GoodLife Fitness

This is one of the trilogy of the Goodlifes in this area (Manulife, Yorkville, Park). In my opinion this club ranks third among the others. It has a pool though, the other two don’t. For some reason, which I never understood, their BodyCombat classes are waaaay better than the other two, even if they’re taught by the same instructors. I guess the regular BodyCombat crowd is just so much more fun than Park and Yorkville. Another good thing about this club is that you can get your protein shake from the deli below the gym, right after your workout.

I’ve been to many locations, but I tend to come to this one the most… not because I like it the best though… mainly because the class schedule works best for me. I actually find this location extremely cramped. I only take classes and even just the walk to the classroom is enough to make me feel like I’ve gotten in the way of 20 people who are trying to workout. It’s inevitable because there is just not enough open space.
This location really needs a separate room for personal training because the trainers basically have people working out in every corner and corridor. If you want personal training, I’d really recommend choosing a different location. There are so many more spacious ones!
Despite this sounding like a negative review, I do like goodlife, because I love the classes. I only wish this location was bigger.

I went here recently; good service– friendly staff. A little crowded but I like the location.

Sometimes GoodLife gyms feel like the Target of gyms, other times they feel more like Wal-Mart…this one’s definitely a Wal-​Mart.
First of all, the club is simply cramped beyond belief. They don’t have a place to store anything, so it all sits on top of the tiny stretching area. I think you could move from machine to machine without even needing to set foot on the ground.
The cardio machines at least are not very nice. Many of them had maintenance issues or were just old and gross. The weight machines are in somewhat better shape, but did not especially impress me relative to their other clubs.
The atmosphere is poor. It’s so cramped with such low ceilings that I found myself not wanting to be there. The staff seemed to be non-​existent. The clientele for this location also tends towards the geriatric set, which means really long waits for machines as they tend to occupy a given machine for quite a while and shuffle between machines. This client population also lends itself to lots of expectorating and coughing up of phlegm in the shower area, which I found disgusting.
Finally, the pool. Seems like a cool idea… uh, not. There are 5 lanes each with a limit of 20 minutes for laps. I think most poorly funded high schools have nicer pools than this. It’s short, and there was a line of 5 people at an off hour. I can’t imagine coming in and sitting around for 30 minutes just waiting to swim.
No more visits to this GoodLife for me!

This is quite a small fitness club compared to the other locations I’ve been in, but it can’t be helped considering that it is in the Manulife Centre. I haven’t tried using the pool yet but I’ve heard only negative things about it. I’ll have to see and try it for myself.
If you’re looking to just get a quick or late night workout and you work and live around the area, then this is a great go to location.

This is the only location downtown with a pool and is the only reason I come to this location. The pool is 18 metres long which is shorter than the standard of 25m. While it would be nicer to have a larger pool, I can’t really complain since its included in my membership.
The pool is closed right now for annual maintenance so hopefully things can only get better.

GOT A SKIN INFECTION FROM THEIR DIRTY CONTAMINATED POOL
I recently joined good life fitness this year Jan 2013. Initially i was really happy with the service. I had signed up at the Dundas Location and was happy with them, but I started going to the Bay and Bloor location because of the pool. During this time, I noticed that many ppl were not showering before entering into the pool. Exactly a week later i started to get bumps on my body that looked like an infection. I went to see my GP and she told me that it was pseudomonas aeruginosa folliculitis (infection of hair follicles) and it is caused from swimming in contaminated water. She put me on anti-​biotics and they went away after about two weeks. However I still have scars. I later contacted the Good Life to express my concerns and they ignored all my calls and emails. Needless to say i will not be using their pool anymore. What terrible customer service. I am now going back to the Dundas location.

Good luck getting on ANY cardio machine in this location! Usually can’t get your self around anywhere after 5pm. It is in downtown core and it is busy hour, but this gym’s just tiny that is it.
Rude/​careless/​bitchy staff and sales reps. Who the f they think they are.
Yes they made me feel like I was a fattest being on this planet, i’m assuming reason for that was simply I won’t easily surrender to their slave agreement.
Compelling experience of typical gym sales attitude.
I end up sign up for it, if it wasnt for my ex boyfriend who brought me there there’s no way i’d sign up for such thing which contirubute another buck to damn sales rep i talked to.
Anyhoo, disregarding my personal experience it still is pretty bad gym unless you work around this area.

This GoodLife location is one of the few in the city with a pool. They run both aqua fitness which attracts a lot of seniors, and the rest of the time leave it open for swimming laps. The pool is a little hot and short for serious swimmers but for those that never swam competitively, it’s a good enough option.
The gym itself is quite small. There is very little room to do abs, the treadmills are literally right up against a wall (making that run extremely uninteresting) and it gets really really busy at peak hours. The one saving grace this gym has for me is there fitness classes don’t get quite as full as the Park Rd. location.
The staff don’t really put on the same friendly face on that you typically see at other GoodLife Fitness Clubs but it’s a pretty negligible factor for me.
For me, this is the most convenient location so I come here frequently enough and just make sure I show up just before peak hours start so that I can have my pick of machines, or stick to classes.

