Urban Active

Urban Active has been bought out by LA Fitness. This location is fantastic! Not sure how old it is but it feels brand new, plenty of space, clean, brand new equipment, not crowded over lunch (not sure about after work hours). Only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is that this is my first time to this location so haven’t experienced the whole thing yet.

I joined UA-​G about a year ago and was really excited.
I paid 2 yrs upfront for $ 399 which works out to a little over $ 16 per month. I also signed up for unlimited tanning for $ 100 for two years which comes out to a little over $ 4 per month. Although the gym just yesterday eliminated tanning… extremely annoyed about this.
Overall I really like the facility. Love the cardio theater! Although, as of late, the same 5 – 7 movies are on repeat.
The majority of the front desk staff lacks any signs of personality or customer service.
There is NEVER anyone working at the smoothy/​juice bar while 2 – 4 are just standing around behind the front desk 15 feet away so just forget about ever getting one. I actually just bought a blender and make my own now just to avoid the hassle of having to drag an unwilling employee over to the bar.
The gym is insanely busy between 4−7pm. I will not set foot in the place between those hours. I only get about one good workout in per week and thats on Sundays when its dead.
The free weight area is constantly full of bro’s occupying several machines at the same time or asking to work in. Unbelievably rude and distracting.
A facility this busy needs to be 24 hrs. The weekend hours are ridiculous.
I fear with the opening of the new Grandview Yard apartment complex in Oct, directly behind UA-​G that the already heavy member traffic is going to skyrocket out of control.
Overall my experience at this facility has significantly reduced my desire to work out and I find myself skipping more and more days.
Also, many girls (including staff) wear perfume or heavily fragrant lotions here. I am allergic to a lot of colognes and perfumes which causes me to have to leave when one blasts herself right before working out.
I have about 9 months left and Im already scouting new gyms.

I agree with the poster below about most of the positives & negatives.
+ place is huge
+ most of the equipment is good
+ like the cardio room & track
+ usually adequate # of cardio machines
+ place is pretty clean with a lot of equipment
+ I don’t mind the after work crowd. it keeps me honest since i see so many other people staying healthy, i put in a better effort.
— the customer service are usually chatting with each other making side conversations trying to look ‘cool’ rather than doing their job and greeting members and scanning them in.
— they rarely do more than mumble a disgruntled hello
— usually there’s something broken, weight pulleys, lockers, etc. however they do fix it pretty quickly.

I’ve belonged to Urban Active in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio (twice) and my last experience was enough to solidify the fact that if every gym on Earth closed, I would rather build myself a giant hamster wheel than join Urban Active again.
A little background info before I explain, I have been involved in athletics since I can walk, I’m a size zero, run half marathons and running my first full this fall and overall have an athletic, toned build.
Prior to Urban Active opening on Goodale, I was asked to come up for a free workout/​eval at their temp sales center. After what actually was a good workout, the meat steak trainer told me to lose 16lbs.
Things that would happen if I losed 16lbs —
I’d need to start wearing kids clothes
My parents would hospitalize me
I would be forced to be a skeleton every year for Halloween.
Thanks Urban Active, I’ll get on the 16lb weight loss. Right after I win the presidential election this year, cure cancer and buy an apartment on the moon.
Never again.

I’ve been waiting a while to write this review. After nearly two years as an Urban Active member, I’m still not sure how I feel about the gym. Some days I like it, other days I despise it.
The positives:
— This place is huge! Urban Active honestly has something for everyone.
— It boasts an indoor pool for those who like to swim.
— The indoor track is awesome for anti-​treadmill folks (like me!)
— Tons of equipment
— Fairly affordable
— Childcare/​tanning (I don’t use either service, but these could certainly be beneficial.)
— Indoor movie theatre and TVs on treadmills/​ellipticals (which is cool if you like distractions while working out.)
The negatives:
— Poor customer service. The associates barely acknowledge me when I walk in the door. Can I at least get a smile, please? The employees are often too busy chatting with each other to actually interact with members.
— Lack of group classes. When I signed up in 2010, my sales rep told me they’d eventually offer more group classes. That hasn’t happened yet.
— This gym is always busy in the after-​work hours (5 – 7,) so if you work out during this time, beware. You may have to fight to get on the equipment.
— Members are charged additional fees (approximately $ 15) every few months.

