Fitness First UK Reviews 

My experience with Fitness First has been awful, both as a paying member and now that I am trying to leave.

The facilities were frequently below the standard you would expect from a gym charging membership fees. Saunas and steam rooms were often out of service, showers sometimes had no hot water, soap was missing, and on certain occasions there were no towels available. These are basic facilities that members should be able to rely on, not recurring problems that you simply have to put up with.

However, the cancellation process has been the final straw.

I contacted Membership Services on 16 September 2026 to cancel my membership after moving more than 5 km away, following advice from the club's reception team. Despite chasing, I waited approximately two weeks for a response, only to then face a dispute over my cancellation date and an additional charge of around £40.

Jennifer's handling of the complaint has been particularly disappointing. The lack of urgency, poor communication and failure to resolve what should have been a straightforward issue have left me incredibly frustrated. She even started up making up new terms and conditions which were specifically not listed on their website. After being a paying member, I expected a far more professional level of customer service.

The combination of frequently unavailable facilities, missing basic amenities and a stressful cancellation process has completely undermined my confidence in the company.

**I would strongly caution anyone considering joining Fitness First to look beyond the advertised facilities and think carefully about the service they may receive when things go wrong or when they want to cancel.** Based on my experience, the facilities and customer service have been nowhere near acceptable.

Fitness First Charing Cross London
I want to be clear that Fitness First is usually very good abd my problem is with just the Charing X branch .
Noone checks yhe sauna to ensure it is yhe correct ttemp.This morning at I left at 9.25 am because yhd temp was too low.The branch opens at 8am.
I don't know if the branch is trying to save money because it is fairly empty buf after 20 mins of tepid temp I left.
Sauna are supposed to be hot not tepid anx if is unreasonable to expect clients to waif till it gets hot.
Very disappointed especially since FF is generally good.

I’ve been a member of St Albans gym for over 15 years and have generally been happy with the services. However, since the gym introduced reformer and other gimmicky facilities the traditional services have been materially impacted. As an example I have asked repeatedly that there is a gap between classes to enable transition time. Specifically on Saturday Body Pump now buts up against Hyrox. This does not allow time for equipment to be put away, toilet break or water refill. I’m now arriving 10 minutes late for Hyrox, which has already been reduced to a 45 minutes class from 60 minutes, and it’s disruptive to the class as well as my routine. This is unacceptable and needs changing. I have also not received any response to my feedback provided to the gym which is extremely disappointing, hence now writing here. The disruption started since the reformer, which is provided at an additional cost to the monthly fee, and new “gimmicky” equipment has been introduced, causing complete disruption of traditional services. I’m being told the new health checks needed for the new equipment, mainly plunge pool, have put constraints on gym staff time leading to the forced miss scheduling of classes. Clearly “head office” did not think through the implications of the new equipment on staffing levels and customer service. This follows an increase of 12% on the annual fee this year. Something needs to change or they will start to lose loyal customers.

My main complaint is that it was not explained to me that my standard membership (£60 pcm, tied in for 12 months ) meant that I could sign up for classes 7 days in advance.
I subsequently found out that premium members could sign up 10 days in advance., This meant that any class I wanted was always full. This was a major reason for joining the club and should have been explained when I took on the membership.

Their staff member broke their own rules related to my membership now they won't let me leave without paying them. Dreadful company, horrible customer service. DO NOT JOIN.

I believe this gym is a scam. I signed up as a student with a discount, planning to go for probably two months.

Before I signed up and paid, I was aggressively approached by a worker who went on and on about how great the gym was, but somehow never mentioned their horrible cancellation process, which ultimately led to me paying for the subscription without fully understanding what I was getting into.

I felt pressured into this subscription, and now that I’m trying to leave, they’re telling me I have to pay £75 just to cancel it. I’ve heard good things and seen pictures of the gym, but it really makes you think: are they only doing this well because they scam college students and take as much of their money as possible?

The gym might look great, but the way they handle memberships and cancellations completely ruins it for me.

