Washington Sports Clubs

Wow. Love it or hate it! The Unilocal reviews are all over the place. So what’s going on. Well this is Bethesda, It is possible to part with a lot of money for a gym membership. This place is inexpensive for the area. At the risk of being trite: You get what you pay for.
So my first criticism is access to the place. If you are close by, then skip this part. If you are driving, all the roads are congested. The street parking is very limited. They pay for a 2 hour stay in the garage beneath the building. However, it isn’t possible to get in the garage if you are heading east on Bradley. If you approach from any other direction, you can get in, but the roads are congested and the Wisconsin Bradley Blvd. intersection is a choke point. Once you are in the garage it may be 10 minutes before you are parked.
Now to the gym. It is true that it is overridden by hormone laden teenagers with all the baggage that comes with that. The equipment is well maintained, but there is redundancy. Three banks of machines in three locations, largely do the same thing.
The staff seems to be reactive rather than proactive. When some teenagers were out of control, I said something and the kids were better for a while. Occasionally the equipment needs work, and I point it out and it’s rectified. Now one of the hair dryers isn’t working. I am thinking of not saying anything to see how long the problem continues. So far, it has been broken for about 4 months. So does anyone make the rounds and check on this stuff?
There is a steam room. I would rather have a dry heat sauna. The pool has restricted hours, but is clean and warm enough. The class sign up system in my view is cumbersome. I would also like to see a wider array of classes. The shower drains are slow. The soap pumps don’t always work. And of course, the showers have a mildew problem.
Lastly, the place operates like a used car dealership. There is always a limited time offer set to expire in a day or two. And instead of asking so much a month, they impose this annual renewal fee in my deal. So it looks like my monthly payment is less. Man up and tell me how much I pay a month. Stop with these fees designed to obscure the real cost.

I am in the process of trying to find a new gym. I have been a member of WSC for a mere 4 months and am already dissatisfied. Original deal was 29.95 membership with towel service and unlimited guest privileges. I came to WSC for the first time in a month last Saturday, with my guest, and was told that 2 – 3 months ago they changed the guest policy and members are limited to bringing the same guest only once every 6 months. I didn’t even get an email or phone call when they decided to change the policy. The man working the desk told me that if I complained to management, they might put a note on my account allowing me to bring guests. There are a vast amount of problems here

Find another gym. Any issues with charges and cancellation are impossible to deal with. Very bad experience when I had a bank card hacked and cancelled. Three months of late fees they tacked on and no communication. Can’t even send you an account summary.

I’ve been a member of WSC for 17 years but have just canceled in light of continued negative experiences, cleanliness issues (including worms (maggots?) in the shower stalls), and unreliability with the South Bethesda club. I pay a premium rate for towel service — up in the 80s. And today, I show up for a workout and steam and am told that they are out of towels. (Not the first time this has happened, mind you.) «Thanksgiving weekend was busy,» they say, as if it should be a surprise that they’d get extra visitors over the long weekend. Then, when I talk to the manager about how it is that there is no towel service, a problem I’ve encountered before, he explains that they’ve been having supply problems. No apology. I ask to cancel. He looks at my acct and suggests that I downgrade to a membership level, with towel service, about a third of what I’ve been paying — making me think that I’ve been overcharged for years. I could not be more disgusted. Meanwhile, I see members walking around with two and three WSC towels, meaning that the staff didn’t bother to ration the supply as they got low. Members deserve better. After 17 years, you’d think they would have tried to keep me. Au revoir.

I’ve been a member here for a few months and it’s been a very good experience. The staff are very friendly and helpful if you have any questions. Equipment is generally very clean and in usable condition. Locker room and pool and all that other stuff is also in good shape. The one or two days they haven’t had towels I’ve actually got an email before hand letting me know. It’s not a huge gym but has more than enough cardio equipment, free weights, and machines and extra stuff to satisfy most people’s needs I would think. Overall very low maintenance in terms of dealing with any issues with the gym. Others may have had different experience but I recommend it.

Recently realized that a lot of people’s mothers must work here! Because people leave their weights out after they are done! And leave their dirty towels on the floors! Otherwise place is great! Staff is awesome but works hard to keep up with the lazy people.

