Gold’s Gym

Worst «customer service». I went there as a guest and they hold your drivers license behind the counter. When I went to sign out and grab my license, they said it had magically disappeared and «someone else probably took it». Um… what? They said that sometimes people that come in a lot reach behind the counter and grab their license, which means it’s a free for all for anyone that leaves their FEDERAL ID. This is extremely unsettling to know that my license was just up for grabs. Super unprofessional, would not recommend ever going there as a guest. I was considering a membership but that won’t be happening anymore.

Sometimes you need to give credit where credit is due. The Gold’s Gym Fan location just completed an addition. They added two new rooms; new equipment, updated cardio, and additional parking. This location now has the right balance of equipment. Although the facility is smaller than others, the recent investment is a nice improvement from before.

Some of the staff is great and I wish there was more gym space and mirrors in Ladies Gold. I also would like to see tvs on cardio equipment.

I’ve worked out in basements, garages, back yards and gyms my entire life. This is hands down the worst gym setting I’ve ever been in. Small, limited to no parking, smelly, no air conditioning (sometimes it is cooler outside than inside and I wonder why they don’t open the doors), few machine and free weight options and some of the rudest people I’ve ever come in contact with. There are some people that tie up machines while they spend their time on their telephones. In spite of the policies and gym etiquette some people answer calls and talk loudly like anyone really cares how important they think they are. There are a handful of out of shape men who come in and yell at each other in conversation so loud that I can’t hear my music. I never use the locker room — it is nasty. When entering this gym the first thought that comes to mind is «low rent.» That is how it feels. Personal training appears to be from front desk to trainer as there are only 1 or 2 trainers that even remotely look like they know what they are doing. The real problem is that there are no good gyms in Richmond. If you live or work in downtown and are not a student who can use the university gym you are pretty much stuck with Golds. Make sure to get the lowest contract available because the other Golds that can be used in this membership are equally as bad.

This is my go to gym. Unfortunately. Like previous reviews have said, it’s small and, honestly, has a weird smell to it. Parking is a nightmare (which, in their defense, they are in the process of improving). Front desk is 50/50…sometimes you get a friendly «hello! or «welcome to golds gym!» Other times you get the top of the little girl’s head as she’s texting someone while working.
This gym is also very, very loud at times. Lots of huge dudes talking over the music because they know no one will go near their roided physique and ask them not to yell at their friends like its 2:30am in the club. And I’m like 97.2% positive their «cleaning solution» is just straight water, which makes me want to not even bother wiping down the machines after I use them (which, most people don’t even attempt to do here anyway, so what’s the point).
My suggestion: go to the Willow Lawn Golds. More parking. More classes. Doesn’t smell. Or, head to Laburnum… its brand new and much more open than this tiny location.

I will start with the limited amount of good things about this gym. First the staff is always friendly. Bekalu helped me cancel my membership and was nothing but friendly and courteous. He made the process very straightforward and easy, and filled me in on everything I needed to know. When I didn’t like what I heard, and got a little upset, the remained friendly, calm, and professional. Also, the workout room upstairs is great to use when there are no classes going on. Unfortunately this only allowed for weekend afternoons for me, and was generally unavailable.
Now the bad. There isn’t a lot of space in this gym and it is also very crowded at peak times. I have been there a few times when every treadmill has been taken. There also isn’t a lot of floor space to do other types of exercises. They have a tiny room for women only which is kind of nice, but it is almost too small to do anything in.
And finally, the most annoying thing about this gym is that I apparently signed a 2 year contract! I certainly do not remember this. But having to pay 3 months of membership fees to cancel is pretty ridiculous!
Nowadays it’s so easy to figure out how to do nontraditional workouts outside of a gym that this place is not even worth it a little bit. I have been exercising more often since I stopped going here, and started to exercise at home. I dreaded my workouts when they were at Gold’s.

Yes it’s smaller than your average membership gym, but everyone that works there is super friendly… Everything is always clean and although I haven’t checked out any classes yet, I hear good things about them.
What I enjoy particularly about this location is the amount of «serious» gym goers. Watching others is not only motivating and inspiring buy instructional.
Rush hour from 5−6pm can be pretty crowded especially in the free-​weight area. Tons of treadmills but not many ellipticals.

