Planet Fitness — Local services in Gainesville

I have been going to Planet Fitness for 3 years, and it has been a really good experience for me for the most part. However, over the last year, it has really gone downhill. It has become over run with homeless people who leave the men's bathroom and shower area to smell like dirty feet and funk most times. The other problem that is happening that no one wants to talk about it because it's not PC to do so, but the men's locker room has become a stalking ground for men who like men. I have viewed and experienced men peeking into showers, men taking pictures of other men without their consent when they are changing, and men showering without closing there curtain making them visible to all the other men and children that go to this gym. Outside of this gym, that would be indecent exposure, but apparently, it's acceptable behavior at Planet Fitness. I recently ran into a man showering with his shower curtain wide open. When I asked this man if he could close his shower curtain because most don't want to see his naked body and there are kids in the locker room, he told me he didn't see a problem with his naked body and that I shouldn't be so uptight. I explained to him that this behavior makes me uncomfortable and he basically told me that their is nothing I can do about it and if I don't stop asking him to stop exposing himself to men and children he would get me kicked out of the gym. At that point, I just left it alone because the conversation was going nowhere. Well, I went to the gym yesterday and guess what? I was informed that my membership was canceled, and I'm no longer allowed at the gym. I didn't even get a chance to tell my side of the story. I was just guilty. Guilty of wanting a grown man to not expose himself to all. It's so unfair. I guess all that the conservative Republicans say about Planet Fitness are true. I have complained to the staff about these issues and they sent me to management. I spoke to management about these issues, and nothing changed or was addressed because "they didn't see it happen." That's what I was told. This situation happens, and the black guy is ran out of the gym without even a conversation on what happened. ...

I've been to a number of PF locations around the US since I travel a lot for work. This gym I've been going on and off to for several years. Overall, it's at a much lower standard that other PF locations that I've been to.

The equipment is on par with most other PF locations. Most is fairly standard with some pieces of equipment breaking down and needing repair.

The space itself is decent and generally even when busy you have space though the weight area can definitely get a bit tighter.

The real issues that make a difference are the staffing and cleanness. While there are often 2-4 staff working mostly they are on their cell phones, headphones or are talking to one another. I certainly don't mind people having conversations but it can be a struggle to get someone's attention if you need anything. I've never seen another gym where the staff are just listening to something on their headphones and seem completely checked out. Given this reflects on their friendliness too since it's one of the few gyms that staff often doesn't look at you when you are coming/going or let alone say hi/goodbye.

This work ethic impacts the cleanness of the gym. Often you will find multiple cleaning stations where the trash is overflowing, there are no paper towels or cleaning solution. This wouldn't be so bad if there were only a few people working but when you have multiple staff present there's not an excuse. The bathroom/locker room is generally in poor condition. The space itself often is quite stuffy even for Florida. Lastly, the hours are also significantly less than other PF sites with the gym closing in at 7 pm on weekends. If I didn't have a Black Card membership and this was the only available gym I'd use I'd definitely use one of the other facilities in...

I get that the gym is affordable, a little over $10 a month (that's including taxes). I give this place three stars for a number of reasons, but keeping in mind that this is affordable for those on a tight budget. First, this gym has some odd hours in my opinion and surprisingly isn't 24/7 like some other PF gyms I know of, especially given its located in a college town where students, faculty, and staff might want to work out late at night after a long day of classes or study groups. Usually they close at 11 pm during the week, which is no problem for me. But on Friday's they close at 9 pm and weekends at 7 pm. My days are pretty packed and so I typically don't have an opportunity to work out before 7 pm. I'm surprised they don't extend their weekend hours to match Friday at least. Another con to this place is the ridiculous amount of cardio machines. Just about half of the gym is cardio machines. Never have I seen more than half of the cardio machines even used. Rather I see more people taking up the free weights and benches that I have to wait 30 mins just to get a bench for free weights. This seems to be a common criticism of this gym and surprisingly the owner hasn't really listened. They honestly should get rid of at least a quarter or even half of their cardio equipment and make more space available for free weights and maybe a few more cable machines. Honestly, if I find a suitable alternative to this gym (affordable, sufficient equipment, and 24/7 access), I'll most likely cancel my membership to this gym because of these issues. Even my friends they have black card memberships to planet fitness visited me and came to my gym, only to level the same...