VENT Fitness – Guilderland

Spent too much time and effort turning establishment into a glamour gym. Horrible staff, that often have the lowest IQs known to mankind…
In addition, canceling a membership proved to be too hard of a task for them (from front door staff to non-​existent managers and «assistant managers» who only have time for themselves).
The renovations are nice, but they lost their touch after their transformation. Overcrowded and overpriced for the quality gym provided. Bring back the original Gold’s Gym. I’ll take the lunk alert over this downgrade the Lia Group has provided.

vent fitness is 1 of the best gyms I think there is. The renovation to the place was amazing hats off to all the construction workers that worked on the place they where the best. I cant say the same for some of the employees The way the club is run the music at times is to loud and its offensive. I mean I was in the steam room and I had to watch 1 of the male employees dance his heart out? while I was trying to relax in the steam room I was offended to say the least!!! If the gym had a church like setting meaning no music I personally think that the place would do twice the amount of business! If you want to dance to music go to a night club??? I also think that that it has way to many male members They gym to me gets 5 stars! the way its run gets 2 my memberships up next month I wont be renewing.

5 stars for the gym — 1 star for the training.
Gym is super.
I think the membership is a nice cross-​section from super huge body builders to runners and cyclists, people just keeping fit, and students.
The electronics, music and ambiance are very up-​to-​date. The sound system is awesome and the other night they had a DJ mixing. No radio station on a PA system and no depressing classic rock etc.
The equipment and fitness rooms are up-​to-​date and clean.
Pool is nice. Needs attention to cleanliness and clarity of hot tub.
My membership is a «level III» and have good intention of adding review for those classes.
The gym sold me on starting 2015 paying an extra $ 240 per month for a personal trainer.
That’s not really worked so well to me.
Seems disorganized — no training plan or goals — just seemed too casual. And Cost double alternative like an unlimited yoga membership elsewhere. For me, better options.
Upon quitting pt, the gyms only concern was they could bill me for another month as I gave 7 days notice instead of 10 days per contract. Hmmmm…
I hope to discuss w club mgr.
Overall, a good gym and recommend you join)

First time back in a gym in almost 4 years! AMAZING! Swimming pool, great machines, kettlebells, basketball court, heavy ropes, protein shakes, great staff, everything you could want in a gym! Not a complete meathead haven, so that’s good too!

For starters, I’ll mention the pros of vent. They definitely put a lot into this gym and its renovations. It looks nice. I have not been there since the second set of renovations, so this review will not include that. But I hung in there for the first set; they’d been talking about it for a while. However, I’d been going there for 4 years before hand. This review is less about the cosmetic changes/​provisions than the vibe of the gym, which did not improve, but got worse, in my observations, after the first renovations. There’s an interesting out of towner review about this also. I suggest hearing her thoughts as well.
I consider this a fitness, not a wellness gym, and I think they could learn from some of the current wellness trends. They have great equipment and well informed staff, but many patrons look to feel awkward, or have that faux — confidence often stereotyped about gym members. I think this is what happens when gyms go for «cool» rather than comfortable or accomodating. Many of the staff, in my experience (but not all, there ARE some very nice employees) have a car dealer personality. For people trying to improve their life, it seems to me that sensitivity training would go a long way. This isn’t necessarily their fault, it’s also cultural. But I found my «walls» go up as I entered the gym.
I chose to go to a different gym after the first evolution — a more family oriented place nearby, which has nice accommodations and a more comfortable energy. This may say more about me than Vent, but I look forward to going now. A satisfying contrast.

I was lied to by the employees of what my monthly rate would be for a one year contract. They said $ 9.99 and it was actually $ 19.99. Management came pretty darn close to calling me a liar and said the employee never does such a thing. $ 19.99 isn’t a large amount for a gym membership but it’s infuriating to be told one thing, charged another, and then get the cold shoulder from membership. Horrible experience here.

