Virgin Active Gym Cascades — Local services in Msunduzi Local Municipality

What I Like About the Gym: The gym is very clean I regularly see staff actively cleaning all areas, including the showers. I also appreciate the dedicated work area near the smoothie and coffee bar, which is great for quick emails or remote work. The free Wi-Fi is a definite bonus. Staff members are always friendly and welcoming, which creates a positive environment.

What I Don’t Like: There are several machines that seem unnecessary, while there are too few of the essential ones for example, only one bench press and two squat racks, and some of the cardio machine handles are rusted which is not safe. It’s also frustrating when people training in groups occupy machines for extended periods, making it hard for others to use them. In addition, some individuals take multiple sets of dumbbells and keep them to themselves, which is inconsiderate. During peak hours, this makes the gym experience far less enjoyable.

Suggestions for Improvement: Staff should actively monitor members who occupy machines for long periods without actually training particularly around high-demand equipment like squat racks. It would also help if members were encouraged to take only one set of dumbbells at a time to ensure fair use...

This is the best looking gym in Pietermaritzburg. However, it’s the smallest virgin active. It’s modern and located near cascades shopping center and liberty mall. It gets quite busy during peak hours. There’s only one squat rack; one smith machine; one leg press. There is a wide variety of weight training equipment and a range of free weights. There are many treadmills and other cardio equipment. They only seem to have one modern treadmill that allows you to watch footage of different running trails while running. The others allow you to watch TV. During peak hours you might have to wait a while to get cardio equipment. The limit on the cardio equipment is 30 minutes. There’s also a yoga studio; a spinning studio and larger studio where they offer the cardio classes. Downstairs , they have an indoor pool. There are bathroom and shower facilities with locker rooms. And a steam and sauna room. Downstairs at the entrance they have a space to chill/ sit down and eat food from the Kauai and a number of computers that you can use. They do have elevators for people who might need it. There are also squash courts which you can book using the...

So much for so little. I came to Pietermaritzburg on holiday for a month. As someone who is an active gym goer, naturally I wanted to go to a high quality gym. I was expecting a lot from this gym considering the Vigin branding. However after a month my account was not activated, each time I had to manually sign in. On top of this aircon is an absolute joke. Whether it was load-shedding or not there was never aircon. Everyday I phoned the gym to ask about aircon. Everyday we got the same story “yes it is working, the power is on and we have aircon”, not once was the aircon working. Considering this gym is supposed to be prestigious I was disappointed with only 2 squat racks and 2 benches. Once again there was a line up every single day. Having plenty of equipment is nice, until you realise the variety is severely limited. I will never understand why a gym will have at least 30 treadmills and a whole room of bikes plus extras, but 2 benches and squat racks. For 1,500 rand a month this gym is not worth it. Virgin Active has to be one of the worst gyms in...