Where to start with Liverpool St! It is terrible
- The air con does not work and I regularly have to cut cardio workouts short as I'm overheating
- Doors on the showers would be appreciated plus people in the sauna can see directly into one of the showers if they want
- The towels are tiny and so thin I could actually see through mine the other day. Why are the ones at Bishopsgate so much bigger and nicer?
- Regular inability to provide hot water than you are not notified about until you reach the gym when it is too late when you have left home with greasy hair. Why can't this be advised on the app if this is a home club? At least the flies have gone, for now and the soap dispenser that was hanging off the wall has been fixed.
- Other FF of the same level in London have nice soap and products, this is generic liquid on a box on the wall
- Staff who don't bother to learn your name after multiple years of attending the gym
- Same playlist on repeat, if I hear "world hold on" one more time I might scream
- No spin bike, One Watt bike which is often full
- Boxing sessions at peak time when there isn't room for normal guests to do their workout
- Ripped mats
- Uneven flooring near the weights
You may ask why I go here but it is the only gym that means I can get the train, do a session and get to work on time. I'd highly recommend anyone without a restriction to go to Bishopsgate

Very disappointing experience with Fitness First Streatham.

The gym is often overcrowded and the cleanliness could be much better, especially the showers, which are in poor condition.

What disappointed me most was the cancellation process and customer service. I asked multiple times for them to point me to the specific rule in the contract they were relying on, but every time I received essentially the same response without the actual contractual provision being identified.

There also doesn't seem to be a meaningful formal complaints escalation process. My complaint was repeatedly handled by the same person, with the same response being repeated, until I was eventually told it was their "final position."

After this experience, I would strongly recommend thinking twice before signing a long-term contract with Fitness First. The cancellation process and customer service have been extremely frustrating.

I originally gave Fitness First a positive review when I joined around two years ago. Unfortunately, my recent experience has been so disappointing that I feel compelled to change my review.

The Fitness First Bedford car park was recently taken over by Euro Car Parks (ECP). On a recent visit, I registered my vehicle on arrival as required and stayed entirely within the permitted time for gym members. Despite this, I was shocked to receive a £100 Parking Charge Notice (PCN) through the post a couple of weeks later.

I contacted Fitness First and asked them to assist with having the PCN cancelled. Given that they could see from my attendance records that I was at the gym for the entire period, I expected them to support a genuine member who had complied with the parking requirements.

Unfortunately, they refused to assist. More concerningly, the manager told me that Fitness First could no longer intervene in these matters because the landlord had asked them not to, and that the landlord wanted to generate income from members receiving PCNs. I cannot independently verify the reasoning behind this, but I found the explanation extremely concerning. If this is indeed the reason Fitness First has been asked not to assist its members, it creates an uncomfortable perception that the interests of members may not be fully aligned with the way the parking arrangements are being operated. In my particular case, despite being a genuine member who had attended the gym and believed I had complied with the parking requirements, I was unable to obtain meaningful assistance from the gym when I received the £100 charge.

I subsequently challenged the PCN directly with Euro Car Parks, but my appeal was rejected because I was unable to provide evidence that I had registered my vehicle on arrival. Fitness First only provided me with a copy of my attendance log. They did not provide any further supporting evidence, despite having the ability to investigate the matter further, for example by reviewing CCTV or providing written confirmation that I was a genuine gym member attending the club during the relevant period.

As a result, I have had to pay £100 for parking despite having parked legitimately and complied with the gym's requirements.

What is particularly disappointing is not simply the parking charge itself, but the lack of support from Fitness First when I raised a genuine issue. After being a member for around two years, I would have expected considerably more assistance from the gym.

Unfortunately, this experience has completely changed my opinion of Fitness First and is the reason I will not be renewing my membership.

Previously the gym had a hex bar which is one of the reasons I joined Fitness First Bath. The gym has now been refurbished and there will no longer be a hex bar. I took this up with Fitness First and asked how I could contact customer services. The Manager was unwilling to listen to the request of a member. He said I don't want you to waste your energy or efforts on a decision that is final, but you are xxxxxxxx (I can’t post the email on Trust Pilot) but they will likely steer you back to me as the General Manager of the Bath club. In my view the response was curt bordering on the rude. I have been a member of the gym for about two years and I have never seen the Manager! I have now cancelled my membership and will be joining Pure Gym where the Manager was very pleasant and welcoming

Awful customer service, they failed to cancel my subscription in time and passed this to a recovery agency!!! Been wasting months on email communications where still none would read or address the situation beside the gym manager supporting the case! Shame on fitness first, dont bother signing up, there are better gyms!

