Crunch Fitness - Union Square — Local services in New York

Do not go! You are better off working out at home or running outside!

Similar to other reviews, they overcharge, do not answer emails, dodge your calls, and then send you to collections when you are trying to work through their overcharges. I don’t know why gyms are the only companies that do not honor cancellations and make you still pay full months in advance. I guess it’s to just line their pockets and send you to collections if you don’t pay for services that you didn’t even use.

I requested to cancel in September but was charged again in October. Submitted another request. Charged again in November. My monthly rate was 67.50 but I am now being charged over $170.

During the summer, my credit card had to be changed due to fraud, so Crunch continues to charge my old card and I get emails a few times a month that Crunch is trying to charge different amounts to my card. I have charges for $9, $90, and $177. I do not trust them with my credit card anymore but I will just pay them to get them off my back.

I was happy to go back once it was safe for me, but this entire experience has turned me off Crunch forever. I know gyms are hurting, but how are you going to continue charging customers for services they don't receive (haven't been to the gym since March) AND when they request cancellation. And after all that, avoid your calls and emails so they can send you to collections.

Very disappointed. Definitely avoid.

EDIT: Was told to reach out to members service after posting the review. They never replied back. They are bullies that want to seem like they address customer concerns but don't. Avoid...

Ignore all the negative construction-related reviews, this gym is great—all the equipment is new and the place was recently remodeled (which is why there was construction in the first place).

I have overlapping active memberships at New York Sports Club, Planet Fitness, and Blink Fitness and Crunch Fitness blows the competition out of the water. They have all the machines and gear that these other places have but a ton of other stuff that their competitors don't—gym rings, weight belts, a rope-pulling machine (never seen that before), a Nordic curl machine, and a bunch of other equipment pieces I don't yet know the name of because I've never encountered them before.

The staff at the front desk have been professional, polite, responsive, and competent. The atmosphere of the gym is pleasant; everyone is focused on what they're doing.

UPDATE 2/23/25: Crunch gave me a free personal training session with Marvin Martinez and it was both excellent and valuable. I've had this kind of freebie from New York Sports Club and Martinez blew that out of the water. I told him my goals (muscle up, human flag, closed-leg squat) and he gave me a ton of actionable training protocols and direction. I'm seriously considering booking future sessions with him and I'm someone who has trained solo for years because I spend a ton of time researching independently online about fitness and training. I was really not expecting to be impressed by a complimentary freebie teaser session based on my previous experience but Martinez made the most of the one-hour session we had to deliver the most value possible for me. Two...

While there are several amazing people here at the front desk and in the training staff, at the end of the day, this place is still a Crunch. Greedy, predatory policies -- do NOT I repeat do NOT prepay dues for the gym if you can help it; they only care about money, and recently I had an especially terrible experience dealing with Samantha, the 'Operations Manager'. I had to go back home to Canada over a month to attend to a family matter and the area had no nearby gyms so I requested to freeze my membership. After being delayed several days and needing to follow up, they wouldn't agree to freeze my membership until the NEXT month (still 23 days away), and wanted to charge me $25 to do so. In New York, the price even after prepaying can come to around $100 a month for Crunch. They don't have any care or willingness to work things out.

BTW, I've previously been sneakily charged a $5 late fee for cancelling on my spot in a group fitness class (it shows up later on the credit card). Charge - charge - charge -- let me try something different, and try a charge(back) for this whole situation.

If you actually care about a gym community I'd highly recommend you to avoid the ridiculous institution that is Crunch like the plague. This gym chain tries to have the veneer of a mid-high tier gym, while many parts of it remain dilapidated, filled with odd smells and let at the helm by money-hungry businesspeople. Good...