The men's locker room has been in need of basic upkeep and renovations for a few years now. The door between the locker room and the pool is broken. Since fall 2024, the glass door to the steam sauna has been removed from its hinges, resulting in the gym closing the sauna. Many surfaces throughout the space are completely rusted through. Parts of the ceiling are collapsing and are spotted with what appears to be black mold. The length and consistency of this negligence are both disturbing. read more

great life north topeka Always rude workers. changing prices and membership constantly

If I could give it zero stars, I would. Yes, you get quite a bit for the cost but I am NOT a fan of gym's that are unreasonable when it comes to their membership terms. My father got sick and therefore, we needed to take care of him. I emailed the billing office to explain the issue and the guy I dealt with was rude and didn't seem to care. We couldn't get out of our contract because we passed the time frame of 2/28 to have something in writing. So we paid $74 a month for a membership we couldn't even use because we relocated to help take care of my dad. That money may not be much to most people but it was a lot for us and I would rather go to a place that has no contract/cancel any time than this establishment. I will say however that Cindy was SO NICE and wonderful in helping me in making sure my membership would not auto-renew passed the time frame listed since they do auto-pay only. read more

Nice customer service front desk is very helpful. Everything is clean. It's a great place to work out.

golf course is great but staff doesn't seem to care about the gym or locker room side of things. half the time there is no towels and bugs all over the locker room. if the effort was put in to everything else like it is into the golf course it would be an amazing place. read more

I've never had a problem but recently a new worker there has been rude and racist when I was going to the gym with my mother and when we scanned in she said nasty to us when we looked away and when we looked back at her she just ignored us read more

The one on 12th is dirty and when you try calling you can never get ahold of anyone. I called corporate this morning and the guy was very rude. He told me I was tying up the line cause I called 4 times and asked why I emailed too. Well didnt know which one or any they would answer to or respond to. Oh and by the way they was supposed to be closed Labor Day and the door was open without using my key. And it was also open Saturday and from what I understand it was all weekend. WOW!! Great security. The equipment is old and some guy brought his own tape and taped up some machines where the tape was wearing off. SMH!! read more

Great place. Went here for the first time and was a BLAST. I did a lot of push ups. It felt good. The breeze that hit my back while doing the pushups was IMACULATE! I would 100% recommend coming here to do your pushups!! It is well worth it! My arms are LARGE now because of the gyms conditions read more

Definitely the worst of the worst... the membership office person (Josh), I believe his name to be, is the rudest person ever and pretty much thinks he is God. An absolute joke of a human being... everything others have written about them in their one star reviews are genuine. I've experienced the same treatment. The company truly doesn't care for their customers in the least. I can't even get someone to respond to an email. I'm starting 8 months early to ensure my membership gets cancelled for 2021. read more

all of the facilities I've been to are dirty and the gym equipment is old and frequently in poor repair. when a piece of equipment breaks it's weeks to months before it's fixed. I've seen gym equipment rigged up (for a "repair", I presume) with duct tape and parts of yoga mats. read more

Dirty locker room. Questionable pool cleanliness and upkeep. Depressing and outdated. Went to walk on track in North Topeka. There was a woman walking in the dark!! She said they do not turn on the lights. I could not find anyone to help. read more

Awful golf courses in the Johnson County area. 9 hole courses with terrible greens and open and close whenever they feel like club houses. I've been a member for 2.5 years, and the price has gone up every year. 50$ a month to walk terrible golf courses is way to much. No money is invested in the courses, and damn sure not the cart paths. Overall, the three of us that got a membership at the same time are leaving greatlife and will never be back to the great life courses. Cost outside of membership is extreme for the course conditions. read more

I am not trying to be mean or nasty but when I called yesterday they said they opened at 10 so I walk down there only to find out it was not opened. It wouldn't have b een so bad but I walked cause they said 10. SMH!! read more

When moving to a location with no GreatLife facilities, I decided to cancel my membership only to find out that I was stuck paying membership fees for another year because I missed the cancellation by a month. When I asked about other potential options, I could not decrease to a lower membership level to decrease my monthly payments as requests for decreases must be requested by the same date as cancellations and would not take effect until the same day my cancellation would end. My only immediate options were to get someone else to assume my membership, or pay 70% of the remaining costs. When I tried to make a case for myself by the fact I made payments monthly, not annually, I was informed that the contract was the same for either payment method and that "It's just a matter of remembering what you signed in your contract." It's difficult to remember what you signed three years ago... On top of that, members also don't get any reminder or notification of when their annual renewal is coming up. When I mentioned this, I was told, "We don't have enough staff for that." If everyone's membership is renewed on April 1st and all cancellations are due by February 28th every year, it should be simple enough to send a message at the beginning of February to all members concerning their upcoming renewal. Lastly, the facilities I used lacked necessary upkeep and were often in need of repairs. If repairs were ever made, it took a significant amount of time. Invest your money for fitness elsewhere. read more

