Higher Ground Health Club — Local services in Toronto

Still charging my card despite cancelling my membership and claiming "auto renewal". Same review as the person below liked by 6 others:

"I left Canada and I would like to cancel my membership. I have write a couple of emails but no response at all. My friend phoned them, they told her I have to be there with my ID. That is ridiculous. Worst experience ever! Really disappointed!"

DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. THEY ARE EXACTLY WHO YOU THINK THEY ARE IN THESE REVIEWS AND WILL OVERCHARGE YOU.

Also makes no sense you would have to come in with an ID to cancel. If you can cancel bank accounts, insurance, and literally any subscription service by phone, then the more likely issue is that they are deliberately overcharging and imposing their specific barriers from you leaving.

Equipment is also trash in terms of quality (e.g. 5 rows of Hoist machines LOL) and quantity - 2 squat racks with safeties that dont even go all the way up and are not properly adjustable, 2 bench presses, and 2 damn seats for the entire 20,000 sq ft gym with 150 unused cardio equipment solely designed to take up space (1-2 people using). The other seats are stuck in incline position and then there's the two small seats without the adjustable back for seated arms and maybe shoulder press if doing light weight. Get some functional seats absolutely pathetic they charge comparable rates to goodlife, ymca, even planet fitness for 1/3 of the charge has more than 2 properly functioning seats.

I can also confirm the review below as someone who entered and exited this facility daily:

"Smug and arrogant attitude from the manager. The type of person to belittle you when you’re asking simple questions. Immediately walked out and would never come back here again."

The owner will be nice and say words like "Ciao" when you first come in but immediately after he gets your credit card, will not respond to you at all when you say "Hi how are you" (happened 6-7 times upon entry/exit with silence despite clearly hearing and not looking away from his computer) but then say Hi when it's convenient for him and typically when he's around other people to establish social capital. He tries to appear to care, but as shown by the review above and myself, he just wants your money and is far from nice. Very weird energy and I also noticed a high turnover of front desk staff in the short time I was there probably because they have to interact with him all day. Many other members who I was friendly with shared this same view about him often referencing when he would work out in the facility near them they would feel weird and also trying to avoid him on entries and exits.

Go to...

Equipment is good and I’m there most days. But here’s the issue: scheduling.

If you’re someone who goes in the morning, like me, then you rely on the place being open at 6am on the dot, like they claim.

However, sometimes (like today as I’m writing this) it opens late, which means you can’t use the facility before you have to get to work. In fact there about 10 ppl beside me waiting as well - 2 just left because they clearly don’t have enough time left.

I left a similar review some months ago and it’s not been consistently fixed. For anyone who is considering coming here in the morning, just consider going right across the way to Planet Fitness where they are open 24/7. I say this not to dissuade people from coming here in general, but to forewarn people who rely on punctuality especially in the morning.

Again, equipment here is relatively solid and everyone who works here seems great too. That said, scheduling and SLA’s still need some work in my humble opinion.

EDIT (2 weeks later):

I received a very nice response from the team (thanks for that!), however I am standing here after 6am once again waiting with a few other people for the facility to open. One guy who was waiting just left to presumably head to the PF across the way?

Anyway, thanks for the response guys but the...

Edited response to reply included below.

Refrain from signing up for the gym, as it is operated by a pushy and unscrupulous salesperson. Access should be restricted to residents of the Aura community because they can go for free and If you choose to visit, it is advisable to do so daily to contribute to the gym’s financial losses. The entitlement and rudeness displayed by the staff are unacceptable. I sincerely hope that this establishment will be closed down and replaced by a reputable and user-friendly service.

[Edit] The individual’s response appears to be fabricated. I have no further comments to make and have terminated all business dealings with your establishment. The individual’s assertion that they attempted to contact me and that they do not recall our previous interaction is highly improbable. How could they contact me if they were implying that I have not been to the gym? I have provided a detailed seven-page response explaining why I rejected your fraudulent Visa transaction, after you told Visa my original claim was false. Despite your efforts to extort money from me, I prevailed.

Just because you do not remember does not negate the accuracy of my account. You can verify my identity by searching for my name and discovering that I possess an...