24 Hour Fitness — Local services in El Cerrito

"This equipment is temporarily OUT OF SERVICE. We apologize for any inconvenience." If you are planning to visit this location, be prepared to see these words EVERYWHERE.

Main issues: Majority of equipment is broken or ill-maintained. 7 out of 10 stairmasters are broken and have been broken for greater than 2 months. 2 out of 3 cable machines have been broken for the past two months. This is just a sample of the machinery in disrepair at this location. The biggest issue is the amount of time for equipment to be fixed, if at all. Gym is generally in a disorganized state. Dumbbells are all over the place or missing. Weights are left where ever they were last used. The locker rooms look like a tornado of toilet paper and other fluids recently touched down. Paper towel dispensers and spray bottles are frequently empty and/or missing. While I have observed staff cleaning, it would be helpful to perhaps post signs reminding members of some general cleaniness rules to help inbetween the cleanings. Policies for 24 Hour members is greatly lacking or not enforced. General policy doesn't allow street clothes/shoes in the gym, however you frequently see street clothes that are not appropriate for exercising in any way. There is no policy regarding bags on the gym floor, which means 7 out of 10 people bring large bags that are strewn about as they exercise. During peak times, this becomes significantly difficult and a hazard to navigate around the floor without tripping or damaging someone's belongings. Hot water for showers. Someone else mentioned this already, but generally no hot water for showers. Not sure if this is an issue with the landlord, a cost issue for 24 Hour, or some other general maintenance issue. If it's a maintenance issue, then my expectations from #1 would apply as that this may never get fixed. (Not specifically the fault of the gym, but still important to note for visitors.) Gym etiquette is rarely followed here. Many gym-goers are not wiping down equipment, putting away weights and equipment, and some are not willing to share or cooperate with other users during the busy times. While some of this is just representative of the types of people you get from a low-cost gym membership, it would help to have more personal trainers and staff roaming the gym to help inform and educate regarding the basic etiquette for those new to the gym and fitness. Currently this location has only one personal trainer employed (that I'm aware of and has their picture up on the wall).

Unfortunately these ongoing issues have caused me to get another gym membership at a 24 Hour competitor. While I hope that they remedy a lot of these issues, the response from management has been purely lip service to date. I remain open to returning to this location in the future if...

When this El Cerrito branch opened 5 or so years ago, it was spic and span new and in great shape. I moved here from the downtown Berkeley branch, which had become quite decrepit and had finally closed permanently. This one merited 5 stars.

Shortly after opening, they discontinued the towel service. 4½ stars. Then, gradually things went downhill. Soon most of the lockers filled up with permanent users – strictly prohibited – so that finding a vacant locker became difficult. 4 stars.

Then the effects of “deferred maintenance” began to show up. Rubber grips on the weight machines wore out and fell off (natural wear and tear), but still none have been replaced. Barbells of various sizes started to disappear. Broken machines (torn or ripped cables, wobbly pulleys) used to be fixed within a couple of days; now it often takes 2 weeks. Equipment is supposed to be wiped down after each use, but towel racks and disinfectant dispensers are often empty. 3 stars.

Showers always used to work. But the “hot” water is barely warm, the coolest “hot” water I have ever seen at any gym. Now normally 2 out of 8 showers are broken, and stay that way for 1-2 weeks. Soap dispensers are often empty (there are 2 per stall, so both should never be empty). Shower door handles are broken, and not fixed. The swimsuit spin drier has been out of service for several weeks, not even marked as out of service. 2 stars.

The pool is great. But the jacuzzi was out of service for weeks. By choosing the time carefully (TuTh 6 PM), one could often count on a lane to oneself, since there were normally only 1-4 swimmers for 3 lanes at pool slack times. But for the last 3 weeks, 1-2 lanes have been filled with unaccompanied children or youngsters playing, but not swimming, leaving only one lane for lap swimming, shared by up to 4 swimmers. This is supposed to be an exercise gym, not a playground. 1 star.

A lot of these problems could be solved by staff attention. I often see 4 people sitting in uniform around the front desk, doing absolutely nothing. Clearly 1 person is needed, maybe 2. But 4? Couldn’t they check on equipment and supply problems? They don’t even write down problems and complaints reported by users.

Since these are the same problems that plagued the Berkeley gym before it closed, they are not unique or specific to one facility. They appear to reflect a company policy to ignore basic maintenance and just run their facilities slowly into the ground. Or maybe the same incompetent manager moved from Berkeley to El Cerrito. Either way, without attention from the highest executive levels the problems will remain.

Until then, I recommend that you find...

I’ve had a very disappointing experience at this gym since signing up about five weeks ago. For the entire time, three out of the nine Stairmasters have been broken. As a result, I’ve often had to wait to use one because the remaining five functional machines are usually in use. Over a week ago, I raised this issue with the front desk. The staff member kindly informed me that there’s only one maintenance person who covers this club as well as another large club in Richmond. She explained that he only comes a few hours, a couple of days a week, and does what he can in that short time.

Today, while using one of the “working” Stairmasters, it completely broke down about 15.5 minutes into my workout. One or two of the steps collapsed while I was on it, nearly causing me to fall. I was able to grab the handrail and jump off, fortunately avoiding injury—but I very easily could have been hurt. Frustrated but determined to finish my workout, I moved to another Stairmaster, which was supposedly functional. I immediately noticed the gears felt off, but I persisted, hoping to just get through my 45 minutes. That machine stopped working abruptly 29 minutes in. Thankfully, it didn’t collapse like the first one—it simply shut down mid-workout.

As a result of these ongoing issues, five of the nine Stairmasters are now out of service, largely due to the club’s failure to repair them in a timely manner.

This is a total failure of club management. The front desk told me that the club has over 1,000 members, generating well over $30,000 per month in revenue. It’s beyond frustrating that, despite this, management allows equipment to remain broken for months and fails to properly maintain the rest. This issue lies squarely with management, and they should be doing much more to advocate for their members. They should be calling corporate—or whoever is responsible—daily until this issue is resolved. With the number of members this gym has, there should be a full-time maintenance person on staff.

As a Harvard-trained lawyer (Class of 2012), I can tell you that this place is a lawsuit waiting to happen. In my over 20 years of gym memberships, I have never felt compelled to leave a negative review until now. But I have also never encountered a gym run this poorly. Management, if you’re reading this, you are failing your members. It’s your responsibility to advocate for the people who pay their monthly dues....