FITNESS SF - SoMa — Attraction in San Francisco

Update: my gym account was terminated 48h after posting this review

[-] The gym smells (both sweat and pee)! Sometimes I hold my breath when entering. It is better in the morning especially if the cafe is toasting bread which covers the smell.

[-] Towels can have disgusting stains/marks. Need to check them every time before using them. Recently, I found one with stains after drying out myself (it was so disgusting!). When I showed it to the night manager, instead of saying "we are sorry", he told that the towel service is done by some other company and it is just a stain. I had a similar experience before and already told the morning manager, but it seems it is happening again!

I also saw someone use the towels to clean the dogs' area (possibly discharges!). They should add cleaning equipment for/in the dog area.

[-] Showers' walls are not clean. There are people around that look like they are cleaning, but the dirt on the walls stays the same for days. There was a case I tracked. I noticed it on a Thursday or earlier. I saw it again on Friday and told the morning manager. Then, I saw it again on Monday and Tuesday of the next week! I feel like telling the manager may not help at all.

[-] Showers have a common area between men and women section. Sometimes the people who clean the area forget to fully close the door! Be prepared for no privacy.

[-] Water pressure in women's showers is low (my husband and I compare it to our home). Again, this is something I already discussed with the manager.

[-] The hair dyer in the women's locker room is so weak. I see women bringing their own dryers. You may end up going to the windy outside (which is usually the case for SF) with wet hair.

[-] I think there is no air conditioning in the area. They circulate the air with fans which either makes it cold in the winter or is not enough during the hot summer days.

[-] Some of the Gym machines are not calibrated very well. I used a chest machine and felt different weights on my body, when I looked down, I noticed the seat is not screwed in the middle.

[-] The gym is very crowded 4-7:30 PM.

[-] They increased the membership price by $10 (about 10%) over the last year.

[-] They started adding fees (~$20) when you request...

The gym itself is great. They have tons of machines.

Unfortunately, the way the gym is run makes it a super unpleasant experience.

It's $200 to join, as they make you pay for the first and last month up front. This wouldn't be a big deal if not for the fact that you have to cancel by the 20th day of the previous month to not be charged for the following month. So let's say you cancel December 21st, you will get charged $100 for January, and the $100 you paid for the last month when signing up goes to February, such that you have to continue to pay for 70 days after cancelling (cancel December 21st, pay through March 1st).

If you want to bring a friend, it's $25 for the day. That's 1/4 of what it costs for the entire month. They're more concerned with profit than the customer experience.

The front desk staff is curt/unfriendly. Not the worst thing, but definitely a bummer at times.

You have to schedule all your workouts through their app. This wouldn't be a huge deal if not for the fact that the workouts are only 55 minutes long. After 55 minutes, even if you're not done working out, you have to leave.

Having to schedule your workout also means you can't work out whenever you want, and if something comes up (family, work, etc) and you can't make that time, you don't get to work out that day.

I'm sure they'll respond with some rebuttal about Covid, but just for comparison: Anytime Fitness is only $45/month, $10/day to bring a friend, they don't make you schedule appointments, it isn't crowded, and they have locations all over the country in case you...

I have to say my respect and admiration of this place , it's owners and staff have never been higher. Prior to bring allowed to reopen I had a meeting with fitness director Maria Stevens to see about personal training ( which was at the time the only gym time available to anyone ). She was awesome, she really went above and beyond trying to find a plan and a price I could afford, I can not say enough good things about her. She probably with out knowing it completely reinspired me again. I wish I wasn't so poor these days it I would have hired a trainer . Flash forward 2 weeks . The outside gym opens , and a few days later the inside . Again the owners and the staff have outdone them selves. The reservation system allows members to make the best of the limited capacity and still be safe and works perfectly ! Once there , you can choose outside or inside , face masks required, they provide bottles of sanitizer and towels to.clean equipment after use and have staff roaming cleajjng the entire time . I have missed this place so much, and I'm glad they made it through the nightmare . at this time no locker rooms or showers, but bathrooms are open . Love this place. There 6 days a week, staff is great, very helpful and nice. Free towel service. Most members put thier weights back when done, clean, good equipment...