Equinox

I don’t review often as I probably should, but some things are really worth taking the time. EQX NPB has some of the best yoga instructors going in So Cal. Wende Lichon detailed ques, fine tunes, flow, and music really are top notch and illustrate a great deal of time, preparation, and thought obviously was done on her own time to make a great hour that absolutely sets you up for the rest of your day! Raquel rocks, Joey energizes, Brynn well she’s an instructors instructor… bonus for all. These talented positive people are the reason I joined and 6 months in the reason I will stay. Def worth the price!

If your a person who values cleanliness then Equinox is for you. Always smells great as you see the cleaning crew always at work trying to keep the gym as clean as can be.

This review is about Jason Smith. He is the most professional, knowledgeable, respectful and helpful advisor I’ve met. This club had a lot of changes in their management (very unorganized) during the past year and since GM, Josh left I had no doubt that Jason would become our GM here, especially being so experienced working in this club for the last 2 years. I don’t even know if we have a current GM now and we need someone like Jason, please!

Starting to go down. I love that it’s small, darker gym. Everything is close. The maintenance though is wanting. The TV in men’s room has been broken fir there weeks. The relaxation chairs in front of the broken TV are filthy. The door st steam room gets stuck and screeches. Dirty towels are regularly overflowing from bins. The drinking fountain in stretching area barely produces water meaning your lips have to almost touch the faucet.
I pay &143 a month. I expect better.

I signed up here because my assistants, the membership advisors, and management here told me that this place had people like myself who have high standards, expect the best, and are willing to spend any amount money to get what they want.
This is a completely honest review of this gym. I have made a Unilocal just to tell you all how horrible it is here. The gym is horrible, but I want to make one thing clear before I begin. The personal trainers including BJ are very nice, respectful, and actually care. To me, they’re more than just Equinox employees, they’re my friends.
Getting back on track, the gym isn’t really special. Members here pay $ 150+ a month and the facility lacks many things other gyms have. First of all, I had a $ 19,000 Gold Apple Watch stolen out of my backpack in my locker. It was my fault for not putting a lock on the locker but it’s ridiculous that Equinox doesn’t have automated locks on their lockers. You can go to the 24 ultra sport down the street and have these lockers there for $ 40 a month… Why doesn’t Equinox?
2) The parking at this facility is an absolute joke, right now the second floor of the parking structure is dedicated to Equinox members. It’s too crowded because the gym keeps adding more members and hasn’t had an efficient idea to resolve the parking issue. Every month they claim they’re working on it… But nothing happens. If you have nice vehicles, I would strongly suggest not parking them in the structure because they’ll get scratched like mine. I now park across the street.
3) The management here is an absolute joke and ever since Carlene took over as GM this place really hit rock bottom. I asked to have my training sessions converted to a credit at the spa and they declined (what’s the big deal). After getting the OK from corporate, the gym here said no. While my assistants investigated on why… The management at this facility were very rude, hostile, and treated myself and my assistants like crap. I waited 4 days for a phone call about my issue… If I wanted to be treated terribly, I would sign up at 24 hour fitness.
The previous GM, Josh was great. He cared and was friendly. He decided to leave last minute and Equinox was forced to move Carlene up because they were probably in a time crunch. right now from my view, it looks like she thinks she’s a king there and is more focused on throwing parties every month by the pool than actually making members happy. My advice to you Carlene is to focus on your members and less on the parties that no one attends.
4) Training: the trainers are really good, but I am disgusted to find out what they are paid. My trainer makes $ 27 a session with me (I pay $ 120 a session to Equinox) on top of my membership fee. Recently, they raised the price by $ 5 claiming that it benefits the trainer… I don’t believe it and according to two trainers there, they won’t see anything until July.
In closing, until the GM of this place wakes up and realizes 1) she’s not a princess and 2) pointless parties by the pool doesn’t solve issues at the gym… This place will continue to drop. Equinox claims to be the best of the best, spend a month and thousands of dollars here and tell me it’s worth it.

