Midtown Athletic Club

We love this gym been members for 2 years its clean has great variety of weight machines. Only thing is it seems classes are arranged around stay at home moms. I wish the club offered more early morning and evening classes for those who work.
The bathrooms are very clean and I do enjoy not having to bring my own towels or lock! We love this gym.

GREAT PLACE! Love the staff, café, VARIETY that is available. The trainers are very diverse, it seems like they have a trainer for every age group and fitness level. Great amenities and friendly members too. Summer, the pool feels like a resort! Love this place. Highly recommend.

The worst managed club I have every belonged to. Fitness classes are off the shelf licensed fitness modules, tennis scheduling is direct with pros who are forgetful and not responsive, and other members are often on the court you booked. Despite high costs, service is not good. Management goes through the motions but never follows up or takes action. Due to location they have a bit of a Monopoly, but this place is so not worth the money. If you are in the city, stick with East Bank.

I’m a long, long-​time member and am mostly happy with the club. The place is always clean, the stuff always works, and the hours are unbeatable. Additionally, the outdoor pool is almost paradisiacal compared to other health club pools. The price is high, but the product provided mostly justifies the money. My single complaint is that much of the long-​standing staff is surprisingly rude to members that they haven’t trained or worked with themselves. You’d think that after decades at the same place long-​time members might merit the occasional nod or even «hello,» but not so much. That said, the front-​desk people are always super friendly. Now if only they could keep the «hot» tub hot…

UPDATE: After being a member for nearly 2 years on a «couple plan» with my 5 year old son I attempted to revise my membership to a single membership and drop in childcare hours. No one knew the rates or policies so I asked for confirmation, changed my plan so save money figuring it would be $ 2 or $ 3/​hour, and never received a call. This changed was to take place on the 1^st of the next month. When I dropped off my son that same night I was informed there would be a drop in charge, I said I had changed my membership for the next month and they said it would be taken care or. Same thing happened the next day and the next day. I was eventually told it was $ 12 each time and I reverted my membership back and asked to be credited as the original change wasn’t to take place until the next billing cycle anyways. But wait, it gets worse.
Also at the the end of September I filed new credit card details as my old card was expiring and I had a new card. Fast forward to mid October and I start getting multiple emails and phone calls saying my card had been rejected. They were trying to charge my old card on file and at this point I was out of the country getting these calls at 3am. I wrote explaining I had updated my card using their forms at the front desk TWICE precisely to avoid any problems while I was traveling abroad and I would take care of this all upon my return to the States. They claimed they never got the form. But then a few days later I see what is now an unauthorized and fraudulent charge from the gym on the card they said they had never received. This was before I returned home.
When I returned I went to the gym and then to the business office to talk in person to Laurie and explain how poorly this was handled, how I felt insignificant as a member, and the immense problems this caused as I had to change my return flight home but was then missing the funds to process the change fees, and more. That I felt the club had been declining in service as of late, that there had been other billing problems when their staff had cancelled massages and I was still billed for them and told I’d have to wait to get a credit to my next month’s bill instead of an instant refund for their errors and more. I couldn’t even get that far in the conversation as I tried to point our my confusion about the card form situation and was interrupted and then lied to.
I went downstairs and promptly cancelled my membership. I then left a voicemail for the GM and did not hear back for days. he also interrupted me, dismissed my concerns and started yelling about his health problems and the $ 400,000 in upgrades they spent. I tried to explain what happened and kept getting cut off and yelled at and finally pointed out that even the new equipment was broken, that hey let the old stuff sit unrpeaired for months or just took it away without updates, didnt tell members about the new stuff coming, and instead spam our inboxes with desperate emails to pay for services in the spa and additional services but not the actual relevant club information, that the staff turnover as of late has been high and overall quality down and that I’d call corporate.
Than I find out my membership wasn’t even cancelled. It took multiple calls to corporate to get it cancelled and to share my experience. I asked for a refund for October given the extremely poor treatment I received, the fraudulent charges, the lies. It took 5 days to get a response, I was told I couldn’t get a refund as I used the club in October, and now it’s been 5 more days since I’ve appeaed to the COO without further response.
Yeah, it’s «More Than a Club» — it’ a sham.

Really nice facility with a lot of amenities. I really can’t think of anything they are missing. Probably one of the nicest gyms in the area but with that comes the price.

