£160 per month for the gym? Bonkers yes?

[Hottubby]

I’m keen to join our local gym so that I have something to get me out of the house over winter. I really want to use the spa. Our local exclusive ‘club’ is £160 per month for one adult. That’s for gym, indoor and outdoor pool and newly built ‘spa retreat’. Is this what people are paying these days? Am I totally out of touch- anyone paying this and think it’s worth it?
There was absolutely no budging on the price either.

We pay nearly £300/month for me, DC and two kids at DL. Absolutely love it and it’ll be the last thing to go if we have to economise. We’re there in some form or other most days a week. Lots of our friends use it so it’s almost a social club for us. We make good use of the free kids clubs and given we have zero family around, it’s been honestly life changing for me and DH to be able to snatch an hour to ourselves of a Saturday morning to work out or just have a cup of tea together while the kids have a ball in the kids club. Yes it’s expensive and we’re fortunate to be able to afford it but for all the reverse
snobbery sneering at how it’s not worth it and you can get exactly the same at a council leisure centre - well in our case that’s absolutely not true. Being members has absolutely enhanced our quality of life physically and mentally and it’s worth every penny. So it just depends what joining will mean for you OP and whether it’s worth it TO YOU.

No not bonkers at all, you usually get what you pay for from gyms.

Like anything else there's budget value and high-end, if it's not worth it to you / out of your price range then fair enough but plenty of people don't feel the same as you and would happily pay £160pm for fancy facilities.

Sounds like DL Northwood?
I am a member. I use the gym for strength training 5x per week and the spa about once a week.
Pros: it's a great place to take DC, swimming etc is good, can work in the cafe, the spa is very impressive, you don't have to remember a towel, espa products available in changing room.
Cons: if you're really into strength training there's a lack of pretty standard machinery like hack squat and hip thrust machine; the pressure on popular items like leg press can be great at busy times.
Parking can be a bit of a mare.
For some reason the men get a lovely new dry change room and the women don't?

For me it's worth it whilst DC are little as I hate getting them changed for swimming in the local council pool all freezing and cramped. Plus there's soft play and cheap children's lunches. I just have a coffee or take my own food.

I think it’s a bit much as I pay £50 for similar (although no outdoor pool) but if you like it, use it and can afford it, then why not?

My gym is £25 a month. Unlimited use of pool, gym, sauna and all classes. It's brilliant value

If the spa is really nice then it's reasonable to charge a lot, otherwise it would be heaving with people.

It depends whether you can afford it OP (ie what else you'd have to give up) and how often you would use it.

Used to be a DL years ago, I think it was £80 a month then (8 years ago!) on a first year deal. It was great during my maternity leave but then back to work full time and looking after a toddler, I couldn't justify the amount I was going. When they wanted me to pay £30 per month for a 3 year old just to access the pool and the soft play, I realised what a racket it was!!!

£160 pm is insane! I'm now at a brand new council owned gym for £35 pm including gym, pool, all classes. A lot of DL people have moved here as the council still have the official Les Mills classes, where as DL have made up their own versions.

Also, do not assume paying that kind of money means you get a better calibre of gym goer. There were lots of flashy chavs at our DL, very badly behaved children, negatively affecting places like the pool and cafe areas.

I much prefer the council run place, people from all walks of life; I love seeing the oldies working out early in the gym. I find it inspiring and hope I'm like that when I'm older.

How much?!
I pay £10 a month for our hospital gym, obviously no spa facilities, I prefer to pay for a pool or a spa day separately, as I’m not sure I’d have the time to use them all the time.

Yes it’s David Lloyd, not in London. It looks lovely.
I’m interested to hear why people had bad experiences here? Also interested in hearing the good as I’m sorely tempted despite the £££

I was paying 129 for DL but found it near impossible to book tennis, or any yoga/body pump classes, the bookings go live 8 days before and are snapped up within minutes.

the swimming was ok, but often full of kids, the jacuzzi was always full on young men sitting in there for hours (yes, I could have got in bedside them but no thanks). There was a three month cancellation period too!

I go to David Lloyd and I think my membership is £130 a month but I don’t have the spa membership as I’d never use it. It’s worth the money for me because I’m in there every day for spin, body pump and HIIT classes. The eGym is also great for a short workout. I’ve never used the pool.

The cafe is nice though I think the food isn’t great. I’ll occasionally have breakfast there and I’ve used the quiet room to work in.

If you plan to use it regularly and make use of a lot of the facilities then it’s worth it.

The spa bit of my gym (albeit not a £160 a month one) has gone downhill. They've turned the temps down in the pool and spa and then put the bubbles on a cycle so they're not on all the time. It's fine, I still go but I do wonder what the next measures are for them to reduce bills more. I'm glad I'm out of my 12m contract in case they start to hike the price soon.

How can you compare a DL gym to a council gym - it’s madness. I’m not a DL member but I was fortunate enough to be taken as a guest this summer. It was a hot day and actually sitting around the pool was like being on holiday. My friend takes her kids several times a week for the pool ( an hour after school) but also uses the gym herself separately. It was a lovely place to hang out and have coffee and they have a soft play and good food options. I very much fancied the idea of swimming outdoors all year round. I did contemplate membership but will hold off until I have no childcare costs ( next year) and review again.

