Gym Reviews

qwertz

If you do the pay as you go then yes, it will get expensive. They have decently priced yearly subscriptions, though.

Norinoco wrote: »

Monkstown works out very expensive if you are going there 3 days a week year round though.

ludermor

has anyone any info on the gym at the quality hotel , john rogersons quay, or the educugym at the end of pearce street?

justdoit

Thanks to the guys who gave me the heads up on Monkstown Fitness. They have done it up and it looks really good. It definitely looks like a gym where you go to work out, as opposed to a gym to be seen in. They have also introduced an annual membership fee, which is really competitive at €450 (€400 if you join as a couple). To anyone else who was in Benildus and is looking for a switch, this is definitely the closest gym I have found in terms of price, equipment and general feel. The gym area also seems very clean, and when I visited, wasn't crowded. I haven't signed up yet, but hope to do so this week after last Benildus session (sniff...:().

daRobot

Been to the new monkstown gym and wan't impressed at all.

The free weights area is cramped and the machines are awful. No bench press either.

Fine for cardio, but anyone looking to do anything other than that should head down to loughinstown leisure center.

aminahb

daveirl wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

This gym is now "LA Fitness"......be very aware of this one......

eth0_

qwertz wrote: »

Don't. They are all show. Worst gym in Ireland.

WTF is wrong with Crunch? I've been a member for a year and I mostly use Temple Bar although i've used the Dun Laoghaire branch too and they're both great. The fitness instructors are good and they have a decent selection of classes like martial arts "fighting fit", a Nike dance class, Stretch, pilates etc.

Their machines are all good, never have to queue for anything, and they extended the weights section in Temple Bar. And the Fitlinxx system is great - you can check your progress online at home and your instructor will email you with progress updates. Makes a change from other gyms i've been in where you meet an instructor once for an induction and then you never hear from them again!

There's a lot to be said for exercising somewhere like Crunch - I enjoy going there because the surroundings are luxurious and the changing rooms are always spotless.

qwertz

Good for you. My experience hasn't been good and I know a few people who had a similar one. Also, I don't give a flying fück about the Temple Bar Crunch since I have never been there, I was commenting on the Dun Laoghaire branch.

eth0_ wrote: »

WTF is wrong with Crunch? I've been a member for a year and I mostly use Temple Bar although i've used the Dun Laoghaire branch too and they're both great. The fitness instructors are good and they have a decent selection of classes like martial arts "fighting fit", a Nike dance class, Stretch, pilates etc.

Their machines are all good, never have to queue for anything, and they extended the weights section in Temple Bar. And the Fitlinxx system is great - you can check your progress online at home and your instructor will email you with progress updates. Makes a change from other gyms i've been in where you meet an instructor once for an induction and then you never hear from them again!

There's a lot to be said for exercising somewhere like Crunch - I enjoy going there because the surroundings are luxurious and the changing rooms are always spotless.

Nuttzz

Liffey Valley Fitness

Cost: €45 per month

Gym:
Plenty of threadmills, cross trainers and rowing machines, too few bikes i feel and a few step machines. Monday and Tuesday nights are quite busy but you can normally get on a machine without having to wait, except for the bikes. music is very boom boom (thank god for ipod )

Weights:
I dont do free weights at the moment, but there are two good size areas that seem popular with the bulker eastern european lads

There is a good selection of weight machines and again you dont have to wait normally for a machine.

Pool:
Great pool 33m, can be full of kids on saturday and sundday but thats to be expected. Large steam room, reasonable sauna.

Staff:
They are constantly changing, the reception are friendily enough but I wouldnt bother building much of a relationship with the instructors (i dont know what other gyms are like for this)

eth0_

qwertz wrote: »

Good for you. My experience hasn't been good and I know a few people who had a similar one. Also, I don't give a flying fück about the Temple Bar Crunch since I have never been there, I was commenting on the Dun Laoghaire branch.

