Gold’s Gym

This is probably the worst Gold’s I’ve been to. The sauna NEVER works and the men’s locker room is usually dirty and icky. On the best days — like today — the locker room is tolerable and the sauna still doesn’t work.
I belong to Gold’s and usually go to the one in Rockville Town Center. That one is usually clean, and the sauna always works.
This Gold’s facility really brings down the Gold’s brand. If I owned Gold’s, I’d be furious.

I’ve been to a variety of Gold’s in the DMV area, and this one is middle of the pack/​bottom tier but I don’t think that necessarily falls on the staff or management; everyone I have interacted with that works there is friendly, and the gym is relatively clean. It is a pretty small gym, there’s only about 4 free weight benches, one squat rack, etc.
I think my main qualm with this facility isn’t the fault of the gym or its staff, its the people that attend– alot of the people that attend this gym have absolutely no sense of gym etiquette. I’m not trying to come across as having my nose in the air, I am not really a complainer. But coming from some of the larger gyms in the area (both Arlington locations) that have more serious lifters as clients, I am used to weights being returned to their place, being put in the right spot, etc. At the 19^th & L location, weights are constantly just left all over the gym. People will use two sets of free weights at a bench and just leave them there and get up and walk away. The free weight rack lacks literally any sort of organization, making it very difficult to find two weights of the same size. I have not observed many patrons cleaning the machines off after use, even though there are spray bottles and paper towels readily available.
Overall, the gym gets the job done, but it can be frustrating if you’re used to working out alongside people that actually care about cleaning up after themselves and making every gym-​goers experience better, instead of just leaving their used equipment around for someone else to clean up for them.

My Trainer is Great! Go Archi!
The gym… I feel as if I am in the 90’s when I go in there. There is a huge time lag between the time an equipment is deemed need of repair to the time they actually fix it. I hate the fact that they clean with bleach or some sort of cleaning supply with a very strong scent.
Overall its ok, I get what I pay for. I am just there because of my trainer.

This is a great Gym! Fully stocked, clean and friendly. It’s right at the center of some of the salad healthy eats and juicers. Worth your buy and you can save up to get the supplements at the shop or a find your pair of training gloves that are necessary for your routine here. The classes are great I hear. Personally satisfied with the operation of this gym.

Its ok gym, it has everything you need. Relatively small but its in the great location and it has a great atmosphere which I don’t see in other gyms.

I started to go to Golds when it was still Fitness First a few years ago. Here is my opinion:
PROS:
— I pay a lot less than I would at another gym in this location ($ 29/​month)
— Friendly staff
— Never too crowded, even during busy times (though it is a small gym)
— Decent equipment
— Good class offerings (LesMills series, yoga, pilates, cycling)
— Offer free hand towels (when available)
CONS:
— Pretty much it is a given that the air conditioner will ‘break down’ for at least a month every summer. Sometimes it’s longer.
— It is unpredictable if the Sauna and Steamer in womens bathroom is going to work when you want to use it.
— I’ve overheard (and male friends of mine who also go there have overheard) the male trainers talk inappropriately about the clients they work with. E.g. «Damn she had a tight ass…» That makes me have absolutely no interest in ever doing personal training class here.
— A lot of the lockers, near the coat rack (so outside the change rooms) don’t work. There are no clasp on some of the doors and some of the lockes I opened (that did have claps) were connected to the locker directly above or below because the piece of metal/​wood in them to separate the lockers were missing.
— Womens locker room is also not the cleanest or most sanitary. Some locks have been on lockers for weeks and there looks like there’s black mold in the showers. Both of the soap dispensers were empty for at least a few weeks! Once a toilet was out of order for a few weeks.
— There has been more than a few times when male workers (contractors, usually coming to fix a leak or something) were in the locker room (or entered while I was there). Luckily I was never changing. One time I walked in to discover some guy in there fixing something (?). There was no sign on the door or at the front to indicate/​warn me. Also, just last week there was a quick knock on the womens change room door before a guy walked in to clean/​fix something (but not much of a wait for a response… and as if a knock would have allowed someone to hear it on the other side of the room or if someone was showering).
Overall, the gym is decent for getting a quick workout in (their weight set-​up is decent, and cardio area is not bad) but it is definitely not the «Golds standard“that I’ve seen in other Golds gyms. However, for the price, location and convenience, I deal with it.
BTW, the first 7 pictures on this Unilocal post (which I believe said they were posted by the owner from Jan.29,2015) are definitely not pictures of this Golds gym!

