Bannatynes Health and Fitness Priory

This place is the reason I can eat out as much as I do… so obviously, I am a big fan.
High-​end gym equipment, a good range of classes and a fantastic swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi, make this, in my opinion, one of the best fitness centres in Birmingham.
At £40 per month it is slightly more expensive than a lot of gym memberships in the city, but I think its good value given the amount you get for that. My biggest recommendation are the spin classes, they are tough but you definitely feel like you have had a good workout after one of those! A few sessions here a week… and another guilt-​free weekend… perfect.

What a terrible gym! I was given a free day pass so gave it a go. My first impression was the building is very tired, it was a former Fitness First from the 90’s and it has never been refurbished. After Fitness First it became a Living Well. You can see old logos everywhere from the former brands.
Changing rooms are ok, fairly clean. You do need a padlock which I find a little strange as I’m used to RFID lockers. So I popped over to Poundland on Corporation St and purchased one, they do have some for sale at £5 each at the gym if you’re too lazy to walk 200m.
The gym itself: the equipment is even more tired than the interior. Machine have a worn out clunk sound and do not feel smooth, many are passed their end of life. The weights areas are very disappointing — Machines on the 3^rd floor but do not go very heavy, and on the 4^th floor there is a free weights area and that is abysmal! I required 340kg for the leg press, I could only muster 160kg in weights. Dumbbells do not go heavy (no 30kg+ here), again some tired machines.
The CV equipment is by TechnoGym, so they never feel good to run or move on.
The pool is adequate, the steam room and sauna are functioning but very small.
I was told it is £29/​month, which isn’t bad considering it has a pool. I’ll stick to Fitness First in Wednesbury at £15/​month which has far better facilities but no pool.
This gym may be fine if you are not in to getting to a good level of fitness, but the more serious fitness types give this gym a total miss.

I’ve been going to this gym for a while now, not that many people would know it. So this is like Gym coming out session. When I joined, I did a little scout of gyms in the city. I was quite clear; it had to have equipment, I wanted it to have some form of relaxation area (to bribe myself into going), it had to be on or around the £30 mark and it had to be on the way home from work.
Looking back, these were probably some of the worst criteria you can think of, but it was as a result of this bizarre checklist, I ended up joining this gym.
Lets get the obvious stuff out of the way. Yes, it has equipment. Yes, it has towels if you want them, and yes, it is around the £30 mark to join. It is, however, no longer on my way home from work.
The gym itself is set over four levels. The top floor is a weight room. The middle floor is your standard gym and classroom. The lower floor houses a spa and male and female changing rooms, and the bottom floor contains a pool, additional class room, sauna, steam room and whirlpool.
The gym area is small, but reasonably well equipment with a good selection of Cardio Vascular machines, which are fairly up to date. They certainly do what you would expect them too. There are standard treadmills, bikes, rowers and cross trainers as well as a couple of less well known machines. There are also resistance machines, some light free weights and kettle bells and a TRX available. Generally, there are enough machines to go around, although if you go at peak times, you may have to wait a little.
I don’t really do much weight lifting, but the weights room seems well stocked. When I have used it, I haven’t been unable to find anything I’ve needed.
The changing rooms are pretty standard; separate showers for men and women and then a communal locker /​changing area. The real gem here, however, is in the basement, where you find the pool. Pools in the city centre are rare. If you wanted to go to a gym that is reasonably priced and has a pool, you probably won’t find another one. As a non-​swimmer, I’m a personal fan of the whirlpool; great if you over did things a little upstairs!
Your membership gives you access to all of the available classes which is great — no additional fees. I don’t play well in groups, but even I have ended up joining a class; I’m a complete RPM convert and I’ve yet to find anywhere else in the centre that does it.
So as gym’s go, this is probably a 3* gym. Pretty good equipment, clean, a fair selection of classes, and a massive bonus for the pool. It could do with a bit of an update; when the right music is on, you do feel bit like you need to break out the sweatbands and lycra, but certainly not dingy and falling apart.
The extra star for this goes for the staff. I always swore I wouldn’t join a gym; the idea is anathema to me. But they have always made me feel really welcome, despite having (when I started) the innards of a 70 year old. They have been really supportive an motivated me to achieving my personal fitness goals. I could invest my money and go somewhere a little swankier, but it seems unnecessary when the thing that I value the most is available at this gym. Personally, I’d rather have friendly kick up the butt when I’m slacking over a treadmill that has a billion options that I’ll never use.

I did something in January I never thought I would do… I joined a gym. I did a lot of research first, as I wanted a place which I wasn’t locked into a 12 month contract, had a pool, had classes I would do (and enjoy) and would be the cheapest option; Bannatynes won hands down.
Located just off Corporation Street, it’s got several bus stops around it and is a 3 — 5 minutes walk from either Snow Hill or New Street train station. I will warn you, the exterior (as you can see from the photo) isn’t glamourous. If you want a place for posing and taking «gym selfies», you may want to look elsewhere.
Once you are a member, rather than carrying around another pesky card — you get a pin number to enter. This is just put into the turnstile by the reception desk and Voila! You’re in. As a side note, once I had decided to join — I was a member in 10 minutes and had full access immediately. Something to note if you’re feeling determined!
There are separate male and female changing and shower facilities downstairs and then stairs to the pool/​steam/​sauna area or you can grab lift to get up to the gym. The lockers are padlock operated and you have to take your own (or buy one from them).
I am yet to try the actual gym equipment or classes, but all of the classes seem to be done over a range of days and times to suit even the most busy schedule. I am loving the hydrotherapy pool (perfect for post swim achey limbs) and the Sauna.
The gym also has a «Bannatynes Spa». Not recommended for a «spa day» (the actual area is very nice), but you wouldn’t want to head to the pool for a relaxing time as it’s full of people swimming for fitness. I had my first ever massage today by a lovely lady called Steph. As a new member of the gym, I had 50% off — making a 45 minute Swedish massage experience £18. They do offers regularly, so if you are a spa person, wotrth giving it a go.
All in all — there are things that could be improved. But for £29 a month — it pretty much does everything I would want a gym to do!