I've been coming to Van Ness Golds for a while. Pros: Recent renovation. Locker rooms and paint all brand new and custom combination lockers are pretty cool. Theres a new turf area that wasnt there before for "functional" stuff. I think people are gradually warming up to that. The dumbbell selection and free weight area are stellar and there are multiple new and non crumbling free weight benches. The weight machines they brought in weren't brand new but they are a lot sturdier and useful than the old ones. Im glad they kept some of the older and reliable machines which us meatheads were used to and enjoyed using. I think they make the most out of the small building they're in. Staff is mostly alright. Cleaning crews are always busy sweeping and mopping stuff and they may be the hardest working people there. Cons: Multiple small things which could be improved with a bit of attention are glaring and gold's should know better. Examples: none of the weight machines and benches are secured to the ground so when people slam weights over and over the benches and machines "walk" across the weight floor. The overhead press is especially bad and Ive had to push it back into place three times now. This is an easy 30 min fix w a power drill and the appropriate anchors. The cable station lacks any of the small 2.5 or 5lb rubber inserts to put on the stack to go up by 5lbs instead of the 15 or so pounds each plate weighs. You can't buy these small inserts? The numbers on the plate stack on these stations are well worn off so you can't see what you're lifting. Again, this is a purchase for stickers, not anything expensive at all. Finally, and MOST ANNOYING is 90% the treadmills are all unbalanced. As soon as you climb on you notice you're leaning to the left or right by a few degrees and you def feel it in your leg joints the next day. Golds please please please fix this. I think mill 0029 is the only one worth using. All in all Gold's Van Ness could be 5/5 if some of the most basic things were taken care of. Because these issues have remained more than 2 months after renovation it gets a 3/5. read more

To be honest, I don't like coming here, but sometimes I have to if I'm in the neighborhood and this is the only gold gym that is nearby. This place is stinky, the locker rooms aren't the cleanest, and the equipment itself is pretty rundown. I think this location could use a major renovation. read more

Gyms very worn down, but it gets the job done. Most of the free weight are downstairs. As a platinum member, this location is purely used if I'm in the area and low on time. The extra effort to get to Georgetown is worth it, but if I was around frequently, I wouldn't have any issues using this gym as part of my regular routine. There is parking available on the roof. read more

Clean. Good selection of machines. Good trainers!! Easy to park. Decent neighborhood

After further discussing with Gold's customer service, they are not crediting the last two charges of personal training because they say I never officially asked to cancel. I let them know I have emails back from November asking to stop these charges and I verbally discussed this with several team members at Gold's as well. They continue to dispute this (somehow), and I've let them know that I will be challenging the charges through my bank at this point. Just know if you consider going to this gym, nothing you tell anyone in person matters and you should get everything in writing by email (and you will not get a response to many emails so you will need to follow up so even this isn't always valid). read more

