Merritt Athletic Clubs

Somebody needs to turn on the AC on up in this camp !! Ok it’s June now, AC is pumping pretty good

First off, to be fair, the gyms are pretty solid and have a good clientele. That being said, its financial practices are atrocious. I got unexpected news that my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma so I had to move home quickly to help out. I tried to cancel my membership, but they placed all these ridiculous requirements to cancel my membership like it being MANDATORY that I do it in person, which wasn’t exactly possible since I moved home over 800 miles away. Tried to talk to managers about doing it via written consent but they kept fighting it and now I’ve dropped over $ 400 on a gym I’ve not been to in 6 months. Really terrible given my circumstances.

I moved here from Chicago and I’ve been looking for a gym. This is the fourth gym that I’ve tried. I like everything that the gym has to offer and it is conveniently located for me. However the price is really expensive. I sometimes wonder if that’s because Baltimore is a smaller city. In other cities you can get a quality gym membership for under $ 40. This is at least double that amount. I’m a little nervous as well about the challenges people have Unilocaled about when they cancel their membership.

It’s a great gym but poorly run. They can’t seem to keep the men’s sauna and steam rooms operational — they’re under-​heated and useless. When their laundry equipment broke down they didn’t have towels. It apparently did not occur
to them to use another location’s equipment. That said, it’s a big
barn of a place with lots of room and lots of equipment. Staff is friendly.

I have been a member for 9 months now and the facilities and equipment are so-​so compared to other gyms. The price is WAY too expensive for the offerings. They put auto-​renewals on all of their memberships so you have to pro-​actively cancel if you aern’t happy (which I was not). They also mixed up my credit card information and continually sent me late notices and aggressive collection notices when I had called and verified my credit card TWICE. Poorly ran and overpriced. Some of the classes were OK and I guess everyone else knows it is not that great a gym because it is never crowded.

I have been attending the DAC for almost a year now and I have concluded that this gym has done wonders for me. I go mainly for the fitness classes and boxing room. I seldom use their equipment. The staff are always friendly and their fitness instructors are awesome. Their Monday night zumba class with Kearsha Saxon is AMAZING. The body pump and body attack classes are both fun with Vanessa and Davon. I love how these two classes at the DAC have plenty of room and you do not run the risk of getting trampled transitioning between classes unlike at the Canton and Fort ave locations. The boxing classes are great with Nancy, Amy and Leon. This class has really helped me work on my technique and it is SO much fun. I do love how this gym is super diverse in age and culture. As a whole, people are much more friendly and talkative than at the other two city locations. It is a clean establishment and there are plenty of parking options. They will validate your Baltimore Sun parking only after 4:00 pm, but there is parking right outside their entrance (one-​way off of centre st.) and behind the building (on guilford). However, most of the meters in that area end after 6:00 pm. I love this gym and as long as I am still living in Baltimore, I’ll be here! If they had an outdoor pool, this place would be perfect.

BEWARE
I was at Merritt Canton.
The gym is actually nice. There are lots of amenities, which I loved.
I signed up with them for a year contract. I assumed that YEAR meant JUST THE YEAR, but they included an automatic contract renewal clause they DID NOT TELL ME ABOUT. After moving out of Maryland now, I got automatically billed for an extension that I did not know about, I can’t get my money back, and I’m just plain pissed.
The gym is nice, but they ARE GREEDY AF.
Just be careful when approaching this gym because you shouldn’t need a lawyer to choose a gym.
Urgh Merritt… You were so good in my eyes until now.
Thanks for the parting gift of having me pay you.

Been a member of Merritt for about 5 months now and love what all locations have to offer. The cycle studio is the best at downtown location however it can accommodate more people in the canton location. Kelly R. is the best for cycle and you have to arrive at least 15 mins early for her class if you want to keep your spot!
I also enjoy taking the pump classes and my favorite instructor is Meghan S. I can tell that she enjoys lifting which has made me fall I love with it as well as enjoy the change that I see in my body.
Between fort ave, canton and downtown they all offer the same things but canton and fort ave have more classes available at the times I want to go. I live a block away from the downtown one and haven’t been to this location that much. Also, canton and fort ave are newer so they have a cleaner more crisp appearance compared to the downtown location.
If you enjoy sunbathing then fort ave is the place to be! Canton has an outdoor pool as well but the building next to it blocks the sun in the afternoon hours. Downtown only has an indoor pool.
All three have parking however downtown’s is tight and limited. As far as price it’s 79.00 monthly and you have access to all locations. They run specials all the time and for new members and if you are a member they send you gifts for your birthday month.
In all beat gym in Baltimore and I love being a member of it!

Do NOT sign up for a membership with this club. I was a faithful member for years and now they are putting me into collections for a membership cancellation fee that was clearly excused by the regional manager. What a hassle! And besides, the club is poorly maintained and managed. Do NOT sign up for this gym!
Update: after much back and forth DAC has agreed to call the collection company and cancel my «debt.» Hopefully, I won’t be further harangued by nearly illiterate sweatshop drones from Mumbai.

It has Both Dry Sauna and steam Room. Plus parking is free or they can validate your parking ticket. ²⁴⁄₇ plus towels are free and so far available!!! Loved it!!!

Between this location, the one in Federal Hill, and the one in Canton, I find this one the most practical. It is the biggest gym in town. The women’s locker room is not fancy but always clean and well-​kept. The studios and other multi-​functional rooms are well equipped. The instructors at this location are among the friendliest and less intimidating ones I have worked with. In terms of parking, they are accommodating enough to validate the tickets you get from the Baltimore Sun’s garage. The customers are more diverse in age and fitness level than the nearby locations, making the atmosphere more laid-​back. All in all, great location with great staff.

