Village Gym London Watford — Local services in Hertsmere

Understaffed, unhygienic, unmaintained, unacceptable. Not a matter of opinion, but words that accurately define Village Gym London Watford.

Firstly, at the time of writing, there are two treadmills, an exercise bike, cable leg extension, plate loaded leg press and smith machine which have been out of order for weeks on end with no repair in sight. The estimated repair dates on the out of order signs have been changed so many times, even the signs don't know what date the repair is going to occur anymore. At this point, the out of order signs serve as a helpful reminder of what the date will be on the upcoming Monday or Friday.

Whilst I appreciate there is a renovation that will be taking place over the next three months, having such a significant volume of fundamental machines out of order for as long as they have been is entirely unacceptable. I have no confidence that any repairs will take place prior to completion of the renovations. Furthermore, I am not seeing a reduction in my membership fee which aligns with the reduction in equipment provided.

My next concern is the overall hygiene, or rather the lack of it. Starting with the male changing rooms, three out of the four toilets do not flush. This has been the case since at least April of this year. I have had the distinct pleasure of seeing and smelling more of other people's excrement than I have of my own since April. There are few certainties in life, death, taxes and walking into a cubical at Village Gym London Watford to be greeted by someone else's masterpiece.

An additional hygiene concern is the maintenance of the water fountains. Often the filter is left to turn to red, meaning it urgently needs replacing, thus increasing the probability of this water exiting your body as "chocolate rain" following consumption. I may not be a water filter expert, but I believe an amber light would be a good indication that the filter needs replacing before being allowed to turn red. At the time of writing, both fountains have an amber light. I would also add, looking at the fountains themselves, they don't appear to be cleaned on a regular basis, this can be seen by the dried water splash marks.

To be constructive, a positive from this lack of hygiene is that my immune system has certainly been strengthened since being a member of Village Gym. So, thank you!

Following my concerns of lack of maintenance and lack of hygiene. I would highlight that this gym is severely understaffed. Previously there would be at least two members of staff on the gym floor at a time, now there is only one. The one PT on duty is expected to teach classes, as well as clean and maintain the gym. This is entirely unrealistic for just one person, actually impossible. As a result, no one is ever on the gym floor.

You will often walk into the gym at opening time to be greeted by a bombsite. Weights are left scattered in all corners of the gym, barbells and equipment often can be found loaded with the last person's weights from the night before. Whilst members do need to take a portion of accountability for the tidiness of the gym, there needs to be staff to enforce a level of etiquette, such as putting your weights away after using them and returning them to the correct place.

The "manager" of the gym, Pav, is nowhere to be seen for the most part. When we as members are fortunate enough to be graced by Pav's presence, he saunters through the gym as if he is the king of Shiba, I can confirm he is not the king of Shiba. I have continually observed him walk past and ignore members with absolute disregard.

All of the above observations coincides with his tenure as "manager". In my assessment, I think the most of the issues here can be attributed to him.

Overall, I would go as far as to say that the Village Gym London Watford is a ticking timebomb. It's dangerous, and it's only a matter of time before something goes horribly wrong, whether that be someone getting seriously injured by equipment or catching...

Subject: Feedback Regarding My Recent Experience at Village

I hope this message finds you well. I have been a member of Village Gym for some time now and have always appreciated the facilities and the overall experience. However, I wanted to share some feedback regarding an unfortunate experience I had during my visit on Sunday, January 5, 2025.

I brought my father along to trial the gym, intending to use one of the two guest passes that were part of my membership. While I understand these passes had expired on September 30, 2024, I was unaware of any strict enforcement of this expiration date as I had previously brought a guest using the same expired pass without any issue. Unfortunately, on this occasion, the receptionist declined entry for my father, citing the expiration of the pass.

To resolve the issue, I signed my father up for a free one-day trial pass online the day before. However, this did not appear in your system. I attempted to reapply while at the gym, but despite these efforts, I was informed that the free trial could not be redeemed on the same day and that he would need to return another time.

I requested to speak to the manager, who reiterated the decision. While I understand that policies are in place, I was disappointed by the rigid application of the rules and the lack of flexibility shown. Furthermore, I found the overall demeanor of the staff to be unwelcoming and abrupt, which was particularly disappointing given that I was willing to pay the £25 guest fee to resolve the situation.

Unfortunately, my father’s experience left such a negative impression that he decided not to pursue membership. This outcome could have been avoided with a more empathetic approach or better communication from your team. In similar situations, a polite warning about the expiration of passes or clearer guidance regarding the use of free trials could have mitigated the issue.

As a loyal member, I believe a gym, especially one in the hospitality industry, should prioritize customer service and demonstrate a degree of understanding and flexibility. Situations like these not only impact the guest’s perception but also the member’s overall satisfaction.

I hope you take this feedback constructively and use it to improve how such situations are handled in the future. I genuinely appreciate the facilities and services you offer and hope to continue enjoying them without further disappointments.

Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns. I would appreciate it if you could follow up on this matter.

Kind...

I’ve been a member here long enough to say this is easily one of the worst-designed and poorly maintained gyms I’ve ever used. For £100 a month, you’d expect at least the basics to be right — but the Village Gym Watford misses the mark on almost every level.

Firstly, the changing rooms are a complete disaster. The showers leak so badly that the water floods across into the cubicles and toilets. More than once, I’ve found myself sitting on the toilet with my shoes and socks soaked in dirty shower water. It’s unhygienic, disgusting, and completely unacceptable. After that, I have to slide my way across a wet, slippery floor just to get back to the gym — a genuine safety hazard.

The gym layout itself is equally frustrating. There isn’t a single toilet on the gym floor. So if you need to go mid-workout, you’ve got to trek all the way downstairs, back through the swamp-like changing room, dodge the shower puddles, and then return. It’s a ridiculous design flaw that no one seems interested in fixing.

The place is also severely understaffed. When something goes wrong or you need to raise a concern, there’s rarely anyone around to speak to. I’ve witnessed members acting aggressively or being openly antisocial towards others, and there’s simply no staff presence to handle it. On the rare occasion you manage to report it, the manager promises to “deal with it,” but nothing ever happens. It leaves you feeling unsafe and unsupported — there’s a real lack of supervision or accountability on the gym floor.

Then there’s the so-called spa area. £100 a month gets you access to a sauna the size of a shoebox, with no nearby water source. They actually removed the water fountain that used to be inside. Now you have to leave the sauna half-naked and walk out to reception just to get a drink. It’s absurd.

To top it off, half the gym equipment is constantly out of order. Every time I visit, there are more “Out of Service” signs than working machines. For the price they charge, the maintenance standards are laughable.

I’ve raised complaints before, but nothing ever changes. At this point, the Village Gym Watford feels more like a sinking ship than a premium fitness club. Save your money and go somewhere that actually values its members — and knows how to design a changing room that doesn’t double as a...