Love the layout…

Stepping into the «real world» half a year ago, I thought it quite adult-​like to join a gym, because — ya know — it’s all downhill from here.
I have been a member for about seven months and haven’t had any huge issues. The place is very clean and fulfills all my work out needs. They have a ladies-​only room with about one of every machine, which I think is a nice touch. Locker rooms are fine and so is the sauna (located in the locker rooms making them gender specific, which is nice).
Sometimes the place is bro-​ed out, but c’mon… gyms are their watering holes. I typically cringe at the front desk people. One guy is always texting while checking me in and doesn’t even make eye contact, and all the girls must take advantage to the extreme of unlimited tanning. Coming from a medical family, this makes my own skin writhe in pain.
All in all, not bad for the price I «locked down» with signing right before the holidays. However, I wish they would stick to a flat rate instead of making it seem like people are always getting these huge deals. They try to pull the «this deal is only good until Saturday» stuff all the time. Signing up, they «generously» waived all these fees, which I don’t think anyone has ever been charged. Kinda greasy car salesmanship going on.
My advice is to just shop around for the best price, location and equipment when looking to sign up for a gym. So far Urban Active suffices.

Worst billing issues I have ever had with a business. I was only a member for three months and canceled my membership because all three months Urban Active over charged me. It had taken almost two weeks every month to get my refunds AND, they charged my account AGAIN after I canceled the membership! This gym is nothing special to have to deal with the constant billing issues! Also, no one who works in the corporate customer service department cared what so ever about my billing issues, while I was a member, and after! Worthless!

I’ve been a member of Urban Active for almost two years now. I switch between this location and the Graceland and Polaris ones. Overall I am satisfied though there are things I would change about the place.
Just like other locations around Columbus, UA Grandview has a ton of equipment and it’s usually maintained very well. Every so often there will be an inoperable treadmill but that doesn’t usually last for more than a day or two. If you’re into ellipticals (and c’mon, who isn’t, amirite!!!), there are like three different varieties. There are a ton of free weights, weight machines, and cable machines. There’s a great area for calisthenics, stretching, etc., complete with mats, kettle balls, medicine balls, and other fun toys. They even have a TRX set. Televisions are on many cardio machines, and there’s always the cardio theater, though your cardio machine of choice will probably be in use during peak hours.
There’s a pool, but it’s only 20 yards long. That’s not a big deal if you’re just going for a few laps, but it gets tedious if you want to swim for 30 – 60 minutes. There are also only 3 lanes, so if you go during peak times, especially during crappy weather, expect to share a lane or to wait. This problem with size mattering extends to their indoor running/​walking track. It’s only ¹⁄₁₂ of a mile long, so I wouldn’t recommend running more than a few miles. Making the same turn in the same direction 48 times per mile isn’t exactly good for you.
Another disadvantage to this location is the lack of group classes. At Graceland I can always find yoga and spinning but rarely are there any classes at Grandview.
As with most fitness clubs, peak times are the two hours before most people go to work and the two hours after most people leave work. There are offices that use the same parking garage, so don’t fret if you cruise in early at 4pm and see the whole first level of the garage full. If you can get there before the rush, getting onto a cardio machine shouldn’t be a problem. However, the weight area is a bit busier and even in non-​peak hours I find myself staking out a bench for doing bench presses.
I can’t speak for the women’s locker room or the women’s-only fitness area, but the men’s locker room is satisfactory. It seems to be maintained regularly, so much so that I don’t get the heebie-​jeebies when I decide to shower there.
As far as value for the money, it is what it is. I’ve avoided having recurrent automatic payments by prepaying for my membership. If you have the means, I HIGHLY suggest doing the same. After my first 18-​month membership lapsed, they didn’t charge me an extra dime until I went back in and renewed. When I did renew, they gave me 24 months for the same price. Not bad!
If you don’t want or need personal training, avoid it like the plague. When I first signed up, I was a captive audience and got a spiel from a trainer, but all I had to do was sign up for a «free consultation» which I promptly canceled. Trainers here do solicit people working out (I’ve never seen this at other locations), but just have a story and stick to it. «I’ve lost 40 pounds and I have 40 more to go, and my plan is working fine.» «I have a special type of injury and am doing exactly what my doctor/​physical therapist/​etc. is telling me to do.»
If you do need personal training, try to get the cheapest option available. Honestly, it isn’t rocket science. You can quickly learn a routine from them and then just repeat it on your own, and you can always go back if it gets stale if you can’t be bothered to figure out on your own how to change it up.
Overall, UA Grandview is a satisfactory gym. Avoid anything involving recurring charges and you won’t get scammed. Try to avoid peak times and just about everything will be at your disposal. It’s clean and the people working there are relatively friendly. I enjoy working out there.

