10th Avenue Athletic Club

Edit: CLOSED
Turns out they were already planning to close, just holding off on informing members until about 2 – 3 weeks before the close date. Makes sense.
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This place is quickly turning into downtown Portland’s Loprinzi’s, only without the awesome vibe. So, basically, a total dump with functional equipment and really amazing staff.
My issues boil down to the pricing structure coupled with the current state of the gym. So they closed the pool. The one thing that separated them from the Ballys and the 24-​Hours downtown. So what else is there to justify the $ 10 – 15 more a month than those places?
It can’t be the quality of the facilities. Everything is old, if the repair is too expensive the machines disappear rather than get replaced, there’s tape all over the resistance machines and the ones they haven’t taped yet often stab you (fun!), the upstairs bathrooms have been closed since Spring and don’t look likely to re-​open, there’s no air circulation in the cardio area AT ALL and they have 2 mid-​sized fans to compensate (they need ~10.). Things have only gone downhill over the past year.
Extras? Of course not! Classes are all for the AARP crowd. There are a couple that claim to be higher intensity, but they’re not. Small locker rentals are $ 20 a month (!!!), towel service is $ 1/​day, the locker rooms are old and kind of gross and they kept screwing with the showers and getting pissy when people called them on it.
At this point, they need to re-​think their pricing structure and put in the money to upgrade the gym. If they can’t upgrade the gym, lower the costs so people don’t feel like they’re paying Lloyd prices to get less-​than-​Bally quality. To be honest though, I don’t get the impression that they have the means to do either and I’m at a complete loss as to how they think letting this place get worse and worse if going to fix that.

Here’s what I want in a gym:
Late hours, pool, stair-​stepper (since getting pregnant and giving up running I’ve become a little obsessed), a well-​ventilated weight room, sauna, steam room, and a dearth of motormouths and mouth breathers.
10^th Ave is not a home run, but it’s a functional gym, and a decent deal. (I pay about $ 30/​month.) They’re only open until 9 PM on weekdays (6 PM on weekends, boo!), but the do have a four-​lane pool, a stair-​stepper that’s almost always available, a decent weight room, and a niiiiiiice sauna.
There’s no steam room, alas. And, there always seem to be a couple loud, pushy trainers on the floor during peak hours. The demographic is mostly folks in their 40s or older, and the constant conversation can make me a little bonkers. (Ordinarily I’m happy to make smalltalk, but come ON, folks! In the middle of my hardest set? Really?!)
And there is one guy – he works there, I don’t know his name – who always seems to be engrossed in a loud conversation while I’m trying to focus. (I’ve started bringing headphones, which is sad because I prefer to work out in silence.)
Gyms do tend to attract muscleheads, but I’ve only had a couple interactions with men who couldn’t get the hint.
My husband takes tai chi on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and loves it.

When you’re visiting a city for any extended period of time and you have any semblance of a workout routine, finding gyms that offer day passes for less than $ 15 is just about fruitless. That is, of course, unless you’re staying at the Ace Hotel in Portland and you’re planning on getting your sweat on at the YWCA a few blocks south on 10^th Ave.
It’s not the most glorious of workout facilities I’ve been to, but for $ 5, I’ll take the savings and ignore the aging Berber carpets and cardio/​weight equipment straight out of the Brat Pack era.
Important to note: as far as I know, the only way you can take advantage of the $ 5 day pass is if you’re staying at the Ace downtown, but I could be wrong. But really, when you’re visiting Portland, why would you stay anywhere else but the Ace?

Wow! First to review — that’s cool.
Well, I joined 10^th Avenue basically because of the proximity to both work and home and the price was right.
It’s no 5-​star gym like Multnomah County AC or huge like Lloyd Center or Riverplace ACs, but it has what I need — a variety of free weights and weight machines and a nice selection of cardio equipment.
My GF complains that they need more aerobic classes but they do have a reciprocal agreement with other gyms, so she just uses that when she wants to attend a class.
The best part — they are never crowded, never. Not even right after work. And the customer service is way better than 24 fitness (which isn’t saying much.)
One more thing — they do offer a 10-​day free trial, so feel free to check it out for yourself.