I'm a huge fan of Pure Gym! First, it's only £15 a month, which is amazing. What you get for so little money is really fantastic. It's a very big gym - I say this even as a Yank where everything is big in my homeland - tons of cardio machines (nobody ever waits for one), a very large selection of weight machines for arms and legs, a section where classes are held, and a proper weight room. Also lockers, a changing room with showers, stretching area, and more that I'm not even seeing, I'm sure.
While it does get busy, some things you'll never wait for. So many treadmills and bikes and ellipticals, I'd be stunned if you ever waited even at peak hours. I've never seen one broken, either. The weight room does get full (of bro-tastic dudes!) They have three squat racks, one of them is slightly different than the others and is like...assisted. Like the bar can't be detached. It might be called a Smith Machine, I'm not sure, I just googled it. So sometimes I wait for one of the proper squat racks. But rarely for very long, and there's lots of free weights (dumbbells and barbells) to use in the meantime. People are generally good about sharing and respecting who asked for the weight machine first (this is England, after all). Sometimes the weight room gets a bit cluttered, but my boyfriend says somebody from staff comes in once an hour to fix it up.
it's a bit loud in there, since the classes are held in a sort of open room. Bit awkward really, you can see them stomping and jumping around as there's no door keeping them from everyone else. Their music is turned up SOOOO LOUD, it's probably my least favorite thing about the gym. Even when you can't hear the music from the classes, music is pumped through the PA system throughout the gym. I rather like it, as I don't have pockets for my iPhone and like to get a bit of music while I exercise.
You don't see a lot of staff walking around, but there is an office where they can be found if needed. This may be why it's so cheap - very low staff presence. There's no greeter at the door - you enter your code and walk through this little pod that lets people in one-at-a-time. Allegedly they're watching you on camera so don't give your code to anybody else or they'll go "hey, that big fella doesn't look like a Meredith!" And don't sneak anybody else into the pod with you or face their wrath. But for a 24-hour gym, with free parking under the Tesco, tons of space, free classes (never tried one), tons of cardio machines, good machine/weight selection, £15 a month feels like they're giving it away! read more