I have been a member since shortly after they opened, largely because they offer an indoor pool. The pool is OK, though they offer relatively few classes, and the classes compete for space with children’s lessons and lap swimmers. The rest of the equipment is standard, and the range is pretty typical of a gym. Malfunctioning equipment is not repaired promptly, but the gym isn’t crowded, so I can always find a machine.
However, the billing is really a problem. It took over a month for them to correct a mistaken charge to my husband’s account, even though the person who made the mistake recognized it within minutes and notified us. Then my husband disenrolled from the club 3 months ago, and we are still getting a runaround, to the extent that he still shows as an active member, according to corporate. We have his disenrollment in writing and have successfully contested charges with the club and with the bank and had them refunded. But it is an ongoing saga, with the latest charge in the past week, and it is to the point that I am moved to post this as a warning to others, because I see that we are not the only ones who have dealt with this. We would normally attribute to incompetence, but this feels very deliberate.

Avoid this place at all costs.
The facilities are average. The membership office and billings department, on the other hand, have a history of being super shady, totally incompetent and downright fraudulent.
I was a member here for over a year. In mid December a membership officer pulls me aside and tells me they’re starting a new program that can significantly reduce my monthly payment. The guy tells me the program is EXACTLY the same and all I have to do is pay $ 200 to switch into the new program. Sounds like a great deal so I sign up.
Jan 3^rd I walk into the gym for the first time to find out the new program limits some of the classes I can take and doesn’t allow me to use towel service. I ask to speak to a manager and tell him I wasn’t told any of this upon signing up. He is tells me that’s too bad but his hands are tied. I ask to be refunded my money and switched back into my old program. He refuses. I cancel my membership and send a letter/​email/​formal complaint with the membership team and corporate office.
That gets me no where. After much aggravation and back and forth with WSC I have to pay the membership fee for January, February (and keep in mind I canceled January 3^rd) and still don’t get my original $ 200 back. I try speaking to the management office again but am only met with further aggravation and ducked calls. I’m very annoyed but I move on with my life and consider the matter closed.
Last week I get a notice from a creditor telling me Town Sports International (WSC’s parent company) is taking collections out on me for $ 29.95 for a canceling my membership!
This was the first I heard of the charge and I’m incredulous that A) I’m paying an additional 29.95 on top of the over $ 250 they’ve charge me at this point B) That they brought a creditor against me.
And this is a consistent pattern. I just found out they did something very similar to my brother over the summer. He was out of town for 3 months and asked to place a freeze on his membership. The membership office told him that would be no problem. He finds out at the end of the summer the freeze was never placed and WSC went into collections against him. Totally ridiculous.
Avoid this place like the plague.

I have been a member for almost 2 years. Signing up for a membership was super quick and easy. The front desk staff is extremely friendly and welcoming. The management has been nothing but helpful and accommodating. I was planning to move away from the area at the end of May so I had cancelled my membership so it would end the same time I was moving, but I am now not moving until the end of June and the staff allowed me to extend my membership for another month. It was a totally stress free process!
I mostly use the gym for the cardio equipment and free weights. Occasionally the equipment does breakdown, but there is always a similar machine available for use. I’ve taken a few classes and they have been good! The instructors are motivating and the classes are fun. It can get pretty crowded during peak hours, but that is to be expected. Overall, I have had a great experience being a member of WSC.

Agree with Olivia! The management is not nice — «they will cheat you if given half a chance.» I canceled 2 months ago to now find out that they have kept charging my card! I also understand that they need to make money selling enrollments — but I cannot stand the lack of honesty, hidden fees, changes of price/​offer… etc. Equipment is not always functioning or clean, etc. even though they have some great instructors and there is a nice vibe around.
Updating my review to a 3 stars after the Club and manager contacted me to ensure that the overall situation would be resolved in the next week or so.

The club is very nice. The management is not — they will cheat you if given half a chance.
I recently canceled my membership because I moved and the club was no longer convenient. Although I was careful to submit my cancellation letter to the club with more than the minimum 30 days notice, they continued to bill my American Express credit card for several months. I complained to AMEX and they refunded me all but the $ 59.00 personal training fee for the last month, even though the contract had reverted to a month-​to-​month membership and I had provided the 30 day notice in writing. The management lied to AMEX, claiming that they had not received my letter until the 3^rd of the month.
The manager had gone for the day when I delivered the cancellation letter but the receptionist said she would deliver it to him. Unfortunately I trusted her and did not get a signed receipt. I considered suing the club in small claims court but for $ 59 it’s not worth my time. Of course, the management knows this and uses it to their advantage.
So beware. If you decided to joint this club read the contract carefully and get everything in writing — including a receipt for your cancellation letter.

