Bally Total Fitness

Pros: None
Cons: All aspects of this gym.

Bally's is the worst fitness experience of my life, with disgusting facilities, misleading and outright dishonest salespeople, and terrible services. During the hottest summer months, the air conditioner broke, so the gym was too hot to work out. In the men's room, there was a pair of dirty underwear on the counter that was not removed for weeks. Finally, there is that disgusting stench that permeates the air at all hours.

I've been to Bally's in the suburbs and Manhattan: both putrid.

The one in Manhattan was small, dingy, crowded, smelly, and too far from my office to be convenient, but since there are so few, this was closest. (Read my review of NYSC to see why Location is so important). In the suburbs, worse.

Last reason I hate Bally's: the music. Gyms pump music through their speakers to energize the clientele, but at NYSC, they put on a variety of songs in different genres, and low enough that if you want to put on headphones and listen to your own music, you can. At Bally's, you are subject to the whims of the gym staff, and if you put on headphones, then they make it louder.

Pros: None.
Cons: Focus is on money not personal fitness.

Bally's is a big business and acts like it. Their contracts are nearly impossible to get out of after you have realized how bad it is. There customer service is horrible in the club and on the phone. My free training session consisted of a PT showing me an hour of exercises that I could only do with a PT! Money money money, thats all they care about. And there is no escaping the advertising throughout the club. What ever you do, do not join bally's total scam!

Pros: Its got some weights
Cons: Can't get out of membership. Gym only open certain hours.

Bally's Fitness is like joining the mafia. You can't get out. If you're not serious exerciser remember that you are STUCK in a membership for 3 years. I've lifted weights for 15 years about 4-5 days a week so that's not the problem. My membership ran out in January so I joined 24 hr fitness which is far superior. Of course I get a charge on my credit card for Feb dues from Bally's. I talked to Bally's on the phone and they said that I was on a lifetime renewal plan so I had to let them know I was canceling.

Pros: NO Pros on this subject
Cons: You have to be extremely careful when signing a contract or membership with Bally Fitness

I signed with Bally Fitness in 2001. The 3 year contract back
then was $40 down plus $40/month and after mandatory 3 years
the premiums should have become $20/month, and ability to
cancel the contract without paying any fines. I enrolled on
a condition "Pay As It Goes" since I did not want to bind
myself for 3 years. Therefore I paid $200 down plus $40/month.

Here is the funniest part... After 2 years I happened to
review the terms of my membership with this club. And it
was stated in their computer that I WAS bound for 3 years.
Moreover, since i signed a "special" kind of deal and not
a regular 3 year contract (??!!), I was told that after 3
years I will have to keep paying $40/month...Go figure.

I should have had a sales person to outline the terms of
my membership in writing and have him sign it.

Pros: Nice steam room & saunas.
Cons: terrible business practice, bait&switch, outdated equipment, can't use full facilities

After a 2 year contract, i phoned into my local bally's to confirm that my contract is ending and that my automatic payments would cease. They did not cease! 3 months later i called, and they have no record of my trying to cancel on their "computers". They said that the contract i signed says i must give written cancellation. Funny because no one told me that when i signed up or when i called to cancel. They won't refund my money. They even have computer records showing that i hadn't even gone to bally's in eight months, but they don't care about that. It's all about signing on the dotted contract line.
They say you can maybe get outta the contract if you move somewhere far away from a nearby bally's....in which case that is what exactly happened to me, but my distance of 14.87 miles away from the nearest bally's doesn't qualify.
No toll free customer service number either!!!!!!!

Pros: Has a variety of Nautilus Machines
Cons: Poorly Kept/ Dirty Facilities, Badly Maintained Equipment, Shady Sales, Trainers not very knowledgeable

Bally's gym is a moldy piece of crap. They used to be the only place in town to work out, but there have been several new gyms built in the past year. It's impossible to work out there in peace. It is a far too social gym. You can't even swim laps in the poorly kept pool because there are so many senior in there it's like "Cocoon". They have one lane designated for lounging, but they don't enforce anything. Their classes are always getting cancelled as well. It would also be nice to have a full set of free weights in one place. You can't cancel either, even though the salesperson said I could cancel any time I wanted when I signed up. I got a personal trainer, and was sorely disappointed by the fact that I was left alone for half the time and the other half I was walked through a super easy light weight routine.

Pros: Clean with lots of equipment.
Cons: Lack of knowledge in personal trainers (typical).

I've been to a number of Bally's here in Portland, Oregon and all have seemed OK to me. They've been clean and will stocked with gear... and plenty of classes. There IS, however, quite a lot of variablity in the different outlets. Some have pools; some basketball courts. My main beef is that at one branch they must have an arrangement to give some free entry/memberships to local poor folks (which I don't mind in general), but in this case it has caused a flood of kids just hanging out. This is not good... but it's not a serious problem at this point. Finally, the knowledge-base of the personal trainers is weak, but I think most personal trainers at these sorts of facilities are poor.

