Barry's facility is very nice. Excellent quality shakes to choose from (additional cost, and more than other places I've seen, but the quality is within the shakes themselves too), the staff will have your shake prepared right after your workout if you ask, and bathrooms have shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and even face wash. Towels are provided for the showers, smaller towels for working out, and you can buy water if you don't have your own as well. Apparel is available for purchase, and the designs weren't capturing my attention. There is also a hair dryer and lotion. I was surprised to hear someone using the hair dryer today at all as that person should've used the outside early September heat leftover from August to dry their hair.
I tried this gym as a result of my work giving me two free sessions with Barry's. The location is very convenient for those that live in the city. Spaces are typically tight for a city gym. It is definitely a more athletic personnel gym, but like pretty much any gym, there really isn't a lot of social activity if you don't already know someone.
Barry's at least in Philly seems to have an lgbtq friendly vibe, which I highly approve of. After my first session, one of the facilitator's tried to relate to me after my first session and commented on my sports goggles on how some 70s athlete first wore them. We were totally out of sync on that conversation. Seems like he would be a cool guy in another context possibly. All the trainers were professional and motivating. The staffer servicing me at the register was particularly helpful and kind as well. He was very on-point.
They have lockers which is a must. (I had one time attended a gym years ago and they did not have lockers surprisingly.)
One thing I didn't like was that I came early for my first session because I was coming from the suburbs, and then I walked much further away in the hot heat because I didn't want to pay too much for parking. I also didn't want to park on the side and worry about messing up how much time I had to park. I ended up about 1 hour and 20 minutes early for my session, and the entrance was locked at the time. I tried to call and the staff told me there weren't enough staff to man the front of the store at that time, and that I wouldn't be able to sign up for an earlier class. So either, I could keep my class or sign up for a later one. Of course I kept my class. This last minute logistic was a stressor for the process of me to work out. The gym was supposed to be open when I came as it was still during their opening hours.
Considering the high quality status and vibe of the gym and how expensive it is for an individual patron, also the fact I already had a reservation and they could've reasonably requested for me to show ID before coming in at such an early time especially, I think me having to not be able to wait inside the gym at a minimum was lacking good service. When I was asked for text feedback, I let them know this and I was told that I could wait in the gym until my next session.
I know this gym already isn't a good fit for me, but I'm glad I got a chance to try it. I've tried to rate the gym based on what they can reasonably offer as a gym based on a combination of factors such as price, quality of products and service, etc., rather than that the gym should be a good fit for me. I'd still want to come back only if my work was offering more free classes, but on my own, even if I lived nearby, unless I had a friend that was paying off my classes and I lived nearby, it would not be a first choice for me. read more