That's a charming reply. You still haven't said why you think Crunch is crap. Illustrate your opinion with facts, please.

pwd

aminahb wrote: »

This gym is now "LA Fitness"......be very aware of this one......

LA Fitness is a different gym as far as I know. It is on a different premises anyway. I think I did a trial session there years ago and wasn't impressed. One of those highly image-conscious gyms without great facilities as far as I remember.

qwertz

You started it!

Bad customer service, bad maintenance of machines and equipement, incompetent trainers (not all of them to be fair).

Also, the changing area/showers are unhygienic.

eth0_ wrote: »

That's a charming reply. You still haven't said why you think Crunch is crap. Illustrate your opinion with facts, please.

eth0_

Hrm. I wouldn't agree with all of that. The sales people are annoying in how they chase you and chase you once you have had a tour, but most gyms are like that tbh.

Never had a problem with the machines ever.

I'm not qualified to speak about the trainers however I have noticed that the entire staff in Temple Bar now seem to be Eastern European, presumably on lower wages than the instructors they replaced. However the Czech trainer I had when I started had a degree in fitness/sports science.

And every time I go to Temple Bar there is a cleaner in the changing rooms. They could do with more toilets, though.

qwertz

Again, I am talking about the DL branch. The Temple Bar one might very well be the best gym in the world. And I never said sales people, reception and management gave us bad service (impolite, wrong information (partly on purpose, partly incompetence/stupidity) no callbacks, late refunds after changes/cancellations fo classes...). Also, I haven't been to the DL one in over two years, hopefully they improved.

Lockstep

I'm no expert on gyms, it's the first I've joined but I found it to be fine for me.

The staff keep to themselves but are grand if you need anything, and for my assessment had a grand aul chat with the instructor.

The gym is grand although the weight machines tend to get clogged, especially dudes with the free weights. There's far more cardio stuff.

It was packed early in the year but much emptier now. Presumably people join and then get lazy.

It's also very cheap. E175 for a year including assessment.
Does me fine.

eclectichoney

Just on the DL Crunch topic - some people don't like it, which is cool, different people like different things. I personally love it but can see how some people may not, however one criticism which can not be levleled at them is that the changing rooms/showers are unclean. i can only speak for the girls changing rooms, but the place is always, always spotless, and the showers are always clean.

x-lisa-x

Can anyone tell me how much it is to join Crunch Fitness? Theres a new one opening in Tallaght

eclectichoney

The DL one was €100 joining fee and €730 for a year up front, if that's any help!

x-lisa-x

Is that not kind of expensive? some gyms arent half as dear as that with or without special offers

Hanley

x-lisa-x wrote: »

Is that not kind of expensive? some gyms arent half as dear as that with or without special offers

Yup, that's very expensive.

x-lisa-x

apparently if u join d tallagh one b4 thurs u get 250 off and get free membership to d ones in dl and temple bar..

aminahb

pwd wrote: »

LA Fitness is a different gym as far as I know. It is on a different premises anyway. I think I did a trial session there years ago and wasn't impressed. One of those highly image-conscious gyms without great facilities as far as I remember.

Actually, you are right there. Apologies....
LA fitness is a no go.....their contractors are from the UK, so it takes twice as long to get anything fixed.
There is no permenant "assistant manager" (the person who does everything), and they are constantly cutting corners in terms of maintenance.
They are controlled bu the UK in EVERYTHING.....so the staff have little control over anything.
And the ladies toilets have problems with the showers that will never be fixed due to cost!

sheepshagger

x-lisa-x wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how much it is to join Crunch Fitness? Theres a new one opening in Tallaght

I've joined the Tallaght one (it doesnt open until the first week of December though).

