Village Gym London Watford

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Reviews

1. Bhavi R ★★★★☆

   Giving four stars as we believe everyone deserves a second chance. We went in to check out this gym with the intention of signing up, but the experience was disappointing. The gym was extremely crowded, many machines appeared broken, and there was an unpleasant smell throughout the space. Claudia, the staff member who helped us, was friendly, but the tour felt rushed and focused more on selling than making us feel welcome. We didn’t feel valued as potential members, and our concerns weren’t really acknowledged. Due to the condition of the gym and the overall experience, we decided not to join.

   1 month ago
2. David Lewis ★★☆☆☆

   The changing rooms are grimy and overcrowded, the showers full of mold and some shower heads leak when turned off. The toilets are putrid, with some of the sinks often blocked; if I need to go I have to leave the club and use the hotel toilets. The gym equipment is battered, with equipment often out of commission for weeks sometimes months on end despite repeatedly pointing this out to staff. Some of the TVs in the equipment have not functioned properly ever since they were installed, and all of them are incorrectly tuned. The list of grievances seems endless. Why do I stay? Well changing ones gym is like getting divorced.

   almost 3 months ago
3. Sammy ★☆☆☆☆

   The gym, in particular the male changing room and ‘spa’ are extremely dirty. The door of the sauna looks as if it hasn’t been wiped in 5 years, the walls are covered in black stains, I have been told it must be water. There is no drain inside the sauna so water builds up leading to damp and small black creatures on the floor inside, similar to a public toilet. It seems basic hygiene isn’t so basic. I have raised these concerns many times yet nothing seems to improve. The floor in the male changing room is black and full of hairs. When I get changed I need to ensure my trousers don’t touch the floor, as if the floor were ‘lava’. I have raised these obvious problems with the manager who seemed uninterested. Further, repairing basic machines, such as the leg extension, is too big an ask as it has been out of order for a couple months. I have spoken with many members who all share my concerns. All the staff are lovely, it seems the leadership has let this place deteriorate.

   almost 3 months ago

1. Benjamin Haak ★☆☆☆☆

   Understaffed, unhygienic, unmaintained, unacceptable. Not a matter of opinion, but words that accurately define Village Gym London Watford. Firstly, at the time of writing, there are two treadmills, an exercise bike, cable leg extension, plate loaded leg press and smith machine which have been out of order for weeks on end with no repair in sight. The estimated repair dates on the out of order signs have been changed so many times, even the signs don't know what date the repair is going to occur anymore. At this point, the out of order signs serve as a helpful reminder of what the date will be on the upcoming Monday or Friday. Whilst I appreciate there is a renovation that will be taking place over the next three months, having such a significant volume of fundamental machines out of order for as long as they have been is entirely unacceptable. I have no confidence that any repairs will take place prior to completion of the renovations. Furthermore, I am not seeing a reduction in my membership fee which aligns with the reduction in equipment provided. My next concern is the overall hygiene, or rather the lack of it. Starting with the male changing rooms, three out of the four toilets do not flush. This has been the case since at least April of this year. I have had the distinct pleasure of seeing and smelling more of other people's excrement than I have of my own since April. There are few certainties in life, death, taxes and walking into a cubical at Village Gym London Watford to be greeted by someone else's masterpiece. An additional hygiene concern is the maintenance of the water fountains. Often the filter is left to turn to red, meaning it urgently needs replacing, thus increasing the probability of this water exiting your body as "chocolate rain" following consumption. I may not be a water filter expert, but I believe an amber light would be a good indication that the filter needs replacing before being allowed to turn red. At the time of writing, both fountains have an amber light. I would also add, looking at the fountains themselves, they don't appear to be cleaned on a regular basis, this can be seen by the dried water splash marks. To be constructive, a positive from this lack of hygiene is that my immune system has certainly been strengthened since being a member of Village Gym. So, thank you! Following my concerns of lack of maintenance and lack of hygiene. I would highlight that this gym is severely understaffed. Previously there would be at least two members of staff on the gym floor at a time, now there is only one. The one PT on duty is expected to teach classes, as well as clean and maintain the gym. This is entirely unrealistic for just one person, actually impossible. As a result, no one is ever on the gym floor. You will often walk into the gym at opening time to be greeted by a bombsite. Weights are left scattered in all corners of the gym, barbells and equipment often can be found loaded with the last person's weights from the night before. Whilst members do need to take a portion of accountability for the tidiness of the gym, there needs to be staff to enforce a level of etiquette, such as putting your weights away after using them and returning them to the correct place. The "manager" of the gym, Pav, is nowhere to be seen for the most part. When we as members are fortunate enough to be graced by Pav's presence, he saunters through the gym as if he is the king of Shiba, I can confirm he is not the king of Shiba. I have continually observed him walk past and ignore members with absolute disregard. All of the above observations coincides with his tenure as "manager". In my assessment, I think the most of the issues here can be attributed to him. Overall, I would go as far as to say that the Village Gym London Watford is a ticking timebomb. It's dangerous, and it's only a matter of time before something goes horribly wrong, whether that be someone getting seriously injured by equipment or catching something sinister.