I guess you get what you pay for. I joined here in Jan 2015 because of their relatively low prices and the fact they offered 4 personal training sessions for new members. The gym is bare bones, but it gets the job done if all you want to do is go for a run on the treadmill and lift weights. Classes are decent (particularly the zumba classes).There’s one front desk woman who works in the mornings who is very lovely. But this is where the pluses end.
My first big complaint with the gym is the locker room. Again, I get it, we’re not paying VIDA prices so I didn’t expect much. But for there to routinely be showers that are scalding hot (you literally hear shrieks from new girls) or freezing cold, for the locker room to be so hot that girls have to line up in front of the fan just to dry off before going to work, for there to be no paper towels… ever — pretty unacceptable.
My even larger complaint is with the personal training program/​overall management. I started with 4 free training sessions with a personal trainer who I liked, except for the fact that she was consistently trying to sell me supplements and fitness trackers. However, after my 4 free training sessions were up, and I decided I wanted to go to ½ hour sessions (that I was paying for), my trainer flipped out and sent me a series of novel length texts trying to get me to change my mind or arrange something off the books with her. I finally ended up going to the head personal trainer staffer to discuss the situation, he apologized, and I was given a new personal trainer. Important to mention I was getting charged all this time for sessions and didn’t have a trainer. I demanded a refund for this period, which they begrudgingly gave, but it took about 2 months for it to finally be processed.
Nonetheless, my new trainer was great, and we worked together for about 6 months. However, at the end of the summer, she let me know she was going on vacation for three weeks, and we’d work something out when she got back so that I got the sessions I paid for. Needless to say, this never happened and I never heard from her again, all the while getting charged for sessions that went unused.
At this point, I decided I wasn’t worth fighting for another trainer and that I was done with the gym and wanted to cancel my membership. I ended up cancelling my membership in late November. Right after cancelling, I was contacted by the new head of personal training who apologized for the fact that I had a number of training sessions that I paid for that were never used and offered to train me. We trained twice, I had to reschedule a session, and then I never heard from him again — typical.
I’ve now gone in twice to ask when my final date of charges will be and the staff is unable to give me an answer. I’m hoping that by the one year anniversery of my beginning at Gold’s I’ll no longer be a member… but who knows.
If you’re struggling to find an affordable gym near your work, Gold’s might be fine, but beware of what you are getting yourself into and avoid the personal training at all costs.

I am only giving it one star because I can’t give zero stars or negative stars. I wanted to cancel my training sessions and the manager told me to email him. I did. He then left and didn’t cancel my sessions. So I got charged for 4 weeks of sessions. My trainer got a new job so she couldn’t train me and then I was told my sessions had expired. Why? No explanation. When? No explanation. Despite being told when I signed up that personal training sessions don’t expire, mine did. The new manager offered to reinstate my sessions with less than 2 weeks to go before my membership ends. Given that I have no trainer and more sessions than days I asked for a refund. After many emails he finally told me I need to call customer service. I had already called customer service and they said I need to speak to the manager. So I’ll just run around in circles a bit more. I have lost about 16 sessions! The gym itself is foul! The machines have chewing gum stuck on them and the locker rooms are disgusting. The showers are dirty and the sauna is never on. I would have left earlier but then they wouldn’t let me cancel my membership.

Its a gym, don’t expect to much.
CONS:
The equipment is old and needs to be replaced, the place is consently a mess and its poorly organized.
PRO:
The staff is nice (especially the woman that opens the gym during the weekdays) and the majority of people who go there are people who are only focused on the workout. There not standing around chatting like its a social club.