I gave it the two starts because the gym itself is truly amazing with plenty of amenities !!! But who hired the employees, the are the most unhelpful, aloof, and rude gym employees I have met. I am visiting from San Diego and just wanted a few days at this gym, the «kid» at the front desk barely moved his mouth to guide me and help me! I felt like I was bothering him! 1^st time to the gym he hands me a class receipt and that was that, I had to ask him well where do I go!!! Owners really need to fine tune their staff!!! But again love the facility offerings!

I travel on a weekly basis and spend time in a lot of major cities like NYC, Houston, Orlando, Atlanta, Miami, Denver, Minneapolis, etc. and I’ve yet to come across a nicer gym than Vent in Guilderland. I visit my wife’s family there a couple of times a year and I love knowing that I can travel to Albany and continue my training in a clean gym with friendly and accommodating employees and the most up-​to-​date equipment! Great job Vent — Guilderland, I look forward to my next visit!

That’s a hell of a renovation, Vent.
I’ve been a member of the local Vent gyms since before they were Vent, back when they were still Gold’s. Guilderland was an interesting location of the local chain, because it always seemed like a bit of a neglected dump compared to the other locations. It is closest to where I work now, but I never really cared to go here. I’d typically drive out of my way after work to go to the Vent in Clifton Park.
As I’ve gathered, the owners of these gyms transitioned from the Gold’s franchise to their own brand, Vent, in order to go in a different direction with their gyms. One significant goal of this is to improve and modernize their facilities. If that is indeed one of their goals, I’d say they were overwhelmingly successful with the renovations on this location.
Don’t get me wrong: The other Vent locations in the area are great gyms as well. They’re run by excellent management and staff. The Guilderland Vent impressed the hell out of me, though. The gym itself looks amazing. They went with a very good layout and appearance. The equipment is all new and kicks ass. I especially like the bikes they have on the main floor in the cardio area. The staff seems just as excited about the changes as the members, which is always good.
There’s clearly a renewed effort to improve the quality of service that they provide, and they are certainly following through on it. If they make the same changes they made in Guilderland to the other three locations, it’ll be pretty much impossible to top Vent.
If you’re looking for a gym in the Capital Region, Vent — especially the Guilderland Vent — is where you need to go.

From the person at the front desk, to the staff answering all my questions everyone was extremely helpful and pleasant. The new addition will be complete in about 2 weeks, super excited to see the final product! This gym is definitely a great place to join, Shaina was excellent!!!

This gym is one of a group of gyms with several locations. They formerly had the Golds Gym branding. Although the Latham and Niskayuna gyms aren’t too bad, the Guilderland location is bad news. They tell you that they’re undergoing renovation and expansion, but it’s been that way for years! They conduct training classes right in the aisles between weight machines and yell at you if you mistakenly wander into their path. The whole place is dingey with torn carpeting and broken bathroom fixtures. I called the main desk once during bad weather to see if they were open and received a snippy reply. Can’t wait until my contract expires so that I can go to a gym that will appreciate my business.
Update 4÷8÷15 — I’m still a member of this gym chain, lol. Lack of motivation to switch and find another gym, but I’m kind of glad I stayed. They did a great job of renovating the Guilderland location, so I’m upgrading the rating to 3 stars. The facilities are beautiful, but unfortunately they didn’t get it quite right. There must be at least 75 treadmills, but only two flat benches for weight training. I had to wait to use a bench in a gym that had barely a few people working out. They’re obviously catering to the casual gym user who wants to hop on a treadmill after work and not people who actually want to condition their bodies and build some muscle. To their credit, they updated and replaced a lot of the weight machines with newer machines.
Nevertheless they removed some of my favorite machines. I was working out one day and wanted to work calves, an important and often overlooked muscle, as anyone who has seen a huge bodybuilder with spindly legs can testify. There was no calf machine in the place as they had been removed! When I asked one of the staff where the calf machines were, he wouldn’t answer the question and told me to use the quad machine instead.
As other reviewers have pointed out, the loud music is offensive. Just give me a quiet gym with plenty of benches, free weights and well maintained machines, and don’t try to be a disco.