The place is nice with a lot of equipment and it looks up to date. The only reason why I would not come here is because I hate the staff. The way I see them talk to people and how they treat me sucks. They seem like they’re a bunch of meat heads that think they’re better than you…

So, now a year and few months in, I’ve experienced better.
Things I like are the spin classes as long as I get there early and don’t get shut out. Also, they’ve upgraded their treadmill TV’s. One more thing, they have the newest equipment of the UA’s beause it’s the newest gym they’ve built besides Dublin, which I haven’t gone too. It’s a very ‘nice’ gym, especially for the price point.
Things that suck: The staff doesn’t try too hard to help with anything, however, they have ALL been very nice. The gym is SOO crowded after work times, you’re lucky if you get a tredmil and if you lift weights, feel sorry for you because that area seems super crowdedl. The trainers solicit all the time. No other classes but spinning and sometime kettlebell, which I’d never choose to do.
Here’s where I was really turned off. I started a tanning membership and then when I followed their ridiculous cancellation rules (which I was told about ahead of time). They never cancelled my account. Then I talked to someone at the gym about it and in their attempt to correct it, they messed up my next payment. So, it wasn’t even cancelled and now the payment company started harassing me for not paying 100% of the bill. So, I talk to someone about it and they make me pay the difference. Then, they never cancell it. 8 Months later I go back in and the girl finally thinks its a good idea to come in with my certified post card and cancellation form where it was scanned and sent to corporate. Then 3 weeks later I recieved my refund after being charged for months and two emails from Grandview for assistance from their employees.
I am very thankful I have a prepaid membership so when it’s over I never have to deal with them again. I wouldn’t recommend signing anything with them unless you don’t mind doing a ton of extra work and paying fees. I do not plan to renew when my contract ends.

UPDATE:
After continuing to receive harassing phone calls from Urban Active’s billing company Paramount Acceptance, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB contacted Urban Active and about a month later, I received notice that I do not owe anything. I would recommend that anyone who has a problem with Urban Active file a complaint with the BBB.
The BBB will basically harass any company until they resolve whatever problem you’re having with them. The best part that the issue is not resolved until YOU say it is.
Regardless, I would suggest staying away from this gym. The equipment is nice but customer service is terrible. Furthermore, there are much better gyms in Columbus. If you live in the downtown area, check out the Arena Gym. They have great equipment, free classes, free towels, free garage parking, and month-​to-​month billing with no contract.

As always, with any of my reviews, my star rating is subject to change at any time if I receive unsatisfactory service. ;) Also, I’m realizing this review is a little hostile, but something that annoys me is people signing contracts and then complaining afterwards about things that are in the contract. Why did you sign if you didn’t like it?!
That having been said, I’m pretty much in love with Urban Active. I have been every day this week since I joined, both alone and with my husband; I haven’t been bothered by trainers, or forced into signing up for tanning or training; the tour we received was a little sales-​pitchy, but c’mon – this ain’t a charity, it’s a business. I saw one review somewhere where the guy complained that he had been approached OVER FIVE TIMES in SIX MONTHS for personal training packages! zomg, no – they’re trying to make money by asking you once a month (or less) if you’d like training? I’m sure there are some trainers there who were hired more for their athletic prowess than their salesmanship (cough), but so far, I’ve had nothing but pleasant service.
When we signed our contract, our rep went over everything, including the written cancellation policy. I hereby pledge right now that if I have a negative experience with this gym, I will ONLY complain here if they violate the terms of the contract that I willingly agreed to sign, or if they provide poor service that is outside the contract that I signed (ie, rude personal interactions, failing to reasonably provide services, et cetera).
What I love: The big, open, bright facility, the fact that I go in the morning when almost nobody is there (win!), the pool, the cardio theater, the decent choice of tunes that they play over the system, the individual televisions on the cardio machines, the Hoist training machines than even a noob like myself can use. If I were into the whole «class» thing, I’d be bummed that they don’t really have em; I prefer to work out alone, sooo I’m glad most of the facility is geared toward that. I’ve only encountered broken machines in one area, and I’ve noticed it’s an area that is always being used heavily, even when there are few people in the gym.
So far, I give this gym an A+!
ETA: I discontinued my membership with Urban Active because of disuse, and I followed the directions for disengaging our memberships carefully. Our memberships were canceled without a hitch, without even one extra month’s charge.

