Cardio Express

This place is an absolute dump. I’ve been a member for over a year now and paying for the premium membership and getting charged maintainece fees left and right you would think the place would renovate the leaking roof, disgusting rotted bathroom sink, busted out lights and frequently broken equipment. The free weight area just smells like you could catch an infection walking through it despite having cleaning spray bottles available to the public. Only positive thing I have to say about the place is the staff is very friendly at all hours of the day/​night when im there. Would not recommend to anyone and will be switching gyms as soon as possible.

After years of being a member I can’t remember ever seeing so many broken machines and blowout out light bulbs. Same equipment broken for months! Totally unacceptable.
The men’s bathroom is atrocious… The sink is something that shouldn’t be allowed in any facility never mind a high traffic gym.
Can’t wait for Edge to open up. If you can’t maintain the Manchester facility why open more? See ya and your filthy establishment

Just an update to all of you considering joining this gym, don’t. After I left bad review about gym, a female staff member named Liz threatened me with violence. Which I recorded with my cell phone and then told her that if she hit me I would defend myself then have her arrested and Sue her and the gym.

I walked into this place wanting to join for the no money down 10 dollars a month deal they advertise often, but I was greeted with the bait and switch. I just needed a membership for the months through the winter and expressed this to a guy named Mike. He said I would be better off signing up for the premium membership because it requires no money down plus I could cancel anytime. So now my 3 months are up, it’s summertime and I go to close my account out but I’m told I can’t cancel for another 6 months. Plain and simple these people with lie strait to your face and smile just to get you to sign at the x. Do yourself a favor a tale the time to read the small print. Also, this must happen a lot because I’ve tried to file complaints and you will notice they only accept them by e-​mail. They have no direct customer service number. If you try to talk to a manager about it they will just give you an attitude and slip you a email address to pawn the problem off on.

I love that Cardio is 24 hrs because I typically hit the gym around 4:30 am. All gyms get traffic jambs at rush hour so it’s no surprise that people find it hard to get a smith machine at 5pm. I have always found the staff very friendly. It seems like they are always renovating. The dumbbells fall a little short in the weight department, but this establishment is named «Cardio Express» after all. Personally I am thankful to have the new facility in East Hartford and will continue to be a member for years!

Ok, so after being a member here for a while, including through the winter, I have some more thoughts and a reason to upgrade my initial rating.
* Especially in the winter, this location can get crowded on cardio and weights. I find the weights are particularly intimidating, even though they have more equipment than other locations, because it’s packed and full of more serious strength trainers
* Most of the equipment is functional and not broken. So yay.
* I can still only find one water fountain!
* Spinning classes are overall awesome. I’ve gone to about 8 instructors’ classes. At no extra cost, you can go to every class. The sound is not the best, and about 25% of the bikes are not in front of a mirror, but the instructors are passionate and overall have very good tunes. The classes certainly rely on your ability push yourself, but I’ve been very pleased with the classes.
Best music: Lenny
Makes you work the hardest: Courtney
Best all around class (energy, music, moves): Denise
Get there 30 minutes beforehand to ensure you have a spot.
** upgrade to 3.5÷4 stars! **

Location is great, place is clean… friendly staff… love the hours… open all night… but for a week they didn’t have any water for sale. Not a big deal but that fountain in the back leaves alot to be desired. I asked what was happening and the front desk threw the leadership under the bus…“it’s corporates job to buy it”…gives me a sense there is a relationship issue with the people on top of the pyramid and the stone carvers.
PS…get a couple more curling bars… always have to wait.
A bit late… but the windows you put in last spring are terrific.

$ 10 a month. Free weight section? Check. Cables? Check. Abs/​stretching area? Check. Only thing missing is a squat rack. They used to have one until they removed it about a year ago. I transferred here from the new Vernon gym because they didn’t have a squat rack. Good thing, they got multiple leg press machines and many other leg machines.
The free weight section is decent size. 5 bench presses (3 flat, two incline). Tons of cardio machines for the cardio bunnies. Always a free machine around even at the busy hours. Parking is okay usually… The staff are friendly and will try to get you to upgrade (that’s their job). A friendly no does the trick and they leave you alone. I haven’t had experience with their spinning classes but I always see a line of people waiting.

