The Alaska Club Summit

I have been a member of Summit for several months now.
Here are the positives:
Having scoped out a number of the gyms in Anchorage before making a decision, I have to say this is by far the nicest one in terms of quality of the equipment (nothing too beat up, all maintained in good condition) and little-​to-​no wait times for machines. Those two factors alone justify, for me at least, paying extra to be a member here compared to other clubs in Anchorage. But not by the cost delta charged by Summit.
Super friendly staff once you’re there. People know your name and greet you with a smile when you come in. One nice lady even starts getting my to go coffee cup ready for me as I’m getting ready to leave. Friendly people go a long way.
No juicers or bimbos who are more concerned with posting a gym selfie to facebook in their $ 200 gym outfit than they are with their actual workout. It’s a quiet, chill clientele that are mostly friendly or at least keep to themselves.
Access to other Alaska Club locations.
Nice locker room.
Here are the negatives:
The cost is **substantial** and doesn’t justify the added bonuses described above. Furthermore, from the time I signed up until now, I don’t get the sense that the company really cares whether or not they have my business or membership. For example, I asked for a recommendation as to a good yoga class offered that would suit a beginner like me (my friends have encouraged me to try this) — nobody knew and I left my name so someone could call me with a recommendation. No call.
Class times are a bit limited compared to some of the larger gyms like my prior one, LA Fitness. Not a friendly schedule to someone who works standard office hours.
Did I mention the cost?

So my husband, son and myself just joined this gym about two weeks ago.
We LOVE it. The Summit Gym is BY FAR the nicest gym I have ever belonged to. Let me count the ways:
Equipment: Top knotch. All the cardio machines have earphones attached and sleek looking flat computer screens to watch TV with etc. The machines here are newer than I’ve seen at any other gym. Very well-​maintained! ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Customer service: Every staff member is helpful and accommodating. There is always somebody going around in the gym and the locker rooms making sure towels and other necessary supplies are replenished. I thought I had lost my glasses in the locker room last week and one of the staff members volunteered to come in with me to the locker room to help me look. I’ve never had anyone be that helpful in any other gym! ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Locker room: BY FAR the nicest gym locker room I’ve ever been in. I love that it’s carpeted and that hair dryers are there for our use. Other toiletries provided are deodorant, Qtips, hairspray, lotion, tampons (regular only), pads, AND they even provide CURLING IRONS!
Other awesome features in the lockeroom include a darkened, relaxing sitting area where you can watch TV while drinking lemon ice water ON ICE, coffee, or tea. There’s a whirlpool in the very back of the lockeroom that you can adjust the temperature for, although I can never use it much because all the other women want it WAY too hot for me. For those so inclined, there is also a steam room and sauna. Moreover, the showers are bigger and the shower heads even give you more spray options. If you forget your stuff, they provide soap, shampoo, and conditioner n each shower.
Staff keep all supplies in the lockeroom well stocked at all time and I’ve never seen it look scummy as of yet. Overall a solid ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Lobby: Nicest one I’ve seen. Comfy places to sit and they apparently even have beer or wine available. Of course this club is better than the other clubs because you have to be 21 or over to use it so the teeny-​bop brigade is nixed completely! ¹⁰⁄₁₀
The only reason I’m knocking off a star is because there are no fans in the lockeroom and they keep it TOO HOT for me. I hate the way gyms always overheat the shit out of lockerooms and this one is no exception. If there was better air circulation at least I’d be a little happier. But in general, I gotta say this gym is worth the extra cash.
Cost: It ain’t cheap by any means, but if you can afford it, this gym is worth the price. It is the best of all the Alaska Clubs by far and away. Our family membership including this gym runs about 200 bucks a month.
The good news is our son can use the pool or the gymnasium or the rock climbing wall in the south gym even as we are using this one
Highly recommended!

Great gym and wonderful staff!
Vic my old trainer was the best but he has since moved on… There are other great staff both at the desk and the trainers.
Very clean place that’s never too crowded. The locker rooms are the best and always clean… I enjoy the shampoo and conditioner:)

