West End Health & Fitness

Great gym! I am new to the area, and instantly feel more at home having a friendly neighborhood gym to go to. The staff is very welcoming– Vito in membership sales was super helpful and gave me a great deal as a student, and Jhen at the front desk always says hi and remembers my name. The gym itself is fairly small but has everything I need, and in the early mornings I have never had to wait for a machine. The locker rooms are clean and complete with towels and hairdryers. All around solid place!

West End is a friendly neighborhood gym with all the equipment and classes a girl could need! There are always fresh towels available and the facility is clean and tidy. The front desk staff are always warmly welcoming as well! Plus, they offer the best Zumba class in the world. Mondays at 6:30 with Aline will rock your world!

I could not imagine a better gym with better classes or people. After graduating college I did not know where I was going to find low priced amazing Zumba classes. Lucky for me my college Zumba instructor works at this incredible gym, it is like a flash back to school every Monday. As for the rest of the staff they are amazing! Vito is so charming every time I walk in I feel so at home it makes me look forward to Mondays!

Go around the corner to NY Sports!
I would give it more stars but the billing and general management is so flaky here. They seem to have «new software» issues every six months. Worst of all, I spoke to MELISSA today about being over-​bullied from my checking account. She was rude and sarcastic, dismissive and blaming the customer (me) for their confusing and inefficient billing policies, while claiming to be «professional». Rather than answer my questions she offered to close my account. «Not a problem» she said.
Typically they have a policy of requiring 30 day notice to close. It should be a problem ! The business is meant to serve the customer and maintain reliable accounting.
Enough. I took her up on it and closed my account. Plenty of gyms around.

Would love to give more stars, but I’ve been frustrated with some of the employees time and again.
Cons: wish it opened earlier. I know 5:30 is early, but 5 would work much better with my work schedule
They closed at 2pm on NYE. While I planned to be out a couple of minutes before close, they kicked everyone out at 1:40. I kid you not, the maintenance woman yelled at everyone as a whole and they went to everyone individually and told them to leave. She was very rude and said if we didn’t leave RIGHT THEN she wouldn’t be able to leave at 2. If the employees needed to be out at 2, then why was closing time at 2? That’s not how «closing» works, guys.
The same maintenance lady comes in at opening and sits at the front desk visiting while the fitness room is filthy. They should really have someone clean over night picking up towels, wiping down equipment, putting things away. They don’t. The morning «maintenance» crew doesn’t seem interested either.
There was some strange towel saga they never explained. Towels were not available for a brief period. Then they felt we had earned them back or whatever and handed them out individually rather than letting people just pick them up from the bin.
They often have the heat overworking in the winter. Think hot yoga but on the treadmill.
I just often wonder if there’s management there.
Pros: They seem to repair equipment timely
While rehabbing my knee (bad sprain) and foot (broken), I went to the spin class on Sunday. It was GREAT. She was so energetic and made it fun!
Front desk people and trainers are always so nice.
They have a good range of machines and free weights.
People of all ages and fitness types are comfortable here, not a meat head, bro zone

The chief advantage of this club, at least for me, was that they had a pool. There are other, cheaper places around that certainly suffice for a workout. That is to say that there is little to recommend this place for the time being.
The thing is that they closed the pool Spring 2015 saying that it would be open in September. Now, nothing has happened and, to the naked eye, there is absolutely nothing going on. If you don’t use a pool, go there only if it is the most convenient location to you. If not, go somewhere else monthly until you can get to see if they are truly ever going to have a pool. I have some doubts

The good: this gym has a great array of equipment, most of it very clean and in good condition. I am not wanting for anything by way of equipment and I almost never have to wait to use any of it. There is also a good array of people there, no lululemon types who make you feel self-​conscious for being a beginner, nor creepy dudes. The pool is also nice and always clean, as is the hot tub. Sometimes you have to wait for a lane, but many times I have been able to get a lane without a wait. The locker room is nice, with a steam room and sauna, although the products in the shower are meh. Generally it’s great for people who are into doing their own thing.
The bad: the extras that they offer when you sign up – free swim class, personal training session, etc, are not great. I tried scheduling my swim session five (five!) times, and got stood up every single time, even when I called to confirm. It’s like it doesn’t actually exist. My personal training session went much more smoothly, but I was not super impressed with the level of knowledge of my trainer (she said I shouldn’t lift because I’ll get «big»; women don’t get big from lifting unless they’re chugging protein shakes and steroids. Definitely turned me off.) The pool is closed more often than it’s open, and you’ll never get a refund because of it.
I ended up cancelling my membership, mainly because of the pool issue. Three months later I got a call from them saying they lost all credit card information, and could I please tell them my card number so they could charge me the cancellation fee. No thanks…