I had a membership for two (2) years at this location, which I would use sporadically, sometimes going a few days a month, sometimes 20 times, depending on how I was feeling. I never really enjoyed going to Gold’s when other people were there because it is usually a bunch of meat heads. People constantly checking themselves out in the mirror or loudly grunting just isn’t really my thing. Some of the people were friendlier than others and there was good mix of ages that would go. The gym is pretty clean and it seemed like every time I was there an employee was either vaccuming or wiping down machines. They had a good assortment of free weights, machines, and cardiovascular machines. One thing I found odd is that they literally have mirrors everywhere, even where the machines and cardio equipment is, which is highly unnecessary. In my opinion, gyms do this to fuel insecurity in its patrons «I’m looking small» or «I’m so fat» «I’m ugly maybe if I have bigger muscles I can get a girlfriend» etc. Usually you see 1 – 2 employees when you come in 1 at the front desk, the other is cleaning up the place. The front desk typically will have various girls working there who don’t really know a lot. Since I had a 2 year membership I forgot exactly when I had signed up so I went to ask them several times asking different people. One told me I had to call some third party billing companies 1 – 800 number, another told me to talk to the manager who wasn’t there, then another told me it was ending on a certain date and I should come in a month before that to submit the 30 — day cancelation form. Which let’s be real, how long does it take to cancel a membership Gold’s? Just a subtle policy to get some more money out of you. So I go in a few days after the girl told me I should come in to submit the form and find out that my 2 year membership already expired and I was on a month-​to — month basis. Semi annoyed at this point for the misinformation. The front desk employee then tells me they bill at the beginning of the month so I already paid for the current month and would be paying for the next month as well since it was a few days in to the month already. Then, she tells me I have to pay the bi — annual $ 20 maintenance fee as well (I’m canceling my membership why the heck do I care about the machines and why should I pay for that?!). Overall, I was annoyed as I left. I feel like they took advantage of me just so they could make some extra money. If I would have been told the correct date my membership ends I wouldn’t have had to pay for 2 extra months I didn’t want and a maintenance fee as well! I realized there was no point in getting mad at the front desk girl because she gets paid to say «Hello welcome to Gold’s Gym» and «Bye, Have a nice day!» So I doubt they train them very thoroughly and there isn’t much she can do about stupid policies. Gold’s is an alright place to work out, it’s far from my favorite gym and I’m glad to be somewhere else now.

So who actually enjoys going to the gym? I mean, I know there ARE people who do but if you happen to be one who doesn’t (or one who’s on the fence about it like me) then this is a good place to go. Low key, not huge, nice selection of equipment and super friendly staff! The class schedule is good and includes various spin AND other classes such as Body Pump (weight lifting), Body Attack (vomit inducing cardio sesh) and yoga. There’s a place just for women to work out (which I like because sometimes I feel bad for the general population to have to see me do anything physical). Overall, a win. It would be awesome if they could acquire more parking spots — that can be a tricky situation sometimes. On Sundays (unless it’s changed) you cannot park in the lot but have to park on the street or in a different lot.

Do not get sucked into the «$ 9.95» deal they are offering. This only covers use of the free weights, no machines. If you want to use any other part of the gym they will tack on another $ 10.00. And don’t forget the «maintance fee» that they charge you every 6 months. If you want to take any of the classes they offer, more money. The facilities are small and not worth the money.

They will say anything to get you to sign a contract then will screw you over if you want to terminate your membership. Do not reward their dishonest behavior. Even if Golds looks like a better bargain, there are hidden costs everywhere.
My girlfriend joined this gym with promises that she could bring in an out-​of-​town guest (me) for $ 5/​visit. This was honored as long as the guy who made that promise worked here. When he moved on, I was told that «the guest fee is $ 15. They guy who said that shouldn’t have made the promise.» So I stopped working out here, while she continued on until the time of a work relocation.
Good luck trying to cancel your membership. Long after they charged and processed a cancellation fee, they continued to bill her for monthly dues and some mysterious «annual maintenance fee» which is tacked on top of the advertised rate. Then if you try to talk with the management here, they direct you to email a subcontractor who handles the billing and cares even less about customer relations.

