Coastal Fitness Center — Local services in Surf City

2/15/2025: Tito, the owner, sought me out and we had a discussion about the issues in the facility. As stated below, many of the issues fall on individuals who lack self discipline to govern themselves accordingly in a public space. A clear understanding was established that all people cannot be realistically monitored at all times. At the same time, businesses can thrive on positive feedback as well as negative; a self respecting business owner should absolutely feel enraged that there are people actively defying established policies and hindering the experience of others in their facility. There is nothing wrong with striving for a high standard and setting certain expectations of behavior for patrons. While these issues are universal and persist between like facilities, that does not serve as an excuse to allow it simply because others let it fall through the cracks.

Bringing these issues to light is also important to allow the public to make informed decisions; a business with nothing but generic positive reviews is infinitely more suspicious than a moderately reviewed facility that makes light of positive and negative aspects. No environment is perfect, and it would be inappropriate to pretend that issues do not exist. There are many things the facility does right, but it's important to note that there are people who actively abuse the facility and ignore basic etiquette.

This review was not meant to be a personal attack, rather it's intended to aid potential customers in making informed decisions and hopefully lay the foundation for the "bad eggs" to face appropriate consequences.

That being said, a word of caution to the owners: targeting less than perfect reviews as low hanging fruit because it's easier than holding known troublemakers accountable is in no way a good method of maintaining a positive reputation as a business. Seeing someone acting against policy and telling them to stop or face the consequences is much easier than the amount of effort and coordination it took to seek me out as an individual.

Compromise and problem solving should not be limited to behind closed door methods to highlight positive aspects while ignoring the negative. If we can have civil and productive conversations about perceptions and expectations, then it is entirely possible or have conversations with non-cooperative individuals.

(Original) This place is more of a lounge than a fitness center. More often than not you're going to find people lingering on their phones or chatting in various cliques while using equipment as a seating arrangement rather than actual work. There are people who routinely come just to sit/lie on equipment to watch TV..

Signage and facility "rules" exist, but there's virtually no adherence to them; to the point that anyone trying to abide by facility rules will end up running into trouble with everyone else around them taking up space, using equipment as tables and chairs, and refusing to sanitize monopolized equipment.

Nearly all of the patrons don't understand, or abide by, simple gym etiquette, and nobody is really around, trainers included, to teach anyone how to behave in a public setting. Attempting to get exercise is more or less a free for all.

Personal sanitizer is a must because I've rarely seen anyone wash their hands in the bathroom or wipe equipment down after use.

For the veteran crowd, the old owners claimed military support but that seems only reserved for the retired, medically or otherwise. When I signed up the girl at the counter asked if I was military, I responded with "veteran" and her response was, "so no?" and that was the end of the conversation. Something to consider when evaluating cost.

Your money is best served elsewhere or in a home gym set up if you are serious about your own personal health and...

Went there today to get a tour of this facility. When I walked in, there was no one to greet me. The one person that was behind the desk said “hey I don’t work here” and walked off. Person that did work there and was supposed to be behind the front desk didn’t even seem like he wanted to be there let alone didn’t even seem like he wanted to give me a tour. The staff member didn’t even ask my name, greet me , asked me any questions to get to know me to see what I’d like to do in the gym, Nothing. It was almost if I was bothering him. He did not introduced himself asked me what I wanted. I had to ask him for a tour. First impression gave me that the customers are not their top priority or new income customers are not their top priority. They make you sign a waiver just to get a tour weird but okay. When I was given a tour, staff member showed me one side of the weights and said this is our new equipment. The equipment was chipped, rusted , tears in the seats. When looking up the equipment on the Internet. It was five years ago’s models for that brand. They told me that the other equipment in the gym is the same equipment they had since they opened up years and years ago. So does not seem like the gym keeps their equipment updated. But they charge you twice a year for equipment, maintenance and upkeep but it doesn’t seem like they use the money for upkeep or to give you new equipment or updated equipment. Very crowded!! They do have a pool, and is the only gym in the area that does have a pool. No I wouldn’t swim in the pool. It looks like I need some major TLC. Very dark in there gloomy looking and doesn’t look like it’s very well-kept or clean. If you have kids, it’s very expensive to have them in their kids care. so it’s not really good for families that have more than one kid because the kids care price will be more than your membership. Overall experience of a tour at this facility was very very bad. Probably the worst experience in any gym I’ve ever been to the last 30 years. The manager walked right by me and didn’t even say hello. None of the other staff members or trainers as I walked by them even greeted me or said hi or anything very unfriendly Place at least for someone else trying to possibly be a member. Maybe they’re only nice to people that are already members, I do not know. Very crowded equipment. Now they’re cardio Equipment wasn’t bad. It was decent. They did show me a room that’s for classes but didn’t even tell me about any of the classes or anything. They just told me there’s classes in there and I could use the room between class schedule times. Did not get any other information than that. All in all does not seem like a community friendly facility. Definitely do not seem to welcome new incoming people that well. I did check out two other gyms Axis and Rising Tide Fitness. I did have a much much better experience at both of those. I end up choosing Rising tide Fitness out of three. I hope this helps people make a right decision in...

I would be in far worse shape than I am without Coastal Fitness Center. The staff is great and the facility is excellent. I try to get to the pool at least once a day, so I attend aquatic classes regularly which have been very beneficial while also being a lot of fun. In my opinion, the facility has done an excellent job keeping everyone safe during COVID-19. Thank you for that!

I've been taking aquatic aerobics classes for about two years because they do me a lot of good. I believe I am in far better physical and mental condition than I would be without this gym. I particularly like classes that cause my heart rate to increase while adding some stretching and muscular exercise. Janel's aquatic-based classes are always a lot of fun and they always meet my objectives. Janel is a joy during these sessions because she adds her great personality to the mix while properly demonstrating the exercises we are to imitate. Currently, Janel is scheduled for only one aquatic-based class a week. Many of us regulars wish Janel could be scheduled for at least 1 more class per week, but 2 or 3 would be great.

Our substitute trainer, Jerry Rivera, has been great. His classes are a lot of fun due to his enjoyable personality and his competence as a trainer. Jerry gets all of us moving and exercising many important muscles most of us didn't even know existed. It's clear to me that Jerry is very knowledgeable about aquatic exercise and physical well-being. Maybe Jerry can add a 10:00 Friday class to the pool schedule. I hope Jerry will continue to be part of the Coastal Fitness Center aquatics...