Onelife Fitness – Chesapeake Square Gym

They do not give you accurate information when trying to cancel membership. They charged me an extra month even though I cancelled membership. They are rude!!!

My family and I have been members here for a couple of years. My son loves to come and play in the aquatics area. This morning his is playing in the kiddie area while mommy is relaxing in the hot tub. The staff is always friendly. There have been occasions where the water to the kiddie area has been turned off due to private swim lessons which can be quite annoying at times. Otherwise we love it here.

Giving a 1 star rating really sucks because the facility was nice and the daycare was awesome, however, I was told that when my contract ended that I would have a choice to pay only for the months that I utilized the gym. However, when my contract ended the payments were still deducted for months that I had not used without any notification that the contract ended. Once I caught this and called to speak with someone they were very pushy for me to not cancel but to just freeze my account for 3 months and then I could cancel after the 3 month freeze and that they would send notification. If I wasn’t contacted after my one year contract, why would I trust them to call me after a 3 month «freeze»? I called back to confirm that wanted to cancel later that day and was told that they were busy and to call back the in morning. Like seriously?!? I guess this is the kind of customer service that I have paid for over the past year. I will never step foot in this place again.

It’s sad that I have to give this business one star because I actually liked the gym itself. I picked this gym because it had a daycare for my little one & lots of other extras like the pool, sauna, etc. I visited this gym regularly for a full year. However, my problems with this place began when I was nearing the end of my contract. I called about a month before my contract was up because I didn’t want to continue utilizing my membership since we had recently moved further away. I spoke to a worker & specifically asked if my contract would automatically end or if there was something I needed to do to make sure I wasn’t charged after my contract was up. She told me that she would notate my desire to discontinue services on my account & that once the contract was up I wouldn’t be charged anymore. Fast forward a few months later, I realize that I have been charged by OneLife fitness every single month since my contract ended. I called immediately & they asked me to come in to speak with someone, which I thought was strange. When I arrived & explained the situation the «sales person» actually tried to get me to sign another contract! I explained again that when I called, a worker here told me she would notate my account to have my membership cancelled once the one year period was over & that I’ve been charged the past few months. He said «Yeah, well I can see that you haven’t visited us in quite a while». I told him that I hadn’t visited because I had been told my contract was up & I wasn’t supposed to have been charged anymore. The only thing he offered me was 2 more months free at the gym, a gym I hadn’t been to in 6 months & was far from where I lived. Wtf! I explained again that I shouldn’t have been charged, that I called & spoke to a worker here & was told that she would notate my account that I didn’t want to renew my contract and I would not be charged once my contract was over. Also, I haven’t visited the gym because I didn’t think I had existing benefits here, so I should be refunded that money. He said, «I’m sorry you were misinformed by someone who works here, but there’s nothing I will do for you». Do not trust these people. I thought if I called & spoke to someone who worked there that I would get straight answers. Not only weren’t they straight, but the answers were complete lies & the refusal from the management to do anything to fix the situation was completely unacceptable. They could see the I stopped attending the gym the same month my contract ended & it was clear I had gotten the information from someone who worked there regarding my account. Yet they still refused to take any responsibility for anything. And to have the nerve to try to get me to sign another contract when you just screwed me out of several hundred dollars??? I am telling everyone I can about this places poor business practices. Please, please, please take your business elsewhere.

My partner and I travel a lot for work and finding a great gym is like finding an oasis in the Sahara. We were both impressed by the size, cleanliness, diversity of weight training and cardio equipment and the friendliness of staff (especially Kathleen at the front desk) as well as the members. Any time we are in the Suffolk area, we will sure to come back to work out here!

Onelife fitness is by far the best gym I’ve been to. They have plenty of up to date equipment helpful staff and a ton of group exercise classes. The facilities are well kept and spacious. Each facility has a cinema where you can watch a movie while you workout how cool is that? The joining fee was a little steep in my opinion but for a gym of this magnitude it’s worth it.

It all started with me emailing them (which was a task to find their email address) and inquiring about my existing membership. It just seemed like the $ 80 per month that me and my wife were paying was high. I was unable to find any membership rates on their website (which is horrible btw). The email back told me to come into the gym and talk with them about it. I asked if they could just email, mail or let me know what the various membership package rates are. I was again referred to the gym to talk with someone.
So instead of doing that, I emailed Anytime Fitness gym down the street and they were willing to provide me with the various rates and policies. Funny how a smaller gym provides so much better customer service, has a better website and is less expensive.
I cancelled my membership yesterday with OneLife. When I got home, I found that they had charged me for two more months. Even though it was past the contract date, their «policy» is to give a 30 day notice. It would have been nice to have been told that when I sat down with someone. Or I’d also would have like to use the gym for another month… seeing how I am paying for it. But now that I have moved to Anytime Fitness, a gym that has much more consumer based policies and don’t make you read the fine print to see how you may be getting screwed… I’ll be far happier in the long run. I’m not sure how OneLife continues to be so non-​customer focused and yet people continue to put up with their policies.
That being said, their policies have improved. When I went to cancel my membership five years ago at the Newport News location, I was required to come into the gym Mon-​Fri 9am-​4pm in order to sit with the manager just to cancel my membership. So at that time, I had to take a day off of work in order to cancel a gym membership. Nice to see its not that bad. But OneLife still has a long way to go.