I was involved in an ugly incident where an employee at the Berkshire CC, Topeka, KS ripped a bucket of balls from my hands and accused me of stealing. I came this close to dialing 911. The individual is rude and abusive and on some kind of power trip. I voiced a complaint with their Topeka corporate office in person, by phone, and email...was told "Josh" would respond, but I've never been contacted. No way I'm returning to that facility which is very convenient for me, but of course they have you locked in with their ridiculous contract termination policy. read more

What You Need To Know: Memberships run from the First of April through the end of March (one year) To cancel, YOU MUST SUBMIT IN WRITING BY THE END OF FEBRUARY PRIOR. else you are screwed out of another years auto renewal membership. Very Sneaky of not so great life!!! read more

The YMCA is in terrible condition. There is no hot water since October 26tthe heat doesn't work, the men's dry sauna hasn't worked since March, 2019. The spin bikes are 15 years old, no displays so you can tell your speed and the weight room is a constant disaster with weights left unracked. Great life has owned this facility for over a year but have continued to neglect it and the members that frequent it. Good luck to them as Planet Fitness and Crunch Fitness come to town. The play everything membership is $55 for Greatlife, both Planet Fitness and Crunch's top plans come in for under $30. Great life will need to get it together or their members will be leaving in mass numbers. Update, downtown YMCA now has hot water and working heaters. read more

Getting a membership here seems like a good deal until you figure out that exactly zero dollars of the millions they rake in is used for upkeep. The employees are uninterested in doing anything except browsing the internet. The equipment is run down. The facilities are in various states of disrepair and the HVAC is some of the worst in the business. Any time of year you go will be 100% relative humidity and none of the water fountains or vending machines are working. Don't even bother with the golf courses unless you enjoy teeing off in a graveyard of cigarette butts and watching people golf in cutoffs and jeans. read more

I was recently in Topeka for work, and needed a place to swim in preparation for an upcoming triathlon. When I arrived at the former YMCA location, the gentleman at the desk was having difficulty with another customer, and I patiently waited 10 minutes. When he was finally ready to help I asked about 1 day passes, he told me that it would be cheaper to sign up for a month at $22. I did this, and swam there a few times. The facilities were rundown, but I didn't really mind for the convenience of getting a few workouts in while on the road. I recently noticed that I had been charged the last 3 months, and when I talked to Josh in member services, he was completely incredulous. He stated that I should have read the contract, and that he read everything that he signs. When I explained to him that his employee had recommended the 1 month membership, he stated that they don't even have those, and if I cancelled the payment, there would be a $30 fee per month on top of the $25 membership fee. Even after I stated the fact that I was from out of state and would never use this gym again he was dismissive, and apathetic. I've been a member of numerous gyms over the years, and this place is an absolute joke. GreatLife? Not so much. read more

This is the worst place to join a gym!! If you don't cancel by end of February, your membership gets renewed for a full year!!! And your cancellation has to be in writing. That means, if you forget to mail your cancellation letter, or if you are late sending your letter, or, if you mail your letter and they magically don't receive it, they renew your membership another year. Yes, you are on the hook for another year, and Josh over Member Services seems to be the only person you can communicate with. He doesn't care, and they take no blame if your letter is not received. He also makes up things that are not on the contract. He does not represent Great Life well. He acts more like a debt collector, than a member services rep. I'm going to keep writing reviews until they post the letter I sent 2.14.20- which I sent copies of, and still makes no difference. read more

This location seems to be not as clean or as well managed as other locations and it feels a little prejudice not very ethnic friendly

My husband and I been members of Great Life Golf & Fitness for a very long time - over 7 years. We recently contacted the gym to cancel our membership, since we moved to MO and will not have access to their facilities. I have never been more disappointed in a company, than I was in the response we received from Great Life. I want to share their response, because I have recommended Great Life to so many friends and I want anyone who signed up from our referral to have this information. I also want anyone who is considering a Great Life membership to have this information. This is "need to know" information, as the laws in KS do not protect consumers (at all) regarding gym contracts. When you sign a contract with Great Life, the fine print states that you have to cancel by Feb. 28 of each year or your contract renews without any acknowledgment from you. So if you forget to cancel by 2/28 - you are legally obligated to the membership for the next year starting April 1st. It doesn't matter if you are hurt or injured and can't use your membership. It doesn't matter if you move out of state. Also please note: The contract says you have to give written notice which has to be give to the offices in Ozawkie. I would strongly recommend that you send a certified letter, because if they don't acknowledge your request to cancel - it is your word against theirs. We were not aware that we would be moving on 2/28, when the deadline for termination rolled around. In my wildest dreams, I never realized that Great Life would give us any issue with cancelling after we had paid them for 7 years without missing a payment or being a late on a payment. We were valued patrons, so they told us. Apparently they love their membership fees way more than they ever cared about their members. Every other gym we have belonged to has let people out of the contract if they moved to a location where it wouldn't be feasible to access the facilities. It would be completely different if we had the membership for a couple months and just wanted to cancel. We don't live within 100 miles of any Great Life facilities. Another interesting piece of information on Great Life - to raise prices on gym members, Great Life only has to send a postcard via USPS stating the price increase. If you don't receive that postcard and decide to cancel when your rate actually goes up on 4/1 - you are screwed and can't cancel. So if you are signing up for a gym membership, I would strongly encourage you to know that there is literally no laws that look out for gym members and companies like Great Life will absolutely capitalize on this. Great Life will allow us to buy out the remainder of our contract by paying 70% of the remaining payments or we can find someone to take over our membership. Why in the heck would I try to pawn this situation off on my friends? I wouldn't. I would rather pony up and pay the 70% of the contract than screw my friends over. Maybe if Great Life understood that, they would retain more customers the good old fashioned way! read more

