I work on the Strand right in the middle of London and it often surprises me that there are these…read morehuge cavernous gyms hidden right in plain sight! The Covent Garden branch of Nuffield Health is just one of those places and it's a truly special gym. The gym is on three levels. The first level has what appears to be offices and a dedicated spin studio, the next has the smaller studio, free weights area and changing rooms and right on the bottom is where the main gym floor lies along with another (slightly larger) studio and the pool/spa area. Yes this gym has its own spa - more on this soon! There is a lot of equipment for you to choose from so it's unlikely that you'll ever have to wait for a bike or a running machine if that takes your fancy. Personally I prefer trying out different classes and was able to squeeze in a pilates one during one of my two visits. There's no need to book and all classes are included in the cost of your membership so there's no extra cost for these either which is great. But the real pull for me is the pool and spa area. I don't know of any other gym in the area with such great facilities. Sure the pool is a little on the small side but it's never over crowded and you won't find it full of children like the LA Fitness one. The sauna and steam room are also a great size and perfect for unwinding after a hard session as is the jacuzzi pool where I spent far too much time floating around in.

Covent Garden Fitness and Wellbeing Centre is a truly stunning club made all the more impressive by…read moreits central location. It boasts one of London's largest state of the art gyms coupled with an expert personal training team, health MOTs and exercise classes ranging from body pump and spinning to yoga and aquaerobics. The swimming pool, sauna and steam rooms are complemented by a relaxation zone where you can indulge in an Elemis facial, deep tissue massage or other holistic body treatment. this club is so much better since Cannons was bought by Nuffield.

I'm not really one for paying to make myself push myself and sweat. However luck was on my side and…read moreI won week of personal training in a charity raffle donated by the trainer himself. You can imagine my face as I accepted my prize (I was hoping for the Kindle!) I've always loved playing sports, tennis, squash, lacrosse etc but to me that's not hard work, it's the keeping in shape and staying fit I've always hated! Personally I don't see the point in running unless I'm being chased or for the bus! So with this prize I thought I'd turn a new leaf and embrace the training that waited for me. Enough about me back to the review. The trainer Conor is a really lovely chap, he does tailor made fitness classes for individuals and small groups. But he also invited me to do a boxing class he runs at the Nuffield gym in Bloomsbury. It was AWESOME! The class was really hard work but fun way to do a work out. Major sweat and lots of burning but really worth it. Unfortunately I was only a guest as you have to be a member of the gym to do the classes. Seriously considering joining the gym for the class. As for the gym it's the nicest one I've ever been into. Bright and clean like you would hope and only a faint smell of chlorine from the pool. No mouldy smell and the changing rooms were lush with all the essentials provided, including complementary towels and good hairdryers! I haven't done a complete u-turn but I'm not so anti gyms and fitness now!

As gyms go, Cannons in Bloomsbury is fairly decent. There is a good selection of machines, which…read morerarely fill up. The staff are friendly, and seemingly quite determined to encourage you to have all sorts of fitness assessments and reviews. The swimming pool is well designed and relaxing, with a parents and kids session on a Sunday morning. There is also a beauty treatment centre on site, offering small discounts to fitness club members. My one complaint about Cannons would be that, because it is underground, you can't watch the world go by as you work out. This feels fairly oppressive during the summer, but in the winter is hardly noticeable. The best times to use the gym are, between 10 and 12 in the morning and 2 to 5 in the afternoons.

I signed up for a membership at Virgin Active hoping to improve my fitness. When I was encouraged…read moreto try a personal training session, I agreed as long as we could meet biweekly to fit my budget. I was initially told this would not be a problem. However, I later learned biweekly training is only offered as a 6 month commitment, while weekly sessions require a 3 month commitment. This did not work for me financially. Over many emails, I tried to find a reasonable solution with Virgin Active, but they would not bend on their set packages. I felt pressured to spend over £250 per month when I had joined to use the gym facilities. While I wanted help getting started, I cannot afford expensive personal training. The aggressive sales tactics left me disappointed. My goal was simply to get healthy affordably. But I felt their priority was maximizing profit over meeting my needs as a member. I am frustrated by this experience of feeling pushed into services I expressly said I could not budget for. I wish my health and financial concerns had been respected rather than dismissed. In the end, I will have to cancel my membership over their refusal to compromise on training costs. Avoid this organisation.

The working out equipment works really well, I like going here because they have the hip conductors…read morewhich most of the other clubs don't have so that's a bonus. Also they have a decent sized swimming pool and jacuzzi and they have a steam room and sauna too.

