Equinox Union Street — Local services in San Francisco

Been a member since 2021, and unfortunately the value proposition has only gone down in that time. This gym is small, but in a great location, so it is almost constantly packed. I grant that there may not be much Equinox can do about this, besides open another gym closer in the area, or go back to the Covid-era design of staggering times for members. It gets so crowded during after work and weekend mornings that it is often challenging to complete a workout, unless you want to use the cardio machines (actually, one suggestion: fewer cardio machines and more room for weights and weight machines).

The overall "feel" of Equinox has decreased in my time here. It no longer feels luxury- it's nice, but feels hurried, crowded, and busy. The cleaning staff are thorough but unfriendly (one literally opened my shower door and was on the verge of spraying me with the disinfectant hose before he looked up and realized it was occupied; more than once the cleaning staff has run the mop across my feet when cleaning the floor because they don't look around or pay much attention). The water fountains are often broken (a small dribble comes out instead of a stream) and rarely cleaned (mold lining the inside). Oh, and every year, your membership price will go up by a certain percentage, anyway.

Unfortunately, I feel like this has led to a knock-on effect with the culture of the people who use the gym. In the four years I've been here, it's gotten much worse: used towels are routinely left everywhere in the men's locker room, people hose the sauna sensor until the temperature is barely tolerable (and probably not therapeutic, anyways), and there are only 3 toilets in the men's bathroom (and no bathroom at all on the 1st and 3rd floors, and one co-ed private bathroom on the fourth floor).

Some of these are general Equinox complaints, and some of these are Union Street specific, but by far the most site-specific one I have is that the hours for this gym are atrocious, particularly on weekends. Staying open later might alleviate some of the insane congestion that happens at peak hours, but Friday through Sunday it is very hard to work out here, particularly for those of us who have...

I attended a class with a friend at Equinox on Union Street, specifically a yoga class at 7:15pm. The class was quite intense with loud music, resembling more of a cardio session. I engaged in conversation with my friend a couple of times as we navigated through the challenging exercises, as we're not accustomed to cardio classes. However, towards the end of the session, the instructor politely asked us to refrain from talking, which we understood. Unfortunately, another attendee, who appeared to target us for being Latinos and speaking Portuguese, rudely criticized us for being loud and disrupting her concentration, despite our sporadic conversations every 15 minutes. This incident left me feeling embarrassed and frustrated, especially since it seemed the instructor indirectly supported her behavior. It's disheartening to feel discriminated against based on language and nationality. I'm now hesitant to return to classes at Equinox, fearing further discrimination. Such behavior should not be tolerated, and I hope Equinox addresses this issue promptly. She was very rude, and target us by the fact that we were not...

Pros: price of admission is steep so you don’t get any sketchadoos that you see in cheaper gyms. Locker room is nice and overall the gym seems clean and smells nice. Oh and the chilled eucalyptus towels are a nice touch.

Cons: price of admission is steep. Gym appears big (4 floors!) but yet there’s not a lot of workout space and it’s ALWAYS packed. I’m always waiting to use something whether it be a squat rack, a bench or really anything else. It’s comically packed full of people. It’s also hot and humid AF in there. I’m sure it’s by design.

I kept my membership for about a year but recently terminated it because nothing there justifies almost $300 a month, especially when you’re constantly waiting...