I went to College in Cali, went back home to Dallas, came back to Cali in 2004. I’ve been a member of EQ-​related clubs ever-​since. First, Sports Club Irvine (which is now an EQ club), and then EQ Newport Beach… so I am no spring chicken when it comes to the accommodations of these local EQ clubs.
While I loved this gym and it was my «home-​base» for so long, I beg to differ now.
There is ZERO PARKING. Be careful before you join… I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve gone to a class and there is no parking, and I’m frustrated, and LATE, and I miss the class alltogether.
If you are a corporate executive, as I am, on a time-​line, forget about it. Management continually promises change, yet none comes… There is no restitution, and no «we are sorry»…just promises of valet parking to off-​set the «Google» office building crowds.
Of course It’s nice to have «valet parking» on the 5^th floor. so you fight for a parking spot, in a dire attempt to make it to the gym in time, and then resort to their 5^th floor «valet parking», which you can barley get out of, because the cars are bumper-​to-​bumper — stacked one on top of the other – (forget about the 3-​point turn!!)
Poor attendants are duly apologetic! I feel so bad for them as they apologize for the situation! It’s like this every time, and it’s really NOT what I’d expect when I am spending $ 150 /​month for a «top-​tier» gym establishment!
Aside from the parking, from a management perspective, there is little flexibility in this gym. It’s unfortunate, because all of my friends go here and it’s the closest to my house.
:(So sad… because there are other options: Barry’s Bootcamp, Lifetime Fitness, 24 Hour, Core Plus Pilates, Pilates Plus, etc. around the area

The reason we started with Equinox three years ago was simple: a high-​end, clean, and exclusive environment with like-​minded people who care about quality.
Unfortunately after the first year, things started to change. Locker rooms started looking and feeling like frat house hangouts, equipment left on the floor and out of place started being ignored by staff and management, and a once-​quiet and peaceful workout area started to echo with the loud grunts of self-​centered crossfit wanna-be’s, who simply drop and throw equipment anywhere they want — and claim a quarter of the gym floor to themselves for hours. Not your intellectual type for sure.
No staffer is ever concerned about people tripping on the weights anymore, asking the crossfit wannabe’s to wipe down equipment… They they simply navigate their way through without caring for the wellbeing and peace of the normal portion of the population.
Finally, there are probably 2 trainers for each person there… And they’re the worst offenders when it comes to cleaning up or respecting other people’s space and workout.

Equinox Newport Beach is an great gym. Clean, not too crowded, has a great vibe and excellent classes if you are into that.
I must say that of all people, Jason Smith in the membership department has gone way above and beyond his call of duty to make sure that many details were taken care of for me as a member. Although, he was not even the person who got credit for signing me up, but he still went out of his way to assist me so many times!
He has seriously been my «go to» person at this gym. Thank you Jason for keeping me a satisfied member! I really appreciate all your efforts!
Dr. AM

This particular Equinox location is an excellent exercise facility for those that enjoy working out in a smaller and less intimidating atmosphere. The gym itself and its locker rooms are very clean. Also, the staff is highly educated and helpful.

The front desk is friendly for the most part and then there’s this dude with Justin Bieber 2015 hair. I’m not sure if he’s super rude or mute. Maybe both? He managed to validate my parking ticket without saying a single word whilst having the stinkiest attitude. He is very skilled in multi-​tasking. I had questions regarding my membership but didn’t bother asking because his stink attitude was too STANK.
Stankness occurred Thursday, ¹⁰⁄₂₉ at 2:20pm.

This gym is an amazing facility with hideous business practices.
It was an ordeal to cancel. I would encourage everyone to pay close attention to the contract terms when you sign up. They will also freeze your membership for you under certain conditions, however your full dues and an additional $ 30.00 are owed for all of the months that you freeze. If you want to cancel you have to notify 30 days prior to the termination of your contract. You then must follow up numerous times to make sure its cancelled.
The facility itself is great. Ive uploaded a number of photos over the year I worked out there. For the most part the overall atmosphere is great. The other members are too. People are considerate, courteous and polite.
Rather than making it so difficult to cancel, why not have month-​to-​month memberships where if you terminate prior to a year you are charged an extra month of dues… or something. Anything so people can cancel easily.
Get your act together Equinox. I wanna love you but I just cant.

I originally joined this gym because it is across the street from my office. But I’ve been going here for about six months now and I love it. I even make the drive from my house on my days off.
The equipment is always clean and they are always getting new stuff! They have just about everything you need for every type of workout. The locker rooms are always clean and well stocked.
The Kids’ Club is awesome and my son looks forward to going. He usually is pretty tired once we leave and is asleep even before we hit the freeway :)

I love the «small community» feel of this club versus other clubs. It’s easy to get my workout finished quickly while of course enjoying all of the Equinox amenities along the way. I am honestly amazed at how awesome all of the classes are. The yoga teachers are fantastic, it really doesn’t feel like «gym» yoga at all, like you’re in a secluded yoga studio far far away. Also, the group X classes are so much fun, thanks to the energetic instructors. I can’t wait to try all of the classes! I love the eucalyptus steam room and refrigerated towels. An Equinox membership is WELL worth the monthly fee, I very highly recommend it to anyone who wants to invest in their health… which they should.

