Being a platinum VA, it's obviously better than the usual VA standard. I've never found it too…read morebusy, and the swimming pool is 25m which for central london is impressive! You can book for classes a week in advance and they now reserve 8 spots (on the peak spin classes) for first arrivals if you haven't managed to secure your place. They have the new sleeping pods which I have used on more than one occasion for a quick nap at lunch after the night before which are a novelty and a god send! Only downside is that the showers could be better, but they're not the worst by any means.

Really a quite nice gym, but rather expensive as a Classic gym, and totally underground…read more Upsides: very nice shower facilities, 25m pool, location-location-location. Downsides: mediocre training area, low-ish ceilings serve as a reminder that you're underground, cost.

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

Another city pool although this one could use the same funding York Hall had -…read more I imagine at one time this was quite spectacular as a pool - the diving boards are all off limits now and taped up and looking pretty sad - this 70,s building could be amazing -there are minimal shaped balconys wrapping around the pool looking out onto the church grounds now off limits and growing moss!! Fantastic windows - this pool is also used alot. There are numerous scuba diving classes but a separate kids pool for classes. Also for the child friendly aspect there are "family" dressing rooms very handy for the mom with many children of different sexes issue. The busiest time here is lunch time and mornings where there seems to be a bigger number of very fast very serious swimming men -possiby from the city ?? Unlike York Hall there is no luxury spa downstairs - this place is really not in good shape and is quite bare bones A lovely pool just the same if a little shabby.

Took our 3 month old daughter here for her first swim yesterday. It is reasonably priced with…read morefriendly staff. We went to the small teaching pool and used the family changing rooms. The changing area was spacious with nappy changing facilities and lockers very close by. We were allowed to take the pram poolside which was really good. The pool was nice and warm- the baby lasted 25min in the water and was quite happy. Have given it a 3 instead of higher rating as it is quite a dated pool and it was quite dirty, especially given that it was only 10am. We didn't see the main pool so can't comment on that either. I will probably go here again and would recommend to parents to take babies- facilities are so convenient that it is doable with one parent and baby, rather than needing both parents there.

Works for me! This…read moreLeisure Centre happens to be where I can meet my beloved trainer (PT Lana: http://www.yelp.com/biz/pt-by-lana-london) and thus I find myself here 1-2x per week as availability allows. When the weather is nice it's better to be out in Shoreditch Park but this works for the soggy late fall and winter months. I only really use the gym area for treadmill/row machine and then the mats and a few weights but it's always pretty good. Could use a bit more cleaning on the mats (dirt from outside) but there are always staff running about cleaning here and there so it stays in pretty good shape. The machines are kept in good order, there are plenty of TVs and music and overall its pretty pleasant for a workout. I'd like to check out the group classes as they seem pretty popular and diverse but I am usually in a rush! I like that the clientele is diverse and there's not a judgey air about it. No strutting or posturing around, just people working out and getting on with it. Besides the dudes dropping massive weights and shaking the floor (I shake my head at you!) everything is pretty chill. My leisure centre pass (£54/month) allows me access to any of the Better Centres so I use this one, Clissold and Ironmonger the most frequently. Nice to have some options and keep it varied. This one isn't the newest (Ironmonger) or nicest (Clissold) but it is the most convenient to my home and gets the job done. *Easy parking (pay lot). *Nice enough reception staff. *Right next to Shoreditch Park.

This is our local swimming pool - we have used it on and off (mainly off) for the last 15 years…read more Beach style fun pool without much fun. Despite the recent £400k investment in the Leisure Centre the pool is disappointing. Wave machine is currently out of action (again), the fountain sprays do not work and the slide often does not open because of staff shortages. The changing rooms have had a revamp, are clean and family friendly and the showers are hot. I swim here with my 8 year old daughter and her friend every now and then after school. For practising swimming it is perfect for under 10s - it is the quietest pool I have ever been to in London. Sometimes there are less than 10 people using the pool when we are there. Deeper than Archway but no swimming lanes. Large and recommended swim school (although we have not used it, friends do) in separate small pool. A shame really as this could be so much better - if only the fun bits of this pool were actually available. UPDATE Visited again on 16 Dec 10 and the wave machine has been fixed - one of the better wave machines when it is working so have upped my rating. Lets hope it lasts!

Currently closed for a refurbishment that was long overdue. Great pool to learn to swim in for…read moreyounger kids and used by Anaconda Swimming Club. The deep end is deep enough for learning to dive. We miss this pool as was a handy place for training or just a quick local swim. Good showers changing room basic. No doubt they will be updated as part of the refurbishment Edit: Pleased to say this has now reopened as from Saturday 4 February 2012 although Anaconda no longer use it. Not been back not sure we will be back as all the kids have outgrown it.

From the owner: Enjoy the state of the art gym, studio. swimming pool and tennis courts in the heart of the City of…read moreLondon. The centre is brought to you by City of London Corporation, in partnership with Fusion, a highly experienced sports and leisure organisation. As a registered charity, Fusion continually reinvest to improve and develop what's on offer in your community. So why not make us your first choice when you want to get active?