The facility recently opened so it is still new and clean. There are plenty of equipments both upstairs and downstairs so even when it is crowded, you don’t have to wait. OneLife also have several spacious and open classrooms on the second floor for early morning yoga and other aerobic exercises. There are big windows to allow natural lighting inside and it also provides beautiful outdoor scenery. Although I do not participate in these classes, the option does exist for me, which is comforting I guess.
Another really cool thing about this gym is that they have multiple indoor movie theaters where you can bike, elliptical, and do treadmill. Generally, I prefer doing my cardio out in the open in public view with everyone else, but occasionally I would peek inside their theater to see what’s playing and who’s hiding there.
I have yet to try their pool, but judging from the looks of it, the pool is very children-​friendly. There is this contraption on top of the water slide that is powered by water, which automatically fills up a bucket on top, which then dumps on anyone underneath it every 5 seconds. Fascinating…
They also have racquetball and basketball courts. My only issue is that their indoor bb court is a little on the small side, but overall it’s a great facility and I am glad that it opened near where I live.
Pic:

Maybe it’s the lights, or the paint on the wall.
One life is one of those gyms that i look at from the outside and go «im not sure why it feel so special– it has everything every gym has» (well, except for this great kids mini adventure pool. thats only one life folks)
Im from NJ, and back home i go to Golds gym, and not every golds, just this one thats ridiculously far away from my apt because it just feels good being there. Thats how i feel about one life.
Pros:
–I go during rush hour, and i can always get a machine.
–The facility is always clean– bathroom, machines, walls, etc
–There’s always staff roaming around (easily spotten with their blue polos)
–Rates are comparable to other gyms (40/​month with contract)
— They have a huge pool, squash court, basketball court and cardio cinema!
— Staff are nice
— Many tvs (usually on boring channels, but still tvs!)
— they have daycare
–plenty of parking, even when they’re busy
— multiple classes for when one is not self motivated.
— a women’s only section!
–smoothie bar
Cons– one really huge one– that i can not teleport this gym when i move.
— small con– the hours. I wish they stayed open later on weekends.
— also, the tvs dont have subtitles. It helps esp. when i want to listen to music and watch tv simultaneously.
Great gym, nice people who mind their own buisness. Youll see all types of people here– some who look like they just came from prison (because of their great bodies) and some who look like dinner to them. Women, and men both work in harmony around weights. Sometimes eye candy, sometimes id rather close my eyes, but i ALWAYS get a great work out here!

So I joined Onelife about 6 months after having my daughter and in preparation for a trip to the Caribbean. They have different payment options available, but ultimately I signed the year contract that put me at $ 35/​month with an extra $ 15/​month to take my daughter to the kid zone. Let me tell you, the kid zone is WORTH IT. It’s a huge room (with a separate infant/​toddler area, which is EVERYTHING) with a big TV, video games, books, and playground area. They will only keep your child for 2 hours and believe me, they will call you and drag you out of your class if you’re there even one minute over 2 hours. Something else I didn’t know about was that they DO NOT change diapers. I was a little dissapointed by this because often times I’d be right in the middle of finding my chi in yoga class when someone would pull me out of class to change a diaper. I guess for $ 15/​month that isn’t in their job description (but honestly I would pay more if they would just do it and leave me be during my workout). Otherwise, the girls there are friendly, if not a bit too young, but they do a good job of diffusing the kids when the parents leave.
That said, my goal in coming here was only to lose about 5−8lbs for my upcoming vacay, which I did, and then just maintain a decent cardio level until my 2^nd baby. However, if you’re one of those who is looking for crazy workouts, the cycle classes are intense and I hear the TNT classes are sick; they’re like P90X/​Crossfit/​all of that business in one. My gig was the cardio cinema, which is a large theater playing movies with cardio equipment inside, and the yoga classes. Neve is the best yogi there (she does essential oil temple massages!) and Miyah is good too (ie, lots of deep relaxation :) The point is, whatever your fitness goals are, there will be something here for you.
My ONE gripe is that one of their big selling points is the indoor water park for kids, except it is literally never turned on and no one ever goes on it. That’s one thing I really wanted to take my daughter in but it was never on so for that I take a star away. It should be more inviting and made available ²⁴⁄₇ instead of waiting for guests to ask for it to be turned on while its empty.

Burpees here, burpees there, burpees everywhere!
This gym is so big and spacious thatI feel like I could pretty much drop down for burpees anywhere at this place. I also heart:
–tons of fans, so it doesn’t get too hot or stuffy
–never crowded when I get here so no wait for machines/​space
–super clean… no shows allowed on the stretching mat!
–two racquetball courts and two pools!
–fancy bike machines where I can take my own spinning class
–no «meat market» feeling
Minus one star for having difficulty with the touch screens (i.e. having to press one button way too many times for it to work) on the cardio machines upstairs… damn technology.

This Onelife Fitness of all the ones in the area is the best. Wow! Only problem is I am hardly ever in that area of Chesapeake to go there. Crap!!!
Everyone has been talking about how cool this place is so when I was out and about last week I stopped in for a quick workout. It has all the state of the art equipment the other OLF gyms have. What was so awesome about this place was the pool area! Now I don’t swim nor do I try given that I look like a bulldog in water but the pool facility there makes me want to learn and incorporate swimming into my workout. There is even a water play area for kids (or adults like me that want to act like kids) that reminds me of the Great Wolf Lodge.
Best part about this place? The bathrooms. Yep, the bathrooms. They’re clean. They have a sauna. They… They have lockers that are almost twice the size of regular lockers so I can actually fit my gym bag inside of it conveniently. How one little thing makes a big difference!
I wish this particular layout was closer to me. When I plan to be in that part of Chesapeake I will for sure stop in for a workout.

I joined OneLife in October 2010 for the group classes.
I’m particularly pleased by the Catie, the new yoga teacher, and Anika, one of the Zumba teachers.
I like BodyFlow, PiYo and Pilates as well and try to go to 6 — 8 classes per week. This makes the gym an incredible value, as each class would cost $ 10 on its own, so for $ 40 per month I’m breaking even the first week.
Also, Paula’s spin class is amazing, though in my mind less enjoyable than yoga or Zumba. I lost a quart of liquid. Oy