International Gymnastics Gym

Just fair warning to the world. They went out of business. If you placed a deposit on your credit card for a party, be sure to dispute the charges. My daughter had a class there until today when the doors were locked and no one was there. Supposedly, there are new owners but the place is supposed to be closed for a month. I won’t be waiting. I heard this all second hand. The old owners didn’t even have respect or decency to tell me what was happening. That former owner might be a former Olympian but she is also an ignorant coward.

I began the process by email and after 10 emails and my agreement to place a deposit my assumption was the time slot I had picked was saved. As it turned out I was not able to stop in the same night with the deposit. Instead I sent an email early the next morning to say I would be in to place the deposit that night. I stopped in, since it’s close to the house, to place the deposit the same afternoon. The only person in the place was a man and he looked at the book. The time and date I had selected had been taken. I told him I had 10 emails stating I wanted that time slot on that date. His response was «do you have one that confirms it?» «No» I said but I have these other emails that say I want this time, on this date and emails from International Gymnastics saying okay we need a deposit and you can bring that between 4 and 7. Here is the email chain.
Them
Hello,
you can reserve the party on Sunday 12, February: 11 am — 1 pm or 5 pm — 7 pm. You should stop by the office and pay deposit $ 30 or you can mail the check (please write down the date and the time of the party).
Thank you.
Me
We would like to reserve 11−1pm on Sunday February 12^th. I have some questions.
1. can we bring in food for the kids such as pizza and cake?
2. we would like to know if this is free play time or if there are organized, instructor led activities?
We live close enough to drop off a check for the 30 dollars or I can even call with a credit card if that is acceptable?
Them
Yes, you can bring food and drinks. Yes, there will be an instructor. 1 h 30 min in the gym and 30 min in the party room after the gym.
We do not accept credit cards. Please drop off a check.
Me
Sounds good. What are your hours this evening? I might be able to stop by later tonight to drop a check.
Them
You can stop by the office from 4 pm to 7 pm tonight.
It sure looked and sounded to me like I wasn’t going to have an issue if I dropped off a check. The least they could have done before booking something since I showed interest was email back to say we have someone interested in the same date and time… SOMETHING. Instead they just went ahead an booked another party.
After my experience at their location which ended in a vein popping screaming match with some man at International Gymnastics I receive another email.
Them
This is Anna, the secretary of Alex Kotliar, the owner. As far as I know you spoke with Alex today. I am very sorry. I waited for you yesterday between 4 pm and 7 pm, as you wrote. Today I was not in the office when you came and there was another person who reserved this slot. Anyway, I called the person and if you are still interested in reserving the party on February, 12 from 11 am to 1 pm, please come tomorrow (19, January) from 4 pm to 7 pm with your deposit. I will be in the office between these hours and I will reserve the party for you.
Please let me know if you are interested or not and if you have any questions: 847 8 244 720
Thank you very much.
Anna
THE OWNER!!! THAT WAS THE OWNER!!! The man who yelled, that I didn’t have confirmation of my reservation. The unaccommodating, obnoxious man I walked out on frustrated and angry was the OWNER. It’s up to you folks but I want a little better customer service out of my hard earned money. I hope people read this and have second thoughts before having the same bad experience. And if not MAKE SURE YOU GET CONFIRMATION!

This place is pretty good, although at its new location, when I checked it out, they were still putting in some of the stuff, and some of the things I saw in there (who said they were right in the middle of the room?) would fall under the «mechanical/​industrial» category. Plus the bald dude who runs it is kinda mean.

They moved about 4 blocks closer to Rand at the start of October. The new address is 520 Business Center Drive. The floor setup is still not complete, nor is the waiting area/​party room for the parents and kids, but it will be bigger and better than their previous location. Already they added a second spring-​loaded mat for floor exercises. I’d give them a few months to settle in since it’s only been a little more than a week.

My daughter went here for 2 years (when she was 3 and 4 years old). Not ONCE did that foreign man who was in charge of the class talk to ANY parents about their child’s ability (or even lack thereof). The only time he said more than two words to me were 1) when my younger child and I went to an empty corner of the gym to look at that punching bag that looks like a torso in the corner. I was HOLDING my 2 year old and we were honking the nose on the dummy. he walked over and gave me a hard time. 2). When my daughter returned to this place for a b-​day party, he suddenly remembered my daughter and probably missed our money! I am NOT a fan of this place.

This review is only for this gym’s use as a party facility, not for its gymnastics classes.
Tucked away in an industrial business park in Mt. Prospect, this could be considered a «hidden gem.» It’s a 16,000 sq. ft. gym, operated by former USSR Olympic gymnastics champion Nataliya Kuchinskaya. Judging by the number of trophies on display, it’s a go-​to place for serious gymnastics instruction.
Came here to attend a birthday party for Mike O’s oldest son. They open the gym on weekends to host parties, which can be booked in two-​hour blocks of time. Parents bring food/​refreshments and the gym affords kids the use of all its equipment, which is set up with plenty of protective mats and padding. In my opinion, it’s better for parties than the popular Pump It Up, since there is a variety of equipment for kids to avail themselves of.
There are: balance beams, vaults, the rings, uneven parallel bars, a mini trampoline, a huge tumbling floor surface, a specially designed bouncy tumbling run (forget what it’s called, but damn I bounced along pretty good), a swinging rope and an inflatable bouncy house. Throughout the party, a gym employee — an older Russian guy — walked around and helped kids as needed. He helped my 3 year old get on and off a few apparatuses, which I really liked.
By far, the most popular attraction there was the huge rope that kids used to swing over and jump into a ball pit. Instead of balls, it was actually a sea of foam blocks. It was a tremendous hit with the kids, most of whom were around 4 — 5, who lined up over and over to take turns.
Checked online; party rental prices seem reasonable. A two hour party for 1 – 15 kids is $ 155. Kids had a lot of fun; no one wanted to leave. Mine refused to go and fled into the inflatable house as it was deflating (and collapsing on her). What can I say — girl likes to bounce. And I bet money that every kid at that party slept well that night after all their activity.