I’ve been at this gym for about 6 months now, since it opened, and really enjoy it.
They’ve recently added new classes in 2011, and added a lot more spin classes to alleviate the consistently booked classes.
The pool, while only 18m, is nice, and they’ve done a decent job keeping the temperature regulated and the area clean.
I’ve just started a training session to prepare for a triathlon, and if you do some research and take you time to make a decision it’s worthwhile.
The trainers will ask you every once in awhile if you’ve considered training, but I’ve not found them pushy or aggressive like I have at other gyms.
Overall I can recommend Urban Active without hesistation. It has its ups and downs just like any other large gym, but 6 months in and the staff seems to be doing a good job at making the place somewhere I want to go work out.

Defiantly one of the top gyms in Columbus. I have been a member at most other places in town and this one takes the cake for me.
I typically bounce between this location and the Polaris one, and I must admit this one is better in many respects. Polaris has a half basketball court upstairs and this location has opted out of that, instead putting more weights and cardio machines in it place which I feel is the smarter move.
The third floor has a tiny track for walking and running as well as a decent theatre where they show movies while you can do cardio. It does get crowded at peak times and if that bothers you then stay away from 7 to 9 in the morning and from 5 to 7 in the evening.
The coolest thing about this location is that I am constantly running into people I know. As much as a workout this place is it also feels like a great social connection, which I actually dig.

I read all of the negative reviews, but thought they couldn’t all be right, so I ignored them and signed up for Urban. I joined 2 days after the gym opened but was charged $ 10 more per month than everyone who joined the day before. Nice. Then the good part.
My credit card was stolen on December 24^th and maxed out. American Express (amazing!) took care of all of the charges and overnighted me a new card the day after Christmas. Urban Active was set up to auto-​bill to my Amex card. My monthly bill date is December 27^th. I get a phone call on January 5^th from a collection agency saying I needed to give them a new card number or they were going to begin the collections/​credit destroying process. I explained my stolen identity situation and the reason the charge did not go through to the now aggravated (at me!) agent on the phone. I gave them the new number and after saying thank you and telling me everything was fine he threw in the part about being charged a $ 32 fee for this process. Whoa. Hold your horses. I just explained to you what happened, and that it happened to happen on the day before my bill goes through, and you blame me and charge me $ 32?!? Oh yes, Urban does that. I was informed what paragraph of the contract small print I could read to see that, and was informed there were no exceptions. None.
Well, there’s no excuse for that Urban, and I will never EVER set foot in one of your gyms again, and I’ll be sure to let everyone else know about it.
PS — the gym sucks anyway… there are no group fitness classes and it has the smallest pool, no track and most cramped space that any other Urban in Columbus.

Where are the classes?! I refuse to give a higher rating until they give us some effing classes! Don’t get me wrong, the gym is beautiful and has tons of great equipment, but that’s just not enough. And the staff is not really all that helpful.