TLDR: The Van Ness - DC location has been extremely difficult to receive information about a refund that should have been processed at the beginning of March. This is still an ongoing matter in which I expect to receive an update about. On Saturday, 1/29 I visited the Van Ness location to check out the gym in consideration of joining. I was given a tour and rundown of membership packages by Ethan Spalding (he was pleasant to work with). I then decided to enroll in what was advertised to me as a 12 month rate of $25/month (Access Level 2). This promotion included a trial period with 2 weeks of access to the gym, group classes, access to GG's On Demand, and 1 free personal training consultation. I was told if for any reason during this trial period I decided to cancel my membership, I would be fully refunded with no penalty. That was a lie. Because of my unexpectedly busy work schedule, I quickly realized that having a gym membership at this time is not ideal. I went back into the Van Ness site to canceled my membership/trial on Wednesday, 2/9. According to the Cancellation Questionnaire I filled out, I cancelled "Within Obligation Period - Rescission Cancellation / Buyers Right". On that date, I was told again that my membership would be cancelled with no penalty and I would be refunded the $25.66 payment I made on January 29. Instead of receiving this refund, I was charged "Club Dues" of $26.49 on Monday, 2/14... After my membership/trail should have been cancelled. Once I realized an additional payment was processed and I had not received a refund, I contact the Van Ness site for status on my account and refund. They advised me that I was charged again because of a delay in management processing the cancellation request, and the refund had been requested and should be returned to my account in no more than 10 business days. Cool! I'm patient, it's $50. No big deal at that point. [This part is long and boring] I was unfortunately apart of the Suntrust to Truist merger, so the card I originally provided was cancelled and a my new card was activated on Monday, 2/21. Fast forward to the last week of February. I realize there is still no refund. I contact again and am told the refund is still processing, I should see it "soon". Fast forward again to March 5. While on a work trip, I receive a call from the gym and am told, "In order to process the refund, I need to come back into the physical location." No explanation is given, they just say they need my physical card. I go back into the physical location on Tuesday, 3/8, and the associate I work with takes my new card information and says I should receive the refund "within the next few days". Great! Not great. Still, no refund. Guys, I GO BACK AGAIN on Tuesday, 3/22. On this visit I speak to the General Manager, Lauren Evans, who realizes my new card information was not updated correctly on my last visit, which he says is why the refund has not processed. He reviews the request and tells me, "You will receive your refund in 5 business days." For everyone keeping a timeline, that should be on Tuesday, 3/29. Upon checking my account on 3/30, I discover there is still no refund. I get a hold of Lauren Evans around 5pm that day for a status update on this refund. He then tells me he has "no way to track the status of the refund since it is something corporate handles". This makes no sense to me since this a business that deals with transactions all the time. He states that it should be processed in 10 business days (another extension) and he will keep an eye on it for me, contacting me with an update. Still no update from Lauren. Still no refund. I still intend to pursue this issue and hope that GG can rectify this situation swiftly! And if a refund is never processed, at least others will see how this company handles business matters. read more

Filthy. Cockroaches both dead and alive in the shower areas. Very hard to communicate with the manager or her supervisor. They never return calls or reply to emails. When I joined 19 years ago, they made me pay for the last month, which they never paid me back after the gym forged my signature and canceled my membership. The membership fee increased each year and doubled as years went by. BBB gives Van Ness Gold's Gym "F". i would give them "F-". Stay Away. read more

Downgrading my review because after my initial month of membership I started noticing how run-down the building really is. The roof/HVAC leaks in many places, so there are dirty, smelly puddles of water all over the place being soaked up with stained towels. It's super gross, and it hasn't been remediated at all in the 10 months that I've been a member. I don't know why the gym doesn't take action with their landlord to get the leaks repaired. read more

I have been dealing with a billing issue with Gold's Gym DC Metro for several months. As you can see from the majority of the reviews here, they are very quick to sign you up for membership and training sessions, but they want to continue billing you even after you cancel. I was attending the Reston location, and the gym closed in May and was supposed to open in its new location in June. It is now September 22, and the new gym is NOT open yet. Even though I put my membership on hold while waiting for the new location to open, Gold's Gym billed me for the time the Reston location was closed. When I spoke with them, they said they would resolve this, but instead, they submitted my account to their collection agency (Aldous & Associates). This was in spite of the fact that I paid them for the time that I wasn't able to attend the gym. RUN away from this place. Don't sign up for anything. Gold's Gym DC Metro includes 20 gyms throughout Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland, which includes Falls Church, VA · Fairfax, VA · Arlington, VA · Alexandria, VA · Merrifield, VA · Riverdale, MD · Chantilly, VA · Reston, VA · Frederick, MD · Rockville, MD read more

My husband and I have been dealing with a billing issue with Gold's Gym DC Metro for several months. When the Reston gym closed in May and was supposed to open in its new location in June, I put my membership and personal training on hold. It is now September, and the new gym is not open yet. Even though I put my personal training on hold while waiting for the new location to open, Gold's Gym billed me for the time the Reston location was closed - services I didn't receive. To make matters worse, they submitted my account to their collection agency (Aldous & Associates). It took multiple phone calls, emails, and a personal visit to the Chantilly gym to get it resolved. It is now supposedly resolved, but I am confident I will get another email from the collection agency. RUN away from this place. Don't sign up for anything. This has been such a nightmare for me! read more

The floor is not broken and not even. The smell in the gym is bad. The environment is not matching the price you pay per mouth.