I would really like to commend Tommy, who I met at the front, for her customer service. There were a bunch of people up at the front who needed her attention, and I was one of them. She really went above and beyond to address my request, and I’m really grateful that she was at the front that day (about a week ago). It’s so easy to work for a big chain of stores and not care — I’ve been there and done that! So her attention to making a customer feel important was a big deal, especially on a day when all I wanted to do was work out (and that’s what kept me sane all day). So thank you, Tommy, and I hope management checks Unilocal so you get the recognition you deserve!

Poorly managed gym. Locker rooms are not well-​kept. Towels on the floor, no paper towels and leaking ceiling. Limited machines available. I recommend not going during gym rush hours (around 4−6pm).
Pros: whoever is at the front desk is very friendly.

Not the best gym, but it’s the most affordable. Better than spending 90 a month on the other gyms in this area. Doesn’t get too crowded during rush hours so that’s a plus.

Machines are the oldest of any area Gold’s I’ve been to. There isn’t even a bicep curl or tricep pushdown machine. What gym doesn’t have those? Also no back extension machine, and the ab crunch machine is awkward and 1980s looking. The atmosphere isn’t great, desk staff isn’t particularly friendly, and there are very few stations for wiping down machines (paper towels but no spray in the whole place).

I have been a Gold’s Gym member most of my adult life, mostly because there seems to be a standard to which they adhere. You can travel anywhere and know that if there’s a Gold’s nearby your gym needs are going to be taken care of… Or at least I used to think that.
I am staying near this gym for work, and I picked the hotel based in part on its proximity to a Golds. (I usually try and do this.) I walked in and was shocked. I have never seen a Gold’s like this. It would take me forever to count all the ways in which this gym fails, but I’ll name a few:
It’s TINY. I seriously walked through the gym twice looking for the stairs to the other floors. I’ve literally seen hotel gyms about this size.
Free weights are minimal. There’s not even a place to do deadlifts! Are you serious? A Gold’s that doesn’t have a place to do one of the most important core lifts?
The dumbbells they have are extremely subpar.
Nothing is labeled and nothing is racked appropriately. (and I work out at 0530, so this means the staff didn’t do it the night before. That’s just laziness.)
Everything is low-​quality; I tried to use the bench press rack to stretch and nearly tipped it over. (Which reminds me: nothing is bolted down. You have to bolt down your heavy core lift equipment. Someone is going to kill themselves.)
Cardio area sucks.
There is no stretching area. Or maybe they consider the 6’x6’ alcove a warm-​up/​stretching area? There are no pads, no foam rollers, nothing. I saw someone trying to roll out their IT Band with a medicine ball. WTF? (But there are these random kettle bells thrown in there? Not a full set. Just a few?)
The supplement coolers were nearly barren and the products they did have were low quality.
I’m going to stop, even though I could go on. (I didn’t even get to the locker rooms!) Bottom line: I wouldn’t go here again even if it were free.

The staff is very polite but I was in the men’s locker room when I saw one of the employees shaving their head and beard. I went to use the sink area later after my workout and he didn’t even bother to rinse out the sink afterwords.
A lot of their equipment is in ill repair. They really need to step up their game!!!

There’s a lot of confusion re: this place, so here’s the lowdown:
This used to be a Fitness First, until it got bought out by Gold’s. The transition was a bit harsh, and a lot of people were put on weird memberships for a while, resulting in a lot of complaining. The transition was also poorly planned because there was about a month period where neither company really put effort into cleaning the place (they even ran out of paper towels…), so a lot of people quit for that reason as well. After about a three-​month period of great whining, it’s finally back and has its legs.
This place is usually fairly crowded in the evenings, and it can get a bit claustrophobic given the limited size, but it isn’t unbearably awful. The layout is excellent and maximizes every single inch of floor space, even when it’s occupied by jerk GWU fratboys doing asinine exercises in the hallway.
For weight lifters: this place has a power rack and a squat rack, with about 1000lbs+ of iron plates. There is rubber flooring sufficient for DLs, and they allow chalk despite signs prohibiting chalk. The DBs go up to about 100lbs. Pretty much everything you need is here, and it’s all in decent repair. The knurl on most of the bars sucks (ALWAYS USE THE BLACK BAR IF YOU CAN), but that’s standard for a gym like this.
For class/​cardio kids: the full panoply of Gold’s Gym classes are present, and there are extensive cardio and rowing machines.
For what it’s worth, most girls I know don’t like this place, and I do — but then again, most girls I know tend to dislike Gold’s as a chain.