The wooden planks in the studio are coming unglued and have become a hazard. This has been going…read moreon for a while now - well over a month. And yet, nothing is done. An injury waiting to happen. There is an actual hole in the wall. Someone used a medicine ball to do obliques against a plaster wall. While this can happen, it has been over a month now and it has yet to be fixed.

Soho has done a ton of work to shape up the space and make it both nicer and more functional for…read moremembers. From opening a heavy weights room in the basement to opening up the weights area on the main floor and improving the bathrooms markedly, there is a bit improvement in the facilities here. It's also priced better than nearby competitors like Gym Box, which is great. The Good: -Consistently improving and clean facilities -During the hours I attend (probably described as "off-peak", it's nice and quiet there and easy to move through the gym to get things done. -Reasonable pricing for the area. I haven't found a gym in Farringdon that's cheaper, although with City Uni opening up a huge facility on Goswell Road at half the price there may be additional price competition for Soho and others. (One can hope, right?) The Not-As-Good: -All I really want in life is more/better classes. The times are focused on the 9-5 working hours crowd, with very limited classes on the weekend and it drives me crazy because I simply can never go. They've recently moved to making you sign up for classes in advance, which is not a system I'm a big fan of either. -They use the space well, but it's not spacious. During peak hours, it quickly feels like the basement that it is. But if you're an off-peak hours kind of person like I am, this is your place (unless too many of you take advantage of this obviously useful tip, in which case we'll all suffer...) ;) Overall, I like it. It's A-OK.

Was able to use this gym on. Three day trip I was on in London the hotel was very close so going to…read morethe gym was very effortless

Almost all the other reviews here mention that this is not a place to come to get fit from scratch…read more If you are not at least an intermediate level of fitness you almost certainly won't be able to get through a class and may hurt yourself if not experienced with weights as the demonstrations are very quick. It would also be pretty demoralising! I just came here as it was arranged by friends but it was def too much for me and kind of hurt my confidence even though I've been doing really well to recover from a broken leg. That aside it's a very effective full on work out and combines cardio and strength/resistance training which is a very efficient way to spend an hour. I can totally see how you could burn 1000 calories an hour here (as they suggest) if you are doing pushing yourself to the max. The trainer offers 3 different speeds for treadmill work so there is some flexibility, although there's no easy option! I wouldn't recommend this if you don't like a fairly aggressive (although encouraging) style of training or loud music - you'd be better off outdoors or at yoga (which is my general preference!) - but for what this sets out to be it's really good. There are also some really nice aftercare features - the changing rooms are nicely done with Malin + Goetz shampoo, conditioner and shower gel (although not a lot of room to change!) and they have some delicious smoothies which you can pre order - the one with mango and banana was gorgeous!

This is the gym that ate all the other gyms! Known as the jewel in the crown of the Cannons group…read more(now Nuffield Health, Fitness and Wellbeing) it is huge, so huge I've gotten a bit lost a few times. The facilities include several work-out areas, including one women only, a dedicated Pilates studio, spinning studio, squash courts, pool, lap pool, health spa area, café and Jacuzzi relaxation area. The changing rooms are massive, spread over two floors with steam room and GHDs. Folks, this place is bloody amazing, but unfortunately they still don't exercise for you. The only downside is they use a token system for some classes which can be pain if you get there late and are kicked out of class for not having one.

Please all present and future members be aware that Nuffield Health Centre cancellation policy is…read morean absolute fraud and they are great experts when it takes to steal money without offering any service: The day you join the gym they make you sign a paper where you agree with their terms and conditions, without specifying that, if you are willing to cancel you need to give 30 days notice otherwise you have to pay a full month membership fee even without using their facilities!!! The real scam is that clause 11*( the cancellation policy) is not even on that paper, but it is just hung on the wall, written with micro-characters and when I joined no one made me aware of that. Long story short, unless you bend to their fraudulent rules, they send you one or more intimidatory letters asking to pay what is due according to that clause (I learned about that policy when I first got the mail and I was incredulous) and then they pass your details to Creditlink Account Recovery Solutions Limited that starts harassing you itself. I was willing to meet them halfway so that I went to the Cousin Lane Centre myself 2 times, asking to send me an email in which they stated that I was willing to close the dispute and that this had to be communicated to C.A.R.S. but do you think I got any help/notification? The manager just kept on saying "you should have read the policy on the wall". These guys...what a great customer service they provide? I am not the only one who had the same issue with Nuffield (check the link below) so again be aware that there are a lot of gyms that survive just because they are in fact stealing money, but I have learned my lesson now, and you? http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5653848

Went here for a relax post-glastonbury, just turned up and paid £20 for a day pass to use…read morepool/sauna/steam room - it was a weekday so absolutely deserted and had the pool and facilities to ourselves for nearly the whole time. You get a towel but no robe for the £20. Changing rooms quite small and only one toilet but the pool area itself has loads of loungers and seats if it did get busy at all. Didn't go for any treatments or use the gym but would recommend the pool!

