Exhale Chicago

This review is for classes only. Short and sweet: I have no «disposable income» and I make sure to afford a membership to this place for the classes. The front staff is Zero Attitude and All Love. I hesitant to say more for fear of being cheesy but if they weren’t exceptionally cool, I would not attend this place. Still, the instructors are really The best I’ve ever had… so full of knowledge, expertise and motivation. I love this place. And I do not love a lot of places, nor do I love working out.

I just had a fantastic massage. I’ve been under a lot of stress and carry it in my neck and shoulders. I had reached the point where I couldn’t turn my head to the right without pain. Sylvie did a great job with my deep tissue massage. I feel much better, and I know I will feel even better tomorrow after a hot shower. I could have taken a hot shower, or a steam, at the facility but I was out of time. I will definitely be back — I booked a follow up before I left. The facility is very nice (as are the people who work there) but I’m going back for Sylvie.

I gave Exhale several chances to reply to my emails with no response. So here it goes… went to Exhale with a couple of girlfriends for what I thought was going to be a relaxing massage experience. No one informed me that my massage time would be during the same time a class was being held. Unfortunately my massage room was the one closest to the class studio. During the majority of my service, it felt a bit more like I was getting my massage on a beach in Ibiza, rather than a spa in Chicago. The floor below me was shaking, and I could sing along to songs in the studio. Not quiet the experience I was hoping for.
The part the irks me the most, is that I wrote to Exhale, not once, but twice, with absolutely no response. With all of the spas in Chicago, Exhale used to be my choice, however, after my most recent experience, it doesn’t seem like service is in their best interest, and churning out massages is.

This is my Chicago just go! Not only is the space posh, spacious with plenty of natural light. The classes are the best. The instructors are super hands on and really good with corrections. The locker room has enough space to accommodate the gym takers and spa attendees. They offer a lot of amenities like a steam room, plush towels, name brand shampoo/​conditioner and lotion. Take a class your butt will thank you!

This is hands down the best barre work out, and I have tried them all. I don’t know why other barre places can’t get it right. I walk out feeling like my butt, legs and arms look instantly better. All the teachers are good, and actively walk around and make corrections to make sure your getting the most out of each class. John was the best teacher but recently moved to their Evanston location.

I received a pedicure and manicure here a few months ago. I’ve been meaning to complete a review. I didn’t love my experience and I wouldn’t go back. But I did really like the nail tech’s personality. He was great personally, I just didn’t like the services. It didn’t last and I my nails weren’t shaped nicely.

I first tried out Exhale through ClassPass, and I have to say that they have the BEST barre classes in all of Chicago (compared to the Barre Code, Dailey Method, and Pure Barre). The instructors I’ve had (Andrea and Kelsey) are amazing and keep the class at a doable fast pace. They are extremely encouraging, and my body feels like it actually worked during the classes at Exhale. I even decided to have my out-​of-​town friend’s bachelorette barre class here! Aside from their amazing group fitness classes, their locker room is very spa-​like with showers, steam room, robes, and towels provided. I would highly recommend this studio!

I’ve been subjected to a less than accommodating staff at Exhale. I’m usually pretty punctual but because of a client call I was 18 minutes late for a massage. The therapist, I thought, was right to tell me that because of my tardiness she could only give me 40 minutes of the one hour I had reserved. I was understanding & did feel bad for being late when she said she had a another appointment starting in the next hour. So I took my lumps on that. But after I dressed and came out of the dressing room 20 minutes past that next hour I found her at front desk clearly not attending to her «next client.» It was a total lie! I work hard for my money but apparently she had a punitive streak in her and wasn’t going to do any favors. For this I will never go back to Exhale. I’ve gone to many similarly upscale spas which have been much more accommodating especially when time allowed for it. This therapist had the time but chose to be punitive. She had the extra time but chose to «teach me a lesson.»
As another reviewer saId, do not expect a spa experience. But they certainly charge spa rates! Not worth it!!!

