North Hill World Health

A big fan of the staff. The air quality is fixed and its not balls hot anymore. (If you endured the previous evening balls you know to what I am referring to)
Not much else new to report other than the cleanliness is top notch and I recognize how hard the staff have been working to keep weights reracked. Now if only all of us members got their glutes in gear and did the same!
Great value, awesome facility. I’ve tried lots of other companies and locations and I always come back to North Hill.

I’m in the process of moving back to Calgary and just wanted to check out World Health as I have a few friends who do classes there. I train regularly and have worked out and been apart of small independent gyms, 24 hour ones and bigger ones like spa lady and good life, so it’s not like I don’t know what to expect or anything like that.
Prior to going in to WHC I went on line and signed up for their 7 day trial in hopes of being able to pop in and get a feel for the place and see if I liked it (I.e. Equipment, atmosphere, people, etc). The online 7 day trial did say I would have to meet with someone and take a tour of the gym, which I was prepared for. What I wasn’t prepared for was having an hour and a half of my time wasted by some trainer (K) trying to sell me on WHC when I directly said (when I came in) that I was just shopping around for a gym and was hoping to work out and get a feel for the place. He just kept going on and on about all the great things about WHC (including that I have friends there). When I reminded him I just wanted to get in a workout and feel it out myself he told me that they work with the better business bureau and have won awards and they had already done the «shopping around» for me. When I told the guy I didn’t bring any money or cards with me (left in the car), as I had forgotten a lock and didn’t just want to leave them in a locker, he tried to persuade me to call my bank and that we could work with the bank to get everything preauthorized. At one point, I just asked K what the drop in fee was because I would’ve just paid it for him to stop talking and to workout. He told me it was $ 20! Seriously? That’s crazy! Good life, which is larger, has all the same stuff and more, doesn’t bombard you with a hour and half spiel and massage chairs only charges $ 15.
I eventually had to leave because I ran out of time and had another appointment I had to be at. Worst of all I never even got to workout which was the sole reason I went in there at all! I was so put off by the whole experience that I will definitely never be going back to a WHC.
Positive note:
The gym itself is decent and nice and I really would’ve liked to try it out.

It’s a nice place, I really like the women only area in the back. Although it is one of the smaller locations I think you still find everything you need. Staff is friendly and helpful. The place is very clean. But I think that the costs for the membership are too high, at least for me as I usually don’t attend the classes.

So far so good. I expected the cookie cutter type enrollment actions. I knew I wanted a gym with no contract. and it fit my price range. I laughed at the Bi-​weekly BS… gives them an extra payment per yr… but what ever… the gym is clean. lots of options… lots of spaces… staff at front desk are awesome… friendly…they say hi and bye… change rooms are CLEAN… equipment is clean… floors are clean… everyone seems to wipe things.
I hope to get back into shape… it’s a means to an end… I will report back after a few months
PS I got the cheapest deal and just as I was signing I was told my hours would be limited. No use during 3−8pm A little annoying but I can deal with that

For a basement gym, decent layout and size, modern enough equipment, OK classes (in comparison to Les Mills).
Problems:
Management! Abrasive, inattentive and nonchalant. Customer centric is definitely a concept unknown to them.
Billing! I have had immense billing issues with extremely long times for
Resolution, coupled with managements attitude, I really don’t know if I would return to this gym once my membership is up but the proximity to my home makes it the only viable option.

I have to say I’m disappointed by the North Hill location of World Health.
I only joined recently; I used to work out at the University of Calgary’s recreation center, but after one too many drive-​by comments while doing squats, I decided that I needed to switch things up and was looking for a gym with a segregated women’s area. After doing a quick look through, I decided on joining World Health.
Well, like the previous reviewer said — It is very high pressure sales tactics. You won’t see too many people wandering around during the daytime without one of their trainers. I used a session just to see if it would push me more than my regular workouts (it didn’t). The trainer spent the whole time talking about how he was going to be raking in the millions within months. Nice. I don’t think I’ll be using the second complimentary session.
To another reviewer, believe me — the women’s only area isn’t as stacked as you think it is. There’s two benches, 2 treadmills, 2 ellipticals (that look like they’ve seen better days), a few bikes, and a stair climber. This fitness area is definitely suited to the «cardio bunny», which I am not. There’s a few things that bother me:
1) The dumbbell racks are ALWAYS empty. Seriously, if you’re not using 2,5,25,40,50 pounds weights, good luck finding a set of dumbbells to work out with. I constantly have to leave and look for weights in the co-​ed section. The barbell rack? Every time I’ve gone there’s been 2 – 3 20 lb barbells, a 40, and a 15. Really? Are you kidding me? There’s the bars that you load yourself, but you need a lot on them because they only have a pile of small plates. The bigger ones? They’re meant for a bigger bar and slip and slide while you try to use them, even when you clamp them. Not impressed.
2) The lack of assisted machines — you’ve got your legs, and you’ve got your core primarily with a chest press, and a shoulder press (I think, don’t quote me). What about lats? what about a cable row? I have to leave the ladies area again looking for those…
3) The smith machine: Okay, so I can do squats. Nice! Right? No. Because the ladies area isn’t covered by a door, it’s just a meter long hall of sorts. What’s right in the open of the co-​ed gym? The Smith Machine. I should have known that the only reason why I started working out at this gym, would leave me with the same problem I had before. Again, I have the drive-​by stares from guys in the co-​ed section checking out my ass while I’m doing squats. Not. Cool. Please at least put a curtain in — is that much to ask?
4) Why are there male trainers allowed in the women’s only area? I mean, not that I really have a problem with this, they work with enough women that it isn’t the end of the world and don’t make comments and avoid eye contact. But if it says ladies only, isn’t that supposed to be ladies only?
Also the trainers never wipe the equipment when they’re done which is gross.
I only wish this location measured up to the Sunridge location, because that one has an AWESOME womens area. North Hill can stand to take a few notes from them. I don’t have a contract, and I’m really have tempted to say screw it and give the written notice to end my membership, but the perks of having a second location where I work is nice…

