Equinox River Oaks — Local services in Houston

Edit: client services reached out and apologized, but no recourse, refund, or credit was provided. I asked for a refund or credit to rejoin when I move back to NYC and was told I would get an email back after taking with a manager, which did not happen. I followed up, and my email was ignored. I expected better.

I could not be more disappointed in customer service regarding their lack of covid precautions. I came to them saying I felt unsafe because of the actions of Equinox staff and hoped to put my membership on hold but was instead hassled and met with excuses.

I had been a member in nyc where I loved my experience, but moved out of state and eventually landed in Houston. I joined just before the variant had taken hold, and felt comfortable at first even though there was no requirement for vaccination or masks (state law, not Equinox’s rules). However as the variants started to get worse, it seemed precautions were loosened. I was in a yoga class, in a closed room full of people without masks, where the instructor told us to breath in deep and exhale with our mouths wide open. This happened at the peak of the variant. I could not have gotten out of the gym quick enough and did not return after.

I felt things would pass and I’d just get back into the gym after the holiday so I didn’t say anything even though I was appalled. Things didn’t get much better so I asked the gym if I could put my membership on hold until the end of summer, when I return from my cottage. I also asked for a refund for the past month I didn’t attend as it was the actions of Equinox employees that made me uncomfortable visiting.

I was first given weak excuses as to their cleaning practices, basically told I had no reason to fear covid at the gym because they disinfected things - not at all addressing the concern I came to them with. Frankly this gym is not nearly as clean as they state but that is beside the point as that’s not how covid is spread, but they are not living up to their ‘covid clean’ regardless.

I was then hassled, and felt mocked for my wanting to be safe in light of the covid situation. I was told I cannot cancel, I was ‘offered’ as if it was a huge favor to put the membership on hold for three months, at my expense. Knowing I’d be at my cottage by then, I asked if I could simply cancel and rejoin without a fee this fall as I had already payed the joining fee twice (the first being NYC). It felt like the person I was talking to expected me to be grateful at the privilege of getting to pay to put my membership on hold just long enough for me to leave the state and was annoyed I didn’t say thank you.

I’m not sure if the person I talked to was just having a bad day or what, but I was shocked by the passive aggression that came in my bringing this up. I was given every reason why my feeling unsafe was wrong and that I had no reason to leave the gym. At no point was my concern over the actions of the yoga instructor even mentioned.

I was told I needed a doctors note, or proof that I had moved more than 25miles from the club in order to cancel the membership. I ended up needing to send the mortgage statement for my cottage to prove I moved and only then, after more passive aggressive tone and paying for another month, that my membership would be terminated.

I ended up here a very short while. I attended maybe 10 yoga classes, the 10 most expensive yoga classes of my life. But really it’s not the stupid sum of money spent on a few yoga classes that upsets me, it was how I was treated when I came to the club with a concern. I know asking to cancel and come back without another joining fee was a lot to ask, though it shouldn’t have been, but the response I got made me loose so much respect for this ‘health club’.

If Equinox contacts me to make this right I’ll update this review. Frankly I had thought I’d be a member at Equinox for a very long time to come, and as I just found I need to move back to NYC maybe I will consider returning up there but I need the company to reach out to me directly and...

Buyer beware:

I have emails with the staff backing every single claim made in this review and am working towards taking legal action against the Houston, Texas Equinox.

Sexual harassment runs wild here. The people reported are spoken to and nothing ever comes from the reports. I’ve spoken with the Regional VP and he let me know there was nothing they could do about a specific situation, and I saw the man I complained about in the gym, staring me down one day later. This was never dealt with, and I felt unsafe.

AC in locker rooms was out for 2 months, equinox blamed it on the rental complex and waited for 60+ days, blocked all entrances and exits.

Cafe has been closed due to a lawsuit for over a year, never opened during my year here, and was constantly lied to, told it would “open soon” at time of signing in August 2022.

The steam room in the women’s locker room, one of the only amenities in the gym, was broken for 3+ months starting in 2022, and has broken on a continuous 3 month basis due to a faulty generator that is currently not being planned for fixture to avoid “more closures of the steam room”. (????)

Make up wipes were out of stock for months due to “supply issues”.