I have to go to this gym bc it's closest to where I live but I've also recently added another gyms membership closer to work simply because this gym is ATROCIOUS. There are several blatantly apparent health code violations. It's filthy; I say that with the expectation that gyms should not be pretty salons, but honestly it's filthy like a musty ass abandoned warehouse. I was working my legs out this morning and this thing started dropping water. Don't go here. Demand that they renovate this place. It's awful. And I say this as someone who has played five sports for over a decade and has maintained a life at the gym after sports. This place sucks. OH AND THERES BLACK MOLD EVERYWHERE ON ALL THE VENTS. UPDATE: A month later after management replied to me... NOTHING was done except that someone cleaned the water on the floor. Black mold still persists throughout the gym. This place sucks. And management sucks too. Awful location with no interest or commitment to providing a place to workout without being distracted by things like walls falling a part or mold everywhere. read more

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As you walk in to this Gold's Gym location, it looks great. Very airy, open, high ceilings, and lots of equipment... if you are doing cardio only. I bought a day pass (which I believe was $25) and was told the weights were downstairs. THAT area looked like a dungeon. Eight-foot ceilings made you feel cramped and there are no windows to open it up. There was a pervasive smell of mold, or urine, or moldy urine. Equipment felt clunky and wasn't organized in a manner to be conducive to a typical gym flow. Even the people working out looked a little sad. Next time I'm in town, I'll find another gym. read more

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The reason this gym is still in business in location/convenience and likely a few of the classes. There is a boutique gym nearby but it is small. If a gym of comparable size opened nearby it would pull away all there members who may want a cleaner and more updated facility. - While the front desk staff has been nice, management/owner was slow to respond to a concern and VERY rude. - Class schedule ignores morning workouts (except cycling). A bootcamp or some other cardio/weight class would be great in an area of working professionals and not everyone works out in the evenings. - Cardio equipment is rusty and some of the weight/strength training equipment too. Most have rust on the handles which is begging to give someone an infection and one of the stair masters shakes so badly and hangs over the stairway opening - it is an accident waiting to happen if were to ever stop abruptly or jerk about to knock someone off their balance. Cycling equipment for classes is older and not state-of-the-art. The cycling area is not ventilated. I recently visited a low-budget gym and the equipment was much more modern in type and style. - There are open wires hanging out of those big circuits where machines are all plugged in together, the box is/was broken for months. - The cooler for drinks broke and had towels around it for weeks. Which shows you the urgency for fixing anything. - There is no circulating air in the locker rooms. Often humid and unkept. Perhaps that is throughout b/c the front windows often fog up. It's like walking in a sauna. Granted you want to keep the gym at a modest temperature but you do want circulating air - there is none. - Areas throughout the gym are not typically clean and organized even when the gym isn't very busy. The staff isn't particularly pressed to do so, and so the patrons end up treating the gym just as poorly. Not wiping machines down, etc. It doesn't help that the towels and spray bottles to wipe off your machine are sporadic and empty/not working. 2 stars for fitness studio which is spacious/modern and high-quality class instructors. Patiently waiting for something else to open in the area. Price is not an issue, but paying for something and getting this in return is not ideal. read more

Refused to let me or my partner use a 7 day pass, because one of us had already used one. 2-1=0, apparently. Not to mention there's absolutely NO hand sanitizer downstairs & the mask protocol is often ignored and unaddressed by staff. You'd think that Black staff would encourage Black fitness in times like these. Won't be renewing after my six month trial is up. If you want an amazing Black owned gym, try Total Source in Union. Cleanliness, customer service, clientele & machinery availability is unlike anything this particular Gold's location could ever achieve. read more

