Central Park Square Athletic Club

Like others, I had a very positive experience here. I joined for a few months during the summer and plan to do so again next year.
The staff were genuinely nice, helpful, and weren’t always trying to steer you into expensive classes/​infuriatingly difficult to cancel contracts. They treated me very well!
I found the setting itself quite comfortable. A nice amount of people (so it always felt alive) but never so crowded that you couldn’t find a machine to use. The equipment isn’t the brand-​spanking-​newest, but it was clean and seemed well-​maintained and was always available to get the job done. Free towels and free parking are also available, nice!
All in all, a very pleasant place to get some exercise. Highly recommended.

I have tried different gyms all over town, and was happy to stumble on this little gem. With all the big chain gyms you can expect the following: heavy handed sales tactics, ridiculous arbitrary fees, lots of tattooed meat-​heads walking around, loud obnoxious top-​40 music, a general look of disdain from the staff, and you’re treated like a number not a person. This gym has none of that. The pricing is transparent and competitive, the staff is genuinely friendly and you feel like they really appreciate your business. There was no sales pitch whatsoever. No loud music, and everyone there seems happy. There is zero pretentious vibe happening here. Plus they have great group classes, and the equipment is current and in good working order. This place is fully stocked for just about any kind of workout you could ever need. It even has a lap pool, a jacuzzi, a cold-​plunge pool, and a sauna and steam room. Plus they even have spare workout clothes if you forget yours, and they provide free day-​use locks for the locker room. This place blows away anywhere else I have ever worked out. If I had anything bad to say about it, I would say that the décor (but not the machines) is a little dated, and it’s located in a basement, so the ceilings are kind of low and it doesn’t have a big open airy feel to it. But neither of those things is a big deal at all.

I was in Phoenix for a week conference and this was a good, inexpensive place to swim. They have 30 day trial memberships for cheap.

I came into Phoenix on business and needed a gym and I’m glad I stopped into CPSAC. This is honestly one of the cleanest gyms I have ever been in, their members aren’t creepy and overly social, and the staff couldn’t have been nicer. I’d recommend this gym to anyone coming into town or looking for a gym in Phoenix.

I signed up with this gym about a week ago and I’m very happy with it. They have all the equipment you need and I have never had to wait to find a machine to get started on my workout. They have validated parking and the people here are always very friendly and ready to help. I plan to be a regular here.

This gym is so close to work I can practically walk there, but it’s 90 – 100 degrees outside, so I don’t. The gym is small, but rarely ever busy and they have the equipment I need to have a good workout. The employees are friendly and I never feel intimidated or weird. Classes run thin as opposed to the big gyms, but I don’t mind it at all. Parking is always validated and is never hard to find a parking spot.

Always clean and accommodating to any workout schedule. I work near by so it is very convenient to go at lunch.
Great amenities, even a pool, and classes. Wish there were a few more yoga classes or classes geared to those of us that are out of shape/​beginners, but I’ll get there.

I began coming here in 2005 because it was the closest gym to where I was living at the time. But even after I moved out of the area, I knew I had found «my gym» and I’ve never gone anywhere else since. Even after I moved to Chicago, when I come back to AZ for lengthy visits, I get a month to month membership here every time.
I highly recommend giving CPSAC a try, especially if you’re tired of the «mainstream» gyms or just want a better overall gym experience. Plus they have a Cold Plunge which is getting harder and harder to find in a gym nowadays. These people actually KNOW what they are doing and what muscle building and muscle building recovery is all about. For my money, this is the best gym in town.

This is a hard review to right. Again, I wish Unilocal had ½ stars because it this review would really be at 3.5 stars. I have been to several gyms before (golds, 24 hr fitness, tangible) and the one thing I hated at all of them were the fact that they were always busy with people who seemed to have an intimidating aura. This place isnt like that. It is quite big and has pretty decent equipment. I usually go workout with my trainer (Jesse) around 530 and we always are able to workout with no waiting for having to share machines. They have a lane pool, jacuzzi and sauna rooms. It kind of reminds me of the YMCA downtown Tucson. The only problem that I have with the place is the smell in the men’s locker room. I dont know if it is because they are in the basement and the sewer pipes are old but man does it smell! The membership is kinda pricey but it is close to my house so that saves on gas right?

Ok, I hesitated writing a review of this place because I like that it’s not busy, but I want the place to survive because I enjoy it so much.
I hate gyms… I mean LOATHE them. From rude staff to unpleasant odors or creepy guys giving you longing looks while you’re just trying to figure out which one of your friends with an advanced degree in engineering you can text to help you figure out how to get on a machine without having it rip your arm out of its socket because the staff is not going help you without paying for a personal trainer or because you don’t look like you were already born on a nautilus machine.
This gym is everything but. I went in because of the great introductory special and a recommendation of a friend. We’re both training to swim the SF Bay for the 2011 Sharkfest Alcatraz Swim, so we needed a pool.
As soon you walk in, the guy at the front desk treats you like you’re an old buddy and cracks jokes like he is your best bar buddy. Awesome attitude. The place has never been overly crowded (even at peak hours right after work. I’ve never gone during the early morning or lunch hours).
No waits on the machines and they have plenty of them. No waiting in the pool and even when there is a water aerobics class, one lane is left open to due laps. Hot tub, sauna, and some inexplicable walk in dunking tub (see, I’m not a gym aficionado or else I would know what that thing is for).
Towel service, locks, and even gym shorts available. (no more using that excuse that you can’t work out today because you left your work out clothes at home… they have some to check out there.)
Even the seemingly cranky old lady doing her water workout was nice and called me sweetie and asked if I was ok when I inadvertently let out a puppy like whimper as my shoulder blades decided they wanted to cede from the union of my body. Note to self… don’t do a month of the P90X with a friend, think you’re hot stuff and on your way to a gym bod and then jump in a pool to do a mile swim without stretching because you think you’re all that now. Had it not been for Grandma Water Aerobics, I might still be at the far end of the pool trying to inch my way back to the stairs hoping that the water on my face hid the tears that were going start gushing any minute if I couldn’t make it to the hot tub to get my back to stop seizing up. (Thank you, unknown Water Aerobics lady. You turned a moment of shame into motivation. Oh yeah, I will out swim grandma next time!)
The place is in the basement of an office building next to the seemingly abandoned Chateaux on Central development. Central and… Encanto (?)
You can park on the street (careful of the meters) or use the garage. The gym validates.
There is a downstairs weight room (I haven’t check it out yet as I because there is a free gym at my job.) Yes, I like this place so much, I am paying for a gym membership even though I have access to work out facilities for free in my own building… including free personal trainer… but instead I get in my car come 5pm and drive to a gym I pay for because this athletic club is worth it.
I saw no young kids running around. The clientele seems to be early 30s and up, young urban professionals and some retirees who are just trying to stay healthy. No creepy people ogling you (which you may be looking for) and no rude gym bunnies laughing at you in your leotard on the treadmill… but really… you shouldn’t have the leotard and hot pink leg warmers on anyway… it is 2010. But hey, to each his own.