Sweat Fitness & Frames

Horrified & outraged at the condition of pool on Arch St. Filthy, ph & chlorine levels out of whack… probably germ infested and may have bacteria… Spokesman stated it’s a maintenance issue, however gym member told me it’s been like this for a week… SHAME on them for having Unsanitary conditions… SHAME on me for paying good $ for lousy service! I’m outta there!

I joined the gym with my wife on a one month trial for a dollar each, so I had no expectations other than to quit when the month was up because their rates are higher than other local establishments. The driving force to join for me was not to get in shape, but rather use their bowling alley as a member. Turns out bowling is only included during the morning on weekdays, when just about every local citizen is working or schooling, and members get 25% off during the rest of the day. That’s weak.
The gym was okay, but it was relatively new and many small things were wrong with machines to make them frustrating to use, though not non-​functional. My major issue was that nothing there was ever returned to the proper position or organized (free weights, plates, handles, bars, etc), and no one besides myself ever wiped down a machine after using them on any of my visits, employees included.
We quit before our month was up as we were both over working out there, and then the financial issues presented themselves. After multiple visits and calls they eventually stopped charging us for two full memberships three months later, and after many more visits, calls, and angry posts to their facebook page, three more months later we finally got our money back.
Fast forward to a couple months ago and they now have unlimited bowling packages ($ 5 on weeknights, $ 10 on weekends) that include shoes and I start coming back to this BYOB bowling alley on the regular, because they still have nice lanes, only now that their rating would final increase they plan to close for good.
Guess I’m back to the «I’ll never return» status.

Just as I was going to write a positive review with this gym, our trainer told us 2 weeks ago the gym was closing. I went to the front desk and emailed and both responses were they were emailing all clients and sending them mail the weekend of the 2^nd. No email and no mail.
They put up a sign on Tuesday the 4^th, but I can confirm there was no sign before then. I did Zumba on the 5^th and the instructor found out AS SHE CAME IN for the class. She has been with the gym for 2 years. That’s beyond unprofessional.
I have not yet worked out at east falls fitness but visiting the night I worked out it is not the equipment quality of sweat. I’m willing to give it a try but I had joined sweat because it was in walking distance.
So so poor.

They shut down this location with absolutely no notice. I’m currently trying to get a refund but have not had luck since they claim we can go to the new location.

All of my previous statements were true, but I have to give Sweat credit for one thing – the people I talk to are quite nice. The guy at the front is always very sweet and the manager did try to help me with some of he difficulties I was having with the gym. I ultimately have left Sweat, but I did want to point that out.
–
From bad to worse. I am ready to report this company for fraudulent business practices.
This gym was already bad, but it has become unbelievable. Today they closed this location with no warning at all and tell me that I cannot get out of the contract because I have the option to go to East Falls Fitness instead.

My zero star rating continues as I am trying to get a refund for our $ 90. Obviously getting a credit to come back and play on another weekend isn’t an option. I really don’t think that anyone from our group would want to go back anyway. I called both the day after and two days after and there is no word on whether or not the owner will refund our group. The manager has been unsuccessfully trying to get in touch with the owner about the situation, but seeing as how they are closing, I have a feeling we are going to get wrapped up in a big mess.
The manager seemed to think we shouldn’t get a refund because we bowled five frames and spent two hours there. Uh… YEAH it took us two hours to play five frames. Do they not realize that this is an absurd amount of time to spend over the course of less than half a game? Two hours and we probably ended up waiting for an entire hour if you added up the time it took to clear the stalled pins, stuck balls, and frozen frames.
I’m *so* throughly upset by this entire experience.

I joined this gym because it is close to my house and it seemed better than East Falls Fitness, where I used to go.
The good stuff:
— location
— the on-​site staff are nice
— machines are newer
— everything is clean by my standards
— not too busy
— the purell sanitizer dispenser has finally been filled
The bad:
— while they are getting better, the music can be beyond deafening and the music choices are suspect sometimes. And I quote…“gotta kiss ma bitch… kiss ma bitch” On the times I have asked them to turn it down some, they have.
— Finding a machine that has a decent monitor on it is quite the game of luck. The CNN channel; hasn’t worked since I joined this summer (when I was assured it would be fixed).
— a very few of the machines don’t work well. A little WD-​40 and TLC and all would be well.
I think with a little more attention to detail and consistent monitoring of equipment, Sweat could really up its game. None of the negatives I mentioned are that difficult to fix.
I am not sure if I would renew my membership at this point.

