Retro Howell closed without notice! They gave members the availability to go to a location approximately 10 miles away! What a joke!

This review is long overdue. This location fought with my dying dad for the months he was in the hospital and made him pay despite all the medical proof and paperwork. RIP dad, this place is despicable, the staff was heartless. My dad was in hospital and passed and wasn't going to use his last precious days putting this place on blast. When I found out about this recently, I believe everyone has the right to know the sort of club and staff they are dealing with . There are plenty of gym options that wouldn't treat a fragile, dying man that way. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. read more

As you can tell by many other reviews for this place their professionalism and customer service is embarrassingly sub-par. I signed a one year personal training program and by doing so you're signing a legal contract. Normally you can NOT use your sessions (as they don't expire) and the club itself won't get paid unless you use the sessions. This particular club manages their contracts locally (not ABC Financial). I was very nice and communicative throughout the entire process and still the, "Fitness advisor" Zach took almost a week to get back to me. I am glad I did not sign the initial "suggested plan" of over $300/month. I have worked with many private personal trainers in the past for my wrestling career and the experience was much more professional and flexible. This review will not do much but it will leave me content with the $2,112 I lost due to predatory sales tactics from a gym with an administrative staff that lacks basic communication skills. Im financially stable enough for this waste of funds to not negatively impact me, so I leave this review as a warning to those who are maybe looking to retro fitness to better their life. Look elsewhere read more

Retro Fitness - Gyms Near Me - Howell, New Jersey

I've waited two years to write this review. Moved to Howell & had high expectations for this location sine the Matawan location was great. Sadly I was disappointed again and again. The staff is not helpful and talk amongst themselves instead of tending to people waiting at check in. The looks I got from one staff member- a blond girl who wears winter hats indoors was very uncomfortable. After visiting this location a handful of times I just canceled my membership. read more

Clean gym, friendly people. Was a member for a couple of years. They made it easy to suspend my member ship for a month or two and when I needed to cancel they made it easy. Will definitely be back read more

If I could give this place less stars I would. This place told me I had to come in to cancel my membership and when I did they continued to charge me. The manager is extremely rude and would just tell me that it's too bad they'll just send it to collections. When I tried to resolve the issue the woman got really nasty with me. I asked for a contact number for her boss and got given a BS number and never received a call back. The fact that they decided to treat me this way is complete and utterly disgraceful. Every chance I get to tell anyone about the way I was treated by retro fitness especially my military friends and colleagues I make sure they know. This place and the manager are the worst combination I have ever experienced. read more

Absolutely horrible management. Argued about canceling a member for my daughter that I was paying for over 1 yr. I went in person to cancel, and so did my husband and daughter. When daughter was able to come in, she was told she had to come back when a manager was present. She explained she could not due to fluctuations in school/ work schedules. This business makes it almost impossible for you to cancel your membership, and then makes every excuse for not canceling (change in mngt, no records). I will NEVER do business with these shady folks ever again. All about their profit - no care about you or your hardships/ concerns. Defers blame to you and accepts no responsibility for lack of retaining proper records. Consider another gym and save yourself the headache with this inconsiderate facility and management. Read the negative reviews about payment / cancellation issues... read more

The price is great. That's about it. Honestly, for the $20 a month it wasn't so bad at first; machines were kept moderately clean, the hours were good, and the staff was friendly. For the small amount of money I was paying it was good enough. The problems were that equipment could take weeks to get replaced, that the gym was dominated by cardio equipment and machines, that it lacked a proper space to do workouts that didn't involve a weight (try doing a dead-lift in this place), and that the wait to get a bench was nuts because they didn't have enough. Bare bones (especially for the price) was always fine - but basic gyms should have some space to do something not involving treadmill or a cable machine. By the time I quit the space the was set aside could only fit about two people. That's the other thing: quitting this place was a real pain. 60 day notice AFTER my contract was up for two years? Give me a break. Place is alright for the money, but a lot of gyms in the area are advertising similar deals now. Worth a shot to look around. read more

Thank you so much. I would never have thought that working out could be this enjoyable. Each instructor creates a wonderful workout environment that has positive energy in the air. They make classes fly by while still pushing you to your full potential. These dedicated instructors make working out be something that I'm looking forward to! I thousand percent recommend signing up for classes and working with the remarkable Nicole. read more

What a joke of a gym. Went today and they were supposed to open at 5am... believe it or not there were about 10-15 people waiting outside in their cars at 9am because the workers decided to not show up to work and no one opened the gym however their cleaner was there vacuuming up the place but no one were allowed in. People were so pissed off they decided to just go to LA fitness and other retros.. this place is a joke and wouldn't surprise me to be out of business in the next 3 years if they don't get taken over. Their electric has been out on numerous occasions and their equipment is falling apart and it's just a mess there. read more

Went for my morning run this past Sunday and I arrived at the gym at 7:00am. The lights were off and no one was inside, there was another person who walked up with me and left after we waiting another 10 minutes to find out some workers decided to not go to work. Poor management. read more

I enjoyed working out and training here until I had a medical problem. Now I cannot workout. I went in to try to get the sessions that I was charged for refunded, I was not given a refund. They have a lot of my money. I originally thought I would be able to go back to training, but unfortunately I can't. They are holding my money. This is very disappointing. I need to pay my medical bills. read more

Great location. Has all the equipment you need. Clean. Would be great if the team added some straps to the spin bike pedals however.

