It is always so disappointing when I have to give a 1 star review (which I rarely do), but I need to provide this public service announcement.
I joined this new gym where you do various workouts inside infrared saunas to achieve your goals faster from sweating. There was a 90 day minimum when I signed up, so I tried it out. First of all, I did like that they are open 24hours, so you can come anytime. Plus, they are usually not too busy and I rarely had to share a sauna with another person (but I also avoid after work hours). Because I didn't want to spend the extra $80 for a hot yoga mat, I couldn't participate in half the workout classes. Nonetheless, I would do multiple sessions of Hot Blast to utilize my workouts. Unfortunately, after a couple months, I didn't see much progress where it made my membership worth it.
While that's no reason for a 1 star review since everyone has a different experience, here's where my experience completely turned sour. I inquired for a cancellation in which they mentioned that there is a 60 day notice, but that they were OK with providing me the cancellation for the next month since I was just a few days off. I sent my cancellation notice via email, which was apparently never confirmed all this time. After I finished up my last 2 months at Hotworx, I saw a charge on my bank statement at the start of the new month when my membership should've been terminated. And no, it wasn't an April's fool joke.
I texted the manager/owner Thomas regarding this and we went back and forth debating that there was a 60 day cancellation fee even though an employee told me otherwise. Apparently there is also a cancellation form that needs to be signed. There was so much miscommunication and "hidden fine prints" that made the entire experience aggravating to say the least. After all the back and forth, Thomas confirmed that he would refund my membership for the latest month I was charged and I could continue coming to the gym until the end of the month (as if I'd ever want to step foot in here ever again). When I saw the refund come into my bank statement, it was short some change. Apparently, this was due to not having two cards on file. Huh?? Never in my life have I heard such a thing, but apparently it's "normal in the industry." While it's not much money, it's the principle for me. So here's my warning to you if you're signing up here: make sure you have TWO forms of payment or else you get charged an extra $5 per month. This is what I call shady business where everything is hidden in the fine prints. It's like when a restaurant charges you automatic gratuity and doesn't let you know, so you blindly tip extra. Also note that they continued to charge me even after cancelling; though they did fix the error after I reached out, please be careful and be proactive by checking the charges on your bank statement.
If you're looking for a gym where you will need to jump through fire to cancel and add in hidden fees, this is it. Come for the challenge, right? read more