I joined Sweat Fitness on Henry Ave because it was within walking distance of my house. I like that at least a few of the cardio machines work very well — my machine preference of choice is the elliptical. I do have hope that the current manager is going to turn this club around, because otherwise I would be really upset about paying money to go here. I have not been bowling there yet, but maybe that will improve my outlook on the facilities! I do have to say that I have enjoyed their fitness classes. While the setting is not the greatest, the instructors are wonderful. :)

BYOB, Clean, Parking, and bring your own food. What else do you need? Mostly families and a few parties. The lanes are a little tight and our setting machine wasn’t working properly, but overall a fine place to get your bowl on.

If you join sweat fitness from Groupon or a voucher, it is worth it for a standard gym… but whatever you do, DO NOT JOIN THIS GYM OR ANY SWEAT FITNESS! You have to jump through ten hoops to get a cancellation of membership and it is not clear at all how this is done. The actual gym does not handle the membership, ABC financial does, who are horrible to try to cancel a gym membership with. The employees also seemed confused and unaware on how to cancel a membership as well. The whole process leaves a horrible taste in your mouth.

I have to bump the gym up a little bit because the customer service has gotten better. They also vary the music a little more so its not always the same thing.

Just went there to bowl.
Fairly priced, clean, no frills
Shoes were nasty though
The place was empty which was great for my kid.
Was there on Mother’s Day and they gave me a gift certificate!
We’ll go back.

SWEAT is a scam. Please avoid! This review is for ALL SWEAT gyms! I would choose 0 stars if possible. I tried the King of Prussia location and the East Falls location and had THE same issues.
I wish I would have listened to all the horrible reviews for SWEAT gyms before I tried them using their «1 free month trial». That offer is a scam! My husband and I joined (separately) in August for the free month trial. We each canceled our trials separately and were secretly charged for a few months. My husband was able to finally get them to cancel the membership by calling several times and going to the gym several times. His credit card then put a block on ABC Financial (who handles SWEAT). They continued calling and trying to charge him for an additional 2 months after SWEAT said they canceled him. A huge pain and took awhile for him to get a refund.
It was a lot more difficult for me to cancel and get my money back though. Both of us made sure to cancel 5 days before the offer was up. This did not make any difference though. I was secretly charged for 3 months. In order to cancel and stop the charges, I had to call the gym and their billing person (Maureen), go to the gym multiple times and talk to one of the high-​ups at the company. It then took an addition 6 months of me and my husband calling, emailing, visiting, yelling, threatening a lawsuit, etc. in order to get my money back. The only reason they ended up refunding me, was due to the fact that they had refunded my husband. We claimed discrimination against them for not giving me a refund.
This or something very similar WILL happen to you! Along with myself, my husband, a few of my friends and numerous reviewers on Unilocal.This is what SWEAT does. Make sure to file with the Better Business Bureau if you have an issue. SWEAT must respond to all complaints. Insist that they copy you on the cancelation emails (they originally told me that it was against policy but copied my husband when he canceled) so you have proof. Find people who have been refunded as well so that they refund you too. Go into the gym to actually cancel and watch them email with you on it. When you have issues, immediately ask to speak to Maureen and get her cel number. She will avoid calling you so make sure you follow-​up.
Regardless of the horrible customer service and issues we have had, the gym itsself is ok. It’s nothing special and there are plenty of other gyms to choose from which as better, cleaner and friendlier. I was interested in taking classes. 5 out of the 10 classes that I took during my «free» month, the teachers failed to show up, notify the manager that they would not be coming and let us wait for 30 minutes before anyone said they were not coming. When I asked the manager if this was normal, she said yes and that «the instructors showed up when they felt like it».

Sweat is a scam. I signed up and I wanted to suspend my account just for a couple of months, and they said it would cost me $ 5 per month. I would have to pay $ 5 to not use sweat. Stupid.
On top of that, I wanted to leave the «Club» all together because of that nonsense, and no, they wouldn’t let me. They signed me up for 12 months without me knowing it. Great. August can’t get her fast enough.
They also steal your money with late fees. They charge your credit/​debit card whenever they want to and if the money isn’t there, there’s a $ 10 late fee.
Sweat Fitness in EF has made a powerful enemy this day.