As part of ClassPass, I went to West End Health and Fitness for a pilates class. The front desk had paperwork waiting with my name spelled wrong. Not a good start. I went to the locker room and the lady handing out towels literally spoke not a lick of english. I went to the restrooms which literally reeked like a sewer. This is not an exaggeration. I have been in port a potties that have smelled better.
The class was not a true pilates class. With mostly women upwards of 50 and lead by a woman of said age, it started off with dance steps found in senior citizen classes to warm up. The rest of the class consisted of a lot of stretching, some core work and use of the stretchy bands. Maybe 25% of the 55 min class was true pilates. No hundreds, magic rings.
As I was looking for a good pilates work out, this wasn’t the class for me.
I did take a quick look around the gym itself and it was really not inviting or inspiring. Very grey with not bright lighting.
Overall, I am glad that I tried a new spot but all of the reviews here were on the money. I won’t be returning.

I toured this club in Spring of 2015. They had just closed the pool «for renovations» and told me at the time it would be closed all summer and would open in the Fall. Well, today, Sept. 12^th I called to inquire about the pool and they told me it wasn’t going to open until NEXT YEAR! They have not even started the renovations… my bet is that the pool will never re-​open. What a scam. I am so glad I didn’t join… I am a swimmer and that was the only reason I was going to join this club. Stay away from this place… read the other reviews. If I could give this place 0 stars, I would.

If I could give this place zero stars, I would.
They close the pool without notice in May and tell us to go across town and pay $ 10 per pool use at a completely different pool. For several months this summer they were replacing the boiler and had no hot water. Work on the pool does not even appear to have started as of last week, and many machines have remained out of service for months.
Their staff are completely unhelpful and the manager seems completely unsympathetic to the decrease in services they are providing. I have since canceled my membership and they had the audacity to charge me an extra month of membership. You better believe the charges are being declined with American Express.
There are plenty of better options in the area, and especially ones who run their business at least somewhat honestly.

I put my membership on hold because the pool closed for repairs. Months later the pool has not opened and doesn’t look like it will open again so I canceled my membership. I had to rejoin and pay a full month before they would let me cancel.
Victoria

The new management here is somehow even worse than the previous one. There’s a ridiculous focus on turning it into a sleek, corporate gym (a la Equinox) — but without actually putting any work into maintenance, hiring friendly staff, or really showing any compassion towards their customers.
First of all, the pool has been shut down for the entire summer very abruptly, without a very specific reason as to why. I became a member at this gym because of the pool. I happen to know someone who works here, and they told me that the work on the pool hasn’t even started! On top of this I’m always finding run-​down or out-​of-​service equipment that sits around for weeks before someone gets around to fixing it.
If their prices were more reasonable and the staff friendlier, I’d say that this is the type of gym where you get what you pay for — basic equipment, some good classes, okay amenities. Except that they aren’t charging much less than other competitors in the area. I will say that some of the class instructors are fantastic, my only really positive thing to say.
I’ve been extremely disappointed with the service since it switched over from Paris and if they don’t fix the pool soon they will be losing an entire family of dedicated customers.

The staff is rude and extremely uninviting. They closed the pool for the entire summer and told people they could go to the YMCA all the way across town. Multiple machines are out of order. They seem to always have boiler or plumbing issues. There is a serious lack of towels and amenities as a whole. I addressed this with the Assistant General Manager, who was of no help and told me, «There is nothing he can do» about my issue regarding his rude staff and tried to rush me off the phone. DO NOT JOIN THIS CLUB!
Bottom Line: NO AMMENITIES, NO POOL, NO HOT WATER, RUDE STAFF

I signed up for this gym to use the pool. Several months into my membership, the pool was abruptly shut down until the end of the summer because «engineers have discovered issues that necessitate immediate repairs». No problem — I immediately canceled my membership, hoping to restart it as soon as the repairs were completed. This was on 4÷02÷15. First week of June, I noticed that my credit card was still being charged, so I called their billing manager to get a refund.
This is when the story gets absurd. The billing manager tells me that the gym has a 30 day cancellation policy, and all members are required to adhere to it, because the pool is considered an «amenity» (even though I’m far from the only one sign up specifically because of the pool). And even though I cancelled at the beginning of April, I would still be charged through May 31.
Does this make any sense? How could I ever consider becoming a member again if the services advertised can be taken away without notice, and without refunding my money, or at the very least crediting my account for future months?
In short: I was charged $ 180 for a service that was never provided, and subsequently denied a refund. Buyer beware.