I recently joined Midtown due to it’s proximity to my office in Palatine. So glad I did! Everything has been awesome so far. Excellent variety of group exercise classes, great instructors & equipment. I typically workout during my lunch break and the group ex class times work perfectly. Everything is what you would expect from an upscale athletic club… nice locker rooms with amenities (vanities to sit & get ready at with hair dryers, hair spray, lotion, Qtips etc…). The café also has excellent smoothies (trail mix is my favorite) & a great selection of wraps and breakfast options. I haven’t had a chance to try out the pool yet but looking forward to doing so once Summer decides to stick around for a bit. I’m also planning on taking advantage of the «learn how to play tennis» deal they’re offering, as I’ve heard quite a few people raving about the program and tennis pros. The members have been very welcoming as well– they all seem to know each other which is cool to see.
Also– the membership staff has been very knowledgeable & helpful without being too salesy. If you’re looking for a top-​notch club in the NW burbs… Midtown is where it’s at.

I checked out every gym one time or another in palatine and this is hands down the best gym I’ve joined. You pay get what you pay for, and I’m definitely glad I paid a little more for a way better gym very happy

I have been nothing but impressed with the staff and facility at Midtown ever since joining about a year and a half ago. My kids love going to Kidtown which allows me the ability to workout without having to worry about my kids enjoying themselves in a safe environment. The tennis pro’s are amazing to work with as are the personal trainers. The outdoor pool is a great place to spend the day in the summer and wonderful for kids. It is heated so you can use it for an extended timeframe in the spring and fall. The new management seems very invested in improving the membership experience and I look forward to seeing some of the upgrades they are planning for the near future.

Midtown still offers more than any other club in the immediate area but there’s substantial room for improvement. The past two managers were fired, not sure why but not surprising either. As mentioned in several reviews, they don’t really respond in any meaningful way to concerns other than to listen and assure they’ll look into it. Example: I’ve mentioned on a couple occasions that certain members habitually park in the loading zone in bad weather or crowded conditions. (Humorously…I asked which membership level included ‘preferred’ parking privileges). Result so far? Nada One particular member has been asked to stop on repeated occasions, had notes left on his car, etc. …and he’s STILL a member. I understand it’s a competitive business and they don’t want to antagonize or alienate members but c’mon. One final warning and then rescind his membership.
The weight room area used to be much better. About a year ago they installed what appears to be an adult ‘jungle gym’ that was used for a plyometric exercise régime called ‘Omnia’. Unfortunately it displaced a great deal of equipment which resulted in a rather cramped arrangement of the weight machines which had been well spaced. After about two months of classes, the Omnia rig is now rarely used.
Cleanliness, while not substandard could be better. The locker room, showers and steam room are usually littered with soggy, used towels, drinking cups, energy bar wrappers, the occasional discarded bandaid (gross). I realize this also says something about the clientele, I’ll leave the reader to interpret that for themselves.
The steam room uses the same boiler that’s been there since I joined, it’s a rusted mess but rather than replace it they have it repaired over and over again. This probably explains why it’s out of order several times a year. I understand replacement is a significant capital expenditure but considering the dues they charge this should be a no-​brainer.
Midtown does have a large assortment of reasonably well-​maintained cardio equipment so it’s rare to have to wait for a piece of equipment (usually the rowing machines since there are only two and they’ve suddenly become popular).
Lastly, most of the staff are very friendly which counters some of the negative aspects.

I’d give this place 1 star if it weren’t for the awesome tennis staff. If I could separately rate them, they’d easily get 5 stars.
Anyway, this gym is way overpriced considering what else is in the area. I came here strictly for tennis and never used the actual gym part. Other gyms in the area allow you to participate in the tennis activities as a nonmember and you pay a slightly higher fee for a class. Here, I was paying $ 100 a month for the membership and buying cardio tennis packages (60 and 90 minutes). All together, this came out to just over $ 3000 a year to play tennis a few times a month.
When I quit the gym after my 12 months was up, I suggested the nonmember pricing and never heard back from a manager. I continued getting emails and phone calls to join again. Finally, one of the managers called me about a month ago and I told him the only way I’d come back would be if they could initiate the nonmember option as I already started playing at another gym with this option. He told me he’d call back the next day. A week went by and I never heard back. I finally called back on my own and he came up with some terrible excuse about why he hadn’t called.
If it weren’t for the tennis staff (Mike, Kristina, Jenny, Todd) this place would be a total disaster.