Absolutely terrible experience with this gym. I wanted to cancel due to it not meeting my needs, but was convinced by customer service staff to put a freeze on my account and see how things are going before cancelling and that I could cancel at any time during or after. Like an idiot I believed them. Lo and behold, I was charged during my freeze was supposed to be in effect. When I called them to see why, they said "oh well we SEE it but we don't have the PAPERWORK". Then they said I would need to email the manager as they didn't have enough information. I email the manager with the dates (Ross Thone) and give him a call. He says that he's going to issue me a refund, until I say I want to go ahead and cancel instead of keeping the freeze. From that point on he made a complete reverse and said that in order for me to cancel my membership I'll need to be charged an additional month of membership. When I questioned him on this, he snarkily said "well that's been our policy for 30 years so get over it." Do not go here! They will scam your money. This isn't even mentioning the literal black mold growing in the downstairs. read more

I would never come here ever I paid for a monthly membership for 1 year and never used it I asked for some sort of discount they thought I was crazy plus the times I've come not clean and the smell I heard Arnold Schwarzenegger was in town and by past coming in he was told to avoid this place like the plague read more

I just wanted to alert everyone who is planning to sign up for a month-to-month "no contract" plan. I have made this mistake because I scanned to the small prints before signing up, and ended up paying several fees, including an annual fee (although it says "month-to-month")- very disappointing! read more

Well, it finally happened...My first encounter with an extremely disrespectful gym-goer who refused to share or let me work in on the deadlift platform. After asking politely how many sets he had left, he repeatedly and aggressively told me to "go away and leave me alone." I proceeded to do my sets of deadlifts on the floor in front of the other squat rack while this gentleman used the platform for very light cleans. In other words, he was doing stuff you're not really supposed to use the platform for. I let it go for the moment but before I left, I told management about what happened. There's nothing meaningful they can really do but I felt I couldn't let that go unaddressed. TDLR: This Gold's gets the job done but only if your fellow gym-goers demonstrate basic etiquette. read more

Why the gym suddenly looks like a high school? Interesting in not a positive way. That's it

There are several good things about this place. The people are generally nice to everyone as far as I can tell after several months of being a member. There is always space on the cardio equipment, especially in the cinema room which is a fun spot to work out. It's a great location close to Van Ness Metro. And the price is the cheapest in town from what I could tell. On the other hand, this place is dirty to gross. Spots in the locker room look like nothing has cleaned it in years let alone months. Same goes for some of the equipment like the Bosu balls; the indent where one would blow it up is dark green and furry. Lots of old equipment and several pieces are not bolted down property. And the air conditioning was out for several weeks. The real reason to join is for the access to all the other Gold's in the country. Free access to almost all of the ones in a 50 mile radius and you just need a travel pass for any other location in the country. But I would avoid this location if you are able to. read more

I've been a member of this gym for quite a while and probably will remain one because I enjoy the classes, it's cheap, and it's convenient to me. With all that said, this location doesn't take pride in maintenance. Today is 6/29 and two stalls in the women's restroom are out of order with an estimated repair date of 6/19. The group exercise room is often hot as hell. Several of the lockers in the locker room have been broken for weeks and haven't been repaired. One clock hasn't sprung forward for daylight savings. I could go on and on. read more

Gold's Gym - Van Ness - Bathrooms as of 6/29. - Gyms Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

The only reason I go to this gym is because there is no other gym that is conveniently close. I assure you, when one opens, I will leave this one in a heartbeat. I don't have the energy to go through all of the reasons this is bad gym. I have read through some of the other reviews and I can second a lot of them-- especially when it comes to poor customer service. Plus there's just no apparent motivation to keep the place running in good shape. It doesn't even feel clean. It really is just a matter of time before the place goes out of business. NOTE: The photo at the top of these reviews is not the photo of this Gold's Gym. read more

