The Mecca Gym — Attraction in Meridian

I went to Mecca an average of 6 days a week for the last year. Here are my thoughts:

The facility is pretty good, but not great. It is kept incredibly clean, which I always appreciated, and generally orderly. Maintenance, though, has really gone downhill the last few months, with more and more equipment being broken for longer and longer, if it's ever fixed at all.

The equipment selection is decent, but quirky. They have a great selection of cardio equipment, most of the strength machines that most people will need, and a few truly standout pieces (their new Gymleco preacher curl is fantastic!). But then they have some advanced show-pieces almost no one uses (seal row, inverted leg press) and waaay too many butt-builders (fourteen in the "leg room" alone, including three different abductors!), all while missing many basic staples (seated dip machine, captains chair, back extension, and they only recently got a basic t-bar row, to give you an idea). If you tour this gym, be sure to take a mental inventory of what they do and don't have.

Pricing is a bit higher than average, especially when factoring in amenities they can't offer (multiple locations), don't offer (childcare, group classes), or only offer at higher pricing tiers (guest passes), as well as the (surprise!) $100 annual maintenance fee. There's also a $100 early cancelation fee if you leave before your year is up.

If you're interested in personal training, they have many excellent trainers to choose from. If you're not, then most of the trainers--certainly not all, but definitely most--are a huge nuisance, treating regular members like they're in their way, and the facility like their own private club. While this is true at every gym with trainers on staff, Mecca has fourteen of them--and counting!--, which for a gym this size is absolutely flabbergasting.

A common complaint is Mecca gets busy. On the one hand, every gym gets busy. On the other, Mecca always feels way busier than it ever actually is. The layout is really inefficient (way too much wasted, open space in some areas, and equipment placed way too close together elsewhere). Most people are here to socialize or film social media content, including the staff (truly, the level of filming is beyond anything I've ever seen at a gym before, and its incredibly obtrusive: it's not just propping up phones against water bottles, which everyone does; it's tripods, ring-lights, one member interviewing another for their channel, and even dedicated videographers). That enormous "leg room" is under-utilized, because the kinds of people to whom 14 butt-builders appeal don't want to do them in a secluded back room, so they're all out on the main floor finding inventive and conspicuous ways to turn every pulley and upper-body machine into lower-body. Finally, member etiquette is generally very poor, especially when school is out. This gym would feel half as busy if they rearranged the floor to be functional instead of Insta-postable, disbursed the leg room, and reprimanded bad behavior.

All this together makes Mecca a two-star gym to me. I will say if the location is convenient and you have a high tolerance for bad etiquette, Mecca is worth checking out. I would not, however, drive past another gym to get here. I would also start with a week pass to try it out first before...

Been going to Mecca for close to 2 years now so I feel qualified to write a review. TLDR; Mecca is probably the best gym I’ve used in my 15yrs of lifting and I’ve tried pretty much every gym in the area. I think it’s unlikely they disappoint you regardless of skill level. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful, equipment repaired quickly/well kept, clean bathrooms always, a wide variety of excellent trainers depending on your goals if you want that, and a great assortment of quality machines, infinite cable attachments, bands, as well as a large powerlifting/olympic area with chalk and dbs up to 150 (one set feels like 190s?). I’ve rarely had to wait for things even when busy which is a huge plus (I do workout midday so I can’t speak for the 5pm crowd). There is a posing studio which is fun to see your progress and they also have posing coaches if you’re looking to compete or whatever. Tbh I’m not sure how there are any disgruntled reviews saying this place is dirty or machines are broken a lot, I’m here 6x a week and its always clean and pretty much every time something breaks its fixed within a week. Ive been to the other gyms in Boise, they are not ‘cleaner’ and even the best still take a week to fix a machine, so I’m not sure what they mean by compared to other gyms, it certainly isn’t Boise. And if chalk on plates and bars in the Olympic area makes you think this gym is dirty I’m not even sure where to begin with that statement…

This gym is kid friendly and I love it, it adds a liveliness and family element to the gym which I think makes Mecca very welcoming and fun. If you have a child, you don’t have to fit your workout around anyone else’s schedule or make an excuse to not come -you can just bring em. They have a kids area and even have a kids clinic on Saturdays with one of their trainers. Kids aren’t running through the machines and weight areas ever and not once has a kid ever been in my way or disrupted anything whatsoever. I also want to mention to the moms(or dads) it is not out of place to see a baby carrier next to a bench so don’t ever let that be a reason to skip the gym, there is plenty of space.

Mecca is home to some of the best and most knowledgeable lifters, don’t be afraid to ask anyone for advice or to work in or whatever, everyone is friendly, I promise. Highly...

The 1-star review is due to a wild safety incident and how Mecca handled it. I started a membership and was there for only 2 months before they let some stranger without a membership into the gym who physically broke into my locker, stole my wallet, and immediately went on a shopping spree with all my credit cards.

I called the police who came and I filed a report. During that process and my back-and-forth with various staff I mentioned that of course I would like to cancel and expect given the extreme circumstance that the cancellation fee would be waved. I was quickly assured that would not be a problem.

6 months go by and I don't hear a word from Mecca until I get a nasty email telling me I owe them over $300 in unpaid membership fees. Shocked, I call them up to discuss. Whoever I talked to told me to email the manager. Manager didn't reply back to me but the billing person did and basically explained that they could care less if my wallet is stolen and since I did not follow some specific sign they claim was posted somewhere that in order to cancel you have to email the manager (I guess talking to him or the people reporting directly to him is not enough), they would not consider the verbal agreement at the time valid.

Even though I didn't lay foot in the gym since, even though their lack of security (not checking people's membership status during the day) lead to my wallet getting stolen, even though they silently went along for 6 months without communication making it seem settled, they have sent this made-up "bill" to a collections agency. Haven't dealt with a business so vile and greedy before in my life.

As for the gym itself, incredibly overrated. You are basically paying double what you should to deal with an overcrowded gym with frequently broken machines and which is a bit filthy at times. Take your...