The Athletic & Swim Club

Great part of ClubCorp. Been going here for 10 years.

I have been a member here for a couple of years. This place is right across the street from my office and, coupled with the fact that they provide workout clothes and I maintain a permanent locker there that stores a couple of pair of sneakers and some toiletries, that makes it extremely easy for me to get in a workout during the day. Other upsides are that the front desk staff is friendly and helpful, the equipment is pretty up-​to-​date and well maintained, the pool is nicely sized and the place is seemingly never over crowded.
There are a few downsides, however, the stretching space is limited, there is no natural light (it is at concourse level), the equipment, although well maintained, is limited (for instance, the highest dumbbell weight is 100lbs), the staff in the men’s locker-​room is inconsistent — some are rather lackadaisical, sloppy and goofy while others (notably the thin young guy who works the late shift) are diligent and really hard workers, and, aside from the exercise equipment, the place looks a little dated.
Although there are people of all ages and fitness levels, most of the clientele are middle aged and older and in average shape for an active individual. Some folks seemingly though use the place as more of social club than a fitness club. I am a bit of a fitness nut (I also belong to another gym and do Krav Maga with yet another outfit) — I workout at least six times a week. Despite its drawbacks and expense, the convenience of the place makes it a significant part of my fitness régime.

I joined the Club mainly to use their terrific swimming pool. A a new member I had a free swim lesson and decided tosign up with the young coach, Neal From. He turned out to be an exceptionally great coach, very perceptive at spotting my technical faults, helping me to correct them, encouraging me to work at things I had not been able to achieve before, especially developing a working kick and becoming able to breathe on both sides, where before I was only able to breathe on my left side and always seemed to drown on my right. But Neal helped me to correct that. all this was accomplished in only three or four sessions. so I am very much looking froward to continuing with him. So bravo to Neal From!

This gym is in my building complex, offers a discount through my workplace and has a pool. If I don’t manage to work out here — there is no hope for me.
I joined primarily for the pool and it’s a nice one. Plenty of water equipment — nice big clock and due to my weird working hours I haven’t had to wait for a lane yet. I’ve had to share lanes and everyone is pretty pro about it — haven’t had a problem at all with the other swimmers.
Great staff — especially the ladies in the locker room. These ladies are great — I used to be a member of Equinox and if you’ve been to the one in Rock Center — you’ve experienced their automatic lock system. Which means you’ve been locked out of your locker. And when you are locked out of your locker — it is always when you are naked after your shower and the lockerroom ladies have gone poof. The women at the ASC are always willing to help, answer questions, friendly and they haven’t deserted me while naked yet.
Front desk clerks are also pro. Today one came to check on me to make sure the locker she assigned me made me happy and promised to make a note in my personal file to assign it to me in the future. (You get a locker assigned to you when you come in — fyi).
Other pluses — tons of supplies in the locker room — more than at the Equinox. (But not Kiehl’s sadly). Free workout clothes. A free apple after your workout. Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room etc. Very clean. Checked coats and bags.
The décor is a bit dated but I don’t feel as if the machines are. I kind of like this — I’m not a workout queen and found Equinox a bit intimidating. More to this — many of the clients are decidedly — um — elderly. Again, I kind of like this because I feel like there’s none of that inevitable internal mental comparison between the fitness queens and those of us who are a bit more schlubby.
Negatives — In the basement. Pricey if you don’t get a discount and pricey even if you do get a discount. Not as many classes as other places if you like those. One location.