The rooftop parking is optimal. Ethan S is great. The rest of the gym is pretty dismal. For starters, it is filthy. incl the bathrooms. The weight area, downstairs suffers mold, dampness and just rank. Musty describes it best. The upstairs, is a little better, but thats not saying much. Broken machines, missing weights are common. If I did not work up the street, I would never go back, but it is what it is, so hence I go. read more

Convenience is the only reason I have a membership here. Before I moved to this area, I paid $20/month for a membership with Planet Fitness (PF). That fee included unlimited guest passes at any location, unlimited access to massages and other amenities... not to mention PF is open 24/7. When I joined, I was given a guided tour, informed about all my options and welcomed with free PF gear. I'm used to inexpensive, clean gyms with tons of well-maintained equipment and friendly, helpful staff. So switching to Gold's at this location has been like culture shock for me. PROS: The cardio theater is cool if you feel like watching whatever they're showing while you work out. The fitness studio is also really nice. I happened to be in there before a class, and the teacher invited me to stay and join. She was great. The class was great too. CONS: When I came in to sign up, I couldn't sit on the couch in the waiting area because it's literally falling apart. I was told to feel free to walk around instead of being offered a tour. I wasn't informed about classes or trainers. I've just been finding things out as I go. I'm not expecting a red carpet, but it would be really nice if the staff looked up from their phones and actually said "good morning" or "have a nice day." There is rust everywhere. The machines are very old and wobbly. There are only 2 stair climber machines in the entire gym. The basement weight room only has a few squat racks. If the weights are actually on the racks instead of the floor, they're not in the right places. A lot of the equipment down there is propped up or rigged somehow to make it functional. I have never seen a staff member clean, restock or organize anything... ever. The cleaning solution in the spray bottles is so watered down that it seems like a waste of time to bother using it. This gym needs some major upgrades to even begin to make it worth the price. read more

I signed up online for the free 3 day pass and got an email and voicemail from an individual claiming to work at the Van Ness location confirming the pass and asking me to call them back and make an appointment for a consultation and tour. I was driving past today and decided to drop in and see if the mold issues pictured in Victor E's review from 3/16/19 had been addressed. I asked the gentleman at the front desk if I could see the weight room. He got the membership manager. The membership manager was extremely hostile and insisted that they weren't doing tours or guest passes because covid. I showed her the two day old email and voicemail inviting me to stop by for a tour and she still said that wasn't allowed. Since I wasn't planning on working out anyway I asked if I could just see the weight room because I wanted to verify they had addressed the issues I saw on yelp. She said they would only give me a tour if I was signed up. I pointed out that it was ridiculous that I couldn't see the weight room without a membership and her excuse was because covid. The manager came by and said of course I could see the weight room without a membership and explained that the voicemail and email were probably from corporate. I went to the weight room in the basement and could instantly smell the mold and humidity even over the smell of my own breath through my mask. The black mold is still accumulating on the seams of the ac ducts as pictured in Victor's review. They may have wiped down the exterior of the duct work but they certainly never cleaned the interior of the ducts or addressed the mold issue. Also the accumulation proves they aren't wiping down surfaces nearly as often as they're required to by the DC phase 2 safety standards. For a little background, surface mold begins to accumulate at around 150,000 spores per cubic meter in the air and at anything over 36,000 the building is considered contaminated and would fail a use and occupancy inspection. A clean residence would have ~230 spores per cubic meter and natural mold levels outdoors is ~1000 spores. See inspectapedia's articles on mold exposure standards and spore count for more info. If this gym only had mold in the corners of the bathroom it would be less of an issue but this mold is literally coming out of the AC vents. Everyone in the cardio area and weight room was wearing a mask. Unfortunately you would need a 3M half face respirator with P100 pancake filters at a minimum to protect you from the air in that basement. Even the coveted N95 surgical masks wouldn't be enough at the concentrations likely seen here. Even if they had cleaned up the serious issues that were brought to their attention over a year ago I probably wouldn't sign up based solely on the incredibly rude membership manager's behavior. Why give money to a company that lies to and treats their customers like crap. But the huge health risks this place represents can't be overstated. It's funny that she was so insistent that she couldn't show me around for safety reasons when simply breathing their air is about as dangerous as licking subway handrails during a global pandemic. Update 7/31/20: I saw the owner's response on 7/29 and just laughed. There's no possible way they could have cleaned the interior of their ducts in less than 24 hours. But I went in again anyway, spoke to the same manager and was shown the basement again. I was impressed by how well they cleaned the outside of the ducts and even removed and washed one of the return vents I looked at on my first visit. Too bad it only took me about 5 seconds to find another vent still covered in moisture and black mold. The manager even admitted that they hadn't cleaned the interior of the ducts because it would take too long. He sort of implied that they had plans to do it in the future but it's been 16 months since Victor E. brought the issue to their attention and they were even closed for 3 months before phase two so they had plenty of opportunities to address it if they had wanted to. read more