New management implemented and toilet in women’s locker room is still «being repaired» for over one week? And Zumba room is still overheated? Actually, the thermostat is now locked so that the Zumba instructor cannot change the temperature to make the room less stuffy. No worries, a «new system» is coming soon, and we can keep the door open. Classy! Hopefully, no one will pass out from overheating before the «new system» is installed. If it takes as long as fixing a toilet, there could be quite a few people dropping out.
Yes, new management was needed, and the club recognized that by installing a seasoned manager. But, having new management does not immediately fix things (i.e. the toilet, the overheated Zumba room) as some of the same instructors continue to teach. Like the newbie who teaches tabata– mmm. hope you do not get hurt following some of her steps. the like veteran yoga and pilates teacher who talks about anaerobic conditioning in a cycling class. Maybe she needs a break?
Midtown Club– is now Mediocre Club.

Midtown has become a second home to me. My children love Kidtown and I am able to workout and enjoy good food and nice people. Feels so much more like a country club than a gym. People get to know eachother and you feel like you are a part of a healthy community!

This place used to be great. USED to be. Ever since the club brought in new management, things at Midtown have taken a turn for the worse. I like to take group fitness classes, and most of my favorite teachers have been fired over the past 6 months. It seems that the teachers management continues to retain are of much lower quality. Additionally, they have gotten rid of a lot of the mid to later morning classes, which is when I like to go work out. With how much money this club costs, I’m ready to be done for good.

Not a fan of this place. Very expensive, and does not offer state of the art gym equipment, classes, etc. More of a tennis club. Very busy, very hectic, Club Manager is not that great. It is just not commensurate with the prices they charge for a health and fitness facility. They do however introduce programs and specials that you have to pay extra for.

The place deserves an OK review, its quite expensive but still offers alot. Service can be quite poor but still offers alot

Never wrote a review on Unilocal in my life but this place makes me need to tell it to the world. If you are a MINORITY, read on. First the general stuff :
* Social Club: it’s not the average gym in that people here socialize and become friends. This is the reason I joined.
* Facilities and price: decent facilities with numerous tennis courts and two pools but price is over $ 130 per month and initiation is $ 150, and contract is for a year instead of month to month. Assigned lockers are not included unless you pay an additional $ 37 per month.
* Service: front desk is nice to the people they know but not to everyone. The contrast is kind of striking.
Now for the info you can’t easily get unless you’re a member:
* If you are a MINORITY, think again before considering this club. One reason you may be drawn to this club is that it’s a social club and you want to get to know more people in your community. However, food for thought for you: Just today, in the private locker rooms where the lockers are assigned, a woman walks in talking on the phone and walks by me, an Asian woman. She talks about business for awhile on the phone and then starts talking about a guy who recently got a girlfriend. She says, «Did you know his girlfriend is Chinese?» Guy on the other line, whose voice was very audible, says, «You’re kidding. How do you know? Is her name something like ching chong or something like that?» She says, «Yes, it’s definitely not like [so and so] like mine.» They kept going on about it like he’s dating an alien or something and then she passes by me again still on the phone and walks out the door. You may think that this is just one person and may not be reflective of the club, but the general vibe I get from the place is that the membership is very cliquey and not particularly welcoming to minorities, as once again indicated today by the woman who is comfortable being such a bigot openly and publicly. It’s another example of gross bigotry rampant in an above average crowd in terms of education level and international travel experience, which amounts to nothing if you’ll still turn out like that woman.
* If you are willing to spend the money, join a higher end club where the members are classier. For example, there are clubs out there that interview you prior to accepting you as a member to make sure the applicant is normal and aligned with the values of the club.

I love this gym. There is a shop, great locker rooms, great little café, kid town, lots of classes and ridiculously nice people that learned our names instantly.

Terrible customer service. These people are awful.

I am a current member and want to quit. Overpriced. Woman’s steam room repeatedly out of service with no alert at front desk or in locker room that its not working. Management is weak and not customer centric. The fitness class instructor strikes me as not listening to clients at all. I’ve never seen a survey from their management on what classes people want nor asking for feedback about the club.
I wanted a personal trainer and the man they told me to call never even returned my call. I called the club manager to discuss my concerns and he promised to call me back and he didnt. I had to call him back. Just a joke. Once I sign up with a new club I will send a nice message to the owners telling them to get new management in Palatine. We’re talking arrogant jellyfish characters who are used to paying a lot of lip service.