Cheap, Dirty and just another chain gym. They just want your 10 bucks a month. All the people who work there are strictly all about the sales. Place needs to be cleaned more often. Machines are new but that’s the only positive thing I can say. They are always sending me emails and flyers to come back, so annoying. Overall take your 10 bucks somewhere else.

For God’s sake… please, Please, PLEASE stop up-​selling me.
I have been to this gym about a half a dozen times for a day pass. It’s always during the winter when it’s too cold to be outside, because I consider the world my gym when it’s above 30 degrees. I am not interested in a membership, and never will be.
Unfortunately, unless you are a member of this gym, every single question and statement from the staff is salesmanship disguised as common banter. It’s positively nauseating.
«So… just getting a day pass, huh?
[Yes, I’m not a gym rat.]
«So where do you live?»
[Not close enough to this gym, and even if I was, I wouldn’t get a membership.]
«It’s actually cheaper to get a membership»
[No it’s not. That’s a naked lie.]
«Just so you know, there’s applications by the door in case you change your mind.»
[Don’t worry, I won’t.]
It’s a great gym that sells itself. Clean, functional machines, lots of classes, a tanning room, a not-​gross locker room with nice showers, and a manageable amount of lunkheads. My favorite feature is the Cybex weight machine circuit that works every major muscle group… It’s about a dozen machines that you do in a row (from leg press to lower back)… a good workout without the confusion.

I am been going der for 4 year. Not bed. they Change lot. look so much better then before. Like on morning. Not lot people. You can work out. But at night. Every busy.

For those who use this facility, $ 10 a month or $ 20/​month for access to all three facilities sounds like a bargain… until you have to cancel.
On top of charging you one last monthly rate at time of cancelation, they now have an «annual maintenance fee» of $ 40 that they charge you. Somehow, I missed this in my contract. I canceled my membership 5÷11÷12, a whole week before the May gym fees were due, and I was told because I paid May dues, I was free to use the gym until mid-​June. And wouldn’t you know, June was the month that the «annual maintenance fees» were due. So not only did I have to pay an extra month for a gym I don’t use, I also has to pay a $ 40 ripoff fee. I think that this must somehow be illegal, as I canceled my membership in MAY not June and somehow, they finagle a way to get the $ 40 out of you no matter what month you cancel. I would totally cancel my credit card and let them come after me for the dang $ 40 if I didn’t want to get rid of them once and for all.

Hey, it’s Cardio Express! Oh joy! Not really. I’ve belonged off and on for years and have only been a member when I have no other option. This is the best of the bunch because it’s new and has new equipment. But like any other Cardio Express, they immediately stopped maintaining anything. I remember the carpets were not vacuumed regularly (ewww!).
$ 10 a month and you get what you pay for.

I have been really impressed with this gym! After looking for a while for an exercise option that i can afford one of my former classmates told me about cardio. $ 10/​mo gets you unlimited access to their exercise facilities and classes. $ 20 allows you to visit any location, go tanning, and bring friends on weekends. Although they do have an annual fee of about $ 30 the price still can’t be beat.
The first thing that struck me about their facilities is that they are very clean and generally well maintained. Although the Wethersfield location is not kept, the manchester is quite nice and relaxing. The staff are all friendly and helpful.
The only way that they could be better is if they didn’t have quite an aggressive collection agency. I had my card stolen and was unable to change the card in their system fast enough. There is a way to get the fee back, however it takes time and energy to get your $ 10 back. Otherwise this is a very good gym!