From the owner: Situated in the luxury 5 star Grange Holborn Hotel, the Holborn Health & Fitness Club offers the…read moreultimate in health, beauty and relaxation. Facilities include a state-of-the art gym with a range of cardiovascular and resistance equipment, multiple exercise classes, a dedicated free weights area and expert personal trainers on hand to provide supplementary health advice and one-to-one support. Luxury water-side facilities include a stunning 13m heated Greco-Roman style swimming pool, complete with sauna and steam room, which use the therapeutic and cosmetic benefits of heat to relax limbs, burn calories and invigorate skin. The newly incorporated Ajala Spa also has a sumptuous selection of holistic and beauty therapies to thoroughly refresh, relax, and revive. Let us develop a more youthful, balanced and energetic you!

Have only been a member for 3 days, but so far I'm a fan!…read more I signed up for the classes & the unbeatable price. I'm a big fan of working out (HIIT, bootcamp, pilates, yoga, even ocasional running, etc.) but I'm not a big fan of gyms in general. I don't understand half the machines and until about a year ago this had definitely prevented me from signing up to one and working out more often. But no more! I'm now addicted to HIIT training and cardio in general. This is what led me to sign up and so far I have to say I'm pleased with the classes. Here is the breakdown: 1. You sign up online for their classes - plan 2-3 days ahead bc the get booked out! 2. They have 7-9 classes a day during weekdays which is pretty good for 25.99 3. So far I've done Core & HIIT. Both were challenging and left me a DOMS souvenir next day but were not inaccessible for a new beginner. Finally, staff are friendly and helpful and the facilities, whilst not luxurious are clean and very functional. I highly I recommend if you just want treadmills and the like (they have LOADS) but also if you want some variety and classes that are short, hard and do the trick!

Cheap memberships mean that the gym is ridiculously full during peak times (before and after work),…read morehowever being a 24hr gym means you can visit outside these times and make the most of your workout. I love to workout late so the gym is great value for me

Good gym, friendly staff, had a fantastic experience visiting them via Helsi app. They offer water…read moreand sauna, towels cost money, but it's only 1.5 pounds, so its ok.

Jubilee Hall is a very good gym that has all the facilities you would expect apart from a swimming…read morepool. With a huge open floor design there is a mass of resistance machines and free weights, making this club an excellent choice for people wanting to bulk up. There are over thirty cardio machines to, so there is something for everyone. There is a large gay community at the gym and the management address this by focusing on this community as the main target audience. This leads to a gym with a diverse culture, although the majority remains well- toned, well-groomed homosexual males. To join this gym costs £50 per month. This is excellent value for the facilities.

I've taken a lot of reformer classes in San Francisco, and I thought this one was a good workout,…read moreand challenging. Location: Located in Covent Garden, it's actually located inside the "Gym Box", so make sure you look for a big yellow sign. Walk in, check in at the front desk and they'll send you downstairs to a room without very many directions. It took me a few extra minutes to figure out where the gym & class were, so if it's your first time, make sure you allocate at least 5 extra minutes. Class: More focused on core and legs, and didn't do too much with arms. It was fine for me, but if you're looking for a more upper body workout, you may not be getting much with this. The class is pretty fast-paced, so not the best if you're a beginner or have never taken a reformer class. Instructor: I had Jess, who was great. High-energy, friendly, and was paying attention to correct posture/form. Music: Pretty high energy music that you may find in a dance club in Europe (but with vocals). I like this type of music, so I appreciated it, but if you don't like this kind of music, you may want to avoid it. I'd definitely come back here again on another visit in London. Happy that they are on Classpass, as it makes it easy to try the class out.

INTENSE! I've taken a variety of reformer pilates classes in London and I have to say this has…read morebeen one of the most painful ones I've been to. I think it's constant repetition and very little time to recover and had most of my body shaking within an hour. It is quite a small studio (max 7 participants) and feels a little cramped. The studio is located in the Gym Box so bring a lock with you if you need to store anything.