Pure Gym Edinburgh

For 17.99/month you can’t really fault it. «It» being a bare necessities gym, aka Pure Gym. It’s a pretty big gym (and all on one floor) located beside the Meadows, in central Edinburgh. It’s proximity to the University of Edinburgh means that there are lots of students who are members.
Pros:
— open 24 hours
— has some good classes (I like tabata)
— not busy in the morning before work
— friendly
— cheap
Cons:
— mega busy after work
— almost too friendly… sometimes you get personal trainers trying to chat to you so that you will buy their PT sessions (and all you want to do is listen to T-​Swift)
— I wish they had earlier classes so I could attend them before work (earliest regular class begins at 7am)
One think I really like is that they have really invested in added some things that maybe you wouldn’t expect to be there. For instance a large + heavy rope which when you move it up and down for 60 secs really fast gives you a good work out.
For what I pay — I don’t feel bad when I don’t go to this gym. However, it’s nice to know that I’m walking distance away to a 24-​hour facility when those urges of «I’ve eaten way too much Chinese food this weekend» kick in and you feel like you need to sweat it off.

Pros:
— Low monthly
— 24 hour access
Cons:
— Over crowded
— 24 hours access is not really useful as all the gyms operate on ‘peak times’ phenomenon for a reason that most of the people get a free time from their busy day schedule around 4 to 8 in the evening.
— Out of order water cooler and only one unit available for WHOLE gym Only 6 shower units
— No control of hot or cold water in showers, only one timer button. Very very hot water from the showers, on inquiry I discovered that they have intentionally put it on hot to kill disease. It is unbearably hot.

Pure Gym is the best plain vanilla gym in Edinburgh. Central location, clean, ²⁴⁄₇ access, and — most importantly — an unbeatable price compared to other gyms in the city, especially if you’re not a student. The management have been a bit joyless and standoffish in the few times I’ve had a question, and a few extra functional trainers would be appreciated, but no complaints otherwise.

Yes, its cheap, and there’s usually plenty of spare capacity in the mornings when I go along.
BUT — Its not as clean as it was, 9 months on from opening — maybe because there are no facilities for cleaning up the equipment after yourself — no sprays or wipes.
AND — you may have to put up with two lots of different loud music playing at once if there is a spin class in progress.

I signed up for this gym before it opened due to the unbeatable price — £13 a month! All I want from my gym is access to the equipment and a locker to store my stuff and that’s exactly what I get from this gym. Even at peak times there is enough cardio and weight equipment to go around. Only complaint from me is that it’s not the easiest to get to.

Possibly one of the most impersonal gyms I’ve ever been too. I could barely get a tour to see the place — I realize the members only pay for what they use, but you can be sure you wont get anything additional, like even a smile from the staff. That said, it is functional and cheap. The price seems to be fluctuating, the first time I asked it was around £10 and now it’s about £16 I think. It’s certainly cheap, but the place is quite busy. There’s nothing near in that price bracket so it certainly serves a need. The equipment is very standard, not particularly interesting, but again very functional. Overall the place is okay, but probably only worth the £10−15.

Yes, it is only and purely a gym, as the name says. It is the newest gym in Edinburgh, located in the snazzy Quartermile area (a new development between Edinburgh university on George square and the Meadows). and offers state of the art equipment, something like 150 fitness pieces. There is a rolling contract, 16.50 per month membership fee, which provides for use of gym and showers. All admin stuff is made on-​line, as the gym is the latest cry of fashion. The downside of it is that there is no pool or sauna which turns it into an unlikely choice for pool maniacs like me.