The friendly and personal staff has definitely made it worth it. A year since the last review and still enjoying the friendly and helpful front desk staff. Just ask questions and they’ll do their best to answer! I appreciate that since I’m a curious person.
Thanks to all of the instructors. My personal props go to Abir, Travis, Isazetta, Vanessa, Channing, Stef, and Cynthia who spend their time leading some really fun group fitness classes that keep me and my classmates motivated. Also enjoy that there is a friendly crowd at the downtown location. Each of the group workouts has a pretty diverse crowd depending on the class, including men and women.
Every member of the staff I’ve talked to will do their best to either answer your question or direct you to someone who will. I like that everyone takes responsibility for the overall quality. Try it and see if it fits your needs.

Not every gym is for everyone, but this gym is for me! Granted, the amount of times I have showered here in the last 4 years can be counted on one hand, so the complaints about the showers cannot be confirmed or denied by me. I come for the classes and motivating teachers (which, although I may not take every class, I have tried almost all of them) and to work with weights. I love the family of members here, and how welcoming they (we?) all are. I love the spacious open areas to do whatever weird work out I think will be effective this week.

This review is more for a group fitness instructor than the gym itself (although I love the gym)
I go to the Bodypump class a few times a week and one of my favorite days are when Isazatta is teaching. She really pushes me to be the strongest and most powerful pumper I could be. She emphasizes correct form while still aiming gain strength. She is an excellent motivator and hilarious (which is important for a class that feels like it could go on for hours). Its very rare that I miss her class which has been colloquially called ‘Thursday Night Thunder”.
Love the class, Love her!

I was recommended to this gym by my employer, which is in close proximity to this Merritt location. Hoping we would get some deal/​barter system worked out between my company and the gym I took advantage of a week pass.
PROS: proximity to work, gym is spacious and never feels cramped, plenty of cardio machines and free weights, and they have a basketball court.
CONS: the locker room facilities including sauna and steam room are terrible. No curtains on showers. Cheap watered down products in showers. Everything seems old and ill-​functioning. The carpeted areas need to be deep cleaned or replaced. And for a monthly cost of $ 110 they have GOT to be joking! I’m from New York City and Equinox gave me a better rate than this gym.
When I spoke to a staff member about getting the rate my co-​worker got, no more than a week ago, for half off, he told me that was a limited of time promotion (to which he initially knew nothing about) and it was back to the standard rate of $ 110. I then asked if there was anything he could to see I too could get the rate, and he simply said no. So I said, thanks but no thanks and proceeded to walk out. He then suggested that I take a look at the gym to reconsider, and I said, no again. If you’re not willing to work out some sort of deal with me I’ll take my money elsewhere. And that’s what I plan on doing. Charging $ 110 a month for THAT gym is absolutely absurd!

Okay so i am on a pass, but i will review this club anyway. I have been here several times overr the years usually with their passes, guest passes etc. I am not a gym person per say since all i need is cardio, my soccer, and bball and i am good. This gym has a nice indoor court which i love, its better than the Canton location in my honest opinion. I cant objectively state all the merits/​demerits of membership fees etc, but basing this solely on my modest experiences here. Take it with a grain of salt.

Every gym has a different vibe. This one is expansive and casual. The crowd is all-​ages, skewing towards 20– and 50-​something men. This is not a place frequented by intense, weight-​slamming bros and Lulu-lemon’ed girls, like the Federal Hill location. There is plenty of equipment, a good number of cycles and treadmills, an indoor track, a pool, and racquetball, squash, and basketball courts.
Sure, sometimes the employees are surly, the temperature is too hot, and the smell of food from the conjoining restaurant is nauseating, but overall, it is a good, clean gym.
Please note: if you plan on using the men’s locker room, you better be comfortable with seeing all ages and shapes of the male form. Older dudes seem in no hurry to get dressed.

City gyms are hard to come by and hard to run. Gyms require space, cleanliness, and the right sort of customers at the right sort of price — and this place seems to do quite well, though I do have weirdly nitpicky things to mention.
Merritt Athletic Clubs is a chain in the Baltimore area that does a lot more than just exercise equipment — it’s the kinda place you can swim, run, play squash, do yoga, play basketball, etc. Think about a YMCA on steroids.
This particular MAC is nice. The majority of the gym is centered around a running track, with the weights and most machines suspended above the middle of the track on a platform. The lower portion of the building consists of classrooms, and there is a pool off to the side.
Weight-​wise, this place is just okay. There are a limited number of plates, a bit weirdly designed squat racks, and the layout is just a hair crowded. There are no bumper plates or equivalent accommodations, which may be partially because of the weight section’s second floor location. I saw chalk on some of the bars, though, which seems to indicate some deadlifting may be allowed. Despite the commentary of other reviews, everything was rather nice and clean, so no complaints there. This place is entirely adequate for most lifters, but those who like to do oly lifts might find it a bit constraining.
All in all, while I might prefer a bit more intense weight equipment, this place is a great option for the location!

I am super impressed with this gym. The place is huge, it’s always clean, never too crowded, and good class selection.
I also have nothing but compliments for the staff. I really appreciated the sales rep, Jeff, when I signed up. He was not overly persistent. Also, everyone at the front desk is always very pleasant. Especially Lynette, Pennie, and Keona.
Very glad I signed up.

I love this gym! It’s huge! The front desk people don’t seem too friendly or happy to be there… but everyone else was very nice. It was my first time there and the message therapist gave me a tour. It’s a HUGE faculty with a lot of great amenities!
They also have some really great group fitness classes. I’d highly recommend this club.