So this Virgin Active club is currently a tier 2 club but is undergoing a full renovation (which…read morewas very badly needed because the current women's changing rooms are a complete shithole). I recon that the club will bump up a tier at the end of the renovation which will make me happy because then I can make it my home club and can book classes which... brings me to my first complaint... Now, this complaint s a Virgin Active complaint as a whole. Their systems are so archaic (or perhaps restrictive to give home club members priority for classes) that they only allow members to book classes for their home clubs. Since my home club is presently Chiswick Park (tier 1), I can go to this lower tiered club but I cannot book classes which means that I have to show up early (first come first serve if there are extra spots available) and still risk not being able to attend the class. This holds true if I were to, say, head over to Barbican which is a tier 1 club (although I did recently read that they have discontinued booking classes altogether, gasp!) as well. If a member is a multi-club member, then they should be able to book any class at any club that they are permitted to go to. My second complaint is that I can't swipe my Virgin Active membership card at the Angel location because Chiswick Park is "on a different system" so I'm inconvenienced by having to have reception swipe my card for me every time I go to the gym. My third complaint is that the gym floor is in the basement. There are no windows and though ventilation is good, it feels like you're in a cave when you're down there. Last year, I lived through the six-month top-to-bottom renovation of Chiswick Park and the renovation of Angel is shaping up to be at the same level as the Chiswick Park renovation (which is awesome). New throughout, not just new showers or slapping some paint on the wall. Right now at Angel, the men's changing rooms are being renovated and when they are done, then the women will move to the new men's changing rooms while the men move to the old women's changing rooms as they are being renovated. Then we'll swap back to our original changing rooms. I know this because this is how it worked at Chiswick Park. As of writing, the gym floor renovation appears to be complete. GRID classes will soon be kicking off and I can't wait, however, I would be more excited if I could book said GRID classes. The group cycle room appears to be renovated but I hope it hasn't because it's too small and the bikes need to be replaced (they also don't have digital displays). The room currently has 28 bikes but they are so close together that it's really uncomfortable. The room is also of a strange shape - it's a quarter of a circle. I hope that the cafe of this club gets booted during the renovation because the space could better be used for GYM STUFF. I dislike gyms that have services like spas and cafes. YOU ARE A GYM. STICK TO GYM STUFF. If you want to go to a cafe, go to one of the hundreds within walking distance of the gym. Another downside to this club is that it is not adults-only though children are only allowed in the pool. The women's changing room is a bit of a nightmare on weekends when kids are in the club for swimming lessons but this is a minor irritation, however, I must admit that if this club bumps up a tier, that it should become adults-only as well. I think Virgin Active really has an identity crisis here - they are trying to please both families and singles and let's be honest, they need to pick one or the other and since Islington is the borough in London with the most single people, Virgin should probably forgo being a family club.

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.

I will open by saying that I'm not a member, but was attended as a visitor/guest. My experience…read moredoesn't line up with others' experiences....I liked the place. Equipment-wise, there is a large selection of options spread out across multiple rooms and floors. The staff was also extremely friendly and welcoming. Comfort-wise, the air conditioner was blasting to make working out more enjoyable. My only gripe about this place, which is consistent across many locations outside the US...is the limited business hours. My preference is 24 hour gyms that can accommodate early risers. Other than that, two thumbs up!

If you get a kick out of commuting in the Waterloo & City line during rush hour you will love this…read moreplace. It's the most overcrowded gym I ever experienced. Even the off hours are busy. Adding to the stress of trying to exercise there are the personal trainers hogging equipment and floor space with their clients for extended periods of time. Hoping for the 7kg medicine ball? Check again in 45 minutes. The place is simply too small for the amount of people. Be prepared having to modify your exercise routine to the equipment that's not occupied. As to be expected the majority of the audience are City alpha males and high maintenance girlies. So if that's your crowd, you'll like it there.

Ironmonger Row Baths, we go way back I'm telling ya. (read: this is not a New Years Resolution…read morereview). I've been heading to this revamped gym/pool/spa/sauna for a few years. When I moved near Old Street in 2012 it had just been totally refurbished and reopened so my husband and I joined up with high hopes of being super fit people in London at a snazzy new spot. It has expansive facilities, a lot of bright natural light and never seemed to be too crazy busy like a lot of gyms in the area. It's not a place that scenesters work out...it's a really nice mix of regular folk from the area. No muss, no fuss! I'm happy to report those things are all still pretty true 3 years in, and we've been members ever since. I have the membership that allows me to access all the Better health centres because occasionally I also visit Britannia or Clissold Leisure Centre and while both of those are in Hackney, Ironmonger is technically in Islington. (It's not too pricey, I think around 50 quid per month). There are approximately 1,678 levels of membership as this is run by a council and things are always unnecessarily complicated. Be sure if you can survive the registration process where you dictate all of your information so someone can write it into a form and them you watch them type in the same information to a computer, you will be just fine. It gets better. So, why do I personally like this gym? 1. Clean. It is always clean and kept in very nice condition. 2. Lots of options: there are many cardio machines in multiple levels. I've never had to wait. 3. Functional Room (minus the strobe lights/club music) -- really great and large for mat work, stretching, freeweights and there are rarely any muscle guys dropping really large weights near your head. Bonus. 4. Location - it's tucked away off Old Street just behind St. Luke's Music Education Centre. A lot of the gym looks out over the park, which makes it feel like a little escape. 5. There's a spa/sauna downstairs -- I had the membership that included it for awhile but ditched it when I got pregnant (can't be turning the baby into a dumpling in utero) and never added it back in because frankly it was always kind of a pain in the ass (see above). Things I don't like? 1. the hours are a bit shit on the weekends. Open at 9am? Close at 6pm!? C'mon. 2. Serious lack of fitness classes. None on weekends. People workout on weekends too! 3. Staff are perfunctory at best. Not mean, just not really very helpful in any capacity. Luckily things run pretty smoothly. Bring a £1 for the lockers. No joining fee in January. What are you waiting for?

