the BLOC climbing+fitness+yoga — Local services in Tucson

They do NOT have kids' climbing on the weekend!! ​There are a few articles out there saying they do. Strangely, even though they said they were frustrated by not being able to take those articles down, they haven't chosen to say that explicitly on their site. They insisted that simply not referring to kids climbing at all should have alerted me that they do not have it. 😂 I did call ahead to check, but I'd already promised my young daughter that we'd go climbing, so we thought we'd check it out anyway.

​I know that a lot of people do not like small kids in their gyms, and I respect that, so I brought her right when they opened on a weekend. They have an extremely expensive day rate ($30/apiece, we ended up staying less than two hours because kids) and auto belay ropes aren't a good way for kids to learn because they just jump off and bump down the wall. So there were about four routes she could actually use. It's a bouldering gym, so that's fair, and it's not a very big place. Also I see from other reviews that maybe the $30 was a one-time orientation fee.

My old gym was so welcoming to kids-people loved to see little ones with their insane muscle-to-mass ratio learning to love this sport. This is not the place for that. Again, that's fair, just know before you go.

Some cool looking walls if you like bouldering but not a good place for families.

2.5 stars for decent routes and some interesting features but communication about kids could be so much clearer with a few additions to the website.

Edited to add: the defensiveness from your company is kind of funny when you've basically corroborated my review! If you Google "rock climbing for kids in Tucson" the outdated article is the first hit. A Yelp review from 2019 also mentioned kids climbing on Sundays. It is "reasonable to assume" that some things paused during COVID might have been resurrected.

I did my due diligence by calling ahead, but staff at the desk said that they have people come in frequently expecting this kids program. A simple announcement on the website "we are not offering weekend kids climb at this time but you're welcome to come in blah blah" would be so simple!

Bouldering and auto belay just isn't a safe or fun way for young kids to learn and I stand by my review for other families with YOUNG kids. Maybe I'm doing you a favor so you won't get the little ones at this location! We will still check out Rocks and Ropes; just chill out...

UPDATE: I wanted to update my review to reflect that management reached out promptly after I shared my experience. They were very professional and acknowledged that the dismissive interaction I had with the staff member is not how they expect employees to treat customers. I appreciate them taking this seriously and addressing it with the employee.

They also clarified that the treadmill has been intermittently malfunctioning and that they were hoping to repair it rather than replace it outright. Management mentioned they would bring up the idea of adding a sign with troubleshooting steps to help members in the meantime.

Overall, I still really like this gym and think it has a great community and usually very friendly staff. It’s clear that management cares about feedback and is willing to improve communication and maintenance. Thank you for taking the time to respond thoughtfully.

Initial Review: I really like this gym overall and think it has a great community. All the staff are usually very friendly, so I was surprised by this particular staff member’s response. One of the treadmills often doesn’t work, and when I asked about it near closing time while the other treadmill was already in use, I was told, “Yeah, it just does that.” I ask him if there is a way to troubleshoot it and he just kept saying it does that and management knows. Later, I figured out you can actually reset it by unplugging it and turning it back on. When I mentioned this, I wasn’t trying to argue but just let him know so he could pass it on to other members. He wasn’t rude, but he kept saying the same thing over again that management knows and it just does that. He was dismissive about me making a suggestion that would help other members. I was surprised by his reaction, but maybe he was just frustrated? Regardless it is not an excuse to be dismissive. It would help to have a sign explaining how to troubleshoot it, or better yet, be proactive and replace it since people are paying to use equipment that works. Clearer communication and maintenance would...

Edit: the owner emailed me, arguing with me and telling me I'm wrong. Apparently agreeing that rates are subject to change in the terms & conditions is equal to changing the price without notice. It felt hostile and made me feel super uncomfortable.

They just raised the price for monthly fees without even warning me. I just saw an increase on my credit card bill. That feels sneaky and not very honest.

I like the upstairs gym but I wish it had better lighting. I feel like I'm working out in a cave.

I really like the auto belays, but routes stay up for 2 to 3 months before being changed. Kind of frustrating as a climber, because it gets boring. They're also constantly covered in chalk and it feels like the auto belay routes are really just an after-thought to the bouldering area. I am really impressed with how much technique they're able to get in in only 30 feet or so of space. Awesome!

I like the yoga classes offered but I wish they were later. I also wish they were open later on the weekends. I'd really like to...