I came here for a free core fitness workout. I know a lot of people come to classes for the group atmosphere, my experience was the group atmosphere here is very workout oriented. I met a lot of people no matter what size were, each they were they were very invested in their work out and getting a great job done. Coaches were good too. Place itself is very nicely laid out you have to enter and go to the second floor for the reception. There’s a sauna, some massage rooms in the back and they have the usual showers and locker room area. I would say minus points would only be for the high prices but you can often get deals from them which they mail you if they have your email.

I came to this place with a Groupon. I booked a few weeks in advance for my friend and I to get mani pedis. They brought in an extra nail tech because we wanted to go at the same time, which I felt was extremely attentive. The nails were great. They techs were very nice. The room was calm.
We both added on lash tinting. It was great! I will definitely go back.

I had the true facial with Sally which was wonderful. She extracted most of my milia and even massaged my shoulder and arms. The hydrating mask is perfect for the drying winter, and I appreciate all the skin care tips she shared.
However, this was the worst pedicure I’ve had, which is especially disappointing given that this facility charges more than the ones I’ve been to previously. The pedicurist decided to forgo the hot towel wrap, and barely touched my calluses. I even asked her if she was going to do more and she said she was done. She did a decent job painting my nails, but she seemed to try to get through as fast as she could so that she could paint her own nails…

Exhale was the highlight of my time in Chicago! I went for the trial month at a discount and thought that I would never be able to afford the full membership, but I loved it so much that I made it a priority in my budget and don’t regret it. Never had a bad class here — all of the instructors are very talented and unique. I’ve done a lot of yoga in my life and no place compares to Exhale. The spa membership was also amazing. Very good deal for getting your monthly massage /​facial plus lots of special bonuses for members. Classes and spa treatments are kind of expensive on their own but if you sign up for the membership it’s definitely worth the money. I miss Exhale — wish it was in more cities!!!

Lately I’ve been on a massage kick due to a stressful workload so I decided to try this place for a massage for the first time. Overall I was really happy with my experience. Everyone I dealt with was really pleasant and the actual service was great. I felt like the pressure and time spent on each body part was perfect and liked that most of the time was hands on (vs. spending a lot of time organizing tools and lotions, etc.). My muscles felt GREAT after I left and my stress level was much, much lower. The only thing I will say is there isn’t much to take advantage of in terms of broader facilities so if you’re hoping for more in the way of a relaxation room, whirlpool, etc, you’re better off checking out a hotel spa or the Kohler Spa in the suburbs. But I have nothing but good things to say about my massage itself.

John Nelsons’ classes are amazing! He has such great energy and enthusiasm! As someone who enjoys boxing, running, and lifting, I was surprised to enjoy more yoga-​centric class. I always leave sweaty, sore, and smiling! Highly recommend!

I was very excited to try this Spa and possibly make it my regular spot for facials, etc. I was unable to make my appointment and when called to reschedule the very rude staff refused to work with me and charged me the full $ 150 even though no service was received. I asked if I could use as a credit or at least be reimbursed a portion of the charge instead of the full amount but instead of a cancellation fee, which is typically a percentage of the treatment, they charged me the full amount and were extremely inflexible and unapologetic. I definitely will not be back and will stick with Mario Triccoci that always works with their clients! Extremely disappointed

I like this place so far after signing up for the monthly membership, but one thing: why yoga and country music? Why? I understand this place can be contemporary with the music in their barre and core fusion yoga classes and etc. But why modern music, specifically country music with the traditional yoga?!? Why?!? It just killed the mood to stay calm and in the zen zone.
Otherwise, convenient to walk to if you live in the neighborhood. I literally woke up 15 mins before my class to make it on time.
UPDATE: After over a month of having a membership now, I decided to take 2 stars off for the steam room, shower, and playing country music in a traditional yoga class. I don’t understand and maybe I shouldn’t try to understand why this steam room never works. I predict that the worker keeps turning it off so when after finishing a class, you go to use the steam room it never stays warm enough for the steaming level. This happens more often when you go here in the afternoon or early morning. Personally, I think that it is a waste of time and electricity to keep rewarming the steam room but fails to keep it at certain standard temperature. One time, I literally sat there and waited for over 20 mins but it never got hot to the steaming level. I talked to a few fellow members here. One of them shared that she had to turn on the steam room to warm it up while getting her wax done. When she came back the steam was turned off and she couldn’t get her steam because it never got rewarmed up fast enough. On a serious note, the steam room needs some remodeling or better management of the temperature regulation. It keeps getting turned off, so it becomes so damp and smelly inside, which is a better environment for fungus and bacteria to grow. Moreover, some of the shower heads don’t work to their full capacity because of the mineral deposits from the water blocking the water stream. I am very disappointed with the steam room and the shower because the membership isn’t cheap here so the management needs to do something to improve these. Also a big part of their advertisement is that they have an eucalyptus steam room as an aromatherapy to destress when taking the class or having their spa services (massage and facial). I feels mislead when this steam room almost never works properly.