The gym itself is OK, equipment is always in decent shape, never any dead treadmills (unlike the Columbia heights location),
BUT the fees are a scam. there is no $ 19.99 option as they’re constantly pushing. You are billed $ 19.99 a month but there’s a 200 buck joining fee and quitting fee and a yearly fee assessed once a year too! Oh and they charge you two bucks for a towel!
I came because I needed a pool to train with in winter, I will be leaving as soon as its warm enough. Avoid it if you can, be prepared to be nickel and dimed if you can’t.

I’ve been a member here for about 3 years. I still am a member but have recently become disappointed by the experience. During the school year the place is just overrun by sweaty, loud BCC crew students– it doesn’t make for a good environment. I understand the club’s need to make money and I am sure the agreement with the school is important, but the agreement is at the sacrifice of full paying members.
In addition, certain classes have started taking space outside of the designated class space. For example, the stretch area which is used by many is now home to a new stretch/​aerobics class on certain evenings.
Finally, the pool. What is the point of offering a pool and having patrons paying for the service if they can never use it? It seems constantly used for children’s classes.
There is still a wide array of equipment and the staff do a good job of keeping it all running. But the place has put too much on its plate at the cost of patron experience. By adding more and more classes and offers, the gym has unfortunately become overcrowded and cramped. Not necessarily helped by the low rate of 19.99. A fantastic offer, but, again, brings even more people to the gym.

I’ve been going to this WSC since it moved to its new location several years ago. I’ve been generally very happy with the large selection and amount of equipment. The gym is large enough that it never seems truly crowded even at peak times, e.g. late weekend mornings. Much of the time it seems almost empty given its large size.
My only concern is that weights are sometimes in the wrong places, even early in the morning, indicating that they were not put back in the appropriate locations the night before. Out of order equipment isn’t always promptly identified and repaired (but there’s so many of each machine this just means you move over to the next one).
Many of the low rating for this club center around the pool, and I can’t say since I don’t use it, but I hear similar complaints from the Sport and Health Crowd when I take my kids for classes there. Any indoor pool will likely have the same issues and the Y is probably the best bet if swimming is really important to you.
WSC is frequently adding new workout areas to accommodate the latest trends. I don’t use them, so it can be frustrating for those of us who go to the gym for the machines and free weights. But for those who are looking for the latest and greatest, I suppose its a good thing.
I’ve been a WSC member since 1996, and generally am satisfied with all of the clubs I’ve visited in the Washington and NYC areas. They’re not LA Sports or a fancy boutiques, but they are generally a much better experience than the Golds’ gyms I’ve seen and for those looking for quality, traditional gym I find them very good.
NB: They do NOT charge for towels. In Bethesda they have gone from just stacking them in the locker rooms to handing them out at the desk, but I’ve never been charged for a towel at WSC in my nearly 10 years there.

I belong to both the South Bethesda WSC and The Sports Club LA just purchased by Equinox at the Ritz Carleton downtown DC The WSC is $ 100.00 less expensive per month. If parking is taken into consideration it is $ 180.00 a month cheaper based on four days a week use. Both clubs have pools. The length of the WSC pool is greater by about five yards but the lanes are wider at the Club LA. Each location has a good steam room but only the club LA has a sauna. Both locations are excellent with the Club LA being more of a luxury club and WSC feeling more like a very good gym. I workout mid mornings or mid afternoons and during those times there are never any waits or crowding. More than once I have been the only one swimming in the pools at those hours. I love the ambience of Club LA but my kids (in their twenties) think WSC is the better deal.

