Pool or pulpit...that is the question! Here at the Virgin Active in Repton Park, they placed a swimming pool right inside a church...how cool is that? When I first entered the pool I was really taken aback and quite mesmerized - it felt a little sacrilegious, but at the same time I very much enjoyed swimming in this beautiful environment. The gym area itself is also quite neat, as you sweat underneath a prettily-decorated vaulted ceiling. There's plenty of exercise equipment, although the weight-lifting area is a little small. This Virgin Active gym is in Repton Park, which was the site of the fomrer Claybury Hospital - a psychiatric hospital. Apparently there's still the ghosts of the past haunting these premises.... read more

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I joined this Virgin as it is my local club about a month ago. This Virgin club is nestled within the closed community (Repton Park), the best way to get here would be by car, although there is a bus stop just outside Repton Park it is still quite a walk when you are inside. This gym has a Costa Coffee inside next to the reception that also includes food (this can get slightly irritating when working out and smelling food) o_O The gym has quite a few treadmills, bikes, rowing machines, free weights, TRX etc, each machine has a tv screen with the ability to plug in your IPhone/IPod which allows you to listen to your music but also you can store your workout data to your phone too. The most amazing area in this gym is the swimming pool, it is absolutely stunning, the whole gym used to be a chapel for the mental institution, so the decor inside is beautiful. Within the pool area, you also have the sauna and steam room, along with some sun loungers and some juice to drink. The only gripe I have is that there is no air-conditioning (but I don't think there is anything they can do about that due to the building structure). read more

I am not a member here but have often had guest passes to visit the gym. It is quite simply amazing. For what you get you do have to pay a hefty sum hence I am not a member but when I get the opportunity I do not let it pass Me by. The staff are very friendly and helpful and the gym offers a lot of resistance, cardio and free weights. My favourite element about the centre is the pool area, it is located in a building that looks like a church and is gorgeous and peaceful to swim in. Also it boasts a jacuzzi, steam room and sauna which are a great way to end your session. I easily spend 3 hours there indulging in all the things on offer. If you can afford it well worth being w member, private health companies offer discount memberships also. read more

Awful place, dirty showers and steam room, staff are rude, will not renew membership Avoid !!! read more

REPTON PARK VIRGIN ACTIVE I joined the Repton park gym after transferring from Chigwell. The parking is great and so is the look and feel of the gym. But why oh why are Virgin so focused on generic weight machines that nobody uses, while having hardly any space at all for the free weights section. This is fairly standard around most virgin gyms, tiny free weights sections, but lots of dumbells? Most evenings you are fighting for space in the freeweights sections and if you need to use any benches - forget it, you'll have a long weight. It's mostly run by people who don't train properly, so have no idea of what a good gym should supply. The managers in most of the Virgin gyms are business/sales people, that could have come straight from BT or Tesco management. The 'trainers' really have no clue what they are doing, and are most of the time just teenagers fresh out of qualification. This isn't their fault, just gyms trying to pay out nothing in wages. I took my partner to the gym with me one Sunday and she said one of the trainers was slightly hassling her as she tried to train, by offering her 'fitness advice', which started to go into "which profession are you in", "are you married" before she mentioned her boyfriend trained there, at which point he left her alone. He was inappropriately chatting her up for over 40 minutes while she tried to train. She has described what he looked like, I have since seen him doing the same thing many times with people, none of whom are having PT sessions from the look of it, but ALL have been female, attractive AND most uncomfortable with the flirting. One woman who was being flirted with by this trainer turned to me and actually shook her head when he eventually walked off after he had been talking to her for around 15 minutes while she was on the machine. I'll be complaining about the person in question when my membership is up soon. I think 'brand' gyms such as Virgin are now glorified spas, and should not be used by people looking to change their body, just people looking to feel like they train. Opening hours are still not catering to the society we live in. 10pm closes are anything but, 10pm seems to be the time staff are leaving, so you are being shooed out of the club by 9.30pm. This is why 24hr gyms are doing so well. In all Virgin Repton park is okay at best, although it is starting to become frequented by more and more chavs every evening, and from conversations I have had with people in there, many will not be renewing. One guy said he is sick of the 15 or so speed humps you have to go over as you drive up to the gym. It does seem ridiculous to have that many, and annoying when you have to keep slowing down and speeding up every 50 yards for quarter of a mile. The showers are very good and there is always clean towels available. It is also well cleaned. But If it wasn't for the location It would be just another average fitness center lacking in free weights space. They are changing from gyms into social clubs and not at all catering to people looking to improve physically. This mixed in with the steep membership means I won't be renewing my contract after the first year as I can feel the club is going down hill. Again, shame as it looks nice, but it's more like a social club run by people inexperienced in actual gym usage. In all, have better and more professional training staff, MUCH MUCH more freeweights space (not just lots of dumbells and nowhere to use them) and please, please just look at who uses what in regards to the machines and you will see staring you in the face that many go unused....get rid of them and use the space more wisely. If you're looking to train to any proper degree, use Chigwell up the road. It has much better training facilities and space, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper. 5/10 for Repton park read more

As a long standing member there I find the place a home from all staff are friendly and know your name. There are great facilities and the Fitness team are acceptional there is a young guy about 24 called Jordan who is as polite as they come he often helps me out in the Gym. I have met some great people like Veetus,Tony, Tracey and of course Angelique who is a star behind the bar. I love this gym if you can get down there and try the gym do it. The pool is like a spa and the facilities are great too. Classes for young and old also. read more