I recently left the gym after being a member for +3 years. The biggest turn off is the hour, and for 150 bucks a month, not really get what you expect. on the weekend they close at 5, during when majority of people want to go to gym.
For swimming pool: they change water once a year, actually not very sanitary when think about it… Bill is on duty every Tues Thurs and sat, he actually uses vacuum to clean the pool bottom, other staffs, don’t think about it. There’s another swimming pool called «recreation center» near by for $ 75 for six months, same thing, just need to bring your own towel, no big deals. If you want to swim for a good deal.
Other workout facilities, go to planet fitness on 55^th, same thing.
If you have the extra 150 to spend every month, stick to it. otherwise, really not worthy it

Its a hidden gem. If you want to swim in Hell’s Kitchen there really is no competition. It’s a full pool with spacious lanes. I’ve never had to wait to get in the pool and when you do share a lane the other swimmer are courteous. I’ve had a great swimming lessons and an amazing massage.
The locker room is really fun steam, sauna, jacuzzi. complimentary hair gel and you can even ask the porter to steam your clothes while you work out. It makes you feel like you’re in a posh Country Club in the middle of the city.

The staff ranges from awesome to extremely horrific. You have certain people who have the proper customer service skills to ensure a great experience, then you have those who go out of their way to be nasty and claim they’re being professional. Unfortunately it’s the bad experiences that we remember and though I really like the facilities, I’m very disappointed at the level if service I’ve received in 2013. I literally had a member of staff tell me «I’m the department head and what I say goes». Not really the right thing to say to a paying customer.

I just called to get info about rates and memberships. Whoever helped me was extremely extremely rude!!! Omg!!!

I was out of town and needed to find a gym in the NYC area that was part of my local gyms network. This location was one of the participating gyms and the guest fees were pretty reasonable. This gym is located on a lower level of an office building. Gotta admit, I have never been to a gym of this magnitude before. The amenities were absolutely top notch… they had a full length pool (which is unheard of in NYC), a hot tub, jacuzzi, dry cleaning while you work out, shirts and shorts for you to use while you work out, and they even have jockstraps for use too… eh, no thanks. I’m sure I looked like an outcast by opting out of wearing the shirt and shorts «uniform». Everybody in the gym that day was wearing it, except for me. It kinda looked like a boarding school or something with how much everyone looked the same with the matching unis. Anyways, the workout facility isn’t really that big and the ceiling is a little low in some areas… they barely squeezed in some equipment in there, particularly the pullup station. They do have a full set of free weights for use and a ton of different attachments I have never seen for the machine station. The gym definitely caters to the people that are in their slogan… for busy professionals that’s just trying to stay in shape, probably not for a person that is seriously into weightlifting. It doesn’t have many plate loaded machines, but they do have a ton of machines for use. This gym does a good job with utilizing such a small space. If I need to get a quick workout in with great service and amenities, this is a great place. If I’m in need of a more extensive workout with more equipment, I would probably need to go to a bigger gym. Overall, not a bad spot. Kinda reminds you of a gym on a really nice cruise ship. I’m sure the monthly dues are outrageous, but you would probably be getting what you pay for, which is amenities out the ying yang.