   almost 3 months ago
2. Bhavin Patel ★★★☆☆

   Fantastic gym and staff are absolutely brilliant. Really enjoy coming to the gym. Reason for 3 stars is that for the monthly membership price people are paying, I would expect the equipment to be in working order. I visited yesterday and unfortunately 4 machines were out of order. This is completely unacceptable given how much members are paying a month. Please address this issue as soon as possible as paying members should have equipment in working order.

   almost 4 months ago
3. Adrienne Susman ★★★★★

   I attended the Les Mills Launch last weekend. The energy and enthusiasm of the instructors Tara, Lidiya, Dan and the rest of the crew was amazing. so lucky to have such fantastic instructors and I look forward to continuing on my fitness path with them and trying out some of the new classes. The club has undergone a refurbishment recently and new equipment is being added. Great gym, terrific instructors and really helpful gym and reception staff

   almost 3 years ago

1. roy aaronson ★★★★★

   Very happy with this gym. Yes, they've had upheaval during extensive changing room renovation, which like all building work has gone on longer than anticipated. This wasn't their fault though and they've worked hard throughout. Generally, the gym is well-equipped and even when a machine goes wrong (which invariably happens from time to time), they're always quick to have it repaired. What's more, the staff were very friendly, particularly Eloise, who initially showed me around. Nothing was too much trouble for her to sort out for me. There's a generally good vibe about the place. I looked at David Lloyd in Bushey, but found the staff to be dismissive and one in-particular rude and up herself. I also found a lot of the customers there really arrogant and even in the car park, they were aggressive. Furthermore, it's well over twice the price and is nowhere-near twice as good. With your membership, you even get a healthy discount on the adjoining restaurant, which is particularly useful for breakfast, if you don't need to rush off. To surmise, I'd recommend The Village Gym. Keep up the good work.

   almost 3 years ago
2. Duncan Bracey ★☆☆☆☆

   Used to be quite a nice gym but since the Male changing rooms refurbishment started it has really gone down hill. The temporary changing rooms are disgusting, the only Male toilets are horrible. There's water everywhere from the pool and clear signs of rot and black mold setting in due to the damp. The gym has weights left out everywhere and broken equipment, the hot tub has a huge build up of dirt and grit at the bottom, the steam room door is broken and won't shut properly letting the steam out and the sauna is so small that can't fit more than 5 people. The staff are very friendly and helpful but for the price the facilities are awful. I would suggest going to the David Lloyd and getting better value for money.

   almost 3 years ago
3. shireen salama ★★★★★

   LOVE LOVE LOVE this gym! The classes are fab - the day is packed out with different class options, personal fave, body pump, body combat and spin - the spin studio is on par with a Central London studio! The sauna and cold shower I also love after a swim... Happy customer for sure!

   almost 3 years ago

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