The job of a salesman is to get people to buy his product. In doing so, he must be concerned about the customer and the customer’s situation. All that the salesman at Urban Active seemed to be concerned about was making a sale. He completely ignored my needs and my requests and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Allow me to briefly explain.
I am a gym rat. I love weightlifting, swimming, cardio, the whole nine yards. I currently attend a gym that is rather small and does not have a swimming pool. Urban Active is HUGE and DOES have a swimming pool. It is clean, accommodating, has state-​of-​the-​art equipment, a «cardio theatre» and an overall great atmosphere. They also have tanning packages and personal trainers available. All great things.
I know all of this because I made a spontaneous stop at Urban Active and got a tour from one of the sales reps. I truly wanted to join Urban Active. The only problem was that I am locked in at my current gym and must give my current gym a 60 day notice before quitting. I told the sales rep this SEVERAL times. In fact, it was one of the first things I said.
I was told that there was a special running that ended (coincidentally) the very day I was at Urban Active. The special let your first month be free, so all you had to do was pay your last month, and a reduced «startup» fee. Sounded great. I asked if I could sign up today (pay the last month up front) but then have my first month be in December. This would mean I wouldn’t get charged in December (first month free) and so my first bill wouldn’t be until January. Sounds confusing, but it shouldn’t be if that’s your job.
The guy took my credit card and charged the initial fee and printed a contract that said my first month would be October and my first bill would be November?! I refused to sign the sheet because that was not what we discussed. He backpaddled and tried to be deceitful but it was in black and white what he had done. It would make no sense for me to want to pay for TWO different gym memberships at once!
Instead of canceling the transaction himself, he said that it is the «policy» of Urban Active to have ME go HOME, go online, print off a sheet, fill it out within 3 days, and send it in to the headquarters to get my money back. WHAT?! So, because this guy IGNORED what we had talked about, I have to go home and fix his mistake?! He also was not very apologetic for the trouble it was to cause me.
I talked to the manager the next day as well, and he seemed to be much more competant than his staff. I said I would have been happy to come back and join at a later date, but the sales rep was pushing this «special» which I Ibelieve did not actually end the day I was there.
It was an overall mess. The manager did say he’d give me a free 30 day pass, which is great damage control, I must admit. And the headquarters did get my money refunded within a week.
I love the faciility from what I saw, but really can only judge on their salesmanship on this review.
Because of this, Urban Active will never get a 5 star rating from me, but if I ever get the chance to actually JOIN the gym in a proper manner, I will certainly review differently.

I cannot tell you how anxious– and excited! — I have been for this place to finally open. Like an eager mother, I’ve watched it grow, day-​by-​day (from day one) into a beautiful new gym erected to bring joy and refuge to local health and fitness enthusiasts. Well, I’ve been; I’ve used; I’ve admired; and I’ve been disappointed.
The good:
— Dozens of cardio machines
— Lots of balance balls
— New and so CLEAN
— TVs inSIDE the bathroom mirrors (cool right!?)
— indoor pool
The bad (and the most significant reason for my disappointment):
— There aren’t many classes! I want yoga and zumba dammit!
I’m hoping that because it’s a new location they’re just short on instructors, but in the meantime you can find me on the treadmill.

I was a member of the New Albany club because it’s close to my work. I live in Grandview and have been waiting with bated breath for this gym to open. My sales rep at the New Albany location told me it would be no problem to transfer my membership to the Grandview location once it opened.
So here we are… I went to the Grandview gym for the first time today and here are my observations…
1. The front desk staff were extremely rude. When I indicated that I wanted to transfer my membership from the New Albany location, the attendant rolled her eyes and sighed. Really? Here’s a reality check, sister. This gym just opened and it was highly anticipated. A lot of people are going to want to transfer their memberships. Get over it. It might be inconvenient for you, but it’s your job. So do it with a smile on your face.
2. The assistant manager had to speak with me to complete the transaction. He was incredibly awkward… He made a joke. I politely laughed at it. But then he was like, «You didn’t have to laugh at it. It wasn’t that funny.» Similar awkward quips dominated our conversation.
3. The gym is huge. Three floors, to be exact. They seem to offer a lot — a pool (not olympic-​size), tons of cardio equipment, weights, a spinning room, a movie room and a track. I think I’ll go to one of the spinning classes tomorrow, although I’m bummed to see that they’re not really offering any other group fitness classes. The New Albany gym had a really wide variety of group fitness classes. It’s what I liked about that location.
4. I assume it’ll only be a matter of time before the sales staff tries to rope me into personal training sessions. This is what happened when I initially signed up. I might have done them, but the prices are astronmical.
Overall, I’ve giving this three stars, because although the staff is rude/​awkward/​pushy, the gym is relatively low-​priced for what you get. It gets the job done.