Retro is a great place to work out. Clean and the staff is great. I recently needed to cancel my membership and they were so helpful and the process was very simple. I had read some reviews about it being a difficult task but it was just the opposite. I was a member for a year and it was a great experience with no down side. read more

Best facility around. Hands down! Can't say enough about the equipment or the staff. So nice and willing to help you. I am blown away. Thank you so much for helping me and making me feel sp read more

Very poor business practices & ethics. I cancelled my membership account, after 5 years of loyal patronage, a year ago, only to find out I have been getting charged for services I was not even using for 12 months. Heather, the general manager, laughed at me on the phone as she told me that I had been charged this whole period of time. Do not bother signing up for this scam of a gym. read more

Being someone that doesn't write reviews or really believe that someone needs a personal trainer, I have to write this and say I was wrong. I've gone to the gym for years know about working out and have tried to show my girlfriend who has given the gym a try before, and she hated it. She still decided to give NICOLE'S kickboxing class a try and fell in love with her style and motivating efforts. She went from someone who never went to the gym to going every day. Still she never wanted to try squats and lifting weights until Nicole became her personal trainer. I personally thought it would be a waste but after seeing how she has transformed my girlfriend and also trying out her kickboxing myself I'm astonished and gladly proven wrong. I continue to be so impressed with what she is teaching her and how motivating she is for her. For anyone that is ever hesitant on giving a personal trainer a try, or thinks they failed because the internet lied to you don't be afraid to give the personal trainer a try. It really is worth it. I can't speak for all of them but from what I've seen from nicole totally amazed. For anyone who already lifts and wants to try something challenging and new give the kickboxing class a try. It sucks there aren't more at night but hopefully there will be in the future. read more

In September 2011 I called retro to cancel membership. The membership was a gift to my son to use for 1 yr. He hadn't used gym in over 6 months. I called to cancel and was told i had to send a letter. Well i thought I'd stop in to cancel in person. NOPE! they were having none of that! They insisted it was in the 'agreement' that I send a letter. OK. I sent a letter and the woman behind the counter assured me she would accept the letter even if it wasn't registered because it was in the 'agreement' that it had to be a registered letter. At this point I could see where they were going with cancellations. I send the letter and I'm still getting harassing calls from ABC Financial (who by the way has numerous complaints lodged against them for unscrupulous tactics). Today I call Retro and explain that I am still getting calls from ABC and I was told i still owed money for the month of Sept as well as Oct and Nov. I'm stunned. Retro quickly cited "it's in the agreement" BS. They want 60 days notice to cancel. Who knows 60 days in advance that they may have to cancel membership due to any number of reasons. The manager at Retro said to me she would waive i month. BIG DEAL! Beware Retro Fitness. They are scammers. VERY VERY DIFFICULT TO CANCEL read more

Fantastic set up, great atmosphere, great price(only $19.99), fully stocked smoothie bar, tanning, plus a very helpful and knowledgable staff. read more

I have a membership here and have to say I really enjoy working out. Very cool atmosphere. Love the music videos always playing

The gym is always clean and well maintained. The owner, general manager and staff are always upbeat and friendly. I always get a great workout here. Highly recommend! read more

worst place ever. I was talked into signing up for sessions with fitness instructor. She cancelled when I arrived at club ...no call to me. I never got all the sessions and when I called I was told the trainers only rented space in the club and they could do nothing for me . They are not affiliated with the people who offer services in the club and are no longer using those people so I am just out all the unfulfilled sessions that I paid for.. I cancelled my membership and now I have to pay for two more months because it takes two months notice before they will let you out of agreement and I had a month to month. Awful business practices ...don't get hooked read more

HORRIBLE PLACE!!!!! Atmosphere is a bunch of people (woman & men) who love to look at themselves in the mirror then walk around to make sure you see them! When it comes to the gym it self DON"T DO IT!!!! When I signed up with them they never told me about the problem with canceling my account. I signed up for a year thought I was doing the right thing by holding up my end of the deal when it came the the end of the contract I went to the gym to try to cancel my account and they told me NO they can't/won't do it and that I had to send a certified letter to ABC Company. Then I read online that I still had to pay for 60 days more! They are a bunch of liars they I had asked the woman when she was signing me up how to cancel and she said "just come in and cancel" NOT TRUE!!!!! So just to be done with it, I sent the certified letter and was prepared to pay the 2 payment. It has now been 3 months and they are still trying get me to pay more!!!! Sending letters and phone calls....can anyone say HARASSMENT?!?!?!?! I got on the phone with ABC and she tried telling me I owe more...I said absolutley not!!! I gave my payments and my certified letter as per the contract I will not pay anymore money. She did waive the fee but I still get calls bothering me. MY ADVICE : DON'T SIGN UP FOR ANY RETRO!!!!!! THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF!!! read more

I've been with this gym for 3 years and have seen all kinds of changes. They tore down the movie cardio room left the gym open for a while. Then they built a tiny training room that absolutely no one used. And as of the end of this year they tore that down and decided to add some turf? This turf section is only allowed to be used by VIP members which is completely ridiculous. How about instead of tearing down walls and adding pointless things the gym finally got fixed. Not once over the three years did they send out or look for advice from their customers. Instead of adding more benches or different bars they just add and take down walls. I'd recommend Golds or LA Fitness. read more

Love Retro in Howell! They just got a ton of new equipment and changed the layout of the gym. Staff is always helpful and makes the best smoothies! So glad I switched gyms. read more

It's like a Howell High School reunion mixed with a bunch of teenagers who don't even look like they graduated middle school. This gym has become a joke. I was a member for five years and the patrons make you feel uncomfortable and stare at you no matter what you are doing or wearing. I do have to say that some of the staff appear friendly but many of them don't want to be there and hardly answer your questions without giggling. read more