LA Fitness

If you are just looking for a place to do cardio and some weights, this gym has what you need. I can’t speak for the pool/​sauna or group classes. That’s why I’m giving this place 3 stars-​Average. I’ve cancelled my membership before – You always have to mail in the paper cancellation form to their office in California. You will get an email confirmation about «Sorry to see you go. Please come back _​_​_​_​_​» with a link to re-​activate your membership – What you will be paying is first month fee (whatever monthly fee you had before)+last month fee+ $ 10x how many months since you cancelled (For example, if I cancelled in January and re-​activate in May, I pay for February, March, and April – Those months get treated as «frozen account»)

Where to start.
My wife met with a personal trainer and decided that she didn’t want to go through with signing up for a very expensive 12 month training session. After expressing her decision to the sales guy Greg, he told her that it was to late and the charge had been processed. He mentioned that she could call and cancel within 72 hours if she decided but he wasn’t going to cancel the charge because he wanted her to «think about it».
I called Greg when I heard about these pressure sales tactics used on my wife, I told him that the charge needs to be canceled. Which he again refused to do. Apparently all of the salesmen at LA Fitness are also the general managers, because after asking Greg to speak to his manager, he stated he was the GM.
Greg hung up on me at this point after again refusing to reverse the charge.
It wasn’t until I physically had to go to the gym to speak with the actual Manager that I was able to get the charge cleared.
Being in the client service industry myself, I was appalled by the utter lack of client service skills that Greg possessed.
LAFitness lost two members today, solely because of Greg. Congrats Greg
UPDATE
Greg tells my wife Saturday she has a 72 hour right to rescind. Now Monday rolls around and I contact Greg to have him cancel the purchase. He tells me I will receive an automated email in a week confirming the cancelation. Apparently I’m just supposed to «take his word for it» that the cancellation went through, Which was very comfortingly to hear seeing as Gregory has been such a big help so far.
Apparently Greg doesn’t know how a computer works either because after asking for email confirmation from him personally he told me he would not do that.
Ultimately I was able to get in touch with the corporate client relations team and was able to cancel everything right on the phone immediately.
So what takes Greg a week to do took me about 5 minutes.
LA fitness needs to send Greg back to sales training and client service 101 because this was by far the worst interaction with a salesman I have ever experienced, and I work in sales!

Great operations manager. Resolved the only complaint I’ve ever made to a company.

I started as member at the Royal Oak location but have been going to this Birmingham location since it opened. I don’t have a single complaint about this gym! I always look forward to my workouts!
The staff at the front desk is always friendly and greets me when I come in. Cleanliness is never an issue. There’s always staff walking around the gym making sure things are kept in order and restocked. Busy hrs towel service gets behind but they are quick to replenish. All the machines are new here and it’s so nice having TVs on the cardio machines.
I love seeing the regulars here and everyone just seems like they are there to work out not just «be seen» like other gyms I’ve been to.
Having so many cardio machines is a huge perk! Even during the busiest hrs you are likely to have a cardio machine to jump on.
I’ve only ever done the spin classes and Jaime is my favorite! I hear the other instructors are great I just can’t make it there in time for theirs.
The parking lot is very well lit at night and early mornings.
This gym checks all the boxes for me! I’ve been to other LA Fitness locations and have been very disappointed bc I compare all of them to this Birmingham location. :-)

While I hate the corporate monster that is LA Fitness, it’s one of the only gyms in my area covered by Health Ways so I will probably continue going until my coverage runs out. I would never pay full price for this gym and here’s why:
1. It’s just too damn hot. You may think you got a great workout because you’re so sweaty but in reality it’s just because LA Fitness is too cheap to crank up the AC.
2. I rarely get a great workout because I get sick of waiting for machines and mat space and end up leaving early. They have too many cardio machines and not enough weights. There is almost zero room to do any stretching or free standing exercises.
3. The classes are just ok. Most of them are very plank intensive– so if you can’t hold a plank for 20 minutes you pretty much can’t participate in the workout. One of the instructors in particular has absolutely no sense of rhythm– I actually left one class early because I just couldn’t follow her movements which had seemingly no correlation to the music.
4. Apparently Health Ways members aren’t allowed to use the towels?! How hard is it to throw a few extra towels in an industrial size washing machine?
5. You have to wait for a person behind the desk to scan your membership card (rather than setting the scanner on the counter like every other gym). Usually this person is on the phone or with clients so this just seems like an odd system.
I guess that’s about it… did I mention it’s 90 degrees in here?!