The girls locker room alone is worth it. But there’s a but. Just make sure to not get intimidated by a bunch of middle aged flabby women speaking loudly and in another language like it’s an open air market. They congregate in the seating TV area and the worst — the sauna/​whirlpool area where they cackle along like it’s their own private party. Professionally and politely put them in their place especially when they become a mob. My friend was quite candid and basically told one of the two groups to be quiet and she now gets pointed out in Taiwanese and Korean that she’s a troublemaker. These girls obviously are not professionals or they would’ve taken my friends comment in the way it was intended instead of personally. It is THE hangout place for these ladies whose bodies don’t look like they’ve been in any gym. It is a gym after all and not a sauna. I don’t mind the bunch of not physically fit guys hanging out in the social area of the gym to kill time and watch the girls since they’re not in my space. It is anchorage after all, enough said for those who’s been here. I’ve seen these ladies bring food in the dry sauna or leave their special teas and homemade masks for someone else to take care of. I’ve even seen one of these ladies use 6 – 8 towels and leave them in different areas of the locker room.
If I have to be in anchorage for a project, it’s great to be able to chill in the whirlpool and use the saunas.
It should be made a quiet zone or convos in a lower «inside voice». Other than that, the staff is super friendly. I just wanna get what I’m paying for. Which is a membership that’s rarely used but when used, need to be utilized to the max.
A great business idea here is a real spa or baths so these ladies and their likes can hang out.
I’d likely welcome that business too. Having a professional spa (like spa world ²⁴⁄₇ in DC, yuan spa in Seattle, Aire ancient baths in NYC).
The whirlpool, wet and dry sauna is so worth it. Anchorage is made more bearable for me by this locker room especially in the winter.

Gym too nice to miss a day.

For my money (and you’ll be needing a lot to work out here) this is the best gym in town. While the staff can be problematic due to a high turnover rate, the long timers that man the front desk and keep the towels and equipment clean offer a level of service you won’t find anywhere else in Anchorage.
Aside from the top notch cardio equipment, each supplied with their own LCD TV for viewing 30 some odd cable channels, plus 4 music stations, the best part about this club is it’s 21+ only restrictions. I used to love the South, but by mid 2004 or so, the place began to be overrun by tweens and teens. While I’m always happy to see younger folks getting serious about their physical health, I got tired of fighting the 13 year olds for the equipment. The Summit can get just as crowded as South, especially in the colder months between 4−7pm, everyone there has a busy life just like me, and is in there to work out and get done, not hog the machines and talk about little Bobby or Susie’s latest school project.
Conversely, while Summit folks are serious about their routines, you won’t find the place swarming with meat heads, like Gold’s or World Gym. I’m all for pushing yourself, but folks that slam weights and grunt like a porn movie get real annoying real fast when you’re just there to blow off the day’s stress and keep your waistline under control. The assortment of folks there ranges from the amazingly fit to morbidly obese, you get the feeling that they all are there for the purpose of feeling better about themselves and improving their self image, and the motivation that brings is both inspiring and addictive. From doctors, lawyers, and bankers, to the slope workers, soccer moms and even a FedEx guy, Summit members are some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet, and in the 5 years I’ve been a member, I’ve never once felt embarrassed there. For those of you who are at the beginning of that upward battle called weight loss, I’m sure you understand what I mean by that.
Summit is pricey, on top of Alaska Club’s already high membership fees when compared to smaller operations like Body Renew, but as expensive as it may be, I’ve never once felt like I wasn’t getting every penny’s worth. For all the reasons above, and for those that you’ll have to experience on your own by going there yourself, I highly recommend The Summit by Alaska Club for anyone that wants to look in the mirror, and actually feel not just good, but even a little bit cocky about what they see. It’s the best gift you’ll ever give yourself.

This is the crème de la crème of the Alaska Club chain, their premier club. It is not an especially large size gym, which surprised me. But, considering not that many people choose to afford access, they don’t need to be larger than life anyway.
The cardio machines were in working order, and top of the line with individual tv screens. Their dumbbells were definitely shinier and newer than the versions you’ll find at the West Club. Honestly, I’d still prefer to work out at the Women’s Club on Northern Lights Blvd, but there’s certainly one MAJOR advantage to the Summit: the locker rooms. This is the spa experience you pay $$$ for. A beautiful serene sauna, heavenly steam and super hot whirlpool make the women’s locker room just fantastic. The water pressure in the showers is strong and the water temperature is responsive in a good way. They have lemon-​infused ice water with a comfortable seating area to chat with friends. The only annoying thing is the sign when you first walk in to take off your shoes. I mean, I guess they’re trying to protect the carpet, but seriously? It’s not like the people who work out here are even the type to step in a huge mud puddle and drag their feet over carpet. That would probably happen in the West club, which, by the way, is a club location that incidently has NO carpet anywhere, lol. But I digress. It’s a great club for relaxation, but I don’t like the layout as much as the women’s club.
And PS, I’m seriously annoyed that they have Rosemary shampoo and rosemary condtioner with green tea body wash at the Summit and NOT the women’s club. Cmon, cough up the good stuff because we wouldn’t abuse the priviledge there!