Retro Fitness — Attraction in Town of Hempstead

Keep in mind I visit the area from out of town, and this is where I go when I am in the area. So I can not speak to management or membership. Therefore my review is a “traveler’s review,” and may be more generous than that which a member would offer.

It’s a great blend of big warehouse bodybuilder gym with full range fitness facility. This is a good space for lifters who want a no frills lifting environment, but also want to be around like minded ironheads.

The space is worn out and feels dingy, mismatched weight plates, old equipment, some padding on benches and machines looking worn. Nothing majorly offensive, little that obstructs hard work, but worth mentioning if you are of a more fragile attitude towards gym spaces. if you like rough edges, though, you will feel quite at home. And for a lot of lifters, a bit of roughness is actually an asset. I am one such lifter.

An asset is a division of TWO weight rooms, The upper space is mostly machines. The lower space is a combination of free weights, racks, and “heavy” machines. Most big lifters will stay downstairs, but the point is there is a wide array, so you can literally accomplish anything weightlifting related.

There are four squat racks, three or four benches, and an expanse of turf. There are proper deadlifting areas (although nit true platforms, but sturdy approximates. The dumbbells are a little limited, so grab what you need and hoard them.

My only major complaint is the clientele. Which is NOT the fault of the business. There are some solid, serious lifters – quit e a number in fact. But there are also young dudes who don;t really know great gym etiquette, and then a not-small portion of dudes who are there to say they go tot he gay, but are not quite clued in. Yes this sounds harsh, but literally EVERY time I go, some young dude will like start taking weights off a bench I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF USING, or some obtuse bro will meander into your space (sometimes dangerously) without minding what he’s doing. Sometimes dangerous, always annoying, the etiquette of the gym is not as sharp as most true bodybuilding spaces. But if you just bring patience (and a sense of humor) it won;t bother you. Just worth mentioning because of how frequent I have experienced these sorts of space-sharing blunders.

As a travel Klee my only other minor complaint is the stingy locker room. It’s functional, but feels as worn out and dingy as the rest of the facility. As in: just shower at home. Which seems to be the consensus.

Overall a great bodybuilder-minded space, with some workable glitches that are easily overlooked if you are there to...

I've been training for 30 years, I've had memberships and trained at hundreds of gyms all over the country. This one isn't the best I've seen, but it's good enough. Spacious, enough equipment and machines, downstairs was a good addition, it's reasonably clean. For me, the difference between an OK gym and an excellent gym is in the details. Any gym worth joining has the equipment. Maintenance is the key difference. For example: at this gym the TV reception on all the treadmills and bikes is horrible! Limited channels and terrible signals. And if I find one that gets a signal, the head-phones jack is broken so there's sound in one ear only. This has been the case from day one! I've been a member at Retro in Dix Hills, and I've trained many times at Retro Deer Park and Retro Hewlett: all three have excellent channel selections and flawless signals. Fix the cable, will ya? The water fountain is missing its push panel for years! How difficult is it to reinstall a simple plastic piece? The fountain works, but it been broken for years! The sink in the mens locker (right side) needs a washer or valve replacement, the water flows in the off position. Been that way forever! The hand soap dispenser on the right side is useless: piece of junk, no soap comes out at all so we have to use the one on the other side. C'mon, Amy. You run a nice business, and gyms don't have to be Ritz Carltons. I've seen enough gyms to know whats good. But allowing the details mentioned above to remain in disrepair for months or years shows laziness, or apathy, or both. Go spend some time at Retro Dix Hills; you'll see a well-maintained operation. I like your gym and I would recommend it to folks, but I would fire whomever is responsible for maintenance at your gym. I'm a business owner for many years. My employees are all expected to pay attention to details, and they do. Why? Because the boss does! Overall, it's a good gym and I enjoy my time there. I actually travel 5 miles, and pass 3 or 4 other, closer gyms to get there. So I'll keep coming, like I always do. I'm just saying: if this was my place, the details would be looked after (and fixed)...

Staff is cool but the membership plans aren’t the best... I had to pay for an entire year but I am a military guy and will only be around for 2-3 months tops. Retro made no effort to accommodate my situation beyond offering a military discount that amounted to very little. They had no plan for month to month cash payments which speaks to the business just wanting as much money as possible right now. So why do they accept monthly debit payments if you agree to let them siphon money from a debit account but you can’t just buy a few months upfront and in cash (btw... they had 3-6mo cash plans pre-COVID). I’ve had gyms refuse to cancel my membership once I gave them access to charge me so I always pay cash. Anyway, Nice mix of gym members (male/female/young/older) but some of the patrons are a little weird. In my experience, there are always people who gawk at other people for whatever reason in every gym. Generally, most people there seem focused on working out and not socializing which is a plus. Solid options for equipment. There are better gyms around but this one is close enough for me to jog to from home and it generally has everything I need in a gym. Not my favorite gym but decent and the only local option. Peace!

**Update... I called roughly one hour after the management posted a response and I got some positive feedback from the person who answered the phone but it seemed like the manager wasn’t there. That conversations has not resulted in anyone actually addressing my concerns... plus I have just accepted a job in DC and will be moving within two weeks. So I just paid for a year membership which I will hav only used...