Bayfront Fitness

Amazing facility with large locker rooms and awesome new spin room! Rich the owner is a great Personal Trainer who lives the lifestyle and you see him in the club daily. This facility is one of a kind with the small club feel and large open space. I’ve been training for 20 + years and this place has it all.

Nice, laid back gym in menlo
Overall the vibe here is nice. The crowd is mostly working professionals from the nearby office buildings. I’ve been here for months and only had once encountered a douchebag, which is surprisingly low. Most of the folks there are pretty nice
Apparently this place used to be the bomb back in the day, at least according to some of the old timers who still frequent it.
In terms of the place itself, I really like the fact that they have 2 huge «garage» doors that they leave open right next to the treadmills – you can run for long periods of time and the wind from the nearby waterfront will still keep you cool. What a perfect place for treadmills! The weights and other equipment are not the newest, but more than good enough for any exercise routine you can think of.
Going to keep gym’ing!

Why can’t I delete this review?

This gym is perfectly fine for what it is BUT apparently will bill you forever after you cancel your membership. Sure, they say it is an easy commitment and a short, only 15-​day cancellation time for a month-​to-​month membership. That only works if they actually stop charging you after you’ve cancelled — which has not been my experience. Beware! And only join this gym if you are ok paying for it forever. And if you do try to leave, calling a several times to receive assurances that you will no longer be charged, only to be charged again. Ugh. I hope to one day be free of Bayfront Fitness…

Bayfront fitness is my perfect gym. Plenty of free weights as well as cable machines, and very rarely is it super crowded. This is your classic neighborhood gym not a luxury spa with some machines and yoga studio.
The equipment is old but well maintained. They have everything you need squat rack, smith machine, bench press, dumbells, etc… plus a good selection of cable equipment if you prefer these. The cardio equipment is old and is continuosly being repaired and cleaned, but there is always 1 – 2 free working free pieces. Whenever I have been in to use the cardio equipment (treadmill, bike, recumbinant bike, or stairmaster) I have not had to wait yet.
If you are looking for the latest state of the art cardio machines and exercise machines this is not the place for you. If you are looking for a clean funtional gym that has everything you need to get in shape without the crowds hassels or expense stop in and check them out.

Very basic, no frills gym. I recently started taking the Tuesday/​Thursday lunch circuit training class with Rich. I love it!
Friendly staff, everyone has a low-​key attitude, and there are lots of clean towels.
Back in the day I used to work out at the Gold’s gym in MV — it was full of leering guys and I had to wait around to use many of the machines. This is nothing like that.

Very cool place… low-​key, good music… clean clean clean and free towels what more do you need? No crowds and fresh air when you want it. Oh and the muay thai kickboxing class has been cancelled, btw.

Great staff, facility, no crowds. everything you need. Showers are private individual stalls and locker room is safe. I have been to at least 10 gyms and this one is my favorite, it’s like working out at home.

