David Lloyd Leisure

The only thing David Llyod Maidenhead has going for it is that it is located within a few steps of the Maidenhead train station. David Lloyd Maidenhead was my first UK gym and while I knew that gyms in the UK would probably come nowhere near the level of gyms in the US, I expected more given the monthly fee.
First, this is the dirtiest gym I have ever been a member of. In the past, I have been a member of an unsupervised gym (Snap Fitness) and this gym was spotless, yet David Lloyd and it’s abundant staff can’t keep santizer and paper towels stocked nor can they be bothered to sweep or hoover on a daily basis. It’s pathetic.
Second, this is the only gym I have belonged to where people do not wipe down their machines after use and people (yoga people especially) find it OK to walk around the gym floor without shoes or even socks on. It’s disgusting.
Third, I have seen on more than one occasion, lifeguards lounging around in their life guard shirt and shorts in the café. Note that I didn’t point out that they were wearing shoes or flip flops. I believe the same rule exists in the UK as it does in the US pertaining to restaurants: No shirt, no shoes, no service. Why would I want to enjoy anything in the café when there are people sitting at the tables without any shoes on?
Fourth, (and this goes along with my first point) the spinning studio is in dire need of maintenance. I watched the same plaster (aka Band-​Aid) sit on the floor for two weeks. The room is never cleaned as far as I can tell. Bits and pieces of paper towels all over the floor. Paper towels stuff under the feet of the bikes to make them level. Rips in the vinyl seats. Handlebars which will not stay up. Often times the air con is also broken.
Fifth, you have to pay for towels.
Sixth, there is a huge problem in the men’s locker room where men leave their items in un-​rented lockers overnight, causing a huge shortage of lockers. The effect that this has is that men then need to spend more money and rent a locker only to ensure they have a locker when they arrive at the gym.
I could go on and on and on but the fact of the matter is that my two-​year stint at this club is drawing to a close and I can soon put this chapter behind me. I recognize that the club has recently (6+ months ago) undergone a change in management and while I do see changes happening, they aren’t the changes I would like to see. I haven’t seen any difference in cleanliness (I’ve looked at the same blood smear on the wall in front of one of the machines for two months). Equipment and water fountains still break on a weekly basis and people still walk around without shoes or socks on.

Steer well clear of this gym. They’re fine as long as you’re hooked in and don’t cancel. Once you do, they give you the runaround, change the terms of cancellation, and STEAL money out of your account that you will never get back.