Onelife Fitness – Burke Gym

The gym and the amenities are great! It’s a very clean facility with a variety of group exercise classes!

The gym and all amenities are good — the problem is the customer service. After being a member for 3 years, I asked to bring down my initial rate from $ 44.99 to at least $ 39.99 a month. The manager on duty was very unprofessional and gave me attitude when I tried to reason with her. When I politely mentioned that there is no lack of other gyms in the area — and hinting that some gyms offer better pricing — the comedy unraveled. The manager declared to me «we are not a competition with other gyms in the area». I did not know that Onelife fitness has a monopoly on gyms — but what do I know?
The manager bargained on the reduction of the said amount on terms that were even worse than my current pay plan. First, she offered a one-​time down payment of $ 150 for a reduction in monthly payments from $ 44.99 to $ 39.99 — a terrible deal if you do the math and take into account my 3 year tenure. Soon thereafter, thanks to her «computer system», she reduced it to $ 75 and then $ 50. When I asked why — after 3 years of being a member — I was not allowed to reduce my membership monthly payment to the available option of $ 39.99 without making another down payment, the manager came up with another lousy lie.
Because of the poor business acumen and customer service of the so called manager, I will be searching for another gym in the area. I am thinking LA Fitness in Springfield where the membership is only $ 32.99.

Marcel Pappalardo is the General Manager there in Burke and is a very helpful and thoughtful person. I had some concerns today about my membership. Marcel worked with me on coming up with a plan that will work for me and I couldn’t be happier. With him leading the team there, I’m sure good things are happening. Thank you for your help Marcel! Chris C.

**update**
They lifted the ban on class rooms!
Thanks Onelife!

****
I signed up for two reasons:
1. Women’s only workout room
— Gone now —
2. Access to class rooms after 9pm
— suddenly every room is closed to the public for ‘cleaning’ after the last class is over,
. «Cleaning» is ongoing from the moment classes end till closing (I’ve never seen anyone inside cleaning though)
Management changed the rules and does not want the public accessing them —
I am a nurse with late working hours, sad this gym no longer fits the needs of my lifestyle.
Cancelling my membership bc there is no difference in having my gym membership vs working out at home.

I have been a member here for the past year and I’m very disappointed with this gym. They took away the women’s fitness area, who does that?! The management put in a workout area that costs you more money to workout in. The only area that is enjoyable to use is full after 4 people are in the room. It’s annoying to have to constantly work around people doing walking lunges or pushing weights all over the gym because they don’t have a dedicated area for core workouts. This gym just wants your money, they don’t care that about providing room for an adequate workout. They have so many useless machines that do nothing but collect dust. I’m fed up with this place. The only redeeming quality of this gym is the staff, they are very attentive and courteous.

I am so disappointed in this gym and the way I was treated. I went in and took a tour and loved everything I saw. I signed up for a 5 day pass so I could see if their schedule would work for me. No one informed me with this guest pass that I couldn’t bring my child, in fact, they told me as long as I brought my photo ID that I should have no problems checking her in. They even watched her during my tour and told me how I would check in during my trial period. I am a stay at home mom and can’t go to the gym without my child, she’s too young for preschool and is with me all the time. They turned me away after trying to charge me for my daughter. Free trial obviously doesn’t mean free. After I spoke with a manager they informed me that there is no other option for me, that it was strictly policy and offered me no solution. Beyond that, they left out that my free trial doesn’t include the pool or basketball court. So now I can’t even use my free trial or find out if this gym would work for me because I can’t bring my daughter. They even went as far to say it isn’t fair for «paying members» to have to wait for my child to be picked up for theirs to be dropped off. In 5 days I would have been a member if I wasn’t treated so poorly. Looks like I will be staying at LA Fitness where I haven’t had any issues.

I am a secret shopper and will be completely honest with my review of the gym. I have been a member of Golds, 24hour, ect. This gym is by far the best as far as the classes and equipment. I have been a member for about 6 months and have also noticed a drastic improvement as far as cleanliness as well. The gym was never dirty in the first place I just notice a lot more of the team cleaning and working hard I actually had a chance to meet one of the employees by the name of Adam. I am not sure of his position there but I hope he is treated well because he is a hardworker. I come every night around 7 and he seems to always be there on the week days. He works with a group that I notice cleaning machines, emptying trash cans and clearing out the towel bins. I was reading through the other reviews and someone was complaining about the rooms being closed after classes daily. I absolutely support that because every time I am in a room for a class the floors are clean and mopped. As a member at other gyms the floors were filthy. So I would much rather the rooms be closed at the end of the day after classes to be cleaned than to be rolling in dirt during yoga, Zumba, ect. The front desk is very helpful as well. I was signed up by Diane and see myself staying a member she explained every aspect of the process to me when I joined and explained the different options. She is quite a funny character and says hello every time someone passes her desk. She is always running around doing a million different jobs it seems like. All of the other staff in her area are very kind as well as the trainers there. I believe his name was Jiff but he gave me my first tour of the gym and is very professional. The only complaint I have has absolutely nothing to do with the gym and that is the parking but to be honest it is much better then other places. I am excited to start the new program they have out and encourage anyone interested to sign up and see the woman who helped me get started in changing how I look at myself in the mirror.