Like many others, I am surprised and frustrated at their membership policy which states you must give them written notice by Feb. 28th PRIOR to the year you wish to cancel....which for them, starts April 1st. Your actual sign up date and length of membership has no bearing and you will not get any notice whatsoever of a yearly renewal. Unless you die or are deployed, there is no exception. Beyond this rather shady membership practice; their equipment is run down, the place is often dirty, the air conditioning/heating is very poor, and for some reason they make you get a key from the front desk to use the restrooms. The one saving grace is that they are rarely crowded....probably for the above reasons. read more

Run down equipment, unhygienic locker rooms, just gross. Also, the employees here are some of the rudest i've ever encountered. Time to switch to crunch fitness ig ‍ read more

My senior parents tried to cancel their membership in early March 2020 due to COVID and their ages 75 and 81. They have been members for years and were told that it needed to be done in 2020 but before 2/28/20. They are on a fixed income, and did not go to the gym one time but had to pay the $50+ monthly rate. This is very poor business practices, and they will never join with them again. They lost a lot of business for something they could've made right. Shame on you for treating the elderly this way! read more

I'm very disappointed in greatlife fitness, I have been a member for a few years and even used to be an employee, I moved away to a location that does not have a greatlife and they wont let me cancel my membership till March when my contract is up, and they told me the only way I would be eligible to cancel is if I'm being deployed or I died. Thank you for not such a greatlife... read more

Very disappointed in GreatLife at the YWCA and also the YMCA location. My husband and I pay the maximum membership fee so we may use the workout facilities at these two locations. My husband is a state ranked racquetball player who, along with several of his cohorts, plays r-ball 3 times a week. Their courts are not air conditioned and are often dirty. The courts were so hot and unbearable that this year's Sunflower State Games cancelled the racquetball competition that was scheduled there this year (2019.) I go to the YWCA to use the track and the weight room. The air conditioning went down at the end of spring and they have yet to fix it -- the temperature in the weight rooms is around 86 degrees. If you speak with a doctor or trainer they will tell you it is not healthy to work out in hot temperatures. (Unless you are doing a specialized training program for heat conditioning.) I leave the gym feeling sick because of the heat -- I am definitely considering stopping my workout there. The really rotten thing is since they insist you do a yearly contract I cannot end my contract until April of next year. Plus they say you have to file a written notice of membership cancellation that must be received in the GreatLife Ozawkie office by February 28th. One last issue, they seem to have lost the cleaning staff that the YWCA location and now the locker rooms are getting dirty -- they are not even replacing light bulbs that have gone out so that half of the women's locker room is dark. Very shoddy management. I have been a member at the YW for 4 years -- before GreatLife took ownership it was a very nice place to work out -- it is not now. I would have given a negative star had it been possible. And by the way, I am not from San Francisco as this post shows -- I am a Topeka resident. read more

Greatlife draws you in with low prices and their seemingly easy way of signing up, but don't be fooled they are not cheap nor is their sign up what it seems. They have some of the worst customer service i have had to deal with out of any gym, mainly "Josh" who works in their corporate office handling their billing. I had an issue with billing that I had been into multiple locations to try and resolve as well as over the phone on 2 separate occasions. Each time i was told by a Greatlife employee my issue would be resolved, each time it was not and I continued to receive the same notice. Finally i was able to get ahold of Josh who after explaining my long fought battle with this issue stated that even though i had been told incorrectly 5-6 times prior by their employees it was still my fault and there was nothing he could do. I asked to speak with someone else and he said he was the end of the line. No other options. I plead my case for an additional 20-30 minutes and finally to my surprise josh said he would resolve it. This is a huge corporation that not only doesn't care for their members, doesn't properly train their employees, or accept accountability for their mistakes. They will then blame YOU the customer regardless of how hard you try to correct it. DO NOT sign up here (the "sign up" mentioned earlier is actually a contract that they expect you to bring in a lawyer to read over) and they will not work with you over 1 month worth of billing ($15). They will take from the less fortunate to feed their hungry wallets and in a cuthroat manner, not to mention i have no clue where my membership fee goes except to their pockets as their facilities are some of the worst i have seen whether it be the equipment or just the buildings in general. The sane can be said for their golf courses as they are all poorly maintained and their employees don't care! Josh is definitely not there for customer support or to resolve your issue, he is there to argue with you and work around any points you may make to make sure the man up top is collecting his money. Sad! read more