Mountainside Fitness Ice Den North Scottsdale — Attraction in Scottsdale

Let me first start by saying that I never write reviews, but my repeated negative experiences at this gym in Scottsdale have left me with no choice. It's not just the poor service, but a consistent pattern that makes me feel uncomfortable and unwelcome, to the point where I can’t help but feel that the way I’ve been treated has something to do with the color of my skin.

My first negative experience occurred two years ago when I visited Scottsdale to see my mother. I came to the gym and requested a 3-day guest pass. No issues, I was given the pass and used it without any problems for the first two days. On the third day, I walked in with another customer, and there was no one at the front desk. Both of us walked in without checking in (the other customer didn’t scan his card). As soon as I passed the desk, the employee stopped me and asked for my ID. I showed him my guest pass, but when he saw it, he insisted that I couldn’t use it because I wasn’t from the area. I explained that the first two customer service reps didn’t have any issue with it, but he refused to listen and told me I either had to pay or leave. I left feeling humiliated and unfairly treated.

Fast forward to today, when I returned to this gym (unfortunately, because it was the closest one). I had purchased a 5-day pass from another location due to my previous bad experience here, but the inconvenience of location led me back. I presented the pass to Evan, the customer service rep, and from the moment I walked up, he didn’t even acknowledge me with a simple greeting. Instead, he just stared at the pass and asked where I got it from. When I couldn’t recall the exact name of the location (since I’m not from here), he made a snide remark, “You can’t remember where you got it?”. He reluctantly processed my information without so much as a “hello” or “have a nice day,” unlike the friendly interactions I saw him have with other customers.

These repeated experiences leave me wondering if my race is influencing the way I’m treated at this gym. The lack of basic courtesy, the tone of the interactions, and the sense of discomfort I’ve felt every time I’ve visited make it clear to me that I won’t be returning. It’s unfortunate because I live only a mile away, but the way I’ve been treated here is simply unacceptable.

This gym’s employees could really benefit from cultural sensitivity training. It’s disappointing to feel like I’m being treated differently based on how I look, and I sincerely hope that management addresses this issue. Until then, I will take my...

I had been a member at Mountainside for years. I wasn't getting the results I wanted with my own workouts so signed up for the personal training program. I was assigned Elana as my personal trainer and we got along and I was feeling good about the program, but at about 8 weeks I started having trouble with my back and my left arm.. and it only got worse. I spoke to my trainer Elana about it but all she did was lighten some of the weights, I asked her if I had a structural problem or maybe it was something else, she said she didn't think so..I got the feeling that she was out of her depth.. she wasn't qualified to tell me what was wrong, but the problem with that is that her work out is Creating what is wrong. Their highly touted "in body analysis machine" is something they give you access to and use in your training to determine your progress. your supposed to get "analyzed" once a month.. After the first one I would ask my trainer a couple of days before my next "analysis" "hey are we doing the machine at the next session?" She never knew, she would always have to check and count weeks. Shouldn't she know? Shouldn't she take a peek at my file before each session?The real crime was the last week of my sessions. During the second to last session I told her that I couldn't renew unless we knew what was causing my pain that was getting worse. Lo and behold I see that they deduct the full next month of sessions from my account. I called and told them they had made a mistake, that I can't continue, as I TOLD and DISCUSSED with my trainer. They asked if I filled out a cancellation form. I said I did not, I told them that I spoke to my trainer.. They said sorry, no form no refund. and they were somewhat gleeful about it.. especially when they said they did it for my protection..They didn't care about me as a multi-year client, they didn't care about my body or the damage they were causing, they didn't care that I gave my trainer notice.. they cared about the ACH bank charge.. I had 6 sessions that I had paid for and I just let them go.. I could have used the $400 to help pay for the physical therapy that I now have to get.. stay away from the training program. Stay away from their staff.. to them you are only a...

In a word, unethical. I’ve never provided a negative review in my life, and It doesn’t make me feel good to do so now. With that being said, nothing about this gym makes me feel good. Yet I feel a responsibility to alert other potential would be members considering joining this gym about the unethical practices of this business and their management team.

The gym is clean, and the staff is friendly...until you try to cancel your membership. I joined in 2020, visited the gym only 3 times before informing the staff that I did not wish to continue my membership. The staff, again very friendly, told me that I was informing them within the initial 30-day period and that I would not be charged. Well that was nearly 6-months ago and I’m still being billed and still trying to get them to stop charging my credit card. They’ve unethically taken several hundred dollars from me at this point. Again, the staff is friendly, yet their management team at the Ice Den location is clearly unconcerned about core values and customer satisfaction. Hence the review.

So my advice is BEWARE! I’m choosing not to post their names yet because I remain hopeful they will eventually do the right thing. In the meantime, I keep receiving texts from their management team, informing me of their unethical (hoops) protocols. They’ve been informed multiple times, in person while on site, and via several communications, ie, texts.

I live out of state, so if you are a snow bird, join another gym. Anytime Fitness is a gym owned and managed by ethical owners with several locations in Scottsdale and throughout the country. AF gyms are clean, always open and managed by ethical people.

Wish me luck in collecting my money. If you decide to ignore this review and trust them, I’ll wish you luck when you...