One word: AVOID.
I’ve been a member of this location for about five years (I joined when it was Fitness First) and the gym has only gone downhill since Gold’s bought it. It’s ALWAYS overcrowded… as in you are stepping over people who are working with personal trainers), there have been times where WEEKS have gone by and they are out of sanitary spray for the machines (disgusting) and the air conditioning was broken in the women’s locker room ALL SUMMER, making the locker room more sauna-​like than the actual gym itself. It’s impossible to shower and get ready for work in a room that feels like 90 degrees. The gym itself is just really tiny and can’t handle the old Fitness First members and the new Gold’s members.
The front desk staff has proven to be extremely unorganized several times, as they can’t even check people into the overcrowded fitness classes without having problems. You’d think taking names for a class that can only fit 30 people or so would be simple enough, but they manage to mess it up constantly. Now they implement a system where you have to go to the front desk to receive a pass to attend certain classes (because they get too overcrowded). So for a 6:30 class, people start lining up for the passes at 6:15…if you are there at 6:20, good luck trying to get in.
The floor of the workout room is usually dirty and has hairballs and dust bunnies floating around.
So why do I stay? It’s close to my office and when I joined several years ago I got an amazing rate of $ 19.99/month which beats any other gym in the district by far. I figure if I take one or two classes a month, it pays for itself. Also, two instructors, Dave and Jan, are amazing. If either of them ever left, I’d probably just bite the bullet and join Vida.

This is the gym I use that’s close to my office. It’s not one of the more spacious Gold’s Gym locations in the DC area – but it gets the job done. I never have to wait for a machine.
The group fitness classes here are what keep me coming. The instructors are always nice – and the schedule they put out is the most developed and varied. In a week I can select from a handful of pilates, total body conditioning, kickboxing, and lots of body pump classes. It definitely keeps me from getting bored with my workout routine!

I signed up last year with the Fitness First in Courthouse, which was open, bright, relatively new, with friendly staff. When I moved into DC (for both my job and my new apartment) I was happy to continue my Gold’s Gym membership (after the buyout) realizing the 19^th street location was so close to my office.
I’ll give Gold’s Gym this — it’s the most affordable gym membership in DC but I generally dread going into this 19^th street location. It always seems a little damp, dark (it’s street level, so the windows are only in the front) and like it could use a good sanitizing. it’s impossible to get to the weights area — which is always full of people, or people stretching in the kettlebell area. It could definitely use a dedicated stretching area or maybe just a few less machines…
I’ve never had a problem getting an elliptical or treadmill. I LOVE the body pump classes and the cycling teachers are friendly to newcomers which is appreciated. Classes are included in the price, which makes it all tolerable.

Ironically, I share very similar sentiments to many of the reviews before me. I recently moved out of DC, and as is typical, looked to cancel my membership. When I first notified the staff that I would be moving, they made no mention of the «30 day period» that you have to cancel your account, but rather said that I would have no issues cancelling when I knew I would be moving. I have since found out that the cancellation policy isn’t nearly as user friendly as it was described to me. I cancelled my account on 02/​19/​2014, but have been told that it will be open until mid-​April, which is not what I would prefer. I am paying for two months that I have no need for. I tried speaking to both the local gym and the corporate office, but neither were willing to help at all.
Apart from the shady and difficult cancellation policies, if I ever find myself back in DC, I would not consider stepping foot back in to this facility. The price was low, I won’t deny that, but you certainly get what you pay for.