I’m torn with this gym. Let me get one thing straight off the bat: this place is your textbook «hole-​in-​the-​wall» gym, which is a GOOD thing! Not too crowded, it’s easy to find, and the machines and weights are in good if not great condition. There isn’t much, but it’s just right for the amount of people that come there. I don’t remember having to wait much to use a machine. The staff there is fairly nice, although personally, I’ll just get a quick glance and then they’ll look away. Either they see me as some sort of thug (nothing to be proud of) or I just don’t have the kind of face to say «hello» to. Nonetheless, they’re cool people.
There is absolutely no problem with parking and the gym itself (inside and out) is fairly clean. Here’s my complaint:
Recently they added a muy thai mixed martial arts training class that meet about 2, maybe 3, times a week. I don’t have a problem with that at all. In fact, I’ve had my hand in doing some mixed marital arts. But it becomes super annoying when the students there (who are mainly «wanna-​be rough-​neck guys) stand around and start taaaaalking and laaaaaughing and taking up all the floor space doing absolutely NOTHING. I get the feeling that because they are in this class they need to share their Who’s Who MMA knowledge with each other at the top of their lungs.
«DUDE, TITO ORTIZ WOULD TOOOTALLY KICK RAMPAGE’S BUTT!»
«NO DUDE, RAMPAGE IS THE MAN!»
Well, that’s all good and awesome… just keep it down and get the hell out of the way. We need the floor. People who come to the gym to flirt and/​or do nothing… could there be a more annoying thing in this world?
Aside from my little personal grievance, this gym is a great place to get in a good sweat and get on with your life.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Dodgeball, this is the closest gym I’ve ever seen that compares to Average Joe’s. Of course they don’t actually play dodgeball, but the staff through the years like Scott and Sean and most of the members at BF are super laid-​back and to me it feels like you are just hanging out with friends. Sometimes it’s too mellow and I wind up reading magazines more than I lift weights.
I’ve been going here for nearly a decade and even though I’ve been slacking off and not showing up for a few months (or more), every time I go back, its just like seeing old friends where you pick up right where you left off, like you just saw them yesterday.
This is not a meathead gym like Gold’s with grunting Roid-​gorillas benching 300lbs and then not wiping down slimed equipment. There is no leering or intimidation. Also, it’s not a super fancy poser gym like Clubsport or some of the fancy/​pricey Metro gyms in the city. If you are looking to either scope or pose you would be wasting your time at Bayfront. Members here just want to get a little exercise without waiting for equipment or paying for fancy frills like at other gym/​spas. I can’t think of a time I’ve ever had to stand around waiting for a piece of equipment (ahem Fitness 101 or 24 Hour)!
They don’t have a climbing wall, pool, daycare or some fancy juicebar.
Some of the equipment needs updating and the TV’s in front of the eliptical trainers, treadmills and stationary bicycles are not 60″ plasmas.
What you do get is regular old-​school free weights and fitness machines (mostly paramount) in a cozy, clean, non-​smelly, low key setting without ‘breaking the bank’ in monthly dues.
To an «Average Joe» like me, Bayfront Fitness is perfect.

I love going to Bayfront Fitness to work out. I go there to feel healthy and keep in shape, not train for Mr. Olympia, so it has everything I need. The cable weight machines are great because they give you some of the feeling of free weights, but are more efficient and work out every muscle group in a short amount of time. The cardio warmup in front of the bank of TVs gets me started up, and informed with what’s going on. Scott, the owner, is a friendly guy who knows your name, and makes you feel at home. He is always offering a tip or two on how you can get the most value out of your workout. I think it’s a place where women can feel comfortable, and guys can who want to can lift the big weights. And the place is a real bargain as well. It’s a basic gym, but you don’t really need all the extra frills (and don’t need to pay for them). I would highly recommend Bayfront Fitness.

I am very happy that I found this place! If you work in the Redwood City, Atherton, Menlo Park area, it’s a great location. About a block away from the 84, on its way to becoming the Dunbarton bridge, on the east side of the 101. (Notice I said, the 84 and the 101, yep, I’m a southern Cali boy. Califas, baby!)
It’s a small place. And as they describe themselves, «low-​key.» Even during peak work-​out hours, I haven’t seen this place packed. That is what I love. No waiting in line for the machines. Just get in a work-​out and get on with the rest of the day.
Each time I’ve been here, I’ve seen several employees there as well. Everyone is really friendly. It’s pretty much a no attitude place. Yet another plus in my opinion.
Like I said, the place is small. The only machines that they have more than one of are the tread mills, bikes and step machines. I think they have about five of each. A small, little gym. A small, pleasant, friendly, low-​key gym.
At first, I was thinking that maybe I shouldn’t write a Unilocal review, because then maybe more people would go… But, only one other person has written a review, so I doubt if crazy hoards of gym-​membership-​needing-​persons will come crashing into spoil my small crowd happiness.
But if they do, they won’t need to bring a towel. They provide those. Cheers.

My Gym for many years. Great relaxed atmosphere.