A fun fitness day with the girls! We tried rock climbing at Brooklyn boulders and it was…read morechallenging but fun. S/O to Lamuna (I hope I'm spelling that correct) , she was such an amazing guide for our visit. We got to try different level climbs and then the tall wall for the finale. I really enjoyed this experience! I loved the challenge the tall wall gave me but forgot I had to come down and got nervous to jump lol all in all, 10/10 experience would go again!

A fun time with friendly staff. The place has several rooms and floors for bouldering and rock…read moreclimbing. They also offer student discounts which is a plus for anyone still in school. We did some bouldering for the first time and it wasn't bad/scary, so if you're on the fence I say just give it a try!

I love this climbing gym! There's a surprisingly large parking lot here (despite being in the…read moremiddle of the city), and there's even some bike parking where cyclists can securely lock their bikes. Coming from a different gym, we had to get certified for belaying. Fortunately, through their membership system, we were able to take an extremely informative class, then take the belay test at our convenience at our next climbing session. These walls are probably the tallest I've seen in my cimbing time! Even my more experienced friends say they often get exhausted around 3/4 of the way through a route. Certainly a welcome challenge for top roping. With a membership (or day pass), you also have access to the full gym and bouldering upstairs. Members also have access to a host of yoga classes at different times. The locker room is super convenient with built in locks that you need to input a numeric combination. There are plenty of bathrooms and clean showers. Definitely worth checking out!

ALWAYS a great time at First Ascent Avondale! To celebrate my brother's birthday, he and a friend…read morebouldered and my friend and I auto belayed. We all had a great time! My friend and I are excited to take a belaying class at First Ascent so we can tackle even more climbs!

Solid spot. Front desk is pretty chill. It's a really good top roping gym, just wish there was a…read morebigger bouldering

Sooo many routes of all different styles! Walls are really tall here compared to first ascent so…read moreyou'll need a rope longer than 40m to lead. The bathroom feels so luxe with the showers, lockers, and saunas and the towels to use. There's a ping pong table, lots of seating, and a really cool overhang boulder area. There was so much to climb, I'll have to come back again to do some more! We got our lead tags this day and I don't remember her full name, but she signed as "M"-- she was so sweet!

Great gym Great workout…read moreNice people Bouldering only Many routes We Loved it Kids loved it Would recommend Will repeat

Located on the 4th floor of the mall the temperature in this gym is always perfect for climbing!…read moreThis is just a bouldering gym so no ropes. The space is large and they often have fun events to engage the community such as a kilter board competition, members meet ups, college nights, bloc fest, there is always something coming up! The staff are wonderful and super knowledgeable! If you are coming in for the first time, fill the waiver out on their website to get through everything faster.

We have a kid who isn't naturally athletic and isn't interested in playing sports so my wife and I…read morehave been taking the whole family climbing for physical activity and it has been absolutely wonderful for everyone involved. My wife and I climb with the kids and everyone makes personal progress every time we go. We drive here every other week from Naperville. There are a lot of walls here, they are clean and spectacular! All of the employees here are great, too. The high ropes section is huge and the zipline part of it is very cool. There are always plenty of open walls to climb, even when they're busy so your kids won't have to wait in line unless they want to climb a particular wall and even then it'll only be a minute. We've eaten most of the food on the menu and everything we've gotten has way exceeded my expectations. A++ family fun

This place was incredible! My kids had so much fun! They…read morehad climbing structures of varying levels of difficulty for my bigger kids & a fun toddler area for my littles . They even had ninja warrior style ramps up to some of the climbing structures which my kids could do safely with the harnesses. And in the back there is a zip line obstacle course, video games, laser, tag, and more. We did not have time to do everything because there was just so much to choose from! I definitely recommend the physically active options over the video games. It is a bit on the pricey side, but definitely worth it!

Well having checked in now about 75 times, I think I can finally write a 5-star review for the Ray…read moreMeyer! I started going to the Ray 5 months ago on the recommendation of a colleague and I have not been disappointed. The staff at the front desk are very friendly - and with your membership you get a free locker and towel. The locker rooms are in good condition and the showers are well kept and gives you plenty of room. The pool is really nice - and there are quite a few classes you can join. I use their personal training services with Kizzie Mailander and she has truly changed my life! She's a great trainer, but she is funny, direct and pushes you in the most positive way. I couldn't recommend her enough. The most important thing about the Ray is that they have a great selection of equipment and the place is kept in great shape. My membership may cost more than some of the chain gyms - but I feel it's a great value for the money. Highly recommended!

For the love of god, please play better music. Nothing worse than unbearable radio pop blaring…read morethroughout the facility. The last thing I want to hear is "Honey, I'm Good" by Andy Grammer blasting my ears off at 96 decibels while I'm trying to workout. Other than that, the Ray is the best.

