24 Hour Fitness — Attraction in Seattle

Introduction: During the COVID pandemic, I decided to create my own garage gym to stay active. As a hybrid athlete who enjoys both heavy lifting and running half and full marathons, I also invested in a Peloton tread and membership. After a long hiatus from commercial gyms and no longer being a member of 24 Hour Fitness for quite some time, I couldn't resist the incredible deal of a $20/month membership, which was the original payment I used to make back in the day.

Gym Size and Equipment: This gym is impressive and reminds me of the quality you would find at the Issaquah or Bothell locations of 24 Hour Fitness. It's definitely a step up from the now-closed Downtown Bellevue location and surpasses the equipment offered at the Downtown Seattle branch. I appreciate that the equipment here is modern and new, unlike the outdated equipment at the now-defunct Downtown Bellevue branch. However, it's important to note that this gym is not an Ultra Sport facility, so don't expect features like rock climbing, as you would find in the now-closed Irvine, CA location. It's worth mentioning that the spacing in the workout area feels a bit cramped, which limits walking space. Additionally, there seems to be a shortage of 5 or 10 lbs. plates, and if they are available, they are inconveniently located on the other side of the gym. Due to these layout issues, I must deduct a star from the overall rating.

Busyness: Like any gym, this location tends to get quite crowded during typical workout hours, especially from Monday to Thursday between 4:30 PM and 7:30 PM. However, the atmosphere is significantly more peaceful on Fridays and weekends. While I am unable to comment on the morning workout crowd as I no longer exercise during that time, I suspect mornings are relatively calm as well. But in the afternoons, expect to encounter some waiting time for equipment.

Miscellaneous: I recall that in the past, 24-Hour Fitness used to provide small towels at their Super Sport locations. Unfortunately, it seems that corporate has implemented cost-cutting measures, and towels are no longer available at this location or any other 24 Hour Fitness facility I have visited, including those in Las Vegas.

Staff: The staff at this gym are incredibly friendly, helpful, and have provided excellent service during my visits. However, I do see reviews that they seem to 'open late' due to staff arriving to work late.

Gym Goers/Diversity: It's fascinating to observe the diverse group of people working out at various 24 Hour Fitness locations. This particular gym boasts a wonderfully diverse community, much like the Bellevue location, with individuals from Asian, African-American, and other racial backgrounds in North Seattle. In contrast, when I was a member at LA Fitness in Ballard, the gymgoers were predominantly Caucasian. Therefore, it's refreshing to see such a welcoming and diverse environment here, where everyone appears to be friendly and respectful.

Conclusion: This 24 Hour Fitness gym is a decent choice for fitness enthusiasts. However, there is room for improvement in terms of the layout and organization of the equipment. It would greatly benefit from a reconfiguration that creates a more spacious and intuitive workout area, allowing for easier movement and smoother transitions between different pieces of equipment. Additionally, addressing the issue of misplaced weight plates would enhance the overall user experience. With these adjustments, the gym has the potential to provide an even better environment for...

This was my first time at 24-hour fitness, and will probably be the last time I will ever try it. Contrary to the advertisement on the 24-hour fitness website, this location does NOT honor the 3-day trial pass for prospective members — which is blatant false advertising and a bait-and-switch.

I was hanging out with two friends, one who was already a member, and the other who recently moved in town, looking for a gym. The three of us wanted to workout together, and my friend who was a 24-hour fitness member pitched that we go try her gym. Great! I was thinking about switching my gym membership to 24-hour fitness, and my new-to-town friend was looking for a gym himself!

Making sure it was ok to bring first-timers to this gym, she calls this specific Northgate location and inquires about bringing first-time guests to her gym, and the representative on the phone directed us to apply for the 3-day trial pass on the 24-hour fitness website. So my friend and I who were non-members applied for the 3-day trial pass and drove all the way to Northgate to activate our pass.

At this point, matters started to go downhill. My friend and I were greeted by the membership agent and showed him our 3-day trial pass. I told him I was interested in swapping membership in the future (for 2019), and my friend shared that it was his first time at 24-hour fitness. However, the membership agent would not honor our free 3-day trial pass, citing that he was weeding out people who were trying to “game the system.” Then he presented us with the only option to purchase a one-day $25 guest pass, contrary to what the representative told our already-member friend on the phone.

Even when we tried to explain to the membership agent that we were directed to apply for the 3-day pass, he refused to honor it and turned us away at the door, because we were trying to “game the system”. How is this acceptable business practice??? This is false advertising!

I wish I could write more about their amenities and facilities, but because their false advertising prevented us from even entering the gym, I can only rate this gym from my experience. 24-hour fitness just lost two customers, and we will NOT recommend 24-hour fitness to...

Sad update. I’ve been coming for years and things have gotten worse.

I’ll start with the good. Staff is lovely especially the gm. She is great. And the price is quite affordable. Personal training sessions can be expensive but the monthly cost is reasonable. It is also quite large with a sauna and small pool and even basketball court.

Now for the less great. About twice a week the gym doesn’t have water. Just doesn’t have water. No showers. No water fountain. No toilet. Nothing. Two days a week. Would you pay for that?

The gym is significantly higher temperature than osha recommends. It’s exceptionally uncomfortable and I have rashes from it.

The machines are constantly broken. The lat pull down has a line. The dual cable cross is never available. I can’t count the number of times I’ve done bench presses on the floor because there are no benches. In fact this is the last straw for me. There is ONE treadmill with a television. ONE. today I was running on it and stepped down for a second to get a paper towel to dry my face. (The water was off so I couldn’t get a sip to drink.) by the time I came back and old woman in a green shirt with gray pig tails had taken my machine and moved all of my belongings to the floor. Like what the hell?? I was gone about forty seconds. When I asked her about it she said I should thank her for taking care of my property by moving it as she needed the treadmill with the television because it worked for her needs better than mine. Wtf???

I will also say the assistant manager said the strangest thing to me. He made the comment he hopes to be as fit as me when he grows up. Man. I am 40… what is wrong with people?

Today we did play a game of find a working and stocked paper towel dispenser. Record was for that were empty.

Parking can be challenging. The garage is small and can only fit so many cars. Most spots are labeled compact but no one listens to that. Be prepared to park at the offsite lot 100-160 yards away.

They need to fix this gym. Fix the machines and get them up to date. Treadmills with tvs were common in the 90s, you can do it. Turn the heat off. And get this...