Life Time — Local services in New York

The club resides in the former NY Health & Racket Club space in the old Carl Fisher building, and while the old NY Health & Racket space was quite a step above the typical (i.e., disgusting) NYC gym, Life Time's management vastly improved on the old NYHRC gym. This Life Time location, along with its larger sister at W. 23rd Street, are the two nicest gym facilities I've used or seen in New York City. (Most gyms in New York are dumps (e.g., Crunch, New York Sports); including at least one gym that was once wonderful (i.e., David Barton on Astor Place which was acquired by New York Sports and subsequently -- inexplicably --commoditized into a typical, rundown, NYC gym.)

I have been to Equinox gyms (including the large Bond Street facility) and while they appear superficially upscale, it's easy to tell that real money isn't spent on anything except the lease payments. If you want a truly upscale (e.g., clean AND luxurious) gym experience, Life Time Cooper Square is the real thing. (The bathrooms and lockers are a model of cleanliness and luxury (indeed, most New Yorkers don't have equal facilities in their own homes) and the beautiful sauna facilities are private.) In addition, the staff is helpful and friendly, and the training is high quality.

I agree with other posters that it is a small footprint, but it has every machine any gym rat would need except a pool, and there are very few of them in Manhattan. If you absolutely must have a larger club the next best options are W. 23rd Street or the forthcoming Park Avenue South location. I understand that some people simply cannot afford the extra cost of a Life Time membership, but it is incomprehensible why anyone who can afford the fees would remain at any of the gyms in the same (expensive) neighborhood.

My only suggestion for LifeTime is it buy a couple of acres somewhere in the Hamptons and open a...

This lifetime location has to be the worst by far!!! For starters the size of this place is smaller then your local planet fitness, no kind of amenities whatsoever. The manger working the front desk is probably the most unprofessional person I’ve spoke with in any lifetime club. I’ve been a member for 4+ years now and apparently they have different rates at that location which is absurd. If you have a diamond membership don’t expect to actually have access to every club, clubs like this one seem too look down at you as if 180 a month wasn’t already high. I tried entering this location as a outta state visitor with a grace pass which all members should be given, And the manager must’ve not liked the idea of letting me in. I also contacted the sky location right after and asked about their policy about grace visits and they confirmed that you are allowed one at every club. He then somehow convinced the sky location that the policy is 1 per city which is absurd. Never going to this...

I joined Lifetime at Astor Place, and I have to say, it’s been an incredibly disappointing experience. For $280 a month, I expected a premium gym, but what I got was the opposite.

The gym is constantly closed for maintenance, leaving members with no access to the facilities we're paying for. When it’s open, it’s tiny and poorly equipped. There are only two bench presses and a limited selection of weights – just two of each weight in the entire gym. This makes it impossible to get a decent workout during peak hours.

To make matters worse, the sauna was down for an extended period, and the gym closed multiple times. When I asked for a discount to compensate for these closures, they flat-out refused and instead canceled my membership without any effort to make amends.

Lifetime at Astor Place is a complete waste of money. Save yourself the frustration and look elsewhere for a gym that actually values...