Gymbox

Joined the Covent Garden gym for a 3 month contract because I was moving right after the 3 months. Looked like a pretty cool club to me, nice, welcoming staff, good music, dim lights– sounds great! But no. I signed up in December to start on January 1^st (because I was going away on holiday and didn’t want to waste gym days). The sales rep said the contract would be automatically terminated after the 3 months and that I didn’t have to cancel in advance or anything. Now it’s the second week of April and they’ve told me that they will charge me for April AND May. I’m out of the country. Sales rep explicitly failed to provide me with the actual, paper contract for me to read, so now I’m being overcharged for 2 months.
So. decent gym, but customer service sucks!

WOHOO! I love gymbox!
They have great classes and dj playing everyday there! everybody is super nice and you don’t feel bad going to the gym :)

I joined Gymbox on a founder’s rate at Westfield Stratford and they gave me a hopper membership until Stratford opens in March. Farringdon is the easiest branch for me to get to and there’s parking nearby at night so it’s the one I tend to go to.
I frankly don’t understand why so many have given this place bad reviews. It’s a gym., not a night club. I wasn’t sold into joining based on sound systems, DJs, parties or décor. I just wanted to go somewhere that had a decently stocked weights section. A bonus for me was the fact that they run BJJ (gi) classes as well as MMA classes.
To be fair the gym is in the basement and spread out over two floors. It can be a bit confusing at first but you get the hang of it quickly enough. The area around the combat mats and boxing ring smells like a sixth form boys’ locker room. Avoid unless you’re contributing to the staaaaaank. The locker rooms are large and clean. There are single sex saunas in the locker rooms and towel rental is £1.50.
I mostly use the resistance and free weights. They’re not in the same area which is kind of lame but not a big deal. The cage and interval area has jump boxes, tyres, rope and kettlebells. There’s a TRX (just one) next to the combat area on the way to the cardio room. I can’t comment too much on the cardio area as I never use it but it looks pretty standard to me.
Music is constantly being blasted on the speakers and I’m not too fond of any of the stuff they put on so I always bring an ipod and headphones along.
The weights area is better stocked than Covent Garden, I haven’t been to the other branches so can’t comment in comparison. I would appreciate some more EZ curl bars but it’s not a big deal, there’s plenty to do. Two power racks, a Smith machine, dumbbells ranging from 2kg — unimaginable kg, cable station as well as a large variety of free weight machines (chest press, row, leg press etc.)
Come late at night or at the weekends in order to avoid the crowds, I’ve heard it gets busy right after work on weeknights so try to avoid those hours as much as possible.
There is a RGA (Roger Gracie Academy) affiliate running the BJJ here. Being a regular member entitles you to sign up for some classes but if you really want to get the best out of this world class training, it’s better to sign up for the BJJ membership. Roger Gracie is a multiple time world champion and amongst the most successful, if not THE most successful BJJ competitor of all time.

This gym runs SCAM business and has the worst customer service I have ever seen.
I had on 6 months contract and when they sign you up no one tells about its details. It turns out it doesn’t stop automatically but keeps rolling until you cancel it.
So after 6 months, I expected the contract to end but it didn’t. A week after I spoke to a manager Mel on the phone and she said it’s OK they cancel it after 6 months but I need to come in person.
When I come in, she said she doesn’t remember talking to me and won’t cancel the contact early. So I ended up paying for 2 extra months even though I haven’t used the gym facilities after 6 months. That is a total SCAM.
More over, their manager lies to you in the face that they want you to have good experience from the gym at the same time saying it’s their business model to charge you for nothing.
Avoid this gym at any cost.

Some of the reviews here are a bit harsh but some are very fair. I’ve been to pretty much all the gymbox’s and have to say Farringdon is very cool once you know where everyhitng is and it really doesnt take long to figure it all out. The equipment there is new and the Frame Room they have is awesome. If youre there for a ‘chilled out’ work out then it’s not for you. The whole mentality of the place is to work hard and get results and it works.
The PT’s as with ALL gymbox branches are god awful, bumping into you whilst walking and trying to eye up some girl or other. I have to say that the Farringdon ones are the worst.

I had a quick look around here before joining another gym in the area. It was quite interesting finding a gym which was based on so many floors.
Needless to say I was surprised when i saw the cost.
To the teams credit I wasn’t barraged by emails and phone calls when I didn’t join but the overall experience wasn’t the best.
Too many floors was its major downfall. Good for some but I can imagine not the majority.

I went here for about 6 months when I first moved to London and was living in corporate housing in Farringdon. I mainly went there for the classes, which are fun and different than your typical gym classes. The trampoline rave class was one of my favorites! Jumping on trampolines in a dark room with glow sticks = amazing fun cardio workout. The only trouble with the classes is that they fill up very quickly. I would set an alarm to remind me to sign up for the following day’s classes otherwise you are out of luck (but the Gymbox app makes signing up for classes easy at least). The rest of the gym is good too (as long as you can avoid being hounded by the personal trainers). The DJ spinning during peak hours adds a fun touch. However, the spinning classes are held out in the cardio area, not in a separate studio which always seems strange. Good thing I’m not a fan of spinning…

Contrary to what most people say, I think it’s actually a very well sized, well stocked gym — and for central London it’s fairly priced. The changing rooms are the best I’ve seen at a gym.
My main problem with this branch is the personal trainers and other staff. The PTs seem more interested in perving over their female clients. The idea of teaching their clients good form and proper gym etiquette seems utterly alien to them. I am also fed up with getting a sales pitch from one every time I stretch.
Other members of staff seem more interested in flirting with each other than helping people.
The other thing is this ridiculous club ‘vibe’ they try and push. The music they play is sometimes so loud that I can’t hear the music playing via my headphones. They will also dim the lights, not only where the spin bikes are but the whole cardio area.
If you want to lift weights properly I would strongly suggest avoiding Saturday afternoons when every curl bro in town is trying to ‘get his pump on’. Presumably so he can fill out his new G-​Star Tee for his night out.
To sum up, it’s a decent gym with a far higher average of idiots than you might get elsewhere.

WHAT a SCAM! don’t join!
Being badgered by e-​mail for unpaid gym membership.
Only joined because I was told by the pleasant salesman I could cancel any time; i was working a temp contract and always intended to leave afterwards. That’s why I was paying more per month.
I gave verbal notice, at the reception and was told I couldn’t cancel unless I «signed a form» but they didn’t have any! Three months later they txt me every month, despite numerous calls and e-​mails.

if I didn’t get my membership for 75% off with work I’d never use this rabbit hole of a gym. I honestly could not find my way out of here one day and generally lost my shit. small areas, unfinished fixtures and fittings. poor. if I was paying £57 a month I’d be livid.
the only reason it gets 2 stars is because the classes are good fun and the sauna is hot hot hot. peace.

First let me say I love GymBox Holborn and was using that branch until Farringdon opened, so I get the whole GymBox vibe and their crazy classes.
The Farringdon branch is nothing like the Holborn one. The bikes and beats classes are in a corner of the main gym floor where in Holborn they are in a room with club UV and mirrors and a banging sound system. And the class i went to ran 15 mins short.
I wandered round looking for the main gym for a while before I realised I was in it.
The changing rooms have a council estate swimming baths pastel colour vibe rather than the Factory records vibe of Holborn. It’s too bright, looks dingy and is a miserable experience.
This was billed as a cut above the other branches, but after riding round looking for somewhere to leave the bike, a class than ran short, and the atmosphere of a walk-​in health centre I just didn’t get it. So I’ve switched back to Holborn. And when I went in to do so I learned I was the fifth one today.