Can you keep a secret guys?? Not many people seem to have noticed it yet, but a year and a half…read moreafter the Olympics there's some exciting stuff going on in Stratford again... Yep living near the Park is paying off nicely at the moment - my new local council swimming pool is none other than the Aquatics Centre! It's been open to the public for the last few weeks and I have to say it's a pretty special venue - I still get tingles every time I walk in. It's £4.50 per swim session for an adult and there's an easy peasy online system to book in advance. There are 2 full size pools inside - the Competition Pool for the hardcore swimmers and the Training Pool where they separate the lengths into two 25m sections. Personally I found a 50m pool to be ridiculously long in real life (my superwoman stamina is a err work in progress) so I tend to do laps in the 25m lanes. You choose a pool and a start time online but it's pretty lax once you're in, and you can stay as long as you like. The water is a nice slightly warm temperature and it's usually a uniform 1.2m depth all the way along (though somehow they can change the depth of different sections - the mind boggles!). It's not all lanes - there are also sections of the pool roped off for 'fun' as well as swimming lessons. Also saw signs for a total wipeout stylee 'Splash Time' for kiddies at weekends that sounded like great fun if anyone wants to lend me a child?! The reason it misses a 5th star is that the changing rooms and shower facilities are just not that great. It's spacious yes and there are plenty of cubicles, hairdryers and lockers, but the layout is a little confusing (quite a wander from the lockers to the female showers), they seem to have too many staff/cleaners milling around not doing much, and the showers themselves seem temperamental and need you to wave a hand past every 3 seconds. Is this how Michael Phelps showered?! (*pauses to enjoy the mental picture*) Ahem. Yeah I expected better. So remember to bring your own towel+toiletries, a plastic bag for your wet cozzie (I haven't spotted a drying machine yet) and a £1 coin for the lockers. And please only tell your special friends - the nicest thing at the moment is that it isn't too busy on weeknights! See you there :)

The swimming pool itself is great, most of the time quiet, you can choose your line depending on…read morehow fast you want to swim so that you don't get disturb by other people while swimming. The changing space however is really poor for this kind of aquatics centre - you can really tell you're just meant to come, quickly change, swim and leave. There are few showers and they are quite temperamental. The lockers and cubicles are just not that comfortable to use. So it's a very good pool, but come there for exercise only and not hoping for a full spa experience!

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

I am so fed up with this gym and would happily fill this up with expletives, the list is quite…read moreextensive with what is wrong with place its ok for them to cancel classes give you hardly any notice but if you do the same they'll happily add debts to your membership and get told nonsense about making it fair for everyone who attends classes I'd understand fines for serial offenders but how about not fining these who show up on time might i add and the centre is closed and then go on to add charges to my account they don't answer their phones either or their emails. Many instructors for the classes don't even arrive on time especially step and zumba.

I am very disappointed because of swimming pool staff especially the manager lady today as she was…read morerude and unprofessional towards special need children, when my 6 years old DS child was not coming out of paddling pool.

I love this place. I have visited the Lido a few times in recent weeks and have been impressed by…read morehow clean and organised everything is. It is such an amazing feeling to swim in the early morning sunshine- I highly recommend it. The pool is a great temperature too. Remember to bring a pound coin for the lockers!

Splishy sploshy splashy, that's just how my afternoon went when me and the girls decided to don our…read moreswimwear, some of us wearing a little inappropriate outfits (not naming anyone Huddy!) and head on down to the local pool. Who cares if it's a breezy day, we are British after all. We swim n the Atlantic Ocean, a little pool in Hackney does not fill us with fear. Well actually it was the crazy OAPs splashing around that did but that being said this place is awesome. Seriously cool! It's a heated pool so you'd rather be in swimming than hanging about. There are loads of lanes and it's big enough to fit everyone in. they even have a little cafe there so you can sit pool side and nosh on chips and Slush Puppies like you did when you were a kid. It's not even pricey, a few bob a ticket and you can swim for hours. Thank you Hackney Council, I knew the money I paid you was going somewhere!

This place is still a cesspit of a spittoon and you pay £1200p/a for the pleasure. They have bought…read moresome more equipment but they have crammed it into the same small space. When you work out there you feel like you are on top of someone. It doesn't help that other gym members are selfish and leave stuff lying all over the place so you run around tracking the bits you need or that they simply hog multiple items that their many arms can use at the same time. Furthermore personal trainers also feel it's appropriate to use multiple pieces of equipment at the same time. Of course I don't matter I just pay money to be treated like garbage. Any complaints you make go nowhere. (I have been a member for years... don't ask me why i've been so patient/stupid) This is an awful gym experience. It's completely oversubscribed for the floorspace and the amount of equipment available. Other gym members ruin it for others who want to come in, workout and relieve their frustrations without feeling like they are being encroached upon or they should be wearing a hazmat suit. You will surely leave angrier than when you first came in and why not when you are paying a premium for a below than mediocre experience.

