However, I later learned biweekly training is only offered as a 6 month commitment, while weekly sessions require a 3 month commitment. This did not work for me financially. Over many emails, I tried to find a reasonable solution with Virgin Active, but they would not bend on their set packages. I felt pressured to spend over £250 per month when I had joined to use the gym facilities. While I wanted help getting started, I cannot afford expensive personal training. The aggressive sales tactics left me disappointed. My goal was simply to get healthy affordably. But I felt their priority was maximizing profit over meeting my needs as a member. I am frustrated by this experience of feeling pushed into services I expressly said I could not budget for. I wish my health and financial concerns had been respected rather than dismissed. In the end, I will have to cancel my membership over their refusal to compromise on training costs. Avoid this organisation.

The working out equipment works really well, I like going here because they have the hip conductors…read morewhich most of the other clubs don't have so that's a bonus. Also they have a decent sized swimming pool and jacuzzi and they have a steam room and sauna too.

Jubilee Hall is a very good gym that has all the facilities you would expect apart from a swimming…read morepool. With a huge open floor design there is a mass of resistance machines and free weights, making this club an excellent choice for people wanting to bulk up. There are over thirty cardio machines to, so there is something for everyone. There is a large gay community at the gym and the management address this by focusing on this community as the main target audience. This leads to a gym with a diverse culture, although the majority remains well- toned, well-groomed homosexual males. To join this gym costs £50 per month. This is excellent value for the facilities.

Good gym, friendly staff, had a fantastic experience visiting them via Helsi app. They offer water…read moreand sauna, towels cost money, but it's only 1.5 pounds, so its ok.

Shanette at the Camden Fitness Fitness Gym puts the 'S' in superwoman!…read more Her physical and emotional strength is admirable and she is so encouraging, inspiring and on point. Her Glute Gains class is the best pick me up (and on this particularly cold and grey afternoon, I was in dire need of a pick me up!) you could ever ask for. Her exercises are super effective and I have felt muscles work that have dormant for a long time. I may be at risk of getting a much more defined body ;) She is always on form with technique and makes sure that all students are doing the moves properly. This is so important and also mentions the importance of the mind-muscle connection. I left feeling vibrant and ready to tackle a big day at work and I cannot wait for next week. Thank you, Shanette! I would urge you to check out this class which should be renamed, Wake up Wednesdays :)

Darren's Boxfit class really pushed my limits on Wednesday. He's a fantastic coach and the class is…read moresuch a fast paced workout. Thank you FF for offering such a dynamic class to members. Boxfit is not just workout for the body, it's also a workout for the brain

Which gym in the City features an indoor-running track, a quite decent-size pool and four locker…read morerooms (2 men and 2 women)? - Well, the Virgin Active at the Barbican does and I am quite happy to have been their member for the past few months. In fact, I've not had a bad experience here yet: the staff is always very friendly and forthcoming (especially the cleaning team deserves some kudos here!) and the classes they offer are great, including the instructors. In fact, I've mostly come to the gym to attend the Ashtanga Yoga during the lunch hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Rachel, the instructor, is great: she's not one of these airy-fairy yoga instructors, who only babbles about spirituality etc. In fact, her approach is two-fold: she wants to teach us the right poses, but at the same time she wants us to understand the meaning behind of it! (It's all about the breathing technique!!!) Anyway, I would highly recommend joining this gym if you either live and/or work around the Barbican area...it's always good to come here and get a little break from the daily grind...