I just bought a membership yesterday at Equinox and I am so excited I feel like just by signing the consent forms my life just started a new chapter! You can’t get any better than this gym!!!

Honestly the biggest waste of money I ever forked out. Finally canceled my membership a few months ago. Should have done much sooner as I was month to month at this point for a very long time.
The classes are weird. Went to a spin class and had to leave after a few minutes because it was so AWFUL. Not sure what people are talking about when they say they are amazing classes because they SUCK. I was literally disturbed by the way the teacher was leading the class — seemed too serious/​depressed. Music also sounded horrendous. I’d rather fork out money for spin studio classes where they are GOOD.
Same for Pilates. Did a session and the girl was a fricken space cadet. The session was stressful because she was so anal about every movement but then like singing to herself like a loony. It was like are you serious right now. I heard she got fired so that’s probably a good thing for current members.
Did personal training (can you say expensive ugh) for a while there which was not bad although I know my old trainer is gone. Seems like a lot of staff turn around.

Such poor management. My husband was injured and had to freeze his membership long after he had fulfilled his one year contract. They erroneously started charging him again and after 3 attempts to get credit back to our card, and them assuring me I would receive the credit, I’m being forced to file a dispute with the credit card company. Any reputable outfit would not make me jump through such hoops. Sorry, cannot recommend this place.

If you enjoy paying extra for parking on top of your membership fee, joy this gym.
Several months ago, the parking situation became very limited with the opening of a new restaurant near this gym. You would think Equinox would allow 2.5 hours of validating parking, as given to members at other gym locations, such as downtown LA. Nope, they only provide 2 measly hours.
Since I’m 9 months pregnant, I take longer than 2 hours to take a spin class, waddle to the showers, dress, eat a yogurt after class and waddle back to my car on the 5^th floor. Equinox only validates for 2 hours of parking. Anything over is $ 1.75 every ½ hour over. That’s at least $ 360 dollars a year you didn’t anticipate in parking fees if you workout 4 times a week.
I’ve mentioned this several times to management, but they could care less. They do offer Valet parking after 9AM, which doesn’t accommodate the early birds. Oh, and make sure you tip the valet every time they park your car just so you can get your sweat on. This situation needs to be addressed ASAP.

Awesome health club. Very upscale and CLEAN. They have everything — gym, pool yoga aerobics and yes a spa — masage! Awesome!

Equinox Gym at Newport Beach is a great gym, mostly because of my wonderful trainer, Matt Kipper. I started training with Matt 3 years ago and to this day, I am consistently training with him!
The main reason I initially chose Matt was because of his physical therapy experience. Since I had a history of rotator cuff injuries, I wanted to make sure I had someone with adequate experience. I have a tendency to do too much too soon, causing new injuries and set-​backs to my healing. Soon enough, it became really frustrating for me to deal with. Luckily, Matt’s knowledge and expertise got me the results I needed!
Believe me, training with Matt has made a world of difference. As of yet, I have not had any injuries, which is amazing since I am prone to injuries. I now feel so much more flexible in my upper back and shoulders. I was never able to do shoulder exercises before working with Matt, but now I can do them comfortably. I’ve developed nicely and often receive a lot of compliments. It is nice to have other gym members notice the change I have gone through and compliment me on how strong I’ve become! Everyone asks who my trainer is because they want to train with the same trainer. Even my husband often tells me how great I look and encourages me to continue working out with Matt.
So! If you are prone to injury, or are recovering from an injury, go to Equinox and try one of Matt Kipper’s sessions. I am absolutely sure you won’t regret it!

I came to equinox newport on a weekend because I was waiting on my friends to finish with their appointments before hanging out. I had already done a spin class somewhere and circuit training and needed down time and a place to shower.
I had heard good things about this equinox over the irvine location and decided to check it out. Being from Downtown LA, I thought it was okay compared to the one I normally go to. The place is a lot bigger and has a pool, but the lockers were not as high tech as the one in the downtown location. It was a tad bit slower and did not have a real gym feel where people are working out really hard.
I like that they have a pool and a cabana in the back where I could possibly just chill, and maybe do a couple of laps but compared to the other equinox’s I’ve been to (downtown la location and west hollywood) this one would be my least favorite. Still a pretty good gym though I guess.