I frequent this gym because it is near my job. It is always clean and offers pretty good classes. The staff is nice. It's not a huge Gold's but has everything besides a pool. I really enjoy all of the cycling class and weight lifting classes. The instructors are great and welcoming to new people. read more

Gold's Gym - Van Ness - Gyms Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

No customer service. "Renovation" was a joke. Rearranged old equipment with a springle of new equipment. Massive area of astro turf that takes up a third of the gym floor, merely for curb appeal to try and attract new members, with the added benefit for Gold's that they don't have to replace actual equipment which existing members want. Ventilation in tight spaces is atrocious. Why wasn't that upgraded during the renovation??! Mediocre equipment that NO ONE examines regularly to determine if equipment is fully operation. Once they get your signature they don't even talk to you anymore. NO CUSTOMER SERVICE!! read more

The staff here is very friendly and receptive. The location is also quite the great spot. Unfortunately, the upkeep of this gym leaves much to be desired. I come here at different times during different days, however the level of cleanliness is the same at these times. Garbage bags filled lying on the ground, the bathrooms are left dirty (both the beginning and in the middle of days I have found this), and general areas are left unmopped. The weights are also never reracked. While during the day this is understandable, at the start of the day when everything should be reorganized this is not acceptable. I should not have to be searching for weights when I am the first person here. Unfortunately, the state of the gym is the reason for this low score. If the gym were to address these issues I am sure it would be a world of a difference. As I write this, I am staring at what looks like peanut shells left on the ground inside. Quite unfortunate. read more

If you read the survey results on Golds web page, half of them ask for more squat racks. There are two here, and there is always a line. There are three other types of machines in the squat space that get used by like 2 people per night. One of them never gets used. If these guys sent one of their staff down with a clip board to track usage (they are all on their phones at the front desk anyway) they would see the need. Instead we all just wait. The place isn't terribly clean, and I've never actually seen any Golds staff downstairs. Update. Still waiting for that squat rack, and still waiting to use a squat rack. The place could also use a cleaning. The images in this yelp page (the shiny professional looking ones) are not from this location. read more

Waste of my time. I downloaded a trial membership from the location specific website to check this place out during a morning workout, only to discover upon arrival that they don't honor their own passes in the morning. The explanation I received is that there is no one available to take you on a "tour" in the morning. Meaning because they understaff their operation, Golds doesn't honor their own trial memberships. Impressive customer (or potential customer in my case) service. read more

I am very happy with this gym at Van Ness. They have the equipment I want - upper body and lower body machines plus recumbent bike. In addition, the staff are exceptionally nice; very helpful if needed. Also, a renovation was very recently completed. I have been a member since Feb 2020 including when they had to close for a period of time due to COVID. read more

The gyms in DC and Northern VA are clean but read all the fine print. Prior to COVID-19, you could cancel online. Now you must physically go in and cancel your membership. I was out of town on business and wrote them that I wanted to cancel my membership and gave my 30 day notice. When I went in to fill out the form, they did not honor my 30 day notice. Ended up costing me two months of payments. Not happy that they are forcing people to go in in person to cancel. This is forcing people to have to be out, even if they are not comfortable in doing it. Bad policy and a very poor way to attempt to keep members. read more

