City Sports Club — Attraction in Berkeley

I called City Sports to find out when they planned to open. As with any business, they have had to deal with bureaucratic red tape. Now, the club is physically ready to open, but they are still awaiting permits from the city. I don't understand why any customers are upset with the business, as some things are beyond their control. I called, was greeted courteously, maintained my composure and remained friendly, and thus had all of my questions answered sufficiently. One should remember that you catch more flies with sugar than you do vinegar. While the situation can seem a little frustrating, I am confident that the prospective patrons will be satisfied once they start using the facility.

As a multi-gym City Sports member, I have witnessed unfathomable filth, ignorance, and total inconsideration from other members. All I can say is that I'd hate to see the conditions in their homes. I can only hope that these new members have a little more self-respect for community property.

DON'T leave your weights lying all over the gym floor!

DON'T think that you "own" a workout station because you happen to be using it at a particular time--allow others to work in, as rest is requisite between sets, anyway. The same goes for lap lanes: if two in a lane, you may split lanes, but if three or more per lane, by all means, circle swim (generally counter-clockwise) AND choose a lane with swimmers of similar skill levels. There is nothing more obstructive than a slow swimmer who jumps in and impedes the pace of a more adept swimmer. If you must, then be aware of the more advanced swimmer and do your best to move aside to let him/her pass.

DON'T use the pool, hot tub, or sauna without taking a full shower--NO oils, lotions, perfumes, soap residue, or dead skin cells are welcome!

Pick up your damned garbage EVERYWHERE!

When showering, remember that this is a public facility--DON'T shave or trim your hair and leave clumps to clog the drains.

DON'T walk into the shower area fully clothed (including shoes), dragging in dirt and setting up camp, then leaving mud puddles behind. Generally, there is one hook per shower stall (excepting handicapped stalls--which the general public shouldn't be using anyway), so learn to condense and change in the locker room, as that is what it is designed for. If you're otherwise too modest, you might consider (and the operative word is consider--as in consideration of others) going home and creating your mess in your own home.

Well, I guess I'll catch no flies..but if patrons want a clean facility, they MUST acknowledge and abide by these rules; management should fully enforce them from opening day, as sometimes even adults need to be treated like children as they don't seem to comprehend the fact that every member has equal privileges but also equal responsibilities in maintaining the most desirable environment possible for EVERYBODY.

Having managed a gym on the East Coast, I understand these necessities in maintaining a successful business. I set high standards and expect "members" to do the same. I can tell you that, with such poor attitudes and habits as outlined above, there would be no business because non-compliant patrons would have their memberships revoked and eventually the facility would not have enough incoming revenue to cover operating costs, let alone pay its employees.

When you walk through the doors, smile and greet the desk clerk, get to know and respect others, and be tolerant of cultural differences--THIS GOES TWO WAYS! One group should not have to bend over backwards to accommodate the special "needs" of another and should not have to be subjected to others' demands for preferential treatment.

A little consideration and a little common sense goes a long way. Let's hope this gym elevates the bar (sets higher standards) for the others and that people just all learn how...

Decent gym, same old bullying sales tactics.

I came to this gym with the intention of trying it out for a week and pulling the trigger right after, provided there was no red flags. I had a one week trial that had expired a couple of weeks back and wanted to see if I could still use it. I’m an easy sell, I live right by this place, and that one week trial was the perfect excuse I needed to check out the place. I called them and was on the phone with Michael B. and we set a time up for me to stop by. I double and even triple checked that I could still get the one week trial and he point blank said yes.

And when I was there in person before we even started, I was very clear about the one week trial. We do a run through of the gym and like I said before, it’s pretty decent. Definitely an upgrade from the downtown Oakland 24 Hour Fitness that would go for almost three weeks without a single working soap dispenser. Michael B. is a pretty chill dude and did a great job showing the place. We go back to his desk and he wants me to sign up on the spot and I’m honestly not against it. But like I said, I gotta have that one week trial. He instead tries to get me to sign and says that I’ve got about a week to cancel from signing (once again, not against that! I still get the opportunity to back out if I see any red flags or if it’s not working out for me). I once again bring up the one week trial, the same trial I emphasized a solid four times very clearly at this point.