Wow, fast forward 6 years later… time for a review update!
Now that I don’t live in the area, I go elsewhere for my primary workouts, but I recently tried the new Core Fusion Extreme class and loved it! It is Exhale’s next logical workout after Sport. For the most part, it’s still mostly body weight exercises, but they are functional exercises that workout your entire body in the same movement… jumps, planks, squats, push-​ups, abs… not just one at a time but a combination of these in the same exercise.
After being used to their Barre (before «barre» was even a thing!), yoga, Cardio, and Sport classes, I couldn’t imagine what the studio would transform into. It was separated into 5 stations: TRX straps, Rogue foam plyoboxes, coreballs, gliders, and heavy weights. I hear they change up the workouts at each station from time to time (weekly or monthly?), but the sequence is as follows:
Instructor Demonstration & Group Warm-​up (15 minutes)
Circuit 1 (15 minutes)
Circuit 2 (15 minutes)
Abs & Cool Down (10 minutes)
One circuit is moving through all 5 stations. The class is evenly divided with a max of 6 people at each station (max: 30 person class). Each station has 2 exercises, and you do them both twice. Here’s a rundown of the circuits:
Station 1 /​Exercise 1 (40 seconds)
transition in 3 seconds
Station 1 /​Exercise 2 (40 seconds)
transition in 3 seconds
Station 1 /​Exercise 1 (40 seconds)
transition in 3 seconds
Station 1 /​Exercise 2 (40 seconds)
take 10 seconds to travel to the next station
repeat above at next station
The instructor monitors time so the entire class is working out at the same 40-​second intervals, and everyone switches stations at the same time. Immediately after class, I wrote down what the workouts were, and I was pleased that I have most of the equipment needed to recreate it at home (because we are exercise junkies, but there really isn’t a lot to it).
Exhale, super job at staying relevant and current to the fitness industry. You were my first fancy gym, and you’ll always have a place in my heart!

A great diverse studio with awesome instructors, courteous staff, and value packages with a full schedule of classes available of varying degrees of difficulty. Perfect studio to get a great strength/​cardio specific class and/​or an awesome flow class.

I can’t say anything about the classes, but if you’re looking for a relaxing place to get a massage, look elsewhere.
Upon walking in, I was surprised by the chaos in the front room. There was a long line at the desk and I had to dodge groups of sweaty people to get there. I should’ve done my research, but I didn’t think the spa would be in the same space as the fitness classes. I was herded into a very busy/​loud locker room where I had roughly 8 inches of space to move around. My husband and I were getting a couples massage, so we met outside the locker room and proceeded to awkwardly wait five minutes in our robes for someone to tell us where to go… while again, dodging sweaty people.
We were eventually walked back to a «quiet room» where we were told we could relax with cucumber water (which was warm) and soothing chai neck pillows. When we opened the warmer for the pillows, there was only one. I let my husband have it because the massage was his birthday present, but my neck was pretty pissed.
About ten minutes later, our masseuses lead us to the room. It was fine, but quite stark and not at all soothing. There was no music whatsoever.
The massages were good, but the «spa» experience was seriously lacking. Especially for the price.