Multiple floors of climbing! We went to the Lincoln Park location on the same day, so we didn't get…read moreto climb too much here but wanted to see this one too. Only boulders here but so many routes with the great view of the wrigleyville stadium sign!

My fiancé and joined movement for the summer membership months and enjoyed our time there. The…read morestaff was very friendly, facility was always clean, and the rock walls were always updated to new and challenging climbs. We had some trouble regarding the membership as we thought it was just the summer months but it continued on past it and we were charged for a few months with inaction. The support teams were able to help review and solve our issue for us and it was a big relief off our shoulders.

My son loves it here, specifically jumping into the foam from the diving board…read more It's worth a membership if you are going to go more than 1x a month. It's $10 for an adult to go without a membership. The memberships are for 1 adult and 1 child so if you get one your partner cannot share that membership. It's well managed, there are food options and we came here for a kiddo birthday and it was so fun, thy provide food with the party options. You get 2 hours to jump and they call you to leave by the color of your bracelet over the intercom.

We have come here before for a birthday party and had a great time. We recently visited on a Sunday…read morefun day with a few family friends. Signing the waiver is pretty easy, you can do so on your phone. They have socks for purchase but we had our own from the previous visit. They have plenty of lockers and cubby's to store your shoes, outer wear etc. The kids enjoyed the trampoline park & the arcade. There is a $30 minimum for warm food to be delivered. I ordered a 14" pizza from Salerno's and some fries to meet that threshold. The food was pretty good. I at first thought it was too much for my small group but we (or I) managed to finish it all. They have some beverages and snacks you can order in the meantime. There's plenty of space for adults or those not participating to sit and I saw quite a few people on their laptops working and even reading. Overall, the kids definitely had fun.

I've been a member of the CACs for almost two years now. I've been to all of the locations. I have…read moremy favorites and my least favorite location. My favorite locations are distinguished by their level of accessibility, availability and upkeep of equipment, and class schedules. When I started building a consistent schedule of gym-going, yoga classes were the greatest draw. Rebecca Delott at the Evanston location, Laura Dembo at the Wicker Park location, and Kathy Pace at all locations were particularly impactful. Each of these women infuses their practice with bits and pieces of their personality. They may all offer a multi-level vinyasa class, but their teaching styles are vastly different. That's what makes each class a different experience. Big shoutout to Kathy Pace who has taught me so much over the last couple of years. I would not be the athlete that I am without her. Most of the front desk staff are friendly and engaging as well. It's demoralizing to walk into your gym and be met with the face of a staff person who clearly doesn't care if you live or die. I'm grateful that those experiences are few and far between at the CACs. I've never had a visit in which I didn't see custodial staff moving all about the club. Big fan of their work! As a borderline germaphobe, it's good to know that things are being regularly refreshed throughout the day, not just once at night. My biggest gripe is with other members who treat the gym like their mother will come in behind them to tidy up. I've seen full grown adults leave towels and cable attachments pooled around the bottom of machines as though they never saw them. I wish everyone would respect the space in which they work out, but I guess you can't control the actions of others. All in all, great gyms.

I am a citywide CAC member, my home gym is LSAC, but often go to BAC because of it's proximity to…read moremy partner. Note: I have had the opportunity to work out at several FFC locations, Planet Fitness, and LA Fitness locations throughout the city as well as other locally owned gyms in the area. While this gym does get busy, and has a heavier focus on free-weights, it's an amazing facility for the price you pay. If you are someone looking to only use machines, then you should probably go to Planet Fitness or LA Fitness. If you are looking to really learn how to lift, this is a great place to do it. Their dumb bells have 2.5lb increases, which can be hard to find at most gyms, and really allows you to improve form without straining joints or muscles. If you are looking to throw out 200lb vanity lifts on a bunch of machines, this isn't the place. In terms of the gym being busy, that's most gyms between the hours of 7a-10a and 4p-7p. Develop a program that allows you to move between different areas of the gym while you're waiting for something to free up rather than complaining on the internet. BAC has substantially more free weight benches and racks than 90% of other gyms, there is no reason that you should be held up by anyone else. The only reason I am at 4 stars is because the Bucktown location does have fewer amenities than Lakeview or Lincoln Square, but that is to be expected, it's just a smaller space, but if you don't NEED to sit in a sauna or steam room after every work out, this gym is going to meet all of your needs. At $80-90 per month, you will be hard pressed to find a gym that is exceeding any CAC (and that price point gets you access to ALL of their locations), if you want TOTAL luxury and expanse, go drop the $350 a month at FFC (which is also busy, lacking diversity in amenities, and generally missing a luxury feel), or you can go to Midtown, which is **again** quite busy.