Life Time — Local services in Lower Merion Township

I was excited to be able to join a gym near my residence because I am a remote worker. A few family members and friends WARNED me about joining LT Ardmore. My family lived in Lower Merion since the early 2000's and my parents joined Lifetime as soon as it was opened. Unfortunately, my parents cancelled the family plan due to numerous reasons especially because of Management. My friends warned me about LT Ardmore because of a specific trainer who doesn't respect lifetime member's boundaries. A friend of mine that joined the same time as I did, told me that they had to start going to LT Mt. Laurel to avoid this specific trainer. I found that to be very inconvenient, esp when members are paying upwards of $200+ for their membership or $400+ for a family plan- just to feel uncomfortable that they feel the need to go to a different Lifetime Club. I will explain in more detail down below.

A few complaints: (small fitness gym floor, lack of supplies like bacterial wipes (always empty), members would come in SICK (spreading germs in the Steam Room. It's VERY disgusting), on the fitness floor, equipment like plates and dumbbells smells like dirty sweat, management is nonchalant, rude and unprofessional.

I did my part with speaking to multiple staff members and Managers, but nothing is getting better. Actually feels like harassment at this point. I come to the gym to detox from stress, but this gym is annoying and causing me more stress. It was great for the first week when I joined. A week later, a trainer name Rob Laurie would constantly try to have conversations in the middle of a workout. Does he know that when people have EARPHONES in, working out.. that they don't want to be bother? Or understand that people get away from home so they can have self care time? I totally get the innocent conversations but it got to the point where he just talks way too much. I have friends that tell me that the same trainer would frequently approach them while working out, on stair master, or treadmill. A random girl next to me told me she's also experiencing the same thing. She told me that she doesn't want to be mean but it got really uncomfortable for her. I reported this trainer a few months ago. I was told by a manager that they would have a talk with him. I doubt they even talked to him because apparently, he is known to be that harassing annoying trainer because countless of people are experiencing the same thing.

Another issue arose apart from that- I always carry a small backpack to keep gym equipments. (Lifetime does have gym equipment for you to use, but they are cheap, stinks like sweat, and very dirty). I've been carrying this backpack from my other 2 gyms, and carried the same backpack since the FIRST day I joined. I keep my larger bag in the locker room. After a year, now Rob decides to walk up to me while I'm working out, points to my backpack and said you have to keep large backpacks in the locker. I went to speak to a manager name Keenan (very nice) and I was told by him that I could carry a small backpack. The next day, Rob approached me AGAIN telling me "oh it needs to be 12x14. After Rob told me that, I saw Keenan the manager so I ran to approach him about this matter and told Keenan to tell Rob to leave me alone. The next few days, I spoke to another lady (probably another manager), I didn't get her name but she was rude about it. She said "yeah it gotta be a size of a fanny pack so you can't carry your backpack" WRONGGGG!!! The policy online as of January 1st, 2025 states that a bag 12x16 or smaller can be carried on the fitness floor. My Lululemon backpack is 11x16. The management seems to not understand their company policies fully. I felt as though I was getting attacked left and right by employees that don't even have their facts straight. WHY CAN'T I WORKOUT IN PEACE!!!!???? Can you imagine trying to workout but you're constantly just getting harassed?? I will be telling my family and friends, and spread word to the community to not join Lifetime Ardmore and give their...

So I have been a lifetime member for over 7 years at the Ardmore Lifetime club. This is a new experience for me as it is the first time in my life that I have paid the same amount of money for a reduced quality of service. I would complain to them directly, since I'm a member, but I know that many other people have complained and it's just fallen deaf ears.

First, they moved the spin room to a different location in the building. This might not sound like a big deal, but if you were going to do this, you would need to ensure the room it's going to is properly prepared. They did none of that.

1. The room is more of a closet. When you make a spin room, you want to elevate the bikes in the back row so people can see the instructor. You also would want to elevate where the instructor sits. This all seems obvious. They didn't bother with any of this.

2. The room is way smaller, but somehow the rocket scientist in charge of lifetime thought that it would be a good idea to try and cram as many bikes as possible into the room. So each class half the bikes are taken and other half are there to take up space and make a bad situation even worse.

3. You would also want to have something aside from standard lighting. I actually have included a photo of the advanced lighting. It's mini disco ball on the floor. Keep in mind, my Gym fee is 340 dollars a month. I would get better lightening at Planet Fitness.

4. Another idea would be to sound proof the room, but they didn't do that either. So now we have to listen to the music at a whisper cause there is a yoga class next to the room. They turned AMP cycle into Library cycle. They didn't want to change the Yoga or spin class schedule or sound proof the room or even just put the speakers on the other side of the room so the sound was directed in the opposite direction. Their ingenious move was to make the volume in an AMP spin class like elevator music.

My wife and I are going to stay members for the time being. But for anyone considering a new gym, I would just look elsewhere for the time being.

Maybe the management at Lifetime Profit will realize you actually have to put in some hard work to provide quality customer service. Or maybe I'm giving too much credit, maybe it's not laziness. Maybe the senior management is just...

Yes, this gym is expensive. It is a very nice setting in which to work out. New, clean and a variety of equipment. For a professional parent with young children, it is extremely helpful. They have excellent childcare and classes for the kids that allow me to get in a workout without feeling guilty about leaving my kids at home waiting. I think the biggest objection when reading other reviews is the price for what you get. The Ardmore location is much smaller then King of Prussia. There is no pool in Ardmore. Even the kids club is half the size and my children do complain about the difference. I imagine the number of classes offered will increase over time as membership and demand increases. Ardmore only opened 2 months ago. There are some basics lacking that should be fixed. Simple stretching equipment offered in King of Prussia is not available in Ardmore yet when I drive to KOP, I see the stretching equipment in constant use. This should be added to Ardmore. The membership I have allows me to utilize all locations so we do go to KOP on weekends and use the pool. My husband works near KOP at attends mid-day yoga in that facility. I agree with others that Ardmore should not be priced higher then King of Prussia. Ardmore is more of a personal training center and basic gym in a luxurious setting where you can order a protein shake on your phone and have it ready by the time you run out the door to work. If you are a busy working parent trying to compress time, you will appreciate that your children can have fun while you exercise and then you can order them a healthy snack/meal to eat before you leave. Lifetime makes it easy to get in a workout, have your nails done, shower and eat in one facility. If you don't need this kind of convenience, then I guess you will consider it a lot to pay for...