Pros: Lots of available equipment in the mornings.
Cons: Very poor customer service at the club and with the head office.

I joined Bally's in my area and enjoyed the experience initially. After 6 months the club cancelled the early morning classes that I attended and offered only crowded evening classes. I continued my morning workouts until I moved out of the area and had to cancel my membership which took 6 weeks of letter writing and phone calls and cost me twice the stated cancellation fee.

Pros: An abundance of equipment.
Cons: Way overpriced compared to other gyms. You're paying for all those extra machines!

I'm paying an enormous amount for Bally's "Deluxe" membership. Word of caution - don't do it. And beware - don't sign three year contracts. Ever. The shorter, the better. Realize that if they start charging an arm and a leg for a shorter contract, you're probably getting ripped off.

Go for a smaller, neighborhood gym with a smaller price tag. Bally's is simply not worth it.

Pros: Being ripped off negates anything positive I may remember about belonging to this gym.
Cons: Cheating and rude employees, as described above.

I belonged to Bally's when I lived in Colorado Springs, but four months ago I moved to Oak Ridge, where there are no Bally's branches.

I talked to someone at my old gym about canceling my membership and he said that I would have to mail them proof of my change of address. My membership was already paid off, and canceling meant they would owe me $170, minus the $70 cancellation fee.

Of course, the fine print said that my membership would not be considered cancelled until it was processed. Right away I knew I would never see my hundred dollars, because they would certainly wait until my membership elapsed on its on.

Four months after sending them my cancellation paperwork, they finally responded. With a bill for $70 for the cancellation fees. They waited long enough for me to owe them money. And my membership would have been over by now anyway. I don't what I can possibly do to stand up for myself.

Please, please don't give these crooks business.

Besides, I've overheard a few of their employees make fun of the fat customers. Bally's reputation for hiring only rude, snooty twits is well-earned.

Pros: If the location is good, go for it!
Cons: don't get got up in a contract you can't live with.

With most gyms, you want to be careful of membership contracts. Don't be intimidated by high pressure sales men like I was. I joined Bally's Total Fitness in Orlando, Florida the first time I went in just to look things over. Big mistake! I had an Adonis looking male personal trainer led me through the gym. He had me eating out of his hand. The package I originally signed up for was not a good one, and only available for certain hours. He quickly up graded me for not a whole lot more money. The equipment was alright, in general good condition with a variety of stations. There was a nice rack of free weights available and an area for stretching. After the first visit I had a hard time getting attention of the "trainers" to show me if I was using the machines correctly. They had a nice variety of classes, but you had to pay an extra premium price for specialty classes like kick boxing, and Urban Rebound. Now that my contract is expiring I am going to go shop for another gym.

Pros: None
Cons: Dangerous, filthy, and a lowlife staff

The Bally’s in Rosemead CA was shut down because a health inspector found the pool to have an excessive bacteria count. In the afternoon there are some street gang types that hang out and there has been some serious fights in the locker room. By the time the police arrive they are gone and someone is beaten half to death. Don’t leave anything of value in the lockers because they cut the locks and steal anything of value like your wallet. The staff does not do anything about these problems. All they care about is scamming the next unsuspecting sucker out of their money. They are very rude and obnoxious people. If you value your life stay away from this place.

Pros: Cheaper than most Manhattan gyms
Cons: Dirty, broken down equipment, crowded, not enough weights, poor organization

I have been a member of the Bally Total Fitness on 6th Avenue and 20th street in Manhattan for a year now. At $40 a month, it seemed a bargain. I was quickly proven wrong, though. The problems are abundant:
1. Equipment is old, rusty, dirty, and consistently breaks down
2. Broken down equipment will often stay out of commission for over a week
3. Free weights are never well-organized and the few that are available end up all over the gym
4. Classes are few and far between, and the equipment needed for them is sparse and often faulty
5. The place is FILTHY

Pros: Inexpensive rates after the contract period
Cons: Cheap quality of the facilities & staff aren't worth a dime, let alone $8

Ive completed a two year contract at Bally's, at the end of which my monthly dues dropped to about $8. Yes it is cheap, but it pales in comparison to the cheap quality of the facility including locker rooms and equipment. Also, the staff is unhelpful and rude which the exception of a rare few. They are fairly disinterested in keeping a clean well-maintained facility. To get me back they will have to pay me monthly dues. The only good thing I can say about that place is that they did have a couple good Yoga instructors at one time, but they left long ago. When they left, I left.

Pros: Cheap.
Cons: They commit fraud, and are not great at fixing things

I joined Bally's in Boca Raton, Florida for the purpose of swimming in their lap pool. When I joined I noticed the lap pool was cold. To make a long story short throughout my 30 days at Ballys' they didn't fix the heat in the lap pool. Read your contract because they charge you after you cancel. It was not mentioned to me when I signed up. Infact I was told there would be no other fees. This is blatant lying and blatant fraud.