I belong to the Milton Keynes club. Tonight I received an email informing me I had not attended a booked class yesterday - I was there.
I rang to address the error and was told that I had not scanned in - I had and went through the turnstile. I was made to feel that I was lying and was told that the person I was speaking to (Naz) would have to speak to her Manager who wasn’t available. This is not the first time this has happened. No resolution and I have to go to the gym tomorrow to sort it out- very unhappy member of the MzK club.

The Bath gym is now closed for eight days for refurbishment, but I am still being charged the full price for the month. I am being charged for a service I can't use. I've been told I will get three guest passes as compensation, but these are of no value to me unless I sell them, and I was also told they are only valid for one month, so I can't save them for when a friend or relative visits. Membership is already expensive, but it's worth it when everything is open and working, and I appreciate this isn't the fault of the club staff, but this situation is not acceptable and it's very poor customer service.

I foolishly signed up for the 360 membership and was under the impression I could access other gyms outside my tier. When I tried the following day at Baker St the guy explained that's not whats included.
I paid £120 plus £7 something. When I realised my error I cancelled well within 24 hours and upgraded my membership to tier 1 Baker st.
Asked for a refund, no. sent some kit that I have absolutely no use for.
I will take the matter up with consumer rights. If no joy will go and join David lloyd. I have had nothing but trouble with my membership at fitness first. I work with hnw individuals who need to get back into a fitness regime. Sadly that will not be with Fitness first i feel ripped off. And please for anyone looking at the 360 upgrade in my opinion waste of money scammed into paying years. Such is life for the sake of £120 fitness first are now a club i will actively discourage people joing.

Very disappointing experience with the Spa area!!!
They don’t even deserve one star.
Fitness First Hammersmith has a Spa area which is supposed to be a place where members can relax and unwind. Unfortunately, it is practically impossible to do so because the music is played at such an unnecessarily high volume that it feels more like being in the middle of a rave or nightclub than in a spa.
I have raised this issue several times and explained that it is not just me who finds the music disturbing. Many of the people who use the sauna feel exactly the same way and would simply like to have a quiet and relaxing environment.
Sadly, my complaints have been completely ignored.
I am essentially paying for a gym with a Spa facility that I cannot properly enjoy. After just five minutes in the sauna with loud electronic, nightclub-style music blasting in the background, all you want to do is leave rather than relax.
It is genuinely such a shame, because the Spa could be a fantastic facility if it were treated as a place for relaxation rather than a nightclub.
I really hope Fitness First Hammersmith takes this feedback seriously and does something about the volume and nature of the music.

Closing the Bath gym for 9 days and refusing to adjust the monthly direct debit accordingly is a new low. I've already replied to Head Office but if there is no movement on this I will launch a formal complaint to the Customer Resolutions team. If they refuse to act I will take it to the ADR scheme and I will win because clause 37 is meant to deal with short-term emergency closures and not planned 9 days refurbishments. You are wasting my time and your staff's time while trying to stonewall what is a perfectly reasonable request - you cannot charge for a service you do not provide (for those 9 days). This is enshrined in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 but you know this already and are just trying it on...this is worse than extremely poor.

Horrible gym
- had altercation staff did nothing

The true problems start when you try to leave when your contract ends. Despite being a liyal customer, they treat you like sh*t! So many barriers to stop you leaving easy. Then when you think youve done it, they send debtco your way! Look up debtco reviews for confirmation. I cant believe such a big corporation can be so greedy and unprofessional.

As a fitness enthusiasts, I've expeirenced the worst membership service and customer service with Fitness First. Please protect your money well with this company.. Terminating clients' memebrship due to their own mistakes and don't give a reason let alone aplology, compensation as a proper solution. When members seek help from the company, the company decided not to respond at all, which is insane. The performance of their membership service team completely destroys the company's reputation. I won't recommend this gym to anyone at all.