Their homemade deodorant was out of stock for months also due to “supply issues”. This makes the least amount of sense because it’s just essential oils in a $0.99 spray bottle so…it was just missing months and I guess that was the only reason they could give for it.

Very limited machine and weight selection. Only 4 true free weight benches. No pool, or outdoor area. Very small gym, limited classes, horrible hours.

Gym closes at 10:00 but showers and steam room close at 9:30 for cleaning, which I kind of understand…but the cleaning staff constantly starts to stack chairs at 9:00 on the dot, making the entire locker room unusable.

These are things agreed upon via contract, minus the cafe, which the VP (Tom Krieger) explained to me. Im left to assume its normal practice to lie to potential and current clients about the expectations of said cafe. When I pointed this out, I was told it wasn’t a contractional agreement. am left to assume this location has directed and encouraged their employees to lie about the cafe opening. PS this is the 2nd lawsuit the 2 different contractors in the Equinox Cafe have had against the gym in 2 yrs

I’ve spoken with the manager at this location, Leann Sloan, which as you can see by previous reviews here she has earned the reputation of being a less than pleasant person to interact with…not exactly a fan favorite, to put it nicely 😅. After voicing my complaints to her and being consistently clear on my preference to keep communication through email, she interrupted me mid workout frantically asking me to “speak with her”. After politely declining and redirecting her for the 4th time to communicate via email, she huffed, rolled her eyes at me and walked away without another word, in the middle of the gym floor. After this, I got into contact with her boss (Tom K) ,who offered me a free month as compensation. I declined and decided to move forward with legal action.

I’ve joined lifetime greenway and have never looked back. This gym is a joke and makes the company in itself look bad- I now understand how they found themselves in such a hefty lawsuit this year, and I predict there’s many more to come. Fix your gym, and fix your management if you want to be held to the standard you’re trying to achieve.

The 3.5 rating on what should be a 5 star gym for price point and location, should tell you something.

Also: READ YOUR CONTRACT. This is a YEAR LONG COMMITMENT, be ready for that. Lifetime does month to month and allows you to attend ALL their locations. I just got back from NYC and went to 4 of Lifetimes locations. In comparison with Equinox, each lifetime I’ve been to is cleaner, has more amenities, more machines, more weights, more space, more locations and more professionalism. Do your research before you join! Good luck on your fitness...

This location may not become your favorite gym experience. I’m not expecting every gym or club in the same cost tier to be identical, but from a purely training focused perspective, this one falls short in a few ways that could be easily addressed under a great management.

From a marketing standpoint, the machines aren’t noticeably higher in quality than those at other commercial gyms that cost a fraction of the price. Some appear outdated or not well-maintained. Much of the equipment is placed awkwardly, and the lack of mirrors in the training areas makes it inconvenient. especially when learning new movements or skills & wanting to check your form. The mirrors that do exist aren’t very helpful due to poor placement and spacing. Only 2,3 people can somewhat comfortably train in that area.

Even during the week, the equipment-to-member ratio can feel off. However I genuinely dread going on weekends because of how overcrowded it gets. The wait time and navigating thru a fixed workout plan is just not possible. It raises the question of whether the number of memberships sold aligns with the space and equipment available.

Class options are more limited than expected, and the in app scheduling system is inflexible. You can’t sign up for a class the same day, even if there’s space and there may be a class hours away. This removes any flexibility or spontaneity in planning your day & workouts especially when the training area is packed and you might want to pivot and join a class instead.

I also don’t appreciate being interrupted mid-workout by trainers trying to pitch services. It feels disrespectful to my time, space, and focus.

That said, I do still like this gym. Every staff member I’ve interacted with has been great and professional, the space is clean, and the free parking is a major plus given the location.

I’d suggest reevaluating how the machines are arranged and repositioning them to create better flow and a more dynamic use of the space. Adding more mirrors in key training areas would be a valuable improvement. It may also be necessary to reassess how many memberships are being sold in relation to the club’s actual capacity. A significant portion of the floor is taken up by cardio machines, many of which often sit unused. Increasing the availability of weight and strength equipment would improve the training experience, reduce wait times, and enhance the overall functionality of the...