Club Pilates — Local services in Somerville

Unfair Business Practices – Should Be Reported to a Consumer Board in Boston

Please be aware: this place isn’t about Pilates; it’s actually about squeezing as much money from you as possible! Avoid this place.

I signed up for Club Pilates at Assembly Sq. cautiously, despite reading numerous reviews that raised red flags about their booking policies. I have Lyme arthritis, so I opted for the minimal 3-month membership with just 4 classes per month to test the waters. My goal was to experience their booking system firsthand and see if it worked for me. Many reviews mentioned that their booking policies were extremely unfair and inefficient. Paying $289 a month to sit on a waiting list didn’t sound great, and even with my 4-class membership, I experienced the same frustrations.

In my case, I received a message at 10:09 p.m. notifying me that I’d been pulled from the waitlist for a 6 p.m. class the following day. I wasn’t feeling well and, since I’d had the option before to decide whether to book a newly available spot, I didn’t expect this forced booking. I didn’t see the message until after 3 p.m. the next day and ended up penalized. I even made an agreement with them that, due to my condition, I could notify them 3 hours before if I wasn’t feeling well. Yet, I still ended up losing credits and sometimes paying nearly $65 per class with a $129 four-class membership, since cancellations due to illness counted against me.

Adding to the frustration, Club Pilates does not allow you to sign up online. You must enroll in person, where staff “explains” each policy section by section as you sign, but this verbal explanation leaves out important details. For instance, they don’t clearly mention that with lower-tier memberships (4 or 8 classes per month), you can only use accrued credits within that specific month—no carryover allowed. So, if the studio’s heavy demand makes it hard to get into classes, you’re simply out of luck.

What’s worse, if your membership starts late in the month and there’s a waitlist, it’s unlikely you’ll get the classes you need in time, essentially wasting that month’s credits.

Additionally, their unfair business practices require you to commit to at least three months or pay a penalty. It’s worth noting that for a contract to be legally valid and enforceable under the consumer act, it must be fair. Threatening to send clients to collections for wanting out of an agreement when services aren’t being delivered is a violation of consumer rights.

Here’s a list of all the major inconveniences I experienced with this location (Assembly Sq.): • Unfair, overly complicated membership policies: Requires an in-person sign-up, and they don’t fully disclose terms, which include a $90 initiation fee and penalties for not committing to 3 months. • Inefficient booking system: Classes are always booked, so even paying members rarely get spots. With limited spots, classes fill up in the first week or two, leaving just two weeks to make up all your classes. • Excessive 12-hour cancellation policy: You’re charged a fee if you cancel within 12 hours, even for unforeseen issues, like work emergencies. They often pull members off the waitlist last minute, enforcing the 12-hour policy unethically to make money off last-minute penalties. • Strict no-rollover policy: Credits expire each month, even if you can’t book classes due to the waitlist. • Impossible to cancel without penalty: They require a 30-day notice to cancel, essentially binding you to a fourth month even after fulfilling the initial three-month term. • Poor customer service: Reception staff is not allowed or trained to answer questions promptly, so you risk losing credits or incurring penalties when issues arise. • Delayed customer service: Issues take up to 48 hours to reach a manager.

Conclusion: This is clearly a scam business, and its practices constitute a violation under the consumer act. This should definitely be reported to a consumer board. If you value fair business practices, do not...

I can't speak highly enough of Club Pilates in Assembly and reformer pilates in general. I joined in 2017 when they first opened and was a member for over a year before regretfully moving and ceasing my membership. I recently rejoined and am kicking myself for ever stopping.

As far as reformer pilates as a workout goes you really cannot go wrong. It has helped me immensely on my wellness journey through managing pain associated with chronic illness, and has coupled really well with various PT I've needed over the years. Limitation or not reformer pilates provides a full body workout that is generally low impact enough for anyone and can be customized to any intensity level. It also couples really well with and includes mindfulness and breathing practice and is a great outlet.

I really love each instructor at Assembly for their own reasons, and will highlight a few. Katie makes a point to get to know every person that takes her class. She walks one by one down the line of reformers before every class starts to introduce herself to newcomers, learn about their body and limitations, and ask everyone she has been acquainted with how their body is feeling and if anything is bothering them that day. She has a strong attention to detail, which leads to consistent hands on correction, even and especially small tweaks. As someone with a chronic condition I can't say enough how much I appreciate and respect this approach. Arnold has a long history with body work and it shows in how he teaches his classes. He makes a point to describe and name muscle groups and exactly how they should feel what and when. He is extremely insightful especially about integrating pilates with other wellness methodologies. His anecdotes make class fun and engaging. Maite has extensive dance training which shows in her class teachings. Movements she instructs are always elegant and make me feel tall and strong. Classes with her are always equally challenging and rewarding. Rebekah is my favorite of the remaining instructors, but it is definitely close :) I see a lot of what I've said about the 3 above in her, which is really awesome. She is always happy to listen to a complaint, concern, etc. and provide a suggestion for a commonly included pose/exercise, a stretch/exercise to do at home, etc. I find the way that she vocalizes instruction/corrections to be extremely helpful and intuitive.

I've also really appreciated CP Assembly's covid policies, standards, and cleanliness since I have rejoined. Can't wait for the additional class types to be added back to...

TL;DR: Club Pilate's booking system is terrible. If I could, I'd give it zero stars but this particular location is fine, so I give it 3 stars.

WARNING ask for a full print out of their membership policy and read it carefully. They do not let you sign up online, it has to be in person, and they verbally "explain" each section with a signature prompt that obscures the actual agreement text.

The classes are fairly good if you can manage to book them. Unfortunately I will not be renewing my membership because of Club Pilates' corporate policies on booking. If you are planning to get an unlimited membership (which at this date is over $250/mo) than this is a good studio to check out. Most of the instructors are solid, the studio is clean, and the reformers are of high quality. You can stop reading here. However, if you are NOT planning on getting an unlimited membership, I do NOT recommend Club Pilates. This was not described well to me (actually, I only overheard a poor description given to another prospective member), but the only other membership levels give you 4 or 8 credits a month which you can only book once they are accrued and cannot carry them over to the next month. This may seem small at first until you realize that the waiting lists for this location are large and you are not able to book in advance. So if your member starts on the 1st of the next month and it's currently the 31st, you're SOL for trying to get the classes you want for the next two weeks. MAYBE you can get them for the 3rd or 4th week. Oh, and if you think, well, I'll just carry my credits on to the next month, no. They can only be spent for that month. This is the most absurd policy I've ever heard of and has made it impossible for me to be a regular member. The stupid thing is, I was thinking about upgrading my membership package if I liked the classes enough. But the only way I can attend regularly is if I pay for the unlimited membership where I can book whenever I want. If I wanted to go 10 or more times a month, this would be monetarily favorable. But I know that I cannot commit to that many classes a month. So alas, they have lost a member. I may pay per class. It will "be more expensive" for me at $38/class, but not really since I forcefully cannot use my credits anyways. At this point, each class is costing me effectively $75+ as I piss away half my credits every month....