No Joining Fee. . .EUR 65 a month. . .you have to pay EUR 100 (one off) if you also want to use Temple Bar / DL gyms.

tdc

went down to the new one in rathfarnham yesterday. its called jackie skelly and its located opposite to nutgrove sc. im considering joining. it seems like an ok gym, good facilities. for me (19 year old male) the total price for the year is 810 euro plus a 35 joining fee. this seems a bit expensive to me? i want a gym close to the rathfarnham area but this seems a bit pricey?

tdc

manhattan wrote: »

Try Carlisle Health & Fitness in Terenure
350 euro for 1 year.
Great gym loads of facilities.

thanks manhattan!

Dinkie

If the LA fitness is anything like the ones in the UK I wouldn't touch them....

Problems I have had include:

Told lies when was being sold membership so I would sign (this was admitted later when I asked them, but was told there was nothing I could do to complain).

Swimming pool often closed as not enough staff to look after it

Brought in temp gym staff who had no clue how to use the equipment (this was admitted to me)

Terrible staff - most of them were on part time jobs after school!!!

What was stated in my contract was changed half way through the year (e.g. getting towels, etc). Towels may seem very petty, but when you cycle in to work / gym you don't want to be leaden down with wet towels!

I sent 3 letters of complaint in to them, and only one of them was acknowledged, with a "will come back to you within the next week". I never heard from them again.

The only satisfaction I got was that I managed to convince numerous people not to join that gym... and hopefully they spread the word:D

Diamondmaker

Nice big place with tonnes of machines. Machines share large TV screens over head.

However there are no mats to warm up in front of mirrors, in fact no padded mats anywhere I could see.

Free weight section only included one set of each weight and with only one other user today, we both clashed a few times on weights which was annoying. The area is carpeted and not rubber which felt odd to me.

Many machines are in pounds and not kilos but Im sure that is quite common??

No bench or incline bench apart from the smiths machine units.

The pool is nice and there are nice views of the sea. Sauna and JAcuzzi what you would expect.

FOr a gym that is brand new it does not appear as clean or as sharp as I would expect either.

The sales woman had not a clue about fittness and said ah sure youll know more than me any way a few times....

Fee was 60 odd p/m and a large joining fee I cant remember.
Member ship is currently very low and at lunch time there was only about 10/15 in the whole place.

justsomebloke

Diamondmaker wrote: »

Nice big place with tonnes of machines. Machines share large TV screens over head.

However there are no mats to warm up in front of mirrors, in fact no padded mats anywhere I could see.

Free weight section only included one set of each weight and with only one other user today, we both clashed a few times on weights which was annoying. The area is carpeted and not rubber which felt odd to me.

Many machines are in pounds and not kilos but Im sure that is quite common??

No bench or incline bench apart from the smiths machine units.

The pool is nice and there are nice views of the sea. Sauna and JAcuzzi what you would expect.

FOr a gym that is brand new it does not appear as clean or as sharp as I would expect either.

The sales woman had not a clue about fittness and said ah sure youll know more than me any way a few times....

Fee was 60 odd p/m and a large joining fee I cant remember.
Member ship is currently very low and at lunch time there was only about 10/15 in the whole place.

I have to say for €720 a year that sounds extremely over priced for what it provides

Diamondmaker

Just in case I was not clear I was very unimpressed with the gym, I wanted to keep the review as factyual as possible.

Compared to Northwood or westwood it is piss poor, this is mainly down to a non existant free weights area.

It may be quite good for thiose who do not use free weights.

On the plus I pushed a record on the Smiths machine I never did on the bench for obvious reaons...

justmehere

Arena Fitness Tallaght
A brand new gym - Arena Fitness - has opened up in the Tower hotel, in Tallaght. A sign outside says the first 500 members are free for a year or something like that. No idea what it's actually like though.
Contact http://www.towerhoteldublin.com/ for more info.

Joining fee: n/a
Monthly: €50
Annual: €575

jayinidublin

Just re-joined the Iveagh. It's seems to have been rejigged, new cybex equipment. It seems quieter than a few years ago. Good mix of equipment
They have non fitnees instructors manning the reception now. And the cleaners do the cleaning while you work out. And non of them smile, and they're not into commuciating.