I been a member of several health clubs and gyms, and this is one of the better ones. There is a great selection and availability of both cardio and weight equipment. The pool, hot tub, sauna, and locker areas are well-​maintained. They have a mostly reliable towel service but can fall behind during peak hours– at which time it can get a bit crowded but it’s manageable. Broken equipment is serviced fast and (with a few exceptions) you won’t have to wait long for any equipment. The locker area is safe and usually clean, but sometimes the towels pile up and slobs make a mess. I am not into group activities, classes, personal trainers, or racket sports so I can’t speak to any of that. I have been hustled a few times for personal training sessions, when they approach and start with small talk and progress to the sales pitch but I politely decline, so I don’t view it as a problem.

Mats no longer cleaned. Instructors for classes are a no-​show. Five times in three weeks for yoga. Really?
Promises are worthless.
Finding a real gym with real instructors.

Great gym ! Good people that work there, affordable, plenty of clean towels and plenty of equipment. Never have to wait for free weight area. I’ve read a lot of complaints and reviews, but if you want a local, quick workout, this is for you. It’s not a country club or a 5 star Ritz, so quit your whining !!

Use to be overall happy with this place.
Sauna is consistently broken. Called and spoke with a manager about this, and she was rude. I understand that equipment will break and things will happen, but the paying customer should be compensated when a feature they are paying for is unavailable.
General lack of attention in the locker room area and restrooms– they need to replenish the paper towels, soap dispensers and hand sanitizers on a daily basis.
Quit bothering people about personal training. I’ve been stalked one too many times in the restroom after my workout about personal training. I’ve said no repeatedly. it’s annoying.
It would be nice if it opened before 5AM on weekdays and 8AM on weekends. as some of us need to start our day earlier…
Other than that– great location… lots of equipment to offer, quite a few classes to choose from.

As far as gyms go, this place is pretty nice. I have been a member for a few weeks now, and here’s what I can tell:
Pros:
1) Friendly staff
2) At peak or off-​peak hours, staff are wiping down equipment or heavily used areas
3) Tons of machines, cardio equipment, really large free weight area. Huge aerobic room with tons of weighted punching bags. Tons of equipment and I’ve never had to wait for anything even during peak hours.
4) Free towels for you to use — awesome
5) There’s a small day care where they’ll watch your kids while you work out
6) The locker rooms tend to be clean and look nice. Bring your own lock though
7) Good mix of patrons at the gym — out of shape people, in shape people, body builders, gym newbies. Overall it’s a welcoming environment for people of all fitness levels.
Cons:
1) The gym opens really late on the weekends. Like 8 am. I once got there around 7:45 AM and waited for them to open. By the time 8 AM rolled around, there was a crowd of maybe 20 – 25 people outside waiting. The gym staff opened the facility around 8:10 AM. That sucked because I love early morning workouts.
2) Despite what you tell them when you become a member, someone will call you frequently bothering you about getting personal training. One time I was called on the phone WHILE I WAS AT THE GYM working out. Drew (female) approached me when I joined and then called me several days later despite me telling her I DID NOT WANT PERSONAL TRAINING. I told her to remove me from her list of people to call. So far no more calls, but we’ll see (it’s only been 3 days).
To some of the poor reviews I saw on Unilocal:
1) Lock up your stuff if you don’t expect it to be stolen. That’s common sense.
2) If you see floss or shit where it shouldn’t be, don’t expect staff to constantly be combing the stalls. If something is overtly filthy it will get attention, but single pieces of floss are not a safety emergency. Some people are dirty and the rest of us unfortunately have to deal with it. It’s as easy as picking up the floss (with a paper towel) and throwing it in the trash.
Overall I’m pretty happy with my choice of gym. I would choose this place again.