I’ve been to 3 CoreFusion Barre + Cardio class with Holly here, and I absolutely love this place and this class. The locker room is very nice, with locks on the lockers so you don’t have to bring your own. There are nice showers and fresh towels (and even flip flops and robes) available if you want to shower after class or if you’re there for a spa service. There is cold water available. All of the essentials for class are available for your to use free of charge and they clean their mats regularly. There’s also a ton of really cute workout gear available for purchase in the lobby.
All of that said about exhale, the class and Holly, the instructor, still shine. The class is difficult, but you can take it at your own pace and listen to your body to get the best workout for you without hurting yourself. I work literally every muscle from my toes to my shoulders and everywhere in between. I leave feeling refreshed and accomplished after every class. Holly is upbeat, motivating, and just the right amount of drill sergeant to encourage everyone to get the most out of every class. If I could handle going every day, I would. This class inspired me to start working out again after months of slacking off.
I am a ClassPass user, so I go to a lot of different studios in Chicago and this is easily my favorite.

Located in the swanky Gold Coast is Exhale, a hybrid studio/​spa that is every bit a luxury gym experience. At the recommendation of my co-​worker and fellow ClassPass-​er, I went to Holly’s Tuesday morning Barre Fusion class.
The employees of Exhale got me signed in and showed me back to the locker room, which is stocked with robes (!!) and flip flops (!!) for wearing around the very sleek (but slightly cramped) locker room. I made my way into the studio and Holly had us grab a variety of equipment and we got started. HOLY WOW, there’s no way around it: this class kicked my butt. As soon as we started with 2 minutes of planks, I knew I was in trouble (both because I hate planks and because I am terrible at them). With the exception of the arm workout, everything about this class was a challenge. Just when I thought I was properly positioned and surviving a set of poses, Holly came over, corrected me, made me sink it lower, AND made us hold it for 20 more pulses. She was a phenomenal instructor, and I kid you not, I could feel the trembling aftershocks in my legs for an hour after the class. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ will definitely would go back.

I would live here if I could. The studio is absolutely beautiful, with hardwood floors and lots of light. I’ve done core fusion and yoga here and love both. Their barre class is pretty challenging, I actually prefer it to pure barre. I always leave from here feeling refreshed and happy. The only thing I dislike it it’s kinda hard to find parking, they do offer validated parking but this still costs $ 12.

I took a Core Fusion Barre class here as part of my ClassPass, and loved it! I’ve taken a gazillion barre classes in a bunch of different cities, and this was definitely one of the better ones in terms of difficulty. The class did a good job of incorporating some strength exercises as well as more classic barre moves, and incorporated the mat, ball, weights, and resistance band. I tend to like barre classes that use a lot of items.
The studio itself was also very nice. There’s a steam room and showers in the locker room, and the whole place smells like a spa. Great place to work out before work.

My only 1 star review on Unilocal.I got a $ 150 gift card to Exhale spa for my birthday. Massages, especially $ 150 ones, are a huge treat for me since I will not generally spend that on myself. Needless to say, I was very much looking forward to the experience of pampering in such a chic and well reviewed spa (and grateful to my generous friend)!
My first mistake was telling my masseuse I had a gift card. Her demeanor completely changed after that. The massage was extremely weak (hardly any pressure at all). When I asked her to increase the pressure she said that I had not signed up for that kind of massage and it would cost extra to press harder. The last thing you want to hear about when in a massage is about a price increase. Her attitude made me tear up during the massage and want to run out of there.
To top it all off, the music was extremely static-​y and kept breaking up and making weird noises throughout the massage. I asked the masseuse to turn it off. We then we continued in complete silence until it was broken by loud yells outside of the room by employees. This went on for 5 minutes until the masseuse went outside to yell at them to shut up. I was the opposite of relaxed when I left, shaken up, disappointed, and angry at the horrible experience. They offered me a $ 30 discount without me asking, but it should have been totally comped.
Overall a terrible experience, made even more bitter by the steep price tag for 55 minutes of un-​relaxation.