It all depends on why you go to a Club. For me, Virgin Active, Canary Wharf is one of the worst…read more Good things: - relaxation area:.the pool over looking the Thames is extradionary and beautiful, along with the deck check you can use to view. They also have have a wet and dry sauna and a mini walking pool where you walk across pebbles that massage your feet. - cafè: has a nice view Not so good things: Gym floor: the equipment is spread over a couple of floors. On the top floor is the weights which is just a collection heap thrown upstairs as an after thought. Any serious gym person who'd consider this as a gym to train in Locker area: is tired, dated and seems to always have towel left dropping on the floor Parking: nothing really close Relaxation area: apart from the pool mentioned above, it feels extremely crampt

I'm a fan of unusual & weird places and I would says that the New Docklands Steam Bath is…read moredefinitely high up on this list. I've first heard about this place when I was telling a friend about my wonderful experience at the Turkish "Hamam" in Dalston. My friend listened attentively to my story and then told me about this place in the docklands...I started doing some research about it the very same evening. Let me preface the following paragraphs by saying that I really like going to saunas: I treasure the whole spa-like experience that goes along with it. Yet, I'm not a fan of the high-end spas that have popped up everywhere these days. I prefer the down-to-earth saunas where locals go and where you don't have to save up for months for a single visit. The New Docklands Steam Baths fit this bill perfectly: upon my arrival I already sensed that I had discovered something unique. The bath is located in a very much deprecated area; many Londoners probably wouldn't set foot here. Outside the place I saw many black cabs parked as well quite a few Mercedes. Once inside I found my way to the café-area where the register is. I paid £14 plus a £10 deposit for the locker key. I went to change and dressed up in my bathrobe and my pechtemal (a traditional Turkish towel used in hamams) and then I ventured down into the baths. And let me tell you: it's gritty down there: not in a dirty and disgusting way though, but because of the kind of characters you find there and the way they interact with each other. I first walked around and familiarized myself with the localities: two dry saunas, and various steam rooms with varying degrees of humidity. While doing my online-research about this place I came across an article, in which the author talks about the two main sauna traditions being nurtured here: The Russian tradition of 'Venik' where you first heat up in the sauna and then beat yourself (or each other) with oak or birch branches that have been dried first and then soaked in water. And then there's the Jewish bathing ritual of "Schmeissing", where the men take turns in scrubbing each other down from top-to-bottom. This is done where one guy lays down on a bench in the very hot & steamy room and the other guy lavers him up, using what looks like cleaning mop and it works like a giant shaving brush. The "Schmeissing" seems to be a very ritualized and cliquish undertaking. I was talking to a regular, who mentioned that these guys are a club and meet regularly. According to my source, there's even a pecking order and it's quite hard to become part of this club. The Russians or Eastern Europeans seem to be less organized, but during my visit they would all arrive in pairs or small groups. They would all wear these funny felt hats, which protect the hat from the intense heat. (Note to myself: I need to get one of these!) When I arrived I was reading about the possibility of booking a massage. My inquiry with some of the locals resulted in the following answer: "Yeah, talk to Simon, the heavily-tattooed guy who's relaxing in the steam room over there." Non sooner advised than done. I went up to Simon and he told me that he'd be happy to give me a massage in about half-an-hours time. Deal! I made the best use of the 30 minutes and went into the hottest sauna and beat myself up with oak branches... Turns out that Simon had actually grown up in Germany and so we chatted in German for some time. Then he suggested that I should just relax and let him do his work. It was really a very nice massage and I felt great afterwards. I paid £15 for a thirty-minutes massage. (60 minutes would be £25.) Aside from the Jewish and Russian men, there's a third group of men here: the can drivers (my guess). They mostly sat in the common area, chatting and washing themselves ritually. It's really a funny bunch that hangs out here...including myself! All in all, I find this to be a wonderful oasis of some old-world London. I'm so glad that a place like this still exists. I might not become a regular, but I will certainly be back!

All I can say is avoid this place! It's situated in a rough area of London that appears to be a…read moregiant scrapyard - lovely! When you go in it's just as bad. People are rough, unfriendly and the place seems to be occupied by East End ruffians. It could be so good and the treatments could be superb. But nobody talks to you, nobody helps you on your first visit and nobody offers a massage. This place is terrible. Avoid at all costs!

Yeah, good very fun insanely expensive though an absolute rip-off but I had a really good time so…read moreI'll give it four stars

When I was a kid this was like the coolest thing you could ever do for a birthday party. Three…read morepools, rapids, loads of flumes, a pirate ship, a raining cloud, snakes that shoot you with water, palm trees...I know! How awesome is that! As a kid this experience is totally a 5 star, pee in the pool with excitement experience, there is a little cafe where you can have chips and fizzy pop with your friends after hours of fun in the pool. As an adult, it holds all the excitement but doesn't quite deliver. We are grown-ups after all and a big plastic snake is only believable up to a point. It's worth it if you really like flumes though as they are pretty fast. I was call in advance first as sometimes they don't have enough staff to have them all open at once.

This pool is only 5 minutes away from my work so recently I have started doing one swim in the…read moremorning and one swim in the evening each week. If you're an adult I definitely recommend going in the morning as the whole pool is lanes and there is plenty of space to swim. In the evening there are a lot more swimmers and if you want to really get your pace up it's difficult as you are constantly having to slow down so as not to hit the person in front of you! Good lockers (the ones where you get your £1 back) and its only £4 to swim which is really decent. Staff are friendly, changing rooms are clean and the pool itself serves its purpose very well! If you have really high standard for your swimming pools I wouldn't recommend this one as it really is just a basic, functional public swimming pool but if you literally just one to get in for a quick half an hour exercise before work then it's a big thumbs up!

So they refurbished and remodelled the changing rooms recently - definitely an improvement but not…read moreenough for another star...the reception area remains functional and basic...guess the budget didn't stretch that far...