Gold's Gym - Annandale — Local services in Annandale

Let me begin by saying I had a good experience at this gym when I was regular member here 10 years ago. It was my local gym before I moved out of my parent's house.

That said, my most recent experience as a visitor was/is disappointing and I want to advise other visitors to avoid this gym. I dropped by to ask about my options to use the gym for a week while I am in town and bought a week pass for $60. I wasn't given a tour (perhaps because I came here years ago and that showed up on the screen) and I wasn't told the pass wasn't refundable. Granted, I should've asked more questions myself and I will moving forward. My family decided to take a trip to FL while I am in town so I dropped by today to ask for a refund and pay what I owe for the days I visited. We leave tomorrow morning and won't be back until Wednesday. I fly back to New England early next Friday morning. I was told they couldn't give me a refund and just charge me for the days I visited. I asked if I could have the contact info for management but I was told no. The lady at the desk said she could make a call instead. After she was off the phone, she said the pass wasn't refundable. I was frustrated but thanked her for her time. I guess they are more worried about keeping any money made than their customer service. In this case, they rather charge me for a service I will not be able to use and that speaks volumes about the culture. As mentioned earlier, I should've done better research too but communication and compromise takes two parties and I honestly didn't feel anyone at the gym cared to offer any fair solutions. I understand some goods and services are not refundable but I also have met and worked with business owners who are more understanding and human first.

Actual equipment review- The gym and equipment looks worse than it did when I was a member here 10 years ago. The weights are outdated as is a lot of the equipment (benches and other machines). The paint on all the walls is old and and the gym doesn't seem to have been swept in a while. I was trying to workout and kept finding dust bunnies near the weights I wanted to use or on stuck on my sneakers. I am surprised the weekly pass was $60 given the state of the facilities and the gym. I am not a fan of Planet Fitness but I have to admit management there seems to care more about the appearance and cleanliness of their gym.

Bottom line - I don't normally leave reviews but I hope I can help others avoid this gym and make a better investment when it comes to their health/fitness. If you are looking for a gym to visit or join long term, I would strongly suggest to keep looking. There are other gyms that are cleaner and not as outdated or at least more fair for the price you pay. I, myself, wish I had read the recent reviews before...

The manager Brian is the only reason why I come to workout at this Golds

The new front desk staff are not only kind, they have the right energy at this location.

The next message is for the corporate management -

Suggestions for this gym. I am not being cheap but you really should remove your annual fee, compared to other gyms that have things like pools, basketball court etc.. , there really shouldn't be a annual fee for this gym.

Why are the weekend hours still 7PM?

Bring back C4 drinks, that was literally one of your best selling drinks?? Even back when I worked there.

Make sure you treat your new GM good, don't set unreasonable goals.

Here's an idea, maybe put a lock on your coil springs on the roof so people stop "Stealing" them and then we have to wait a whole year for your ownership to cough up a few hundred to replace the AC part and leaving members with a heat stroke. We were DYING last summer.

Can you guys also expand the sauna in the men's room? We really do NOT have that many people back there but always have 3-8 people cramped up in the sauna which is not cool.

Bring back your techs, for example nelson so Brian can put tickets in and service your equipment.

Lastly, if you're going to remove any employees can you actually sit down and DISCUSS & MEET with them rather than using a third person conduit to handle your request? I am lowkey really happy I don't work here anymore because of the unfair corporate system that refuses to TALK to their employees.

Brian goes above and beyond to ensure members are met with a friendly kind face. Make sure you are fair to him because your constant turnover of employees makes it look like you guys are literally the problem. Not the staff.

5 stars for the variety of equipment and staff.

On the contrary, corporate you are horrible all around. It's 2022, wake up and fix your problems in your facilities. No drinks, ignoring problems in your locations

When are you going to remodel this location? you have been talking about it since 1990 and decided to remodel baileys instead. I hate to tell you but minority Annandale is starting to get wealthier and there are BETTER gyms in the area people can go to. Step up!!

Small tv's and old cable boxes like we still live in 2005, that's just sad.

MERRIFIELD, BAILEYS, CHANTILLY have better...

Been going to this gym for more years than I care to mention but recent event forced me to write this review. Service has always been pretty sub standard here in comparison to other gyms, even other Gold Gym. I'd rather go to the one in Merrifield is wasn't too far for my daily workout.

Came in on a lazy Saturday afternoon (today, still in the gym now). Wife took my car for the day and my wallet was in my car, so no barcode and no ID. Told the counter person my name and address, was told I could have been using someone else's name and address. Asked me if I came in often because he didn't recognize me (I come in 3-4 times a week). I took a picture here a little bit over a year ago so I told them to verify who I am by using the picture. Took him a long time but he couldn't find it (later turned out he pulled up the wrong account) and told me the only people he knew with my legal first name were female. No problem, I took it as a joke. Told me to go ahead with my workout but make sure to have my barcode or ID next time, which was reasonable.

As I started my stretches, a more senior staff came over and asked "excuse me, are you using someone else's account?" How was I supposed to react to that? Told him I wanted to speak to his manager. As standard procedure goes when someone asked for a manager, I was told he wasn't available. Back and forth with pissing contest he eventually asked if I could let them retake my photo. I was fine with that but it took me showing him my online bank statement thru my phone to prove I'm a member. I also had two question, which was kind of the same question, which he couldn't answer. 1. Where was the photo I took here over a year ago? 2. Why is it so hard for them to verify who I am if they had all my information?

It shouldn't be such an ordeal to go workout. Most people I know, if they're not bringing a gym bag, doesn't bring their wallet into the gym anyways. I agree with the other reviewers, I do feel this gym might be on the racist side. There was an incident that happened here a long ago but I chalked that up as a single staff being racist. Now, I'm starting feel like it's from the top down and the entire staff (minus the little girl who's usually at the front) might be a...