LA Fitness — Attraction in Bayonne

Update 2/18 6:40PM: if I could give this gym zero stars I would. Getting worse yet I think they are trying to make changes. 6 treadmills broken down during peak hours, plus 1 stair master. Not a single piece of cardio equipment available besides bikes. Yet they still keep packing people in here. They finally turned the fans down (complete off now lol) and they look disgustingly filthy. More broken machines upstairs but fixed a cable deck pretty quickly, surprisingly. I think they are reading these reviews because I see new cleaning staff and them trying to make changes but still not good enough. Bathrooms still gross too.

Original review: I’ve been coming to this LA since it’s opening almost 2 years ago. Commuted from JC at first, but now I am a 10-15min walk away from the gym, which is nice. The gym itself, not so nice and enough is enough.

-Rude management and staff don’t care about current member customer satisfaction. They just care about getting new members and their obnoxiously loud Zumba/cycle classes.

-The gym gets extremely packed from 4-7PM each day to the point where workouts are inefficient and everyone is on top of each other. Yet they continue to try to pack people in. I dread New Year’s resolutioners coming in January to an already overcrowded gym. Get here before 3PM or in the mornings and it isn’t too bad, but still over crowded.

-I tried re-racking weights and asking people to re-rack when the gym first opened but no one re-racks any weights here and management doesn’t enforce it or clean up the weights. It’s pretty ridiculous how bad it is and often times there are huge sections of DBs missing with the rack empty. I gave up trying to re-rack within 6 months of opening.

-When they built the gym, they decided to use these horrible rock-it machines. They must’ve had a deal on them. They cater to beginner users and I rarely use any of them. No hammer arm machines at all. 1 machine for each of the basics. So you’re always waiting for something due to the crowds.

-Dumbbells stop at 100 pounds. Other LAs go up to 120. This doesn’t make sense to me.

-Only 3 squat racks, with one being a power rack. Constantly waiting or fighting to get a rack.

-Only 3 flat benches, 1 incline. Same story as squat racks.

-No designated spot to deadlift or do other power lifting.

-The gym needs 1 or 2 more barbells so people can use them and still have all benches equipped with a bar. Management too cheap to buy more.

-The ceiling fans are constantly on high, even in the winter. Doesn’t make sense at all. Need to wear a sweatshirt with hood up to stay warm, especially in winter.

-There are 2 empty rooms upstairs that have never been used since opening. They could easily use them for more equipment

-Bathrooms are usually gross, sauna somehow still in decent shape

-Cardio machines always dirty/grimy, always several not working, especially stairmasters

-Weights and all second level areas are dirty/grimy

-If looking for personal training, you may get out of shape or dis-interested trainers. Not worth the money.

-Finally the only (2) water dispensers are working simultaneously. In 2 years, both water fountains worked at the same time maybe for a total of 3 months. And why is there only 2 water fountains. Ridiculous!

-No dry paper towels in gym area. Just wet wipes.

-Bottom line: I’ve been to plenty other LA Fitness facilities in NJ that get it right. It isn’t hard, you just have to care about your customers and equipment. This gym can’t even get the basics right, poor choice of equipment/layout is a different story.

Also, besides the people I know that workout here daily, most people are rude or are doing some of the stupidest workouts I’ve ever seen. And don’t forget the tripods!

LA Fitness Bayonne and Secaucus are both poorly executed LA Fitness facilities. It must be a Hudson County issue….

If I wasn’t a 10min walk away, I wouldn’t be going here....

4/7/2025. - the men's sauna bench have been fixed and the temperature has been at more appropriate levels. Still needs improvment on cleanliness.

1/28/2025 - Men's Sauna , the dialnis broken and the sauna heats to 100°. We reported the issue on Sunday 1/26 and were told a work order would placed. We checked on the status today, Tuesday 1/28 ans the front desk folks states they were not aware of the issue.

1/28/2025 - women's sauna never heats more than 150°.

7/8 Men's sauna hasn't been working since July 2nd. Each morning when we ask the front desk representatives about it they act surprised though its been mentioned to them before. Today is July 8th...let's see how long it takes for someone to actually give us a straight forward answer regarding the issue and the estimated fix date. Then, we'll see whether they even meet expected fix times.