The following review is about he Turkish Bath inside the Ironmonger Row Baths:…read more I'd been seeing reviews popping up about the newly renovated baths and so being a big fan of sauna and the accompanying relaxed atmosphere, I ventured out here. Being German, I'm used to being naked around other people and so I was a bit surprised to see men and women wearing swimming costumes inside the sauna area. (I guess the Victorian values are still ruling in certain areas of modern society :-) But that didn't really made me enjoy my stay any less. The name Turkish bath may be a bit misleading; what this is is a collection of 4-5 different heated rooms: some very hot and dry, some hot and steamy, others mildly heated and inviting for a chat. On top of that there's a spacious quiet area with comfortable lounge chairs and blankets to keep you warm...plus a selection if newspapers and magazines that will keep you updated on the latest fashion! They also offer some tea, water and fresh fruit. You pay a rather hefty entrance fee of £25, but that will at least let you stay there as long as you want. Also, they supply you with a robe, towel and slippers. So basically, you don't need to bring anything else. Well, your swimming costume...unless you go on one of the men only or women only days, when you can go steaming in your birthing suits!

There's not much about this gym that I liked, so I can only recommend to you to NOT sign up for…read morethis gym. In fact, my biggest pet-peeve with it is that it is not very well-maintained and the management should be ashamed! - For example, the staircase down to the gym is filled with dustballs and trash and nobody seems to bother cleaning it up! - The showers are a disaster; not only does it kind of reek in there, but they also are either out of service or are leaking. (Seriously, some showers are on at full blast and simply can't be turned off. I brought this to the attention of the maintenance guy once and he just shrugged his shoulder...not sure how many thousands of litres of clean water they have wasted over the last few months!) - The toilets area is just grosse and I've witnessed at least two floods - yikes! Aside from the maintenance issue, the gym-floor itself is packed with equipment - it feels like you're in an EasyJet airplane; trying to squeeze in as many people without looking out for comfort. Sure, they have every equipment that you can think of, but sometimes I just felt like a caged hen! (Did I mention that the AC is also not working super-well and that it gets quite sweaty in there during rush hours?_ I know this seems to be one of the more affordable gyms in the city, but I urge you to not sign up here...go to the Virgin Active nearby.

Working in the city, eating the rich often over-priced food makes it apparent that you have to do…read moresomething to ensure that you'll be able to fit in your clothes 365 days from when you bought them. Personally, having been a health professional for a number of years in a former life, i have something to confess: i hate gyms. I don't dislike the fact that you have to keep healthy or that the masses need a place to focus the drive to shift calories, what i detest are the attitudes of the staff. For this reason, before joining i scoped out this place like a sniper on a Black Ops mission. What I didn't expect was the totally sane and relaxed way that the sales staff didn't try to re-sell me my right kidney in order to finance my gym regime. I've 'road-tested' a few of the trainers: Ike, Sal and Derek and they're A-OK. Great attitude, helpful to the point of embarrassment and no hard sell and a free taster session to boot. Though my regime consists of kettle bell, some cardio and a lot of swimming, there's a lot to do here. Everything from spinning to lap-dancing classes. If you want to get involved, ask for Rob, the big Kiwi, he or his team will work something out for all budgets. Remember it's a city gym, so it may not be cheap but you will be pretty. Plus, if you really want to affect a lifestyle change, strip away the gyms, the hype and take a look at the person standing right in front of you in the mirror. Some advice: peak locker room times are 12.15-1.20pm and 5.30-6.15pm. Either go off-peak or if that's not an option, once you've joined, drop your clothes in the locker early AM and saunter down at lunchtime to get changed. Unfortunately, i don't know what the ladies changing room is like at peak time usage, but i've had to wait for a shower in the gents. Tsk. I've been a member here for about a year and the most encouraging sight is that i've yet to NOT see the guy who cleans up. Dude is always there either cleaning the showers or the changing rooms keeping the place clinically clean. Though it is tight down there, it's a lower basement after all, just go for yours and get on with it. No one ever toned up by looking at the human being next to them. The swimming pool is mini-me size but that just means you have to do twice as much work. Space is at a premium in the city you know. Anyway, just get your sweat on and stop making excuses...