(this review is only based on a class & not the spa) I’m visiting my sister this weekend and had to kill a couple of hours while she’s taking an exam. I am a member at exhale Santa Monica and took classes in NYC regularly before moving, so definitely wanted to try a class while I was here.
I took Lizzie’s Power Yoga class and loved it. It was challenging but not over the top a gave options for everyone. It’s a 75minute class but well paced.
The receptionists were also very friendly & super helpful. Plenty of lockers in the changing area and clean. Two classes just finished though so it was a bit busy but not overcrowded. Will definitely try additional classes (or just take Lizzie’s class again) and/​spa therapies next time I’m in town!

My friend and I had a 1 hour massage session today… He had Sylvie as his massage therapist, who was very attentive and focused on areas that requires more work. After the session, he said he was a changed man. The best massage he ever had!
My massage therapist Heather was so nice, pleasant and professional. I asked for a very gentle relaxing massage. Her hands were magical, I actually fell asleep in the table… I felt so relaxed and energized afterwards. Thank you Exhale for a great experience!!!

I’ve taken 3 of Exhale’s classes (CoreFusion Sport/​Barre/​Yoga) through a Gilt 3-​class pack and their free annual FusionFest event, which everyone should check out! I really enjoyed all of the classes because the instructors were enthusiastic and fabulous and the studio is gorgeous. Another plus is that you have access to the eucalyptus steam room after class! The barre class that I took was in their smaller studio, which was a bit tiny but the instructor was able to pay everyone more attention since there was only 6 students and I really appreciated that. My favorite class that I’ve taken is their Sport class because it was more challenging than the others. However, I don’t believe they have that class anymore, which is a huge bummer.
Classes are on the more expensive end if you pay per class ($ 25), but their new guest special is a steal ($ 45 for unlimited 2 weeks). Also, they provide everything you need for class (mat, towels, water) for free, so it is well worth it if you’re in the mood to treat yoself!

I have been to this location before on a Gilt City deal for a massage and facial. The massage was ok and the facial was meh. I had a gift card from my coworkers for my birthday and decided to give them another shot.
I made an appointment for a Pure Manicure + Pedicure which is a $ 95 dollar service. Honestly the worst mani pedi I have ever gotten. I spend $ 30-​$ 45 on mani pedis that are much better than the service I received.
The woman doing my nails was really sweet but the entire process was not spa like at all. The polish they have there bubbled up on my nails and we had to redo my manicure. The space itself was dirty and not maintained. Dust everywhere. The service itself felt rushed. I received no massage during my manicure or pedicure. I’m at a spa. Paying $ 95 dollars. Why is there no massage in the application of the scrub or lotion. It was literally slathered on. That’s it.
It’s been two days now and my manicure AND pedicure has already chipped! Polish usually lasts a minimum of a week on my nails.
I was overall extremely disappointed in the services I had at Exhale. I can safely say that I will NOT be back!

I love this place. The only reason it’s short one star of perfect is because it is really expensive. Possibly overpriced?
I purchased their spa membership which isn’t too badly priced. $ 150 for one monthly spa therapy (I always get a massage), $ 50 credit to spend on services, and a monthly manicure. I just need to make sure I get in monthly to get my money’s worth of services. Since I don’t like getting mani’s here (as I will explain later), they allow me to use the value of the mani towards another service. I usually stack it with the $ 50 credit and get a brazilian wax.
I’ve had my best massages ever here from Qiana. She knows exactly what spots need attention. I always feel like jelly after leaving.
The manicures here aren’t that great. The service is really slow. Personally I want a manicurist who can get me in and out in half an hour. And for the manicure to not chip after a day. My sister and I both had mani’s done here and had our nails chip the next day.
I’ve also tried their yoga class and my sister tried the Core Fusion Barre class. Both were below average. Barely got a workout from it.

I got a free class pass for Exhale at a media event I went to and it sat on my desk for a couple months. Since I am taking a break from running (but not eating), I am looking for alternative ways to get in a workout. I took a Exhale Flow Yoga and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The class was small and the mix of movements was both challenging and introspective. I thought it was more personal than Core Power (where the instructor seems to walk around more than demonstrate) and provided a pretty good workout for a yoga class. I think the classes are pretty expensive, but I know they often run specials and have packages on dailydeal site.
Yoga mats and towels are provided and locker room is primo-​deluxe status.