Royal Oak Gym — Attraction in Royal Oak

Classic gym membership loophole!

I signed a membership with the Fitness 19 location at 13 Mile & Crooks quite a few years ago, maybe 2007. Several years ago, around the time of the pandemic, that particular Fitness 19 location closed, and my membership was transferred (or perhaps sold in some sort of transaction) to Royal Oak Gym. I have never set foot in that gym but have been charged a monthly fee for years. Full disclosure, the transfer of the membership and the continued monthly billing appears to be completely legal. I certainly don't think that it's good business, but it is what it is.

Please understand that I'm not writing this review in retaliation for payments made on a gym membership that I didn't use. That's my responsibility and I accept that, no issue there.

The problem is that personnel at Royal Oak Gym did not honor my repeated requests to cancel the membership and stop monthly payments. I called once or twice a year for the first three years only to receive lip service, i.e. that my request would be forwarded to a manager and that they would call me back or that the membership was canceled when in fact it had not been. Now, let's fast forward to the past 4-6 weeks where I have called no less than six times with no response from management. The rinse and repeat scenario is that I call 248-543-7100, the phone is answered by a front desk person who can't resolve the issue, the manager is allegedly not in, they can't provide me with a direct number to the manager, they do commit to leaving a note for the manager with my name/number and instructions to return the call, and then there's no response. I left no less than two messages specifically for Matt Brimer whom allegedly manages the gym, no response. Congratulations, you have now earned a one-star review.

For those that are experiencing the same issue here is how to handle it, bypass the gym personnel altogether. I contacted ABC Fitness Solutions, the third-party billing service that Royal Oak Gym uses, explained that I wanted to cancel the membership and that I was being ignored by gym management. The personnel at ABC were very helpful. They looked up my membership number, stated that I could cancel the membership by sending a short and simple written email, and provided me with an email address to send said email to, simple and easy. In summary, step one is to call 1-888-622-6290, use club number 05766 when prompted by the automated phone system, and you'll be connected to a live person that can help you with your membership number, if you don't have it. Step 2 is to compose a simple email stating that you want to cancel the membership, make certain to reference the membership number to be canceled, and send it to customercare@abcfitness.com. I received an acknowledgement email from them almost...

I've been going here for about half of a year now and I think I can make a proper review! This gym isn't a commercial gym, so if dropping weights or hearing people grunt is a pet peeve, I'd steer clear. This place is pretty specialized for those who workout in a powerlifting/bodybuilding style. Though the environment has a healthy level of competition and motivates you to push yourself, everybody is super welcoming and friendly.

PROS: It's deceptively large inside the building. There are 6 deadlift platforms, 7 squat racks, 8 places to bench. I RARELY have to wait to use one of these amenities that typically are hogged in commercial gyms. In fact, most gyms around the area don't even let you DL. There are also a ton of specialized barbells and vintage machines that you could not find in a normal gym. I haven't used all of them, but if you were deep in the hobby this could be very important. As I mentioned, people come here and put in the work. That environment alone is essential for getting a good workout in. There's also the hilarious factor of hitting a PR, looking up and immediately seeing a poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger smiling down on you.

CONS: You do have to plan your workouts better since the place does close at 9:30 most nights, and earlier on the weekend. The downside of vintage equipment is that it occasionally needs a bit more TLC. Sometimes you find a dumbbell with one side unscrewing itself or a bench that doesn't lock in the inclined position. Cleanliness could be a bit better, spray bottles don't really have a designated spot. Sometimes there are plates loaded up on unoccupied machines or scattered across the gym. That being said, they don't have the staff size like a commercial gym, so to be honest there should be some level of realistic expectation of it not being as pristine as one.

Overall if you have a no-frills weightlifting approach to working out, look no further!. It's a great value at $32 no contract, even less if you are a...

Awesome no-nonsense gym. This gym caters to hardcore powerlifters' needs (like having a monolift, deadlift platforms, deadlift/squat/bench bars). However, while this gym is great for a hardcore lifter, the atmosphere is very inviting and it is welcoming to people of all fitness levels. No signup fees, no paying extra so the gym can afford instructors for power-pilates classes. Good locker rooms with showers and a sauna, and a tanning bed for those interested (included in membership).

Since I know I always want to know what equipment a gym has before going/signing up, here it is: This gym has 4 squat cages, 2 squat racks, 3 deadlift platforms, tons of floor-space for deadlifts or olympic lifts (they have padded weights), 5 flat benches (3 of those are powerlifting benches), 3 incline benches, 1 decline bench, large dumbell area with lots of benches, seats for shoulders, inclines, declines, and the dumbells go all the up to 195 pounds. 2 lat pulldown machines, 2 cable row machines, 2 cable crossover stations, and pretty much any machine you could ever need. There's a stretching/abs area as well. For cardio, there's about 10-15 treadmills, 4 stair-steppers (the small ones), 1 large stair climber, about 10 ellipticals, and about 10...