Holmes Place Fitness - Köln — Local services in Cologne

For the expats, I will write another review in English. I do agree that the salespeople are not very honest. So if you want to sign a good deal, you have to negotiate, and get all the things you negotiate on paper. The first time my boyfriend and I came, we got an offer where we good cancel our contract every month, but the other sales person told us it was not possible and that we have to sign up for at least a year. I clearly stated: "We want to be able to end the contract monthly, we want the price to be the same as for a normal contract and we want to pay less for the first month, because it already started." It happened just like that. But don't be afraid to come across as a though negotiater in this place, otherwise you can get into problems like the other reviewers describe or you will just pay too much. After you get through this rough patch, the gym is quite nice and the trainers are helpful. One very small girl is even too helpful, because she asked my boyfriend out. I also saw her flirting with the other men, a bit unprofessional if you ask me, especially when the girlfriend is also training at the same gym. Also, the period that I was doing sport there, the pool was closed for several days and the Jacuzzi for several weeks. I think the price is too high for the quality that they offer. But overall I really had a good time there, because: it is very central, there is a wide range of classes on offer that I could join and the teachers and other visitors were most of the time...

One star because of the aggressive selling of memberships and the unfriendliness of the sales employee. I researched on Holmes Place Website that I could get a trial month for €49, I came to the gym with the intention of swimming right away. Instead, I had to wait for the sales employee in the lounge area and then the sales employee first tried to sell me a day pass for €30 - while a free day pass is available online on the Holmes Place website - and then he tried to sell me a full year membership and did not want to offer the €49 trial month that I saw on the website. To which I directly on the spot filled in the membership form for €49 online. The sales employee then proceeded to mislead me trying to tell me I cannot go the same day and trying still to sell me a €30 day pass - terrible, meanwhile a receptionist up front had told me a day pass would be €10 once I entered before I met the sales employee. I then read my contract to see that actually I am allowed right away to visit my chosen Holmes Place branch - but I already left so I had to come back - several hours of my day lost. This is really such terrible and misleading service. I think that the customers needs should be first priority and not the sales employees sales targets. I felt tricked, misled and just like I was a sales target, truly unpleasant.

The swimming pool they have itself is not bad, quite short 20m and not very deep (1.2m). The jacuzzi and saunas and steam room...

It used to be a premium gym but not anymore. The showers have no hot water since May 2022 and for more than a year the problem has not been permanently fixed. I complained to the reception and they told me that they have paid a lot to fix it but they don't know when it will be as it is not her "who makes the appointments" (not sure why the customer should care). Besides half of the equipment is accessible with an extra pay, so it results overcrowding the rest of the machines. I am a member for 4 years and I quited as Holmes though it is a good idea to increase the price in 2024 by 10% (after some small increases last year).

PS1: sad to see fake reviews as well here with staged pictures and 5 stars that obviously do not correspond to reality. Probably instead of taking feedback seriously, it was easier to put some fake reviews. PS2: Google contacted me to prove that I was a member as the gym said this is a fake review. Of course it was very easy to prove it, you just need to check my last name..

PS3: The gym fails to responds to multiple emails of mine. They send automatic emails to request for money for the months which I am not going (after I quitted). Today the automatic email threatens me to take legal action against me. I so look forward to it as I have requested 30% of my annual subscription back, for falling to receive the services promised ie warm showers...