Until today I have always regarded goodlife as a company with integrity but they have proved to be just another scheming corporate gym. Please note that this bad review is not just a reaction to not getting my way but is really sincere disappointment at how Goodlife’s service has declined. I was a member of goodlife for over 5 years with no issues. In fact when I originally put my membership on hold in 2010 it was with no questions was a very easy agreement without conditions.
When I went into extend the hold on my membership last January it was a completely different experience. This time around the new general manager told me that he would have to charge me to hold my membership. When I questioned why that was when this was not the case in my previous hold and there were no conditions the last time and that I would rather just cancel my membership he changed his story and told me that he could make the exception this one time and put my account on hold until I came in and reinstated my account. It was the first time I’d ever experienced any shifty sort of dealings with Goodlife so I stupidly passed the manager’s behaviour off as a personality issue rather than a reflection of Goodlife’s service.
I just found out that they’ve been taking out $ 68 from my savings account (one that I don’t use on a regular basis) every month since September. I called head office to demand a full refund and to cancel my membership and the customer service person simply told me that I had signed a document allowing them to reinstate my membership in September. When I explained that I gave no such permission and in fact wanted to cancel my membership in January but was persuaded not to by the gen. mgr. because of a hold charge he simply repeated over and over that there was nothing that he could do and that he would not refund my money. He refused to let me talk to a supervisor stating that it was against company policy to let customers speak to supervisors. I immediately demanded that he cancel my membership and I could tell he got some weird satisfaction from telling me that they would be taking one last payment out of my account tomorrow and that there was nothing he would do about it. He kept repeating the training rhetoric that Goodlife obviously uses to «handle» their customer complaints and I hung up the phone feeling even more cheated by Goodlife.
I understand the concept of buyer beware especially when it comes to gyms but in this day and age it’s an outdated way of running a business. I am really surprised that after explaining the situation and looking at the facts that Goodlife would not at least come to a compromise so that they would not risk losing a customer. This is a sign of bad business and desperation. I am really shocked at how Goodlife could allow for this sort of customer service to occur when their business is based on long term customer relations. I sincerely hope that my membership was cancelled as I still have not received the email confirmation that I was promised over the phone.

Rude staff, crowded, dirty, only good thing is how close it is. The music is slow and sleepy most of the time so bring your own music. This is the worst of the Goodlifes in Toronto.

I’ve been going to this club for about two years now, and I’ve never had a problem with getting time on machines or into a fitness class. A lot of people mention that this gym is smaller than many, but it makes good use of the space it does have, fitting in spacious change rooms with 5 showers, and all the other amenities you would expect from a Goodlife club. The club doesn’t have mandatory towel service as Roy A. mentions. He must have been to the Bloor Park Club.
I love the instructors for the fitness classes. Really well-​trained, helpful, nice people. I’m a regular at BodyFlow (yoga, pilates, and tai chi workout; very low impact; good for beginners) and an occasional at BodyJam (dance move cardio = awesome) and BodyCombat (martial arts cardio workout).
I gave them a three-​star rating rather than four because I’m generally wary of big corporations that don’t list their memberships and prices on their websites. Seems sneaky for some reason. Also, there is no child care, which doesn’t bother me, but I often see people requesting this service on the comments board.

I“m not sure if Roy A. was referring to the Bloor Park GoodLife club or this Manulife Centre club (they are only a couple of blocks from each other) but unless they changed the rules, this club does not have mandatory towel service but the other one does. This is one of the older GoodLife clubs but it was renovated several years ago (I can’t remember the exact time frame as I was a member of Bally Fitness back then) but I want to say 2004 – 2005.
The club is located on the second level offices opposite the theatres and the layout is a bit odd as it seems like everything was shoe horned to fit some leftover space. This location has a swimming pool though many may challenge that definition and call it an oversized bathtub. It is unique for any gym in the downtown to offer a pool and it uses salt water.
The facility is small and there is minimal equipment so expect to share often working in while you’re resting between sets. You need to pass through an open concept spinning room to get to a weights area and the aerobics room in the far back of the gym. The older gym had old carpeting and the update has certainly helped. I use this club when i’m in the area so it’s my second most used gym outside of my home club.
The trainers and members seem pretty nice here bit I’m not familiar with any of the instructors in these classes. Despite it’s small size, it has enough equipment to get a short workout in without any major issues. The space is tight between the equipment and some of them are older. Will not accommodate many members and has shorter hours than most other GoodLife clubs. Overall, I’ll rate it as a 3 star facility.

This place has mandatory towel service, which I just find pretentious