Lakeshore Sport and Fitness

If you live in the loop or work downtown then LSF is a good option. It’s definitely expensive, but the gym is well maintained and isn’t overly crowded like XSport and LA Fitness which is one of the key attractions about it. There’s a very nice rooftop area with a small pool, and they’ve added a restaurant (Press Kitchen) within the last year which has some great options, but it’s unfortunately closed on the weekend.
The classes are all pretty good and the group fitness director does a great job at listening to member input about new classes. They unfortunately don’t have a ton of early 5:45/6AM classes due to low attendance which is unfortunate for us early risers/​people that have to get to work early, so hoping that changes. Meredith’s fuerza kickboxing class is fantastic! Her music is so great, her routines are difficult, and I wish that she taught more or that they would add more morning kickboxing classes! Matt’s cycle sculpt is awesome, Ed and Emily’s spin classes are great (and HARD), and Marcelo’s strength classes always leave me sore the next day.
Lastly, I want to give a shout out to Paul G. He is by far the best membership advisor I’ve ever worked with and he goes above and beyond to keep his clients happy. He’s extremely responsive and has quickly resolved any issues. It’s clear that he’s passionate about what he does and isn’t overly pushy like most advisors usually are. Keep up the awesome work!

Lakeshore Sport and Fitness is a beautiful gym conveniently located in Lakeshore East.
The facility is huge, and very clean. They offer group classes which are included in your membership.
They also put on a lot of great events which makes the fitness center have a community feel.
The food at their restaurant is delicious, and the staff is amazing.
If you are considering joining, you should reach out to Peter Canellis. He is extremely helpful!

I belonged here for about 6 months, and I wouldn’t recommend it. They charge as much as Equinox and more than FFC, yet their facilities are not nearly as nice nor do they offer as many classes. I signed up for the complimentary personal training sessions and went to two and then my personal trainer canceled last minute 3 times in a row. The locker room and showers need a major makeover, and it feels like the entire place was only half remodeled when they took it over from the previous location. Its only redeeming quality is convenience since it’s connected to the aon center. I wonder how their membership numbers are doing since I see their representatives dancing around the city offering sign up deals all of the time.

This facilities are ok, though not close to the quality of a FFC or Equinox and charge a premium because they are connected to one of the cities corporate centers ($ 100+ per month). The price and facilities aside, this property is poorly managed. A selling feature for me was LSF’s basketball court which they don’t tell you is constantly rented out to corporations during peak hours. I explicitly told the membership advisor I was there ONLY to use the basketball court, he ensured me this wouldn’t be an issue… Well, It has been.
Moral of the story– If you are hoping to play basketball and can avoid it, DO NOT join here.

One of the nicest clubs I’ve been to. An incredibly large number of resources, a very intimate club feel, and great staff! I won a membership and the staff were very accommodating with my fitness needs and working with me to maximize my experience there

Pros
–various options for workout classes & awesome instructors [Marcelo, Matt, Jack, Jennifer]
–hot tub, sauna and steam room
–unlimited towels/​eucalyptus towels (after work out)
–responsive membership adviser [I recommend Paul G., ask for him :)]
–washroom provides basic needs (hair dryer, iron, lotion, mouthwash, one use razors etc)
–conveniently connected to the pedestrian way [indoor walking!]
–fairly clean facility
–props/​equipment provided for all the classes
–a lot of equipment options
–guest passes
–food/​bar area
–rooftop for summers
–unlimited filtered water (you have to bring your own reusable water bottle though)
–basketball court
Cons
–Not ²⁴⁄₇ like other gyms (ex: Lifetime, XSport)
–additional fees for certain classes/​activities [ie. master/​group swimming, barre class, introductory rock climbing etc]
–No option to use own locks in locker rooms [not ideal to carry around the keys sometimes – esp when going swimming]
–limited classes on weekends/​Friday
–gym gets really packed during the 1^st few weeks of January (especially the classes)
–the soap/​paper towels are often out in the women’s washroom
Cost: on the high end.~$ 140/​month, but sometimes people pay for convenience. sad that they offer other activities at the gym for additional $$.
Atmosphere: business professionals (mid 20s to 40s?)
I really enjoy the variety of classes that are available on a daily basis [mainly Mon-​Thur]. They offer classes Mon-​Sun, but not as many options/​times on fri-​sun. The classes range from kick boxing, cycling, sculpting, Pilates, Zumba etc so it should accommodate most people’s workout styles. The cost is a little on the high end, but it is one of the bigger gyms in the city (7 floors + rooftop)

Tempted to call it the poor man’s east bank club although membership here isn’t inexpensive, it has all the facilities one could want from a gym. The swimming pool sold me (and is far better than the one I saw at EBC, although the guy that gave me a tour needs a lesson or two about pool dimensions. He claimed this was one of the biggest pools in the city and olympic sized… Ha!). Staff here is friendly and most people at the gym are there to work out. I like the training program the best of all. Well priced, good trainers and somewhat of a standardized approach, yet tailored to specific needs (great in comparison to some of the haphazard training that’s out there). So far so good… Hope they continue the good work.

They have everything. Perfect place for a workout, clean shower rooms and powder rooms too. I like group exercise classes the most! But I can give only 3 stars though, because there is no single mirror in yoga classroom. You can’t check out how bad your posture is.

A quick shout out to my membership advisor, Paul.
Yes…The club is very nice.
But had it not been for Paul and his ability to quickly asses my needs and address them as a «friend who wanted the best for me» and not just a «monthly sales quota» he had been challenged to meet ~ I would have been just fine joining another club.
People make all the difference and Paul made that difference for me. And for that reason, I will recommend more people to join Lakeshore and why my girlfriend is a member today.
Thanks, Paul.