Is this the biggest, newest gym in town? No. Does it have a roof top bar or pool, no. But ask yourself, are you coming to the gym to show off your new Lulu leggings or is working out a part of your daily life? If you are serious and want a place to lift and really sweat then Gold’s is for you. I love this location because the patrons and staff are friendly and knowledgable. Good amount of equipment and clean (seriously the staff is always cleaning). I do wish there were more group class time slots.

This gym is in an extremely convenient location for myself. Its in the Fan and between my job and apartment. I ride my bike there often and they have a rack to lock it to so that’s cool. Not a high traffic gym compared to the Willow Lawn location. They could go heavier on the dumbbells (100lbs+) but they have decent core apparatus and now kettle bells up to 50 lbs which is awesome. Good amount of cardio equipment upstairs and downstairs. The rooms have a good flow, all machines, the main room has a mix for free weights, heavy equipment, and plenty off mirrors. From there it branches off to an upstairs and back room cardio area. Because of its size, I’m sure, they do have less classes to attend (spin, aerobics etc) than the Willow Lawn location. There also isn’t childcare in case you need that.

A great gym for people who want to stand around and not work out. The gym is SMALL and the class schedule is a joke. The weight area is about as big as a garage and your constantly walking on top of people. I would go to the gym during these times to avoid the rush
630 – 730 a. m and also between 1 and 2 pm during the weekdays and still crowded.
If your looking for a class outside of the normal times (the crazy insane rush of people late afternoons and early mornings) your out of luck.
The gym also lacks equipment like weights belts (which I know I have my own but its nice to have one there
Also trying to get in touch with management is like pulling teeth and your treated like a number anyways so don’t expect consumer loyalty anywhere or anytime.
My advice is run away as fast as you can if your a serious athlete or body builder. If you just wanna go run a treadmill and look at people I guess Gold’s is ok…

Awful client service! Cancelled membership four months ago and am still getting billed. I’ve called them three times about this and have yet to receive a return call from the manager (the only person who can handle the issue – naturally…).
I also had horrible experience when I moved and «transferred» my membership to another Gold’s. Just as I’m experiencing now, the managers are rarely available and ridiculously negligent about returning calls. They had a hard time getting the paper work straight (always at my inconvenience), then to top it all off, they never stopped billing me.
I have several friends who have had major problems with Gold’s billing, ultimately affecting their credit.
Frankly, I’m surprised this franchise is still in operation. Most likely only because there’s little competition and legal action is expensive and time consuming.
Buyer beware!

This gym is pretty sweet. Avoid the first of the year rush and you’re golden. The staff is really friendly, as it’s small enough that they get to know you, and the equipment is great. The locker rooms as pretty much always clean and lockers are not hard to come by. At times the classes can be a bit jam packed but really i can’t blame them, they’re great classes.
The time that i spend at Golds in the fan is spent working out, not waiting for a piece of equipment to become available. If you’re looking for a standard local gym, this is it.
Only down sides are, no gym (b-​ball court), no pool.

Gold’s Gym in the Fan is the best deal I’ve found in the country, literally. The place is more than large enough as long as you don’t go between 5 – 8 pm. The variety of machines is amazing, the staff remembers everyone’s names, and the same people work out daily at the same time. It’s great to have a routine for your workout, even better to have a routine with who else works out. The locker room is large, clean, and comfortable. Best of all it’s only about $ 33/​mo for a membership here.
The only gym I liked more than this was the Cascade in Vail, CO. It was about twice as large, had basketball, ping pong, tennis, swimming, HUGE saunas, and luxury locker rooms, but it also ran $ 160 a month for non residents, and $ 80 a month for residents.
Gold’s Gym in the fan is my gym of choice. I suggest that if you are die hard serious about working out you go here instead of Willow Lawn. That gym is meant for awing over other people and getting phone numbers, but is often way too crowded to break a sweat.

I checked out this gym and was pretty impressed. Its not huge, but it covers three floors and for a gym it had an amazing looking lady’s locker room. They also had some sweet equipment I’ve never seen before like a bike that has a video screen so it looks like your biking outside or racing someone else in the gym (sorta like a video game). Oh some other treadmills and stuff have their own TV screens attached. The best thing though was that the price was only $ 30 a month and coming from Cali that was quite a deal.