LA Fitness

Fantastic gym, great spin classes, clean and stuff are very helpful. High recommended. Read a lot of negative comments on here which I can’t understand go and visit for yourself :)

It’s a well-​known gym in Bayswater and definitely my favorite. The staff is always friendly and the changing rooms are good enough. The equipment is also properly maintained.

I am really not impressed with this gym at all. The day I signed up the lady I spoke to said she had no time to give me an induction, and that I should ask people in the gym to show me how to use the machines. On both occasions when I tried to ask how to use the weight equipment, staff told me they didn’t have time, but were very interested in trying to sell me personal training. This is really not what I wanted. I wanted to try out the equipment which no one wanted to do! Also as I booked some passes and am not a member I couldn’t book onto any of the classes. I was told just to turn up on the off chance there was space. I’m busy, so this isn’t optimal. I need to know I will be able to take a class, rather than just crossing my fingers. I’d be using my passes pointlesly if I turned up and couldn’t do them. The staff seem useless, and whilst the gym, changing rooms, pool, sauna and steam room aren’t bad, there are obvious signs of neglect. I was there about 5 times over 3 weeks and one of the showers remained unfixed and the tiles on the wall in the pool room are verging on being filthy. Also the sauna was just too cool, it never got up to a good temperature. This is a half good gym, and whilst I had more passes booked to trial it out further, I cannot be bothered as I can only use the running, rowing and cycling machines, and to be honest I can just go for a run in the open air which would be more pleasant, as the air conditioning in the gym was broken/​non existent! Very disappointed!

Full disclosure: my last gyms were Equinox in NYC and a premium, private officers’ gym with the US Military — I am spoiled. Very spoiled.
To start with the positive: the shower and locker facilities are very clean and usually not busy. The pool is very nice, and also not overly crowded. The hours are reasonable, but they open rather late (06:30am? 9am weekends? Am I absurd to think 5am is a normal time for a gym to open? You tell me.) The people who work there are generally friendly and professional.
They have weights, they have cardio machines, and there are studio classes and spin classes. The machines are fine, and the classes are as well — spinning at LA fitness is far from amazing, but it gets the job done. There are always free machines, and very rarely do I see anyone waiting for anything to free up.
Pro-​tip: no one shows up for spin classes, despite signing up online — even if there’s a waiting list of 10 people, you have a 90% chance of getting a bike. If the wait list is 5 people, I’d say 99%.
Negatives: They invested in treadmills/​ellipticals with tvs, but no premium channels. The weight section is full of [slightly] damaged equipment, e.g., weights missing friction rings, bent up safety clips, etc. Sometimes the weights area is empty, other times it can be full of meatheads and basically impossible to work out in. Some of the equipment is not really professional grade (e.g., reebok gear that belongs in a home gym, not somewhere it’s being used all day, every day)
It’ll get the job done. It’s not overly expensive. The location’s great for me, so I’ll be sticking with it.

This place really needed a facelift and it just got one, so if you are looking for a place to work out and live nearby this might be the place. It does get busy as most gyms around 5pm and stays busy until closing which comes a bit early for my taste — at 10 pm. Also on the weekends don’t expect to work out after 7pm.
LA Fitness has a pool and a steam room, a lot of exercise classes, plenty of personal trainers if you need them, offers towels free of charge and time to time they give you free passes for friends to come in. I enjoy going there.
Since the renovation a few months ago, this place looks quite nice. The weight room area could use a little upgrade, but I am hoping that will come with time.
Before you sign up ask for a one-​week free pass or print one. It’s on their website. Also check with your employer whether they are registered with them to get a special deal — many companies are. I would also ask for an all-​access membership. I asked and they gave it to me — no extra charge. Keep an eye on deals, they have them almost all year long despite what the advertising says (ends in 3 days…) :) Have a good workout!

I’m writing this review based on the facilities I used at this gym: swimming pool, steam room, and work-​out classes.
I wasn’t a member of this gym for long as I soon became pregnant after joining, so the above facilities were the only ones I managed to use in my short time as a member.
Location is lovely, and I like the face that it’s almost hidden away. Reception area is clean and staff are always very friendly (the cute kid who looks like a younger version of my boyfriend is also quite charming!).
The ‘legs, bums and tums’ class is great! The instructor is a bubbly, fun woman who makes the whole experience enjoyable. Time simply flys by and you only realise the next day how much you worked your body whilst having so much fun due to the aching butt-​cheeks you have.
The swimming pool is a standard good size, if you have long hair you must wear a swimming cap which I think is great — last thing I want is a clump of someone’s long blonde hair on my face when I’m trying to do a few laps! The steam room was my favourite thing in there. It was a reasonable size but always felt clean and was the perfect temperature. I used the steam room pretty much every single day before work or between pupils (I was a driving instructor), and the changing rooms were good.
However the whole time I was a member at this gym their hot-​tub never seemed to work. It really should have taken a day to fix but I never did get a chance to use it.

LA Fitness centre I first got to know by a little booklet which my boyfriend borrowed to me. It was all about the right exercises, food and good tips to keep you fit. Being Curious I went one week end with him to check it out.
LA Fitness belongs to a chain and is well equipped with various rooms. They do want to help you kick-​starting your personal program and reach your fitness goal: looking toned and trained in summer.
The facilities look new and trendy, which makes you feel super sporty. I got one of their free trial passes for a day, so I tried to do my best to keep up with the very ambitious bicycle spinners and the heavy wait lifters. I am sure those fitness enthusiasts find it entertaining to compete against someone who cannot lift more then 3 kg handles. There was enough space to do my exercises on the floor, which have difficulties to find at other gym places.
More then 15 people were in the spinning class while the instructor fired them on with a head microphone and fast paste music. It was the kind of atmosphere I felt encouraged to make one more exercise to get my muscle ache the next day.
I think one of LA Fitness’s unique selling point is its 30min fast classes in it’s city clubs to facilitate the working lunch hour. This gym has understood that not everyone can attend the 7 o’clock in the morning or night class!