LA Fitness — Local services in Sarasota

Highly WOULDN’T recommend this gym. Please read why.

This gym is not safe for minors nor children. There is no surveillance control on the outside nor the inside. They have no protection protocol for safety measure on the inside nor outside of the building. Esporta is owned completely separate from the Westfield Mall property management, and the security that patrols the nightshift specifically does not engage in actives related to the Esporta area since they are completely different owners.

I had a harassment issue 3 times at this gym for almost 2 months from another gym member with 5 of Esporta staff members involved in knowing the reoccurring situation. One being the GM who should be replaced or highly reprimanded for not taking action when this issue was finally brought to her attention. Yet she took it lightly when you would think another female would be more concerned about looking into the issue further and addressing it immediately.

I want people to know that this gym doesn’t have the safety measures to secure a member at this gym. To not let your children go to the gym late at night because anything could happen in the parking lot and inside the gym and Esporta will not take responsibility for it, nor do anything about it. This is an issue that the owners and property management should properly address before it’s too late. Also, replacing some of your staff including executives that are better equipped with handling proper procedures that should be implemented for safety reasons for the gym members; would be a good idea as well.

Hope this helps other parents think twice about this gym, as well as people who Diligently read reviews.

I’ll be waiting for Esporta generic response to this review since they are already aware of the issue and me cancelling my membership for the reasons...

Kirsten Whitmore is pathetic, and lied to me over the phone about her having cancelled my membership. After verbally confirming that it had been cancelled, I received a charge on my credit card days later, where I called back and she said she had no remembrance of us speaking, and her speech was full of contradictions. I called another local LA Fitness the same day and they cancelled my membership perfectly fine, except thanks to Kirsten I now have had to pay 135$ for 3 weeks of usage. She refused to return any of my money, so I now have to settle it with corporate. She purposely deceived me days before my next monthly payment window so I would be conned into paying her facility another 35$. Kirsten, if you are reading this, you should do some serious personal reflection on the ethics of running a business where you feel inclined to lie and con people out of their money to stay afloat. I certainly couldn't last a day in your "career" of obsequiously getting people to join and then screwing them out of their money during a time that is already extremely stressful. You are a pathetic excuse for a functional adult, and I will never again sign with a large, commercial gym. Thanks for teaching me a valuable...

I don't leave reviews, but feel compelled to do so in this case to save others from an expensive mistake.

Beware of membership sales staff at this Esporta, as they are much less than truthful in representing membership agreements, resulting in members getting locked ​in​to expensive long-term agreements they were led to believe had more flexible cancellation terms.

Bottom line - DO NOT sign any membership agreements for personal training and other services without reading the agreement completely, especially the cancellation terms. Membership sales will lie and tell you cancellation terms are flexible just to get you to sign up, but later you find out you are locked ​in ​for 12 months and to cancel requires an expensive buy-out. Beware, sign nothing onsite, and do not accept the lies and deception of the sales staff.

This seems to be the deceptive, unethical sales culture trained and nurtured at the club, perhaps throughout the entire Esporta organization.

The club facilities are pretty good, the rest of the staff seem to be pleasant and helpful, but do not trust the sales staff. As a business owner for 20 years, if these folks had worked for me, they would have been fired a...