I live about 2 blocks from Sweat Fitness and received an ad for a free 30 day membership. They refused to give me a trial membership because I am a student and don’t have a driver’s license with a Philadelphia address. They stated too many students were cancelling after their trial membership and that they deemed the number as «not acceptable.»
They also asked how old I was before refusing a 30 day membership and offering a 7 day trial. I took that and then had the most awkward group class I have ever had. The Zumba class was in a small, mirror-​less room that was incredibly hot and very crowded. I was not impressed and would not recommend the gym.

It shocks me to read such negative reviews about this place. I have been a member of sweat fitness & frames since it opened last year and the only reason why I don’t give it 5 stars is because their is no child care and that makes it harder for some of us to find time to go during the day.
Since the east falls location opened last year, there have been many improvements. They are now offering several classes: spinning, yoga, Zumba, Pilates, and bowling for fitness. All the instructors are extremely nice and qualified and make you feel comfortable when working out. There is also new equipment and more staff at the front desk and trainers.
The whole gym is super clean! From the entrance to the showers, you will always find this place clean and that is a plus for me. Another thing I love is that the gym is not that crowded.
I will definitely recommend sweat fitness and frames. Make sure you try it first before you sign a contract, they are really good about that (my friend went for a month and didn’t pay a penny). People need to grow up and understand that once you sign something and give credit card info, no matter where you go, you will be charged. So stop bitching about getting charged!

Absolutely awful customer service. Was treated rudely by management and there are constant extra charges to credit cards. Training is a joke and not taken seriously by staff.

BEWARE of the typical Membership SCAM.
They will lure you in with a $ 20 trial membership offer, then when you want to cancel they tell you you signed for a year membership and charge you full price to cancel.
Just like Bally’s.
They are predators.
Worst thing to come to East Falls since Johnny Mañana’s.

I got a flyer for a «month FREE trial membership» I live close and wanted to check it out… Despite already having another gym membership. It was a complete scam, I am still dealing with charges being made to my credit card and its 4 months later. This gym is WAY to expensive and they are just trying to get money they could care less about clients and their fitness goals. The gym has low ceilings and the set up isn’t appealing. Had an awful experience… My advice join east falls fitness… Great classes, trainers, and I pay $ 20 a month. And it’s 2 minutes from sweat fitness. Do NOT join sweat.

What we have here is an old hospital, converted into mixed use businesses. Overall it’s car friendly but in a wierd location you have to go to Henry ave to enter, there’s no back way through the parking lot and route 1 cuts it off from the side. I don’t think you can walk through the the back but I’ll give it a shot and check back. There’s a day care center in what looks like the ER used to be. But that’s another ironic review for another time. On the opposite side of the parking lot is this business. This place is one half gym and one half bowling. The bowling part first looks exciting. there are 7 lanes divided into 5 and 2. They are building another 3 for a private party facility down stairs. The others are first come first serve. If you are a gym member you can bowl for free during the week 9a-​2p. Other times it’s 4 $ a game (with members getting some sort of discount on that). They rent shoes that don’t look new. But the balls and lane look good. It’s a dark laser tag vibe, alot of blacklight friendly colors, which is pretty cool and some flat screen tv’s. It seems like a good place to hang out, watch a game, drink a cold beverage. Maybe crack a glow stick. They have a BYO policy in the bowling alley, i’m not sure how that’s going to work out but good luck to them with that. Someone’s gonna ruin that policy, which is a shame in advance. The gym side is like a nice liberal arts college gym. It’s not huge and there’s a hallway that winds through the facilities. Most gyms are like one big room, this is more like you walk through the cardio department to get to the weights department (well it is an old hospital). It doesn’t smell bad and it appears extremely clean. Rubber floors, mirrors, all looking good. There’s actually some natural light in the weightroom. Everything is precor it would seem from the treadmills to the strength machines. All of the cardio machines have their own tvs that you can play netflix through. I haven’t checked the locker rooms but temporary locker usage is free. It’s a small but functional gym. If you are a professional body builder, you will find it unsuitable. Regular folks will be fine. The bowling makes it very interesting tho, very interesting indeed.