Alaska Fitness — Attraction in Alaska

EDIT PT2: they charged me $27.50… after 4 months of NOT being a member. After calling the front desk twice and emailing the owner directly, i was thankfully given a refund.

EDIT: LOL I didn’t misunderstand. I completely understand and respect the privacy and comfort of other members, which is why I’ve always been conscious of where I set up my camera and complied every time I was asked to stop recording. My issue is not with the policy itself, but with the inconsistency in how it was communicated. When I signed up, I was explicitly told by your staff that filming was allowed in certain areas during less busy times, including the main gym. You yourself confirmed this policy early on, saying I could film in the weight area as long as it wasn’t during peak hours.

If the rules have changed or evolved, I totally get that—but a clear explanation of the policy from the beginning would have saved a lot of confusion. I don’t film to disrupt anyone; I do it to track my own progress, and I've always respected the space of others while doing so. As for the “superior gym” comment and multiple negative remarks about other gyms, it just felt out of place, especially when I was simply trying to cancel my membership.

I appreciate that you work hard to maintain the gym, but consistency in communication would have made my experience much better. Gym staff have let me record in less busy hours, when no one is in the background. If filming isn’t allowed, a clear-cut answer from the beginning would’ve been appreciated.

ORIGINAL: I've been a member at Alaska Fitness for about a year, and although the gym has good equipment, my experience with customer service, particularly from the owner, makes it hard to recommend.

I decided to cancel my membership due to the inconsistent rules around filming and the final comments made by the owner. When I informed the owner of my decision, she said, "This is a superior gym, by the way," which felt unnecessary and weird 💀. The comment and her negative remarks she made about other gyms, just because I wanted to cancel, really threw me off.

When I first signed up, I asked the front desk if it was okay to film my sets. I was told that as long as I wasn’t disrupting others or capturing them in the background, it was fine. However, within the first month of my membership, I was asked to stop filming after a complaint during a busy hour. I totally understood and complied. Afterward, the owner clarified that I could record in certain areas like the studio, bike room, or weight area, as long as it was during less busy times (early morning or late at night).

Today, however, the owner told me "no cameras allowed; I could get sued if you film," even though it wasn’t busy, and no one was in the background of my video. Again, I immediately put my camera away, but the inconsistency in rules is frustrating.

I’m not upset about the filming rules themselves, but it’s hard to know what’s acceptable when the guidelines keep changing. I’ve seen others film at the gym, and I’ve done so myself without issue in front of staff. I’m always mindful of where my camera is, never film in inappropriate areas like the bathroom, and always comply when asked to stop.

Again, it’s a great gym- variety of equipment, spacious sauna, and friendly front desk staff. But the final comments from the owner did not sit...

So, I’m a pretty easygoing person. I don’t like to give poor reviews to businesses when it comes to matters that can be handled between the business and myself, especially local businesses. But when a business fails to amend a situation for months, it becomes a bigger problem.

I’ve been overcharged for months now since they switched to bi-weekly membership payments. I was placed on a couple’s membership even though that’s never what I signed up for. I’ve gone in and cancelled, called multiple times. They have a 30-day “cancellation notice” policy that I knew about and expected. But just today another charge came in. I’m pretty sure it’s been over a month now. It’s nearly $400 at this point that I’ve been overcharged. Keep being told I’ll hear back from Jenny about it, but so far I’ve heard nothing back from her at all. Either communication between staff and owner isn’t happening the way I’ve been told, or I’m being refused money that I am owed back. So which one is it?

This was a good gym to go to when I had the time, staff has always been super helpful and friendly. But the way billing is handled is frustrating to say the least. This has been causing me more stress than ever anticipated.

Update SEP 2024: This. Gym. HAUNTS ME. I cancelled back in January this year. Out of nowhere I see a charge on my card yesterday. I called and was told that a bunch of other cancelled memberships were charged by accident as well, and that I can expect to see a refund within the next week. Yeah freaking right. How many times have I heard that now? Why is my card even still on file if I cancelled?? So done with this place...

After moving across town and choosing to stay in Anchorage a few more months, I went in search of a gym with a sauna. And Oh man am I glad I did!

This is one of the best run gyms I have ever belonged to. Not only do they have a sauna and a steam room, and showers of course. They provide bath towels, and smaller size dish towels. The locker rooms as well as the gym floor are kept fairly spotless. The staff is super friendly.

For a medium size gym they have just about anything you could want. It may not be the newest equipment, but its all well maintained, and works as it should.

Women seem to love the separate rooms that can be used when no class is being held. Also it is worth mentioning that they have a wider selection of cardio equipment than most gyms.

The pricing is on par with the other gyms in town. Parking was never an issue, even going at their peak times in January.

New members get a consultation and a body scan. I went to this just to get the body scan, but I'm so glad I did, because I got to meet with Jen (the owner). Her passion for bringing fitness and proper nutrition to people is evident in the first couple seconds of meeting her. I simply can not say enough good things about Jen, or this gym. Definitely check it out if you are in the area!

I do wish they would change to a 24hour access. Usually I work midnight shift, and would not even consider a gym that was...