Terrible customer service. Hidden Charges. False advertisement, where they say the rate is a certain price and then charge you more fees that weren’t on the adds. They are shysters. Hot, stinky facility. The carpets have stains, there are holes in the walls. They closed down for a week and told all Manchester members to go to the Vernon branch. Did I mention they are over crowded? and they expected Vernon to accept double capacity? I asked customer service if they could tack on a week for my prepaid membership since I paid for services that I did not recieve for the week they were closed. They pulled some «its in the rules BS and we can’t give you a replacement/​refund». I felt that they shystered each member out of $ 5ish for that week. Its not even about the $ 5, its about the principal. Awful place. Drive the extra minutes to go somewhere else. Tons of machines are broken. Bathrooms smell awful. Pay the extra money to have respect from someone you are paying your money to. Only reason I gave it a 40% was because the place has work out equipment, and because it has tv’s on all the cardio equipment. If you ever walked out of the place and then right back in. They will say «hi how are you doing today?» again. They are like automated robots. They address you by your name because it is their job (and they look it up), and not because they actually care.

A friend of mine and I were looking for a new gym. We took a couple tours and negotiated with various local gyms. Our last stop was Cardio Express. The tour showed a clean gym with modern equipment, friendly staff, decent locker rooms, and several tanning beds. As we were getting to the end of our tour I whispered to my friend «there’s no way this place is $ 10/​month, as we’d heard». Much to our surprise, it was.
To be a little more clear, there are annual maintenance fees (I think they’re around $ 40/​year) that need to be paid and if you want the benefit of unlimited tanning or the option to bring a weekend guest you’d need to upgrade to the $ 20/​month membership, but still a great deal. I previously belonged to the ritzy place in Evergreen walk which was around $ 50/​month, only slightly nicer, and didn’t offer tanning.
Pros: Decent equipment & locker rooms. Tanning. Free classes.
Cons: Hidden annual membership fees. Sometimes crowded. No pool, hot tubs, or saunas.

Overall a great gym especially for the price. I was able to get a whole year membership for only $ 99. The gym is nice and open… not at all stuffy or smelly like other gyms I have been to. They have plenty of treadmills, each with a built in tv and you can hook up your ipod to it as well. I also personally like the fan built in to each treadmill, just a nice extra feature. There are plenty of universal weight machines and I am not intimidated at all to go in the free weight area. Whenever my mp3 player dies the music they have playing is pretty decent as well. I have not tried any of the classes yet so I cannot comment on those. I mostly stick to running. I really cannot think of a negative aspect about this gym especially considering what I paid for it.

I have been a member at Cardio Express for about 2 years now and still really like it. I’m also a member elsewhere (for the pool and classes) but am reluctant to give up my CardEx membership for a few reasons:
–the staff is very friendly. They actually look at you and address you by name after you check in. I always get a welcome and a goodbye. Everyone has been very helpful with any questions I have had. They are not always playing with their personal cell phones or talking on the business phone like other gyms in the area.
–TVs BUILT INTO TO EVERY PIECE OF CARDIO EQUIPMENT! As a runner I find it to be a huge bonus to be able to watch what I want and flip during commercials, especially while I’m doing a long run.
–better treadmills than my other gym. CardEx treadmills have fans, different programs and programming options and, of course, the tvs.
–I like the inside of the gym better. It’s sorta dark but I like it.
–minimal wait time for a treadmill, if there is any wait at all– they have lots. maybe 30?
–the music is pretty good if I don’t have my mp3 player
–bigger area to stretch
Basically, this gym is great if you are just getting started with a fitness routine and don’t want to spend tons of money on a membership (I have the $ 10 option) or if you just want weights and cardio equipment and don’t want classes like yoga or kickboxing.
If only they had a pool this would be my only gym.