Time to give credit where credit is due. I've been a member of Virgin Active gyms since I moved to…read moreLondon, but there's something about the quality of instructors that come to this location as well as the Islington location that are really worth mentioning. If you have the chance, here are some instructors that are worth following: Rachel's Ashtanga Yoga Class: Rachel does not mess about, so this isn't your 'come and relax for an hour' situation - this is a sweating, pushing, breathing, challenging workout that I never would have expected from a yoga class. If you're not doing anything else correctly, you'll be breathing. Tony's Box Fit, Circuit, Boot Camp and Power Station Classes: If feeling the burn is anywhere on your agenda, attend one of Tony's classes. Come focused and come prepared (sweat towel close at hand) because he is relentless. And awesome. Peter's Spin Class: The perfect soundtrack, the most amazing intervals and even a 5-minute section in the middle where you're able to do your own thing. (Hills? Sprint? Intervals? Riders choice!) I love it. If you do attend a class from one of the instructors above, make sure you get to the gym early. They will all fill up quickly.

HIGHLY UNETHICAL & ILLEGAL! read below!…read more Where do I even begin... Let's start by making it clear that this review is specific to the Fitness First London Bridge Cottons location. I've been a Fitness First member for years, both in the UK and Australia, and my overall experience has been positive. Sure, some facilities are a bit dated, and repairs on the sauna or steam room can take longer than expected, but having been a member of several other gyms over the years, I know these issues are not uncommon. However, my experience at the London Bridge Cottons location was truly unforgettable--and not in a good way. My partner and I visited the site for a tour having recently moved to the area and it seemed great at first and we were excited to look around! The tour was led by an official Fitness First sales representative named Jake. who promised us an exclusive deal: if we signed up on the spot and canceled our current gym memberships, he would enroll us in a "student membership" for six months at £85 per month, rather than the standard £120 per month option for a 12-month membership (we clearly told him we were not students). Jake assured us--complete with a wink--that he would "sort it out." It seemed like a good deal, so we signed up! Fast forward to month number two, and we discovered that our memberships had automatically increased and had been switched to the standard £120 per month rate. When I called to query this, the manager, Hatim Al Abbadi, told me to come in and discuss it in person which I thought was a bit odd. When I met with him (in person) he explained that Jake "was no longer working at Fitness First" and admitted he couldn't discuss the situation over the phone "in case it was recorded." He then confirmed that Jake had lied to us and signed us up on false pretenses, referring to him as "a typical sales rep." Despite acknowledging the issue, Hatim informed me that we were now locked into the full 12-month membership at £120 per month, rather than the 6-month, £85 membership Jake had promised and signed us up to. He vaguely assured me that he would try to "sort it out" at some point later on down the line, but, for some reason would need to wait for new members to sign up. Weeks went by as I repeatedly contacted the gym for an update. Each time, I was told by reception that Hatim would "get back to me ASAP." He never did. I called over 10 separate times, not so much as an email back.. When I went back to the site in person (after calling ahead to confirm Hatim would be there) I was told he was now "off-site all day." To make matters worse, I recently underwent spinal surgery following a back injury, which will keep me out of action for at least a year. Naturally, I needed to cancel my membership. Despite sending over 20 emails, calling numerous times, speaking to 8 different staff members, and filling out 3 separate cancellation forms, no one responded. I had to call head office consistently for over 3 weeks and speak to accounts and beg them to patch me through to memberships in order to rectify --this, despite providing direct proof of my surgery from my spinal surgeon in various emails & a doctors note confirming I'm no longer able to gym for foreseeable - addressed to both the membership team and the Cottons London Bridge team. The level of incompetence and unprofessionalism I've encountered here is unlike anything I've experienced before. To have an official sales rep sign new clients up under false pretenses, only to change the terms after signup with no option to cancel, is not only unethical--it is, quite frankly, illegal.

Underneath the Cottons Centre opposite is the rarest of Fitness First gyms in that it has a…read moreswimming pool which I think is 20 metres in length. I primarily use the swimming pool at this branch, which is divided into slow, medium fast and learner lanes. My only criticism is the water can feel too warm after 30 minutes of swimming. I have only done one other session in the cardio/weights area, which isn't too bad. The weights area is particularly spacious and well stocked with free weights and there is plenty of room to stretch after a workout which is missing from other branches in the Fitness First family.