Asheville Racquet Club

I only use the GYM, so will only address that here:
Pro’s: Large, spacious, attractive, modern looking gym with lots of weight machines and free weights.. It’s very clean, there are spacious dressing area’s/bathrooms, and easy to use lockers (no personal locks required.) They finally got window shades, so you don’t have to stare into the sun while on cardio machines. Staff is pleasant.
Con’s: Cardio machines are poorly maintained. Half the TV’s don’t work at any given time, and other issues with Ellipticals are VERY common. Yesterday I tried 4 different Ellipticals, and each one had a problem. It is not uncommon for me to spend the first 5 or 10 minutes switching from one Elliptical to another, trying to find one where everything works. There are only 2 Ellipticals that offer upper and lower body workouts, (most often in use) and the rest are just leg-​only Ellipticals. Although they frequently replace tread mills and spin bikes, they have never added new (total body) Ellipticals in the 3 – 4 years I have been a member. No one seems to be in charge of making sure everything is working, (particularly cardio machines.) They can remain broken or TV’s can be out for months at a time. (Also very limited channels to watch.) The person you are supposed to report repair issues to, is never around. As previously mentioned, the staff is pleasant and cordial but aren’t motivated to do anything that isn’t in their job description. *They need one person to «staff» the gym area,* and be available for trouble shooting, doing light repairs, assisting members unfamiliar with use of equipment/​machines, removing weights left on bars, etc.

Good gym but hasn’t had towels for a week. Don’t understand how this is possible if you’re affiliated with a hotel and there are laundromats in the area.

It’s like navigating through David Bowie’s labyrinth to get here, but it’s worth it. The exercise equipment is well maintained; the locker rooms are moderately clean; and it’s got a steam room and whirlpool. The only slightly annoying feature (at least for me) is the kid explosion — there are kids practically coming out of the wall crevices. It wouldn’t surprise me if you looked under the floor boards, you’d find a nest of children. In the locker room, you’ll find them crawling on the benches and they really do run the pool area (I think this is a child depository in disguise). I have nothing against children, but you have to be comfortable with dodging them quite frequently at this gym. Asheville Racquet Club = Asheville Raising Children. If you want to avoid the hordes of children, it’s easy — just avoid the pool area and workout after 7:00.

We have been members at several clubs over the years, but I think that I like ARC the most of any we have used. Two AVL locations that make it so convenient for me as I often come up from the south on weekdays, and use the Hendo Rd location in the late afternoons… and from home on the weekends use the Crown Plaza location.
The clubs are clean and well appointed. We do not play tennis, so we only have the fitness facility membership. I have never had to wait for a piece of equipment that I wanted to use, even though the places can seem FULL of people. I usually use the treadmills and the weight machines and they are modern and well maintained.
I have not used a personal trainer, but today, I watched a trainer with an elderly gentleman and was very impressed with her patience and care with him.
Dressing areas are clean and very functional. We will probably stay put at ARC.

It’s January, which means it’s the world’s favorite time to join the gym, shed that holiday weight, and make some some resolutions that you really hope to keep.
I’ve been a member of another gym for quite some time, but due to moving and lack of gumption I stopped going. That was a big mistake. The good news is, there’s always time to make amends and set things right.
Enter 2015, my wife and I have just became members, and this place is seriously nice.
The Racquet club has two pools, an indoor heated salt water pool wide enough for three lanes, and a larger outdoor pool with grills by the side and areas for sunning.
The gym here is also very large, with tons of weight machines. It’s seriously huge. It has a variety of cardio machines, but not many matching pairs, it’s kind of a smattering of this or that. I personally like cardio machines that work the arms as well as legs, and there’s only a few of them, and they’re definitely not next to each other which is another thing I like. I enjoy working out with my wife, alongside her. Not too big of a deal, but you know… in a perfect world.
I do find it amusing that the cardio machines are equipped with television screens. Being someone that recently «cut the cord» it’s nice to catch up on a bit of TV.
They have a ton of free weights, although they’re not really organized. The orderly OCD master within me wants nothing more than to go through and order them according to weight and size, but I fear that my fellow gym goers wouldn’t respect the effort I put into it.
Other niceties are the locker rooms, which provide mouthwash, shaving cream, deodorant, and hair spray for the patrons. How pleasant. The lockers have built in electronic locks, which means you can leave your masterlock at home. If only the locker rooms themselves were a bit larger, there’s a lot of excuse me’s and pardon me’s whenever you’re trying to get changed.
The Asheville Racquet Club is truthfully hidden. It’s not super accessible, it’s on the same drive way as the Crowne Plaza. Although it’s closer to my house than my last gym the major strike it has against it is that getting out of it and heading home requires some pretty interesting u-​turns or freeway loops.