First about the club. This is a high end club that has high fees, it is definitely not cheap. I like working out here because it is small and not as overwhelming. What I don’t like is that it is in the basement and doesn’t have much natural light. I also don’t like their hours. Manhattan clubs stay open till midnight during weekdays, this one closes early and weekend hours are even worse, close at 5pm. The hours didn’t always work out well for me, but it is so close to where I live! The gym seems to cater to people who work nearby from their hours. Overall I have found the hours most inconvenient, but if they work for you then this is a decent club.
I had the opportunity to interact with the awful manager of this club, Mr. Arlen. I have always interacted with the friendly Ellen, so when she was out I had to deal with the club manager, Arlen. I called him letting him know that I spoke to Ellen, I am pregnant and due in two weeks, I cannot do any activity due to doctor’s orders and will not be using the club for a while. When I heard that I had to pay $ 30 per month to keep my membership on hold, I decided to cancel due to uncertainty. He refused to keep it on hold because I told him I planned to cancel. I didn’t want to pay the monthly fee per the 30 days cancellation requirement in the contract. I have the option of keeping my membership on hold though, there are no conditions around that. Arlen pointblank refused since I planned to cancel. When I asked him where are the hold restrictions in the contract, he still refused. In addition, he said billing is done on the 25^th of every month so I have already been charged for March. Umm… what does my cancellation/​hold have to do with your logistics of billing? I can hold anytime I want, especially since I am calling before the end of the month for the next month.
Anyway, I told him that if the charges appeared on my credit card I will dispute and complain to Better Business Bureau because of his unethical practice. I didn’t see any charge on my credit card, so I called back and spoke to billing. Turns out that auto charges on the credit card are billed on the first of the month. So Arlen, without bothering to listen, refused to honor anything not even in the name of customer service. And this guy is supposed to be a personal trainer, with knowledge of interacting positively with customers.
He kept repeating that I can use the club for one month over and over with the 30 days cancellation. Mr. Arlen, I would like to see you get pregnant, have a c-​section, and then come right back to workout in your own gym the very next day to avail of the one month. Maybe he is disgruntled and doesn’t have a family, who knows, his insensitivity to my situation was appalling. I will not be joining this gym again, and ask you to stay away from it. A gym that has such a rude manager doesn’t bode well. My previous gym has always been cordial and open to working with customers understanding their situation, this one not so much. One block across on 50^th St and 8^th Ave Equinox shut down, I won’t be surprised if that happens to this gym as well. I just hope other staff members here don’t lose their jobs, Ellen is super nice and the billing person was also quite nice.

came to check out the pool on a 3-​day pass. the club is all underground and you enter thru a glass pavilion that is between office buildings. they provide workout clothes. the locker rooms have (single sex) jacuzzi, sauna and i think steam, lounge area with tv. the pool is 25yd, 4 lanes and they only allow 2 people in each lane. the guy on duty marks down what time people show up and will kick you out when there’s people waiting and you’ve been in for at least 30min. the first time i went, it was all men and they were all like olympic athletes doing flip turns and all. the 2^nd time i went it was more geriatric. the staff all seemed nice and not stuffy. the locker room def looks dated. good gym if you like a pool and the location is convenient for you.

This place is great. A very high-​end gym with great facilities. I think the person who wrote that it’s like «a relic from the 1970s» is thinking about the décor, and placing form over substance. The décor is mostly of light-​colored wood and doesn’t look as «modern» and stylish as an equinox. But I’m not sure why that should matter. If you’re actually looking for a great workout and great service, I highly recommend this place. I’ve been going there for about 7 months and am very happy.
The equipment is good, they provide T-​shirts and shorts (and, yes, unfortunately they also provide jock straps if you’re so inclined). They have as big a pool as you’re likely to find in Midtown. They also shine your shoes and press your shirts and pants for free. The trainers and knowledgeable and accessible. They also have a good sauna and whirlpool, massage (for a fee) and at least for the men, shaving equipment, etc. They have anything you’ll get at Equinox, with a somewhat more worn and older décor.
The only gripes are that it’s expensive (I get a discount through work), although not more than Equinox. It also feels like an old boys club a little around the men’s locker room (old retired lawyers and bankers talking about their Fire Island homes), but other than that it’s a great place to workout.

It’s like a relic from the 1970s! The gym and locker room feels very outdated — like a glorified hotel workout facility — and I was a bit nervous about the fact that you could borrow jockstraps. No thanks!
It’s a good-​sized pool, but otherwise, I would prefer working out someplace more modern.

I just tried out this gym on a trial basis. It’s a great, high-​end gym – 5-​star luxury indeed. The pool is about the biggest I’ve seen in midtown. The work-​out areas are all neat, carpeted, and pleasant on the eye. The jacuzzi, steam room, and locker room areas are all top-​class. The staff will polish your shoes and steam your clothes while you work out, so you look and feel like a million bucks by the time you get to work. The main downside is that there is only one location — so unlike other chain gyms you must visit the 51^st St/​6^th Ave location to work out.