Is David Lloyd membership worth it?

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I’d like to join a gym. I’m close to 40 and need to take some accountability for my lack of fitness.

I could get blue light discount off another gym group or I could join a DL club - subject to costs!!

They don’t publish their prices online so I don’t know for sure what it would cost me per month. Do the prices differ per area? I’m in Surrey. My friend has the top level membership for a family of five and it costs circa £6k a year which blows my mind.

What makes it stand out and is it worth the price difference?

Yes the cost varies by club & facilities.
I belong to one. Is it worth it? I like it & I enjoy the spa very much. I go 2 or 3 times a week when life doesn't intervene.
It's like anything, it depends on your income & outgoings as to whether it's worth it. I do understand the logic that says you can exercise at a local council gym for a fraction of the price. I guess it's a lifestyle choice.
Ours is about £200/month for a single person & about £180 per person for a couple.

I enjoy mine - mostly swimming and pilates (mat and reformer) and sometimes yoga. I go three times a week and would love to do more if I had time. I always envy the retirees who all seem to know eachother and go every day! There are so many different classes, the gym, courts etc. The spa is lovely too. I pay £138 a month in Surrey, this includes use of the spa but not tennis, it's an old rate though I think so may cost more for new members.

The clubs do very a lot from what I’ve seen. I was at a member of the one in Woking for a while although I haven’t been for a decade. I didn’t think it was great for what they charged and it was crowded. My daughter has just been to the Farnham one with a friend and says it’s great.

You need to decide what you’ll actually use and choose based on that. I am fussy about pools but couldn’t care less what the weights rooms are like for example.

For me yes. I’ve joined cheaper gyms but I end up not going. I go to DL about 4 times a week. The staff and instructors are really friendly and lovely. The changing rooms are clean and overall it’s a pleasant place to go and workout. Yes it’s expensive but I see it as a treat. I’m very low maintenance re: grooming so this is where I spend my money.

Am looking forward to summer and using the outdoor pool. Feels as if I’m on holiday.

If you can afford it go for it.

Yes I think a lot of people see it like an exclusive club ! Spa, sauna , pool lunch at the cafe, kids club etc. I guess if you spend a lot of leisure time there it's worth it. My ds and his gf are both managers so paint it in a very good light which of course they would as getting big bonuses for selling memberships etc ! My ds who works there gets has a free membership to give away which he gives to DS2 and as he works all over the country he is able to use any DL gym close to where he is working so it works well for him too. Ds1 says when he has worked there a couple of years more he gets any friends and family pass and i am next in line !!! It's not something I would otherwise be able to afford.

I love my membership. Yes it’s not cheap. But I get to use a lot of other clubs. I’m a very keen tennis player and play nearly every day. Also, I work from there. I work from home so if I didn’t have DL, I would be on my own a lot. I joined when my son was 3 months old and both kids are members and do activities / crèche or kids clubs there all the time. They have kids club during the school holidays for a few hours each day and kids parties. I don’t have family around to help me, so o use it a lot for childcare as well as for myself. It’s expensive but I wouldn’t give it up. It’s a place of support for me / my kids. I’ve been a member for almost 4 years. My husband is not a member because he doesn’t have time. It’s worth it if you use it a lot.

also mine has an outdoor pool in the summer ( a lot of them do ). Which is really nice. It has padel too and lots of outdoor seating. Playground, softplay. I’m not sure I would join if I didn’t have kids and didn’t work from home/ play tennis.

Yes, a lot of people work from there which I find slightly annoying as they set themselves up in the cafe area & take up a table for 4 with their laptop & headphones & have a meeting. It makes the cafe seem busy & of course they are there most of the day. It does give the place a buzz though.
It's been lovely sitting outside in the sunshine this week & I'm looking forward to the summer, it will be like being on holiday

The ones I go to have specific work areas. So it’s not an issue at all.

Hmm interesting.

but at £600 a month for five of us. I’d expect a butler doing the workout for me!!

Is it the Weybridge one OP? It's very nice but eye-wateringly expensive, to the extent we left last year. They had a huge (and unnecessary) refurb recently and all the costs have passed straight to the customer.

I've been a member for around 25 years.

Yes it is expensive (especially with the frequency we use it now, we used it much more with the DC).
But the facilities are good, the changing rooms are kept clean, we swim off peak hours and the pool is never particularly busy. The pool is at a sensible temperature for swimming - not too cold, but not hot like a fun pool.

It is worth it if you use the heck out of the facilities.

So very regular attendance, classes, the kids club in holidays, eating there after kids have finished activities, using as many of the facilities as possible (tennis courts, pools, sauna, jacuzzi) and social (quiz nights).

I feel like because it is pricey you really need to work to make sure you get your money’s worth otherwise it does feel like a crazy amount of money to spend.

My DDs now have other commitments but we did spend a lot of time there, perhaps to justify the cost. I was less keen (not a gym bunny at all) but exDH and DDs loved it so 😩. There were loads of other families with young DC who used to spend loads of time there and just tag each other in and out for classes or individual things.

Where in Surrey are you? You might get more relevant responses if you indicate which one you are looking at.

Also sorry I have realised I have assumed you have DC - do you?

Ouch!

Are your dc older children? We used to have a family membership when my dc were young but it was nowhere near that amount. I thought it was around £30 a month for dc. Although this might be some time ago.

Unless you’re quite well off I’m not sure it’s worth £600 a month. As much as I like going there I wouldn’t pay this.

Yep three kids. This is the Epsom club.

We got to the Purley, Epsom and New Malden one with our membership. New Malden is the best in my view but they are all great.

Honestly in the summer there is nothing like it. Compared to the local public pools which are mega busy and horrible changing rooms, at DL we sit by the outside pool, order lunch which gets delivered out to us, swim outside then DH or I will pop back in the evenings to use the spa. There’s nothing like sitting in a beautiful outside salt water spa in the summer looking at the stars.

The kids love the little soft play areas and I enjoy the classes whereas DH uses the gym.

For us, we consider it money well spent as we don’t spend as much booking soft plays, cinemas, trips out at the weekend as we just rock up to DL

We used Purley and Cheam - Cheam is wonderful in summer.