Its at this point that he brings his coworker Mike into the conversation and it’s at this point that the experience really sours. Mike comes in with a hella aggressive sales pitch, the kind where he tries to give you an ultimatum, how all these perks (some of which are genuinely decent, like being able to bring two free guests every time you roll up) are limited time, how they’re gonna expire today, etc. He genuinely seemed disrespected that I was daring to ask for a week trial. It came off like he didn’t have the context on me and thought I was just trying to get a week trial and dip? Idk but the moment Mike stepped into the convo I was legit not feeling it. I brush the dude aside and say let me just sign up, I know I wanna check this place out and I’ve got a couple of days to back out if it’s not working out for me. So cool, I was lied to like a solid 4 times about this one week trial. Off to a great start with this new business relationship. Literally minutes after he sees me signing up with Michael B., Mike gets all fake chummy with me asking me about local food spots and overall just giving me negative & fake vibes.

Had I not been legit set on this place, I probably would’ve walked away and not signed anything. I like to be a straight shooter, had they not been able to accommodate the free one week trial, they should’ve just told me from the get go and not lied to me. I try to be honest and I tried to be with them, hoping they could reciprocate and just for that moment put down the sales facade but they just couldn’t/wouldn’t. I just don’t understand how they almost fumbled an easy sell like me. Not the best first impression.

Sales tactics aside, the gym is honestly decent. They have all the stuff you’d want in the gym, a good amount of treadmills and cardio machines, two of each weight machine (that’s what I was told, haven’t double checked it), and unfortunately only one full squat rack/cage and two of those basic half racks. Place for sure is packed at the end of the day when everyone is heading out of work and is a lot more chill in the morning.

Long story short: decent gym, same old bullying...

I first want to clear up the parking issue since a lot of reviews are very misleading. Parking is through a third party parking garage. You get a ticket time stamped the moment you enter and you have 2 hours to exit from the moment stamped on your ticket. It doesn't matter when you get it validated. So if you get your ticket validated at the 1 hour and 55 minute mark and try to leave after 2 hours, you will need to pay 6 dollars for the third hour. City Sports has no control over this and it's shared with the UCSF building. It takes a few minutes to walk from the gym to the parking lot so you have to time your workout appropriately.

Now with that out of the way let's talk about the pros: Equipment is decent enough. It's better than a 24 Hour Fitness but if it goes out of order there's a huge variance in when it gets fixed. I've seen the leg extension machine take a week to get repaired but the leg curl machine take 2 months to get fixed. Overall I'm happy with the equipment though.

They improved their ventilation I think so the place is nice and cool.

For a chain gym I find the place is decently clean. It's a busy gym so I don't have high expectations but I'm content.

It does get busy, and you can't expect to have immediate access to your favorite machine, but the most I usually have to wait is a few minutes. Sometimes you might have to change the order of what you want to do so flexibility is key.

Cons: They need way more leg machines/squat racks. Even when the gym is empty, there's a good chance all the leg machines will be full. I've worked out at 9.30 in the morning and will still have to wait to use a leg press machine.

Like I said earlier, HUGE variance in the repair times. Days to months. The hot tub in the men's locker has been down for almost a year. Seriously?

The gym gets crowded yet they still are pushing for you to give referrals. I'll be in the middle of my workout and guys with clipboards will interrupt you to see if you can give them names to contact. Once in a while is fine but it's been almost every day I've been there and it's really intrusive.

One of the employees there is nice when he's on the clock but was a little rude when he was working out (also come on bro, use your turn signals when you turn into the parking lot. You know who you are). I'll just leave it at that.

Sometimes the cleaning staff start cleaning during peak hours (like 5pm), which is fine but they shut down your use of the equipment. I've seen them block off an entire section of treadmills, then stair climber, then ab machines at 5:30pm to clean which is crazy to me because it's so busy then. Would make a lot more sense to clean either earlier or later.

Overall I consider this place a step up from 24 Hour Fitness and for the price it's pretty good. Definitely could be better and it has its quirks but I have no reason to workout...