This gym is fine if you have the right expectations. The other gyms in the area have constant car and locker break ins. As far as I know there haven’t been any here. Built 2 years ago, machines and equipment is in good condition.
Pool, hot tub and sauna available. Women’s sauna is nice. Haven’t been in pool or hot tub yet.
No complaints for average gym. Classes are free. I haven’t been to one yet.

I’ve been a member since this gym opened and they have probably opened on time once or twice on the weekends. Also the mens sauna has been broken about 60% of the time since day 1 !!! Management doesn’t truly care about these issues!!! If you don’t need a mens sauna and aren’t too concerned about an early weekend workout then this place isn’t bad for you.

Go to this location if you would like rude staff, a cycle room and schedule that fails to meet demand, and instructors that don’t show up for their classes.

The customer service here is appalling. If you try to call corporate to complain, the system routes you back to your home gym, so there’s no way to even express concerns.

I was in the locker room when the lights went off. I yelled for help and no one came so I walked out of the locker room only to find two staff members who were about to lock the building. I was told that «corporate decides when the lights go out.» They had not bothered to check the locker rooms to see if any one was left in the building. Nor did they announce the early closing to warn of the impending darkness. The reaction was best summed up by the staffer who responded, «what’s YOUR problem?» I will be looking into alternatives.

The customer service at this LA Fitness is absolutely awful. Every single time I called the location or spoke with someone in person, I was given different information. Their employees are completely unprofessional and talk down to you as if you’re a child. I was planning on purchasing a three-​month student membership, but that will definitely not be happening. This is not a club that you want to join. They just want your money, and do not care about the manner in which they speak to and address issues with customers. I was told that I could purchase a one-​month membership for $ 99, but I was not told that I would have to cancel that membership if I did not want to be charged $ 50 every month. Again, they just want your money, and they don’t care about the way you are treated when working with them. Go somewhere else, and I’m sure you’ll be much happier.

Some of the worst customer service that I have dealt with in the metro Detroit area. I recently moved and transferred my membership from Phoenix, Arizona. Upon my arrival in Michigan, I was excited to try my new gym! Imagine my disappointment when the extremely rude front desk attendant informed me that I could not use my existing membership at this location. However, she was not the only rude employee that I encountered on my visit. I was unfamiliar with the layout of the club, so I asked one of the trainers where the calf raise machine was. He basically ignored me, even though he was not with a client and was just standing at the desk. After asking about transferring my membership to a signature membership, I was told I would have to pay an amount of money that I consider ridiculous considering how few advantages are included in this membership. LA Fitness’ telephone customer service was no better. I waited on hold for over 20 minutes waiting for assistance and they were of no help either. I will be taking my membership (AND my boyfriend’s membership) to Lifetime. I would rather pay more and drive further for a friendly staff and welcoming atmosphere.
Shame on you, LA Fitness. Don’t you know that a business is only as good as it’s people? If that’s true, your business is a failure.

This is a great gym. It might be a tad pricey but I think it is worth it. It is brand new, impeccably clean, and features just about everything you could want… Nice staff, basketball court and pool, easy location, plenty of pretty girls, and all sorts of classes that come free with your membership.
I particularly like the kid zone for a little daycare while I work out. My 16 month old daughter loves playing there with the other kids and fun toys and I feel real safe leaving her in there. Overall this is a pretty well run place and I have had no bad experiences at all.

I am a member of LA Fitness, and typically go to the Big Beaver location. I hopped over to the new club, to see if I could try it out (since it is closer to my home).
I was told I could not «try» this club and that my membership did not cover «Signature Clubs». I explained that I was interested in checking it out & possibly transferring since it was closer to home. I was asked, «What’s wrong with the club you go to now…» I was taken back by the rudeness of the conversation.
Finally, i asked how much it would cost for me to add this club to my membership, I was quoted a price that was DOUBLE my current membership. I told the woman, «You know I’m already a MEMBER, right?» I was told it did not matter.
Terrible services. In addition, there are hardly any classes scheduled.

Everytime I’ve been there it has not been overly crowded lots of machines to use. And some days I go during gym rush hour. All new equipment. No complaints. They even have a juice bar.