Fitness First UK Avis 

Good facilities at Fitness First at the Cottons, pleasant and friendly staff too. Not too expensive by London standards either. However, I’m a member mainly for the pool and the four lane pool is now spoilt by always being at reduced capacity to accommodate self-employed swimming instructors who are permitted to pay to block off a lane for swimming lessons at the expense of members at all times including peak lunchtimes, mornings, evenings, weekends, bank holidays no escape from them and it badly contributes to overcrowding. My only other gripe is poor aircon in the cardio area - which is always clammy.

I recently renewed my contract, Gemma was lovely and an amazing help, thank you very much!

I've been training at Fitness First Bedford for one week and overall, it's been a good experience. The facilities are excellent—everything is well maintained, clean, and the equipment is modern and in great condition. One of the highlights for me is the swimming pool, sauna, and changing rooms, which are all very well kept and add a nice touch of comfort to the experience.

The space is generous, and even during peak hours, it never feels overcrowded, which makes workouts much more enjoyable. I also appreciated the physical assessment included with the membership—it’s thorough and really helps you plan your fitness journey effectively from the start.

However, there are a couple of areas that could be improved. Communication via email is not very efficient—despite being listed as a contact method, responses are slow or sometimes absent. That said, calling the gym directly works much better, and the staff are friendly and helpful when you speak to them.

Another issue was with the towel policy. The website states that members are entitled to one towel per visit, but I was told on my first day that this doesn't apply to the Bedford location. This discrepancy wasn’t mentioned online, which was disappointing.

Overall, Fitness First Bedford is a great gym with top-notch facilities and a welcoming atmosphere. Just be aware of the minor communication hiccups and towel policy if this is important to you as it was for me.

BASINGSTOKE Good gym but the turnover of staff speaks volumes about the company. I was a member here for 9 years at £37 a month. They lapsed my membership in December 2024. Not allowed to use the gym until they got back to me which they did in January 2025 and they said as your membership has been lapsed for so long we cant honour your £37 a month as all your details have gone. When i went to rejoin all my details was on the system and my key fob with membership number still worked. I decided i cant do business with a desperate company that lies to you. So i did a temporary membership and have now joined the new gym Jetts in the Chineham center for £31 a month open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Fitness first was so desperate for an extra £13 a month they have now lost my membership all together. Seems to me they are desperate liars.

I can't cancel my membership. I signed up to the club at Thomas Moore sq in the beginning of the year, but before that I explained to them that I would move out of the neighbourhood in a few months to a place without a Fitness First club. They answered that it would not be a problem, I would be able to cancel in the app with no cancellation fee just by providing a proof of the new address.

Now I have moved, the app does not have an option to cancel without a fee, even if you choose "Relocation". I went back to the club to complain, and they just told me there was nothing they could to and gave me an email of membership services to complain. I've sent the email but there is no answer. There is no number to call and the club insists there is nothing they can do for me.

Appreciate help and support from Gemma. Looking forward to more workouts with Fitness First

Great gym, the whole process of joining is really easy and detailed. Get a good understanding of all facilities with all staff being really friendly. Would highly recommend.

Great experience at the actual gym until cancellation. Customer support was just horrendous. It's really unfortunate how a poor experience on the way out the door can ruin an entire experience with a company. They refused to respond to enquiries (including ones sent to my home gym), and then said I had cancelled too late even though they were the ones that took ages to respond. Really sad that it ended on such a negative note.

Friendly staff great facilities only 1 concern regarding steam room feel there should be at least 2 alarm call buttons inside as if alone and a medical emergency occurs there is no way to alert staff

Head Office procedures and process, particularly complaints need a major overhaul as they have zero interest in engaging with their clients. They have effectively called me and my mum liars and repeatedly state the same thing over and over again. The only reason this review has 2 stars is because the staff member at Basingstoke did everything he could but for some reason Head Office does not empower their gym managers. Given that there are 3 new gyms imminently opening in Basingstoke, you would think they want to engage but the 'Membership Services person ( who apparently is also the complaints person) was was rude, patronising and clearly had no training in this field

Great gym, extensive amount of equipment and excellent facilities (showers, sauna, spin room). The space is huge and it never feels busy. Whatever equipment you want to use, it's always available. Also great customer service, always helpful and quick to respond.

I signed up for a 12-month contract with Fitness First and was initially hopeful about using the gym regularly. Unfortunately, I had a very uncomfortable experience: as I was leaving one day, a staff member said goodbye, and then another person (possibly also staff) made a comment I couldn’t fully hear, but it ended with a remark about gay guys, followed by laughter by a group of people including the FF employees.

Whether or not the comment was aimed at me, the tone made me feel extremely unwelcome and unsafe in a space that should be inclusive and respectful. I contacted Fitness First to explain the situation and asked to cancel my contract, as I no longer felt safe returning to the gym.

To be clear — I fully understand I was under contract, and I’m not someone who simply wanted to cancel for no reason. I was willing to commit to the full term, but what happened made that impossible. This was not about convenience or motivation; it was about no longer feeling safe in the environment due to what I experienced as a homophobic remark.

The company’s handling of my complaint was deeply disappointing. I received repeated, templated responses, no personal follow-up from the club manager they said would contact me, and absolutely no real engagement with the seriousness of the issue. They refused to refund the £74 early cancellation fee, or the monthly membership payment taken just before I cancelled — meaning I paid nearly £120 to leave a space I could no longer safely use.

This kind of situation requires empathy, accountability, and a serious response. Sadly, I experienced none of that. I hope Fitness First reflects on how it handles complaints of this nature and takes action to create a safer, more respectful environment for all members.

Terrible gym - Clapham Junction especially, classes are run by people who have no idea what they are doing and the changing areas are disgusting, trying to cancel is a nightmare and they keep taking money off your account regardless of whether you have accessed their facilities or not.

Not helpful and sarcastic when trying to cancel, blocked access to my app and online accounts so I couldn't actually cancel my membership (which is the only way apparently). Avoid at all costs

Less crowded and ample equipment available

I joined just under a week ago, the app is not working with my details - not user error. I cannot access anything so absolutely no benefit to me! I have to call to book classes, so 1996! Despite the club referring my issue to head office I have still no reply! Despite chasing on numerous occasions. I now want to cancel my membership but apparently you have to do this on the app! How ironic.

The staff was incredibly kind! I went to the location next to the Resident Covent Garden Hotel because there was no gym at the hotel. It was also very clean and spacious.

Brilliant gym

Fitness First Bishopsgate - London

They have taken complete advantage of my autistic brother by having him sign a contract without properly explaining the membership details or any of the terms and conditions. During his three-week membership, they failed to provide him with an induction, despite him clearly stating that he had never been to a gym before. What’s worse, multiple inductions were booked, and each time he travelled all the way from South London only to be told, upon arrival, that the session had been cancelled — no warning, no apology, no regard for his time or well-being.

When I advised him to cancel his contract although he was well within his cooling off period he was met with rudeness, arrogance, and was treated in a bullying manner by staff. This is completely unacceptable, he was not only neglected basic customer care, but also a serious oversight in terms of health and safety responsibilities at this specific branch.

I am finding the gym very amazing with Friendly environment and all the equipments.

If you join and have to deal with head office good luck - the worst customer service I’ve ever recieved multiple emails and calls and effectively called a liar