This gym is the best gym I’ve been to. Everyone here is very friendly and makes me feel welcomed when I come in. Daniel, one of the sales guys always encourages me and greets me by name when I come in as well. Very impressed with the customer service at this club! Also, pricing is amazing for what they offer!

I use to go to Xsport in Merrifield but the parking was horrible, weighs were left everywhere, staff members seemed oblivious to customers, and etc. Only good thing was the price.
One day out of the blue my boyfriend tried to get me to join Onelife so I started going a few times and then I eventually became a member. First thought when I walked into this gym versus Xsport: This place is spacious and the interior feels more homey, I want to work out here.
I enjoy going to this gym because everything is neat, clean, and the staff is always friendly. There are constantly staff members walking around to pick up any equipment left around and the locker rooms are constantly cleaned. My pet peeve is when the floors of the locker room are soaking wet because of gym goers that used the shower or pool. Not a problem here, there is always a staff member making sure the floors are clean and dry!
Some of the things this gym offers: Pool, Sauna, Hot tub, kids pool, kids club (babysitting), lots of machines that are not packed into a small area (treadmills, bicycles, leg presses, etc.), free weights, bench presses, squat racks, three different studios (zumba, yoga, and biking), even a room where you can run and watch a movie on a big screen, and an outdoor workout area. I believe they’re still working on adding another section to the gym, I look forward to that!
Currently I’m paying $ 40 a month, but I don’t mind if I keep getting this high quality customer service!

We love it! My son is slowly getting used to the people in the nursery he even waved bye to me today. Everyone is sweet! I left my sons floatie and the lifeguard left it in the front with our name on it!

Update: they called me back and gave approval to enroll me at the lower fee. I still don’t like the sales tactics but do believe this is a nice facility for the price and offering.
Prior review:
Be aware, this place practices hard selling and rigid practices even if the sales staff are «nice». If you do not join during the initial tour/​visit the enrollment fee to join goes up when/​if you decide to join, even if it’s 1 day later, which JUST happened to me (even though i had the 5 day pass).
My point is the hard selling. I feel I should have the full 5 day trial before having to decide if I want to join. And if I like it and feel it’s a good fit (after having the opportunity to actually test/​trial that out) I should pay the same enrollment fee (vs. if I decided to join on Day 1).
I should not have to pay $ 45 more just because I did not sign up on Day 1. However, instead, they are basically charging you $ 45 to try the gym for 5 days (because they make you pay that much more if you actually use the 5 day pass and end up joining after the trial). Or in my case, I visited once for a tour and a short 30 minute workout, and wanted to join the next day. And they are saying I can’t join at the lower enrollment fee they told me about less than 24 hours ago.
Other things to note that I learned on my tour/​visit:
1) The pool is not all salt, it’s a combo of chlorine and salt water, which might be less harsh but doesn’t not the same.
2) They charge an enrollment fee pretty much no matter what (and they also require a 12 month contract, which is pretty standard).
3) The swim lessons don’t seem to be very structured. When I called a few months ago to inquire what level my son would be in and what skills he would be taught, they just said «it depends». This was after emailing them several times with no response. I was finally put in touch w the new swim school director. I ended going with a more proven and structured swim program at Kids First Swim School (in springfield on port royal in Ravensworth).
4) Parking is quite crowded in this shopping center, but the shopping center is good and has some convenient stores

Update: They got more plates! Five stars. Great plates mates

Quite when I went in the middle of the day around 1pm. All machines accessible. Not to far from the pad. I need to stop in more often…

I go to the gym about 2x a week. I usually use the treadmills and free weights, pilates ball. I take some classes, body pump is the best one I’ve tried! My only complaint is that the trainers seem to sit around a lot and talk or play on the web. I think you pay extra for training sessions, but if they have nothing to do, you think they might walk around and see if anyone needs help with a machine or has a question. Overall I like it here.