Kevin was absolutely amazing in giving us our tour and introducing us to the gym! He showed us everything there was to see and gave detailed explanations about it all. He was extremely nice, friendly and personable. We really appreciated his presence and honesty with us. He went above and beyond to make sure we were satisfied, unfortunately we did not join because the gym wasn’t what we were looking for. We wish we could bring Kevin with us to the gym of our choice because he was just that awesome! Great choice of employee!!!

I joined Lakeshore Sport & Fitness at the beginning of the year because of an upcoming major birthday. I have not regretted a moment. Paul G., my membership advisor, was prompt and courteous and continues to be available months after I enrolled. I decided to try a trainer and was lucky enough to get Matt M. He’s proven to be a great and terrible motivator. His humor, knowledge of fitness, and sometimes tough style; have kept me going longer than what is typical. The equipment is in good shape, there’s a nice variety of group classes, and the facility is clean. The stairs, yes, there are lots of them and I hate them. But, I take them every time I’m at the club despite the perfectly good elevator because I can see and feel the benefits. It’s all part of a great package: good customer service, effective personal training, group classes, and well-​maintained equipment.

The 2014 opening of the new LSF could have been smoother, but a year and a half in it’s off to a great start. The gym is great– lots of space, extremely clean, high quality equipment. The group fitness instructors are great. The class times were adjusted to better fit after work hours. The Press Kitchen just opened, and the food is delicious!!! A good mix of healthy stuff, and not so healthy post work out snacks. It’s a good balance of fancy gym and fitness centered gym. More than just a place to get your sweat on, they host social events, now offer cooking classes, and hold team fitness/​sporting competitions. it seems like they are trying to build a community around fitness, not just another foo-​foo gym or humid sweat smelling box.

Paul was my membership advisor has been very accommodating in various request. He explained options to me clearly when I joined. I love the squash courts; the instructor has been patience in teaching the game and proper techniques. Plenty of exercise equipments never have to wait for in the times I’m there. It’s usually rush hour or weekends. Two thumbs up.
I would recommend this gym to anyone.

Unfortunately, the worst membership/​customer relationship experience I have ever had was with LSF.
A friend who joined LSF gifted me a complimentary one month membership as a part of their enrollment package. Since many of my coworkers go to LSF and oftentimes play basketball there, I was really looking forward to activating this. I was told I had a three month window to do so, so I reached out to the membership advisor I had been assigned to a little after two months. I did not hear from the advisor for another two months, so I followed up with her and heard back rather promptly at this point in time.
I was informed that the three month window had expired and was offered a complimentary week membership instead. I had realized by this time I was beyond the three month window but was hopeful I could still use the membership given that I had first contacted the advisor within the aforementioned time frame. As such, I replied asking if there was any way we could run it by a manager to see if I could get the membership approved. This is when things got dicey.
The advisor responded by saying I am a dishonest person who tries to take advantage of any kindness shown to me and that she, as an individual advisor, holds complete authority as to what I am granted and would therefore not be running anything by her manager. I was reminded that I could either accept her week membership offer or not, but I would not be getting the one month membership. After all of this, I was finally told I am more than welcome to consider actual membership…
After this interaction, I don’t know that you could pay me to join LSF, which is a real bummer because they do have a very nice facility. I understand it can be stressful working in membership/​customer services; however, I do not believe anything I did/​said warranted this sort of response.

Good facility, but horrible sales practices.
My wife signed up for what we thought was a short-​term membership from January to March. We had many emails with our Membership Advisor of our need for a membership only for this period.
However, in April we were charged a monthly fee by the club. We were told that our membership requires a 30-​day cancellation notice and that we had not informed the club our intent to cancel. The club is not putting any value on our earlier emails or dialogue that stated our desire to cancel at the end of March which are fairly clear. Therefore, the club is charging us for April and now May before cancelling our membership.
This may be a fairly common practice at lower-​end clubs, but I would expect better customer service from a club that strives to be a «top notch» facility.

Revision:
Generally, the facilities are great here. I went at off-​peak hours, and the place was practically empty — it was great.
The customer services was initially non-​responsive (see original review below), but after an email referencing this negative review, I was able to quickly resolve me issue over email. I had originally wanted to add a second facility to my membership, but I was on a great promotional rate and was priced out (membership fee would have practically doubled). I decided to cancel, and the head of membership kindly waived my notification period (saved me a month’s dues) and provided me with a free month at the LP location for my trouble.
Original Review:
Membership service is impossible to deal with remotely. I’ve been trying to expand my membership to include the Lincoln Park location for six or more weeks. Over that period of time I’ve left two voicemails on the automated service, sent two emails, and left one message with the receptionist.
They’re a joke. Once they get you set up for autodraft they DGAF about providing quality customer service.

Such a joke. It’s been over a year and the gym is still not complete. Lots of promises with little progress. Of course when you go to cancel your membership you are told nobody onsite can help you. You are given a business card and told to call the number to cancel. We have yet to get a response back.

I have been a member of Lakeshore Sport and Fitness for roughly 2 months and couldn’t be happier with my experience. There is plenty of new equipment and never any waiting times to use it. The fitness areas and locker rooms are cleaner than most gyms I have used in the past and the towels always seem new.
In regards to the personal training program, I was lucky to have been paired with Tim Stearns who’s approach to fitness is greatly appreciated. For someone like me who didn’t know much about free weights (or weight training in general), Tim really tailored a program that put learