LA Fitness — Attraction in Pasadena

Update on this gym's sanitary practices. There now are officially No More Paper Towels provided to members. Corporate decision I was told. In this current pandemic they took away basic sanitary supplies. Air dryers are unsanitary and blow germs all over the environment. The chemical wipes now provided have no listed active ingredient content. Imagine smearing unknown chemicals all over your face? I think not. Plus the perpetually backed up sinks but don't get me started. Super unsafe and disappointing. I just hope that they get their act together.

Of my local LA Fitness locations this one is a best by far. The layout is open and Airy, the selection of machines and free weights is adequate and admirable.

Update: paper towels are a scarce commodity here. They're literally always empty in the men's locker room. And frequently in the workout area too.

They keep the ambient music to a minimum of volume which is nice since I like to listen on headphones. The staff at the desk always greet you in a pleasant way. The juice bar is well stocked and the people who work behind it are very nice as well. I really approve this location over their Arcadia gym. Arcadia has gym facilities underground and it gets hot and steamy down there. And not in a good way. The overall clientele in Arcadia aren't nearly as pleasant as the ones in Hastings Ranch. 1 comment however is that the men's locker room could be better maintained. The counters are always splashed with water, Guys are slobs and it shows with paper towels overflowing the wastebaskets, soap dispensers and paper towels empty most of the time. They tried taking away the paper towel dispensers altogether and replacing them with electric air dryers but soon reverted back to the paper towel option. At least 1 single paper towel dispenser. Thank goodness.

Quick update. There is now occasional paper towels available. Soap dispensers may or not have liqued soap. But it shows some progress. Down with germs and viruses!

Finally a towel dispenser in the men's locker room has actual towels on a (semi) regular basis. Kudos! Soap dispensers work as advertised. Hats off to the corporate big wigs.

Big time update! Google wants my opinion once again..

Well the paper towels have disappeared once again. Adios! Sayonara! There are No paper Towels available to members at LA fitness. Soap always empty 4 out of 5 sinks. Oh. Did you know we need sanitization during this pandemic? I carry my own paper towels when I go there. Really pathetic

5/10/23 Just when I gave up all hope of having a nice sanitary place to work out I see a pallet of paper towels! Brought tears to my eyes. My faith in humanity is restored.

6/11/23 Google demands an update on my experience with LA fitness. So here you go. Sorry to say the paper towel situation has degraded once again and they aren't available in the men's locker room about 50% of the time. Meaning you need to use those unhygeinic air drivers of you must that blow germs all over the place. And forget about wiping your sweaty face or pits, ain't gonna happen unless you bring your own towel.

Still no paper towels for several days! Very discouraged to see this

7/8/24. One year later. No change. No paper towels. I'm beyond disgusted by this lack of consideration for members comfort and cleanliness.

How can this be allowed? I have to use toilet paper to wipe my face and hands. While the dispenser is empty and the trash cans billow over with trash.

7/23/24.

For whatever reason there now tend to be paper towels available. Maybe other people are complaining. I peek around to the dispenser when I arrive with my fingers crossed. Voilà. Happy me.

But...... (big butt). The treadmills oh the treadmills. Oh so popular and oh so run down and oh so always in disrepair. TV's down work lots of the time. See attached picture. Some might say I'm fussy or expect too much. I say do your job and give us the gym experience we pay for. Is that too...

It doesn't matter to me how new something may be, there is no substitute for cleanliness. Cleanliness is a safety issue. There are virtually hundreds of people using this facility. If they can't direct the resources to provide a clean environment I can't recommend this facility.

The mens locker room is a hazard: the floors are swept, but alway caked with grime. They never do a deep scrub of the tile and it has become a breeding ground for fungus.

I asked one of the cleaning men about the floor and he said they don't have the necessary machines to do it. He directed me to the manager.

Half of the time the toilets seats are smeared in fecal matter, stuffed full of toilet paper and urine is on the seats and all over the floor.

And half the time they are out of toilet paper. A quarter of the time there is no seat cover tissue.

Half of the time the soap dispensers are empty. 33% of the time the towel dispensers are empty.

I wonder why when the bathrooms are in this shape why is the cleaning help vacuuming the floors in the gym?

I have seen someone's underwear hanging over a shower curtain for a couple days before I finally ask someone to remove it.

And even though they have just cleaned the shower stalls, you may find a lougie/snot dried on the walls.

They don't clean at night or on weekends. The cleaning guy comes in at 8:00am and starts pressure washing the showers between 8:00 and 9:30, so if you are showering at this time dirty water drips or ricachets all on you while you are showering.

The manager of the cleaning is a woman called Sam. Sam always has a polite hello, but if you want to complain about the cleaning her response is that the corporation sets its policy and the cleaning procedures and she follows them.

They had a General Manager is no longer there. He was welcoming chap who took time to listen and seemed be attentive to the customers. If you ask anyone about a

I say "general manager, the one in charge of everything?" They say they do not know of any.

The attendants at the front desk seem kind but cannot handle anything beyond a hello/goodbye and signing- in.

They have (3) TVs in the mens locker room side-by-side locked on ESPN (stereotyping customers). I request that they put one on a news channel. They said they would send a request to corporate on the matter. Nothing ever become of this.

No WIFI in the Gym.

Some of the equipment does not work, but they do have nice equipment. Make sure you wipe it down before using...

Outside of the gym was promising. It was clean, well lit and had several electric car chargers up front and along the sides of the building. The gym itself is smaller than most of the 2 story gyms I have frequented but tires make good use of their space.

Front desk attendant was welcoming and inviting. As it was my first time at this club it was nice to have them briefly point out the amenities. Locker room was a little warm and some of the locker doors looked to have been ripped off. Floor and lockers were clean but above my reach had a dense layer of dust and dirt on it.

The 2 warm up mats were very small and with 3 people already stretching and warming up adding myself as a 4 felt very cramped.

I started with the elliptical machine and found that the meshing I started on and the 2 on either side of me the TV did not work. Made the best of it used my phone. The gym equipment was clean and worked well but it was crowded enough that I had to wait in the Mushrooms to get off the equipment when they were done resting. After a frustrating wait for machines I finally gave up and went to the Jacuzzi.

The lap pool was used by a swim school that was wrapping up for the day it seems and there was kids and moms floating around the pool deck gathering up their gear. I showered before I saw the jacuzzi and saw clouds of white and brown foam floating on top of the water and decided against that hazmat situation.

The sauna was my next stop. It was average for most gyms I had run into. Not sparkling clean but it a cesspool either. Light did not work but that is actually the way I prefer it. Had a good sweat in the Sauna and moved in to the showers. Having to grab my shower gear was complicated by a busy locker area and smaller than average benches. After a minute of 2 I was able to retrieve my bag and use the counter in front of the mirror to retrieve my shower gear.

Showers were not the cleanest, some mold in the corners and agin the high points on the wall. The shower curtains did have some mold on the bottom folds of the curtain the the soap dispenser had a cancer big color of liquid.

After a careful shower not to touch any of the surfaces. I dressed and left. This could be a really nice gym, I think definitely some cleaning in the shower area and the jacuzzi. Addressing the small warm up area and adding multiples of common gym equipment would be...