Wth! I retired from the Air Force the first part of Dec 2015, down in Newport News, VA. I was a FAITHFUL member of the OneLife in Newport News. When I told the staff member at the front desk I was relocating to the DC area and needed to canx my membership, you would have THOUGHT she would have told me about the TWO Onelife locations in the DC area and that there was no need to canx my membership. And guess what? The Burke location is about 15 mins from my house here! I’ve been working out on Ft. Belvoir and the gyms there are not up to my fitness level. I will DEFINITELY be coming by the Burke location tomorrow to renew my membership!!! I don’t put all the blame on the staff member as I could have gotten on the internet and looked to see if there were any Onelife’s in the DC area, but come on, this should be part of the staff training in order to KEEP your current members.
Feb 1, 2016 UPDATE!!!
As promised, I went by the Burke location today and Tiffany brought me back into the Onelife family! The Burke location is BEAUTIFUL and I can’t wait to start working out there!!! Tiffany was very professional, friendly, and provided EXCELLENT customer service! :)

**management went out of their way to take care of me after the initial mix up. I have to commend them for being customer orientated.
**update. Management seems to be working with me to make up for the initial bad experience. On the current free trial my gf so far has only experienced positive things about her experience. Unfortunately I’m due to have rotator cuff surgery so I’ll update this review shortly from her current experience.**
I’ve only gone for a week during a trial period. I like the gym. It’s big and clean/​newish and would have loved to join but essentially being called a liar by the sales rep would not give me peace of mind attending this gym even tho it’s the closest to me. Either the sales team is encouraged to be rigid and strict of the particular sales rep was just clueless.

I had membership at Equinox, lifetime in Reston. My membership used to be over $ 100/​month.
I came to this place because my parents needed something close to their home. I had no expectations.
It was clean and big. And their pool has salt water! I walked around the gym and saw they have everything– from crossfit to pilate… and TRX… everything I needed. Salt water pool was a plus.
And it’s so cheap. I couldn’t believe it and got membership for my parents and I.
Classes have been pretty good.
I highly recommend this place. Cheap price and they have everything you will ever need @ gym. Why did I spend so much money before at Equinox and lifetime? I have no idea!

I joined Oneline about a month ago. The have everything I need at the gym and more. It’s clean and even during peak hours there are plenty of machines (treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, etc.) to go around. The classess are on time and well run.
There is truly something for everyone. Into Crossfit? Well, they have the equipment and even a special indoor and outdoor space for that — roll that tractor tire and climb those ropes. Like free weights? Well, there are a plethroa of those too.
There is a saltwater swimming pool, a sauna and a swimming pool. One of my favorite activities is catching a movie in the Cinema room while walking/​running on the treadmill.
Clean, spacious, with great customer service, this is an excellent local area gym.

Onelife Fitness is a «family gym».
If you are a stay-​at-​home mom, retired, or live close Onelife might be a good fit.
What lead me to Onelife? It’s only 5 minutes away from my house.
PROS:
–Clean facility
–Friendly staff
–More classes than Golds Fairfax Station (Not many early morning classes)
–Hand towel service
–Competitive rate (same as Golds Gym, half the price of LifeTime Fitness)
–Cardio Cinema room with a posted schedule online
–Child care
LUKEWARM:
–Class time offerings (There are 2 early-​ish morning classes. I wish that there was more than 1 5:15am class for early morning exercisers.)
–Not 24 hours
–Key tags (Personally, I prefer to just use a fingerprint like 24 Hour Fitness or have a card for the lockers like Lifetime.)
CONS:
*If you’re into free weights this isn’t the gym for you.
–Not as many free weights (There is space… Where are the weights?!!)
–Missing random weight machines such as: military press, hack squat

I’ve been going to this gym for about a year. The facilities are beautiful and clean and the staff is pretty friendly. The best time to go is in the early afternoon because after 6 is a madhouse like most gyms are. I love using the female only workout space for some privacy when I’m jumping around like a maniac during my circuit training. The only thing I wish the gym had was a mirror in that room because we lady lifters like to check our form too.
The skinny PB shake is absolutely delicious, not too sure how healthy it is though. I looked up the ingredients in their binder and they had some extra chocolate something in there. I asked the staff what it was and she wasn’t really clear on whether that something was extra sugar or not.
Overall, I’ll probably renew my membership for another year. I usually find the equipment and space I need for my workout and it doesn’t feel like an intimidating place with a bunch of muscle heads. The parking lot is really big too which is a huge plus for me!