Cardinal Fitness

Very unhealthy for a HEALTH Club. First, dirty — the entire place and smelly!!! Are they that strapped for cash that they can’t hire a good cleaning every week??? I am sure people have gotten infections from touching anything in the place. Also smells awful. Why do they need music loud? Everyone has a personal device to play the music they enjoy. I end up turning my device too loud (unhealthy) just to drone our their choice of music. Machines are pretty much broken down. Please do something!!!

If you’re looking for some busted ass equipment, come here! Been a member for about 4 years. I’ve been going to the willowbrook location recently because it’s closer to work. Came back to this location today and got on 4 treadmills before finding one that worked. By worked, I mean the belt worked. The tv didn’t, which fine whatever. I had to use my hulk-​like strength just to increase/​decrease speed and although the incline was set to 3, it said I was going –2.5. Something always says out of order, but it’s just getting worse.

Machines are always broken. Treadmills mostly. I’ve been going there 3 days a week for a couple of months now and each time I get on a treadmill, I need to find another one because of one of the following:
Heart Rate guage not working
TV not working
Volume on TV not working
picture on TV too dark.
Treadmill not working
Their equipment is very old and NOT WELL maintained.
Buyer Beware…
If the situation improves, I’ll reevaluate, I promise

Several relatives are members and they like this place a lot. They go on a daily basis, and it’s only a block from my house. I used a guest pass and was impressed by the cleanliness of the facility, the friendliness of the staff, and the condition of the equipment: all top-​notch.
So when they called with a special offer, I almost jumped at the chance. It sounded like a great deal, and even if I dropped out of my fitness program after a few months, I would have gotten my money’s worth.
Unfortunately, when I pursued the «deal», I learned that, though there was no join-​up fee and a low low LOW monthly fee, there is indeed a cancellation fee AND a processing fee. Fair enough with the cancellation fee, but the processing fee seemed a little sneaky. I thought that now that everything is computerized, adding my info to their roster would be no big deal, but they charge what several hours of HUMAN manpower would cost.
The other issue for me is that they continually answer the phone as «Charter Fitness, Beverly!» which is not true. Yes, it’s Charter, but it’s a half-​mile SOUTH of Beverly, which ends at 107^th. I know Beverly and Morgan Park are near each other, but MP is also near Blue Island – why don’t they identify as Charter Blue Island?
A lot of (white) residents in MP have a huge emotional investment in claiming they live in Beverly. These people are known as «WannaBevs.» According to local wisdom, Beverly is code for white and MP is code for black. In fact, both neighborhoods are integrated and both are architecturally and historically significant… MP, though, was here first. I would like MP to remain integrated and culturally vibrant, and I think segregationist thinking is counterproductive to this end.
So, I don’t give my money to WannaBev businesses.
And the other question this brings up is: if Charter lies about their location, what else do they lie about?

I hate to have to leave a one star review, but…
My wife and went to this gym for a little less than a year mainly due to location and price. The price is very inexpensive for basic machines and weights. The location was minutes from our house.
The staff was friendly and adequate. No complaints or concerns.
A few months into the membership we decided to work with a trainer. The manager was incredibly excited to sign us up for a large package of training sessions We were buying in bulk to take advantage of a promotion.
The trainers were good and we enjoyed the sessions.
A few months ago we were preparing to move out of the area. We mentioned this to the staff and our trainer, but no one cared to mention that we needed to cancel our membership 30 days before or we would be billed an additional month.
A week before we left, I sat down to cancel our membership and was told I would have to pay an additional month. I asked about it and was told the usual «its in your contract» blah, blah, blah. The staff person gave me a number to call to ask if I could get it waived. The number was for a billing department that could only take payments. I called and spoke to the manager. The same manager that was excited to sell me personal training was now not interested in helping me. He said he would look into it and never called back. I followed up and left messages on several occasions with no response.
The extra month in terms of dollars is not a big deal. The three unused personal training sessions that could not be refunded were frustrating, but not worth worrying about. A business excited to take your money, but not willing to deal with problems or concerns is a huge concern. So, be careful in dealing with this business and especial as the change the name to «Charter Fitness». As for me, I’ll recommend you look elsewhere.

Now known as «Charter Fitness» it’s been my gym for nearly two years now.
It’s the better of the ones in the area– plenty of open space for stretching or anything that requires a little space. Equipment is rarely broken for long, and it’s nice and clean and only gets that funky gym smell during peak hours in February when everyone is starting their resolutions to get fit.
It gets crowded from 3−7pm on most days– especially in the middle of the week. But that’s fine because I usually go by 1pm or in the evening.
I have had two trainers here and they both have been great, but my current one, Patrick, is fantastic! He pushes me to my limit and isn’t scared to throw extra weight at me. All members receive a free training session so ask for him if you can! They changed the babysitting room into a training room so everyone that being trained spends the majority of their time in a private room– no need to feel scared of working out in front of everyone (or having to fight for space to lift)
Everyone that works there is super nice and willing to help if you just ask.

My husband & I joined because the price & location were perfect for us. Unfortunately the place was way too crowded & we could never get on a machine. We ended up cancelling our membership after two months. It might be good for someone who works odd hours or can go in the middle of the day, not for a 9−5er though.

I just joined, and while the joining process was painless, I am a little discouraged that there was no introduction. Once payment was received, I was never shown lockers (if there are any), introduced to how to use the machines, where a scale would be, ettiquette of the gym, etc. Price and location are both great, though.