1/21/2023

Well, that was short lived. The sauna is once again not functioning since Thursday, 1/18. Today, Sunday 1/21 I asked the folks at the front desk about the status of the fix and I was told they would contact the general manager to have a technician come out. I was confused to learn the technician hadn't been scheduled already since I reported the sauna wasn't working on Thursday. The lack of responsiveness is so frustrating. I'm in a love / hate relationship with this place.

01/03/2023

Finally able to report Sauna has been back in servicel since mid December.

12/5/2023 Update:

Sauna is still out of service. Its been 3 months! Not sure why it would take three months for a business to have its sauna fixed. However, a sign was posted stating it will be serviced on 12/07/2023 and will be open to members on 12/08/2023 but I wouldn't mark the calendar yet. I've been given false open for service dates in the past.

11/21/2023 Update:

Wish I had better update but Sauna is STILL out of service. It seems unreasonable for it to be out of service for so long. I hope they are better prepared to service the sauna the next time it breaks.

11/08/2023 Update:

Sauna is STILL out of service. They posted message at the front desk on 10/31 which states that it will be another 7 to 10 day. The posted message also states they are offering to compensate its members. Request to speak to an operations manager. I have posted photo of the flyer for reference and awareness.

10/24/2023 Update:

Guess what? Sauna hasn't worked (again) for 3 weeks now. Three weeks ago the temp could not be adjusted to the recommended temps and temps remained below 150. After two weeks of low temp last Monday 10/16 I walked in to see a sign stating it is out of service and still out of service this week. So, once again, I'm keeping my end of the deal and per contract paying my monthly fee. Yet, LA Fitness Bayonne fails to honor their end of the contract and provide the service they promised to offer. The spa/hot tub has also been out of service. I am also peeved that LA Fitness Bayonne and staff do not make an effort to make good on their failure to provide the services promised. Members just have to pay whether they receive the services or not. Yet, I'm sure they would stop me from using their services if I skipped a payment.

Dropping my rating since this gym has been open around 3 months now and the women's sauna and hot tub have been out of service too many times. The sauna and hot tub have been out of service for 8 days this time around. To add to the inconvenience the gym does not use their app nor social media to provide any updates so call to make sure these amenities are working before you go. And to add to the frustration of not getting all I'm paying for the customer service is lacking. The reps are never rude but they never have anymore info than its not working. No explanation, no apology, no estimated time for a fix, no we'll notify you when its fixed. I am very disappinted! Get it...

Update January 2024

Update. After approximately 8 months at this gym I just want to provide some updates. This place has gone downhill.

They keep cancelling classes last minute without any advance notice, especially the Zumba instructor. We went today, Saturday, to the 12pm Zumba class, there were over 25 people there and the class was cancelled.

They also cancelled all weekday morning cycling classes and that’s the main reason I joined this gym.

Women jacuzzi is often out of service.

There is not enough equipment. 2nd floor is always packed and it's always hard to find weights since people misplace them.

Don’t waste your time and money at this gym. It was good during the first few months after it opened but now it’s a mess!

Update: November/2023

I’m removing one star from my original review because this location is no longer offering Tuesday morning cycling classes (9:15am) and they have been cancelling Thursday and Friday 9:15am cycling classes almost every week. This was one of the reasons I joined this location. Other than that it’s just an average gym, nothing really special about it.

Original review:

I have recently joined LA Fitness Bayonne and I am happy with the gym so far. Plenty of parking, lots of group classes (including on weekday mornings), decent sauna, friendly staff. There’s also a pool but I haven’t used it yet.

The gym gets crowded during peak hours and even off hours there’s a lot of people and the free weights/resistance machines area should be bigger. This is a problem with all other gyms in the area. The number of machines offered is comparable to nearby Retro Fitness and Planet Fitness gyms so this is something LA fitness should have done better since it’s a new gym. There are 2 unused group classes room so they should have added more machines to those areas.

Another thing I don’t like are the exits from the parking lot. They are both near the Costco parking lot entrance so that street is a mess. There’s also a Starbucks drive thru so sometimes I get stuck in traffic inside the parking lot when trying to exit the gym.

But overall I am satisfied with the gym so far. The fact that I like to take cycling classes and they offer them 3 weekday mornings in addition to the evening and weekend classes is a big plus.

But to be honest if you don’t take group classes like I do and you don’t normally use the sauna/pool you should join another gym like Planet or Retro Fitness. They’re a little less crowded and cheaper and they offer about the same type...