Great place to get your workout done. In a great friendly neighborhood. It has all the amenities you could want and a great staff!

Went There In Gotten A 3 Day Pass To Try It Out. But Didn’t Go Back In Some Months Because Of Family Problems. When I Went In Today. The Lady Was So Mean I Just Walked Out! Too Bad It’s Right By My Apartment.

I have been a member of this club for three months now, and I have to give WEH&F four stars. The staff is very friendly, the machines are very well-​maintained, but most of all, this place isn’t one of those «chain gyms» like NYSC, or Planet Fitness. The machines are always available for whatever workout you want to go in on, and yes, the clientele skews older, but what are you there for? You’re there to clang and bang, not to sip a martini with the older set. The only reason I’m giving four and not five stars is because the weight room is fairly small, but it has everything you need to get jacked fast. Looking at some of the reviews of other gyms, I’m glad I chose WEH&F.

This is a great gym, not just for the low price, but because it’s a good facility without the pretentious spa/​juice bar nonsense you get a lot of in the UWS, or the kids with no sense of shame flirting with their reflections while they workout. The crowd definitely skews older, but what that means is that people generally tend to be more respectful of your space and act a little less like they showed up to hang out, instead of exercise.
All the various machines, benches, pulleys, weights, etc., are clean and kept neatly. I’m not sure what that other reviewer is talking about, but this gym is very well maintained. Sometimes access can be difficult, but I’ve never waited more than five minutes for anything. My only complaint is that the weight room is a little small, and you have to improvise a few things, but it’s pretty much the same anywhere.
Staff here is 5 star – super friendly and helpful, and they keep the place humming at just the right tempo (Seriously, I don’t want to work out at a dance club. Why do some gym owners think that’s a good thing?). They have a variety of trainers to fit a spectrum of differing needs and interests, and they host classes that reflect a pretty diverse member population. I don’t really work with trainers often, myself, but Sarah really straightened out my program, and added a lot of new and challenging things to my routine.
If you’re expecting a bunch of twenty year olds, mugging and posing (or checking themselves out in the mirror) while they lift or pedal, or you want a smoothie bar or a hot stone massage, you’re out of luck. But if you want a clean and convenient place to work out, then leave and go on about your life, this is definitely the place.

I’ve always wanted to check out this gym, as it is 2 blocks from my apartment. I did a Groupon two-​month trial and was not impressed:
1) The Groupon came with free personal training session. While my membership was active, nobody responded to my multiple emails trying to schedule this session. After it expired, they finally responded to my emails, but told me that I couldn’t redeem it since my membership had expired.
2) The locker room and showers are sort of grimy.
3) The clientele skews older, which is fine in principle, but it means that there were only two group fitness classes a week that I could go to (they were billed «intense») and feel like I exercised. I’m 25 and not in particularly good shape, but when I went to the non-«intense» classes, I felt like they were more geared towards people 60+.
4) The equipment, particularly the lifting machines, are not well-​maintained.
5) The materials say it closes at 11pm, but at 10:45pm, they make you leave the floor. I asked what it means that they close at 11, and was informed that that is when they lock the doors and the staff leaves. What a strange policy of misinformation.
Even disregarding the lack of responses to emails, this was not a gym that I looked forward to working out at. I was happy when my two-​month trial expired because it meant I could finally join another gym.

This is a great value gym. For $ 90 a month, I rarely have to wait in line for any of the equipment (elliptical, treadmill, bikes, weight machines, etc), even during post-​work hours. And the equipment is the same as those I’ve seen at Equinox.
Plus there’s a pool, a dry sauna and steam sauna! There aren’t too many extra amenities/​perks, like high-​end shampoos. But for what I really need… a place to work-​out with good, well-​maintained equipment, this is perfect!
I have not tried any of the classes. And I do agree that the clientele does skew older. But who cares???