Lauren Evans is the manager and is dishonest. I had to cancel my account because I was moving back to a state that didnt have a golds. I called to ask ehat I could provide for documentation to get out of the cancellation fee. I was told that if I could provide an email from my mother to verify I was moving in with her. The fee would be waived. The email was sent, and I called to confirm it was received. I was told by Mr. Evans that he did receive my email. However, I was still charged a monthly membership fee for March. It's not only dishonest business practice Mr. Evans, its distasteful to charge members for a service they cannot use due to the #covid_19 pandemic. avoid avoid avoid. read more

If I could give negative stars I would. The incident I experienced at this particular Gold's Gym location was by far one of the most frustrating things I have EVER witnessed/dealt with. I recently joined this gym (about one month ago) simply because my friend has been attending for over 6 YEARS and would always say how much he enjoyed this location & the bonds he built with some of the staff members over the years. Upon his recommendation, I decided to join. My friend & I got to workout there at least 2-3 times a week. Fast forward to tonight- I met my friend at the gym to start our usual workout. I noticed it was busier than usual so equipment was limited. My friend usually likes to wear a belt (the kind you use for back support while lifting weights) & this particular gym in fact has a supply of them (about 5) which you can just use while you're there. My friend had been searching for a belt prior to me getting there but let me know that they were all taken up. I ran to the women's locker room downstairs to lock my things up & he told me he would look around once more while he waited for me since people tend to leave them lying around on the ground after they're done with them (this is in fact true, I've seen it with my own eyes). I get done putting my things away & I meet my friend back upstairs to begin stretching. To my surprise he had a belt in his hands & said he found one laying around. He puts it on & we begin stretching. My friend and I are almost done with stretching, when two men angrily approach him stating that my friend took one of their belts. My friend upon realizing what happened, IMMIDIATELY & WITHOUT ANY PUSH BACK takes the belt off and hands it over to one of the guys. Very calmly my friends says "Hey man, I'm really sorry I thought this belonged to the gym and that someone left it lying around. Again, I'm really sorry for the confusion." The men walk away for a moment & we continue to stretch. Less than a minute later, the men, still very angry, return and begin to curse, stating "this isn't right", "what the f*ck are you doing?" etc. & proceeded to get the manager involved. The manager walks over to were we were stretching, looks at my friend with a confused look on his face, shaking his head, & simply waives him over to go talk to him in his office. At this point I get up from my mat because I could tell this situation is going left real quick and I was not here for it. We get to the manager's office & only my friend gets called in to talk to the manager. He leaves the door open, the two men are standing in the doorway going back & forth, very loudly, with my friend who is sitting in one of the seats in front of the manager's desk. They keep saying the same things over & over to him about him taking their belt. Again, my friend CALMLY addresses them & is apologizing repeatedly, trying to control the situation but at the same time, trying to explain that he genuinely did not know it was the other guy's belt. No one was listening to him. He is the kind of person to ALWAYS admit his wrongs & that's exactly what he was doing this time but the two guys were not having it for whatever reason. Apparently, the manager mentioned to my friend a few moments earlier that the men were accusing him of doing this once before smh which is complete lies! I've seen the guy who owns the belt before plenty of times at the gym & he never confronted my friend or escalated the issue to the manager. Plus, my friend stated he never purposely took this man's or anyone's belt. There is no record of that. No facts. Anyway, as my friend continued to state "I really did not know it was yours. My apologies for taking it. It was a huge misunderstanding." One of the guys (the friend that was with the owner of the belt) goes "That is bullsh*t!" At which point I had enough and finally said "You have your belt back. He keep telling you he didn't know it was yours." The two guys look at me and start going off on me, immediately the manager walks up to me and says "You are not involved so you need to not instigate. Why are you instigating?.... Why are you getting involved?" (Funny how he didn't ask the friend of the owner of the belt this question either every time he had something to say) At which I became upset and proceeded to say "I am standing up for my friend since no one is listening to him.... he keeps saying he did not know." The manager keeps cutting me off stating that I don't have a say in things since he is now involved. Also at one point begins pounding his fists in his hands and tells my friend "yo you need to talk to her" Smh. There is so much more that happened which I will report a formal complaint about, but since I am almost out of characters to sum it up: Management here is absolutely terrible and cannot address people correctly or professionally. As PAYING customers, my friend & I received terrible service today. I will never recommend this location. EVER. read more