I was a member here for two years, primarily for convenience and the fact that they have a pool.
As a swimmer, don’t expect much. The lanes are too small to effectively share, and unless you go in the middle of the day (lunch) you will be sharing. In addition, it’s shorter than 25 yards. I’d say it’s somewhere around 20, so factor that in to your distance.
Worst, though, is the haze that is always present in the pool. Want to know what that is? It’s gross oils and dead skin cells and debris because the lifeguards do not enforce the shower rule. So you’re sharing a pool with tons of people who haven’t showered, and it’s rarely cleaned. You can tell by the dirt that collects at the bottom. Yum!
Furthermore, they place such an emphasis on getting more money by running swimming lessons. I’ve had to share a lane with another person so that two little kids could have private lanes for their swimming lessons. It’s simply outrageous, particularly when they take up three out of four lanes during peak hours (4−6pm).
Also, beware that they require you to cancel 30 days in advance, no exceptions — even if you are month-​to-​month and have fulfilled your year contract. Also, during the winter months they allow a nearby high school to let their children fulfill gym requirements at this location. Welcome back to a high school gym.

Terrible management. We signed up our 3-​year old child for semi-​private swimming classes few months ago. Every single time we went there for a class the trainer, Emmanuel, was either late or didn’t show up at all.
Often the trainer or substitutes didn’t even know they had a class that day because their manager Cosette didn’t bother to let them know. Few times the guard, forced by the management, substituted Emmanuel (although it was against their rules as he was the only guard there), the other times classes were just cancelled at the very last moment leaving our child upset and almost crying.
Every time when we talked to Cosette over the phone she made up a new excuse and promised that the next time there would be no problems. However next time we had the same problems again. After all when we asked for a refund Cosette refused it saying that the amount we paid was non-​refundable.

his is a great Washington Sports Club location. It’s pretty expensive to be a member, but you have the convenience of using locations all over the DMV area. That’s not to say their contract/​fee practices are clean, but I’ve been a member of other gyms in the past and they’re all a little shady.
This WSC location has an indoor pool, clean equipment, helpful staff, and plenty of classes.
WSC validates your parking ticket but it’s only good for 2 hours. After that, its $ 2 an hour. This really stinks if I want to take a long class and do some other exercises. You’re better off running into CVS and getting a pack of gum for the double validation.

«The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy»
Why did he just quote that???
My question to you is, «what is the ultimate measure of a gym?» I’m gonna say: Customer service, cleanliness, availability, variety of machines, time of wait for machines, and price.
Let’s see where Washington Sports Club ranks:
Customer service: The staff here is exceptionally nice. I haven’t met a staff member there who is marginally unfriendly. Everyone is happy and seems to enjoy what their doing. Recent shout out to Henry for helping me out!
Cleanliness: The place is always clean, the machines are always being cleaned, and the locker room is always spotless.
Availability: Hours are expansive and accomodating.
Variety of machines: Pretty much everything you could ever want in a gym. If you want more… you probably don’t know how to utilize the machines they have.
Time for wait: maybe a short wait if its peak hours, otherwise it’s fairly wait-​friendly (as in short).
Price: Price is a little high. This is why I’m taking away one star. People always ask me… why don’t you just go to fitness first. My response, «this gym is much cleaner, friendly, and enjoyable to go-​to» Will that justify 2 and a half times the price of fitness first… barely. Hey, but I keep on paying it! So, that’s saying something.
They have a pool, albeit small, and they have plenty of classes that I always mean to try out! Soon enough WSC… soon enough!

On a recent business trip to Bethesda, I found my hotel’s gym quite sad and when I looked up local gyms I was super happy to see that WSC had a branch nearby. I’m a member of NYSC, so my membership allowed me to use this branch. Located in a nice shopping area of downtown Bethesda, this WSC is within walking distance of restaurants, clothing stores, a flea market on weekends and theaters. It’s a perfect location.
As soon as I walked into this WSC I knew I was going to have a great workout. The gym looks like it was recently renovated. The design of the gym lends itself to wide open spaces. There’s a small studio in the front (which I believe is used for day care), the reception area is really big and leads to a waiting area and offices for the staff. The first floor has several cardio machines mixed with weights towards the back. Downstairs you’ll find the swimming pool, more cardio, weights and the studio. The studio is a good sized one and could easily fit a class of 30+ folks inside. The locker rooms are also downstairs and they are *big*. The lockers are the «double sized» ones often seen in suburbs but not at the NYSC’s I go to in the city. It was really a treat to see.
All the machines in this gym are spaced apart nicely and the weights were perhaps more organized than I’ve ever seen before. Nothing was broken and everyone else working out here was very courteous.
Visits to this WSC were highlights of my trip to Bethesda. This gym is awesome and I’m glad I found it!