The 24 hour gym closes at 9PM on Fridays. I have moved out of the state and tried to cancel my membership over the phone. I was passing through town tonight and figured I would get one last workout and cancel my membership on the way out. At 855 I ended my workout and made my way to the front desk. Apparently the 3 workers were too busy herding other members out and could not be bothered with my request. The assistant manager working (Joe Petrow) explained to me the computer system would not allow him to precess the request after the gym closes. Am I supposed to believe the system locks out at 9:01? I called him out on this lie and he tried to have me call in my cancellation or come back when they are open. OPEN??? I am standing in front of him and 2 other workers. How are you not open? I explained that I live out of state and they will not accept the cancellation over the phone. I politely asked him again to do us a favor and just help us out. He said that he had explained this to us and we can send a certified letter to cancel. By this time he could have keyed in our request and we would be done, right? At this point I asked for his name, and he refused to provide his full name. I asked for the owners name, and again I was denied access to this valuable info. I explained to him it is important he passes this off to a superior before he further alienates a customer. At this point he started to raise his voice and accused me of trespassing and threatened to call the police on me if I do not leave. I stayed calm and explained that this is hte first time I have ever been talked to in this manner in a place of business. We went back and forth. I stayed calm and he had a serious roid rage episode. I am just chuckling inside thinking of the experience. If this was a sitcom nobody would believe the premise. I did shoot him some barbs such as asking if this was his first job, asking if they have a policy to yell at people trying to quit the gym, if he was capable of taking a step back and realizing when he is wrong. I think the comment that really set him off was when I explained that the internet exists and it is easy to document this exchange of wits. I did actually write down some quotes and asked him if he wants to give me further rope to hang him with. Long story shot, he called the police on us. We offered to leave if he gives us his name and the owners name. He preferred the route of waiting an extra 15 mins for hte police to show up. Do you realize you could have taken care of this 20 times by now? I am sure I am leaving a ton out, but hopefully you get the point. Stay away, and if you do join make sure you talk to anyone but Joe Petrow when you need any type of customer support. As a business owner myself I would suggest Cardio Express to reprimand Joe Petrow, and give all employees additional training… or they could hire an assistant manager with an ounce of common sense.

I’ve been going to this gym for about a year and a half now. I have the $ 20 a month deal with tanning included. When I signed on I was allowed to bring guests whenever I wanted… now apparantly I can only bring them on weekends… that is if they’ve ‘adjusted’ the rules again… who knows – I’m sure I signed something that said they can change whatever they want when they want – but thats still annoying.
Whats also annoying is their «annual» fee, its like 40 bucks a person… yet they take it TWO times a year… shouldn’t that be called «Bi annual» or something? Again, another technicality they have us on I’m sure. You think you’re so sneaky Cardio Express…
Anyway, I still go here because they have a bazillion machines – all with TVs. Some of the TVs have quirks – like they’re tuned in to recieve 5 different regional versions of ABC or something (like you have to click through channel 7 like 4 times until it turns to channel 8) and some of them have funky ac hook ups which result in poor sound or only getting the sound in one ear…(I’ve tried three different kinds of headphones/​ear buds… its them not me, seriously)
So, consistenly finding an open machine is not a problem. I don’t really work with weights so I can’t comment on that. As long as I can get on a giselle for an hour with a working TV-I’m happy. And I do take advantage of the tanning – I’ve never had to wait for that – very good availibility.
Despite this place being open for only two years its already starting to fall apart. If you don’t mind holes in the ceiling and the fact that they seem to be already replacing their carpet with hard wood – then go for it. It doesn’t really affect anyone’s work out.
The locker rooms are very nice – plenty of lockers, stalls, changing rooms, always clean, etc. A+
Something dumb that happened a few months ago… I was working out on a cross trainer, towards the end of a 60 minute set… when one of the personal trainers comes up and gets on the one next to me and basically tries to get me to admit to coming to the gym because I want to lose weight – so he can talk me into a personal training package. I’m not interested in that stuff, so it really confused him when I kept saying I was just there for fun and for my health. Took a few minutes to shake him off but it was still offensive – not everyone goes to the gym to be a gym rat/​buff biotch – so lay off! Luckily this isn’t the norm, most of the employees are pretty nice.