I wouldn't recommend signing up to this gym. First let's start off by saying how unprofessional the staff is. The equipment is old and always broken. I received a free personal training assessment as part of my package and they want to sell you more just by one session even if the personal trainer has no clue on what they are doing. Lauren Evans was useless when spoken to in regards to canceling service because it was just a waste of money. The emails back and forth showed me that the staff needs better management and customer service experience. I will join another gym and not look back. Golds gym is going downhill from what I can see. A waste of 6 months at $50 dollars a month!! read more

I'm pretty bummed out that the staff hits on people. Someone asked me out the other day after I'd been to this location three or four times previously. I don't know if men have any idea how uncomfortable it is to be asked out, but the last thing I want when I'm at the gym. If I could shoot people with ink or projectile vomit as a defense mechanism, Gold's Gym would be a mess right now. I go to the gym when I do so it's less busy and so I can work out without being bothered, not so I can get stared at across the room from the desk jockeys. Super bummed that I don't feel comfortable returning to this gym again. read more

In the event of an Apocalypse, rest assured, Gold's Gym will continue to charge your credit card each month. We read all of the warnings about how difficult it is to cancel your membership prior to my wife joining their 19th St. location. So even though 19th St. announced it was permanently closing its doors as of July 1, we were very careful to formally cancel the membership on 6/20. To our surprise, our credit card was charged again on 7/25 from another Gold's Gym more than 3 miles away (this one). Despite the gym closing, and my wife signing a formal cancellation agreement, Gold's continued to charge our credit card from another location. read more

Seems like a lot of the negative reviews have to do with the fact that this place can be pushy and tricky in order to grab your membership. I have to say that I was not a victim of this because I walked into this place with the intent of joining. Most gyms in the area are aggressive. They always try to anchor you in by saying there is a special that expires that day. Come on people, we all know this is all a ploy just to get you to join because statistically if you don't sign up the first day you're there, you are most likely not gonna sign up. I live in the area and this is the only gym that is walking distance. There is a sport and health and washington sports club within driving distance but personally I like being able to walk out the door without the idea of dealing with traffic. If you're looking for a pool and basketball court with fancy locker rooms, this is not the place for you. This place is as standard as you get. Just basic free weights, universal, and cardio machines. There are also free classes that come with your member ship i.e yoga, zumba, etc. The crowd is interesting here. I wouldn't say yuppie or old. It literally is an eclectic mix of people. Unlike the gold's in ballston, which is full of only yuppies, this place is truly diverse. Oh, in case you're worried about long lines for machines, this place never has any lines. Overall, this place isn't great but it's functional and gets the job done at a good price. If you live in the area and it's walkable, I would recommend it, otherwise I'd probably go somewhere else. read more

One star for the staff, not the actual gym. I came wanting to do a 7-day trial, but the sales manager cajoled me into joining the same day saying that the day's "deal" wouldn't be here in a week or so. I signed a contract and started working out there. Just a WEEK after joining, I noticed that they were promoting the same "deal" to new customers and a big part of me wanted to yell "DON'T FALL FOR THE TRICK!!" Pissed off, the next day I submitted my membership cancellation form (fortunately they have a 2-week grace period), but the manager came up to me and said "WHY ARE YOU LEAVING US??" in a very unpleasant manner. I simply said that I'm no sucker and walked out. Gold's Gym: If you want customers to stay, do NOT 1) Pressure them into signing the second they walk in, and 2) Don't recycle your "deals" so close to each other. They still have the nerve to send me emails and phone calls to come back... read more