I think this is super dependent on how much you go.

I used to have council gym membership which was £44 per month for gym, swim and classes. The problem was you could go to a class then the gym, or to the gym then for a swim but they were mainly on different sites. There was only a single day a week when the swimming pool was open directly after work and then they always shut by about 7:30.

Now I pay £70 pcm for David Lloyd membership (not racquets membership) which is open 6-10 M-F and 7-9:30 Saturday and Sunday. If I want the spa retreat I can buy a more expensive membership I think - my gym has a big, nice set of sauna, steam room and jacuzzi but it doesn't have the whole multiple steam rooms, heated beds etc set up, so I don't bother with it for mine - I can buy a day pass if I want to travel to the nearest gym with that set up.

I also pay up front annually which reduces the cost significantly.

Ok, it's a lot of money but it's not necessarily bonkers. I know people who would spend £160 a month - so £40 ish a week - on wine and takeaways as a "treat", so spending similar on gym/spa/swimming as a treat instead would make more sense.

Also obviously depends on how much you use it. When I was a member of a fancy gym I would go almost every day; sometimes for the gym, sometimes yoga, spa a couple of times a week, or even just working from the lounge while the kids had swimming lessons. Even taking into account holidays I probably averaged 5x a week.
Now I'm a member of a council gym instead at 30 quid a month I only go to classes a couple of times a week and I certainly don't hang around.
I think there's worse things to spend money on..

I am honestly regretting opting for a 12 month contract for 195 at David Lloyds.

For ex/current DL members is it easy to cancel? Would you get a charge? Worried about the Autumn/Winter months all our DC are October, Novemeber babies! Then the Christmas saga...
Always an expensive time for me

OP you got a bargain

I read a thread here yesterday where someone was annoyed classes had been cancelled in respect to the Queen RIP ... and she was paying £700 a month ... allegedly

It depends. I pay that a month for fitness classes, so would happily pay that for a gym that included all you say, as long as I was guaranteed entry to at least three or four fitness classes a week too. if they do do classes included in the price, I wouldn't bother.

If you work out four times a week - classes, weights, swimming etc and use the sauna and shower there (instead of at home) then I think it is worth it. £10 a session for keeping super fit and toned. And clean

DL member here. I pay £70 a month. It doesn't include tennis or towels but access to indoor and outdoor pool, all classes, and it's peak time. I have been a member for 15 years though.

@HHottubby

I have signed up to David Lloyds now 2 different time periods..first time in lockdown as I was pregnant and wanted toddler to have swimming lessons/not just be stuck in! David Lloyds happened to be the only place open with a swimming pool ..no idea why
TBH it was bliss. Not many people, some days we had the indoor and outdoor pool to ourselves (obviously due to covid people had frozen their memberships) so TBH it was well worth it for a 3 month stint. I was always in the pool, attended aqua aerobics class ! Was on one on my due date and no surprises dd was born the next day 😅

Joined again this year for the 3 month one again because hubby is away on training so would rather spend the days keeping busy and used it even more as dd1&2 can go to clubs now which is well worth it & free.
I attend loads of classes and the spa in the evenings so have now signed up to a 12 month!!! The price is high and I qm kind of regretting it because the cost of living. Dh wasnt happy as well because thinks its q waste of money so I am in 2 minds. It all depends if u get your moneys worth out of it. I use the spa 4/5 times a week and I think that alone is worth the price as a decent spa day costs me over £100.

Where is that, please share, I'm SE London and we don't have that!!!

I've been a DL member for 10 years, I go 4-5 times a week, just love it

Mine is 100 though, guess the spa bit is basic. It's full membership including rackets. Am mainly a member for the tennis (indoor tennis when it rains is such a luxury) and the outdoor pool.

Do you play tennis/badminton?

If not, can you get a cheaper membership?

Is it the one in Surrey wit the amazing spa? If it is, that spa is just great.... but I am not sure I could spa every week . I go there maybe twice a year for a spa day

Depends how often you will use it I guess
I was hmmm at my £40 peloton membership! But then I use it every single day so it doesn't work out too bad as spin classes would be more expensive

I used to be a DL member but couldn't justify the expense, I'd only really wanted a racquets membership but you can't have that without having everything else.

The facilities were nice but distance became ab issue for me, due to some accessibility issues with the DL closest to me I had to go to one further away and with changes to working patterns it just became a chore to go, I wasn't going often enough to get value for money, my friends are still members there and love it, they work from there some days and do classes, as someone has said the classes fill up almost instantly so you have to be organised to grab a space when booking opens.

I still occasionally go and play tennis there using a guest pass from my friends, it is a nice environment, but I've just joined my local council gym purely because it's a mile from my house, can use any council gym in the county and my local one includes classes, gym and 25m pool for £18 per month due to a discount, also includes personalised gym program so far im really happy with it, changing facilities wise it isn't as luxury as DL is but it's fine does what it needs to

Same. Probably the same gym

I love it, and DD has her swimming lessons there which are above and beyond the quality of lessons in the local council pool. We tried those and they were shit.

DL is worth every penny IMO. It’s clean, the staff and customers are pleasant. I’d rather not use a gym/pool than go to my council one.

I’d pay the extra for the spa too!