There are things I love and things I dislike, but at the end of the day it’s the gym I choose to go to.
The main reason I go here is location. It’s really close to my house and it’s easy for me to get here. If I moved, I’d happily drop my membership for any other gym.
What I like:
Clean, quiet, albeit sterile atmosphere where I can do my own thing and easily block out everyone else around me. They’ve got a good amount of equipment and I can usually find a free weight (get it?) to keep me happy. There’s a good mix in both age and body type of people there so it seems like it would be a pretty comfortable place. (So says the insanely extroverted, carefree 28 year old male writing this review.)
The classes are awesome and they’re included! It seems to be mostly women who attend, but it’s 2014 people — drop the gym gender stereotypes and take a class that’s out of your comfort zone! All of them I’ve been to have been a total blast, lots of fun and an awesome workout. They’re led by really friendly people who really seem to love what they do. Not all classes would be up your alley but I’d encourage people to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. They’re really well put together.
What I don’t like:
The super high pressure enrolment process. First off — Don’t get a membership here unless you’re getting some sort of deal. If they don’t have any deals going on, wait a week. They’re like The Brick of the fitness world. They’ll set you up with a few free personal trainer sessions at the start. Take ‘em or leave ‘em. You probably won’t gain much from these sessions unless you intend on hiring one of their trainers once you’re done. It’s basically just a high pressure sales pitch for personal training. They’ll talk to you about the gym community and how supportive everyone is, but as soon as they know they’re not making a sale, they’ll never talk to you again.
Just as well… Ignore all the sales rooms and go get your sweat on… It’s a nice place to work out and it’s priced competitively if it’s convenient for you.

Joined a month ago and I have no issues with this gym, just a minor annoyance with the waste of space known as the Women Only section (or as I prefer to call it the section for Self-​Conscious Women). The problem with this noble idea is that most women at this gym opt for the co-​ed section which gets crowded during the weekday hours of 4:00 — 7:30pm.
While waiting for a turn at one of the free weight benches I’ve seen as many as 3 – 4 girls occupy spots while the Women Only section sits mostly empty.
Do away with restricted areas and open the entire gym for everyone.

Okay, I am not going to be so harsh.
The fact is, I have a love/​hate relationship with most gyms. This is no exception at World Health.
This gym is pretty standard. Has everything you want. Cardio machines, weights, etc etc. A plus is the ‘Women Only’ side. I have absolutely no qualms with working out co-​ed, but you know, sometimes I just want to take my time at the weights or at the mats without some sweaty dude hovering over me waiting for me to be done. Plus, the ‘Women only’ area is less crowded!
There are enough cardio machines so you dont have to wait. But the best part of World Health are the classes that are included with your membership. You can go to as many as you want, and there are all kinds of classes, ranging from kickboxing-​style classes, spinning, zumba, etc etc. Love those classes. My personal favourites are Zumba, ‘Kick’, and ABSolution.
Would I recommend this gym? Yes I definitely would. It has everything you need, and the membership costs are very reasonable. However, my advice would be, the personal training sessions are a rip-​off. If you know a bit about training, don’t waste your money with the personal trainers.
¹¹⁄₃₀

You know how you’re always afraid of being harassed by salespeople when you hit a department store? Well, that’s how I always feel about talking to instructors in gyms. And that’s why I’m afraid of going to the gym. So you can imagine my apprehension when I won a free two-​week trial with an instructor.
First of all, I would like to have a choice between a male and a female trainer, but I was not asked when I went. I would much rather have a woman, then an arrogant muscle-​head who calls me sweetheart and love.
Secondly, I thought I was going to have a pressure-​free trial but the moment I walked in there the guy started trying to get me to buy more time. I think we talked about signing up for longer for almost an hour. He kept trying to push me to buy what he was selling before I even got to try to product. Not cool.
And third of all: I was then called 3 — 4 times a week by this place for a couple of weeks. It got to the point where I recognized their number and knew not to answer.
So, there are three, pretty big negatives about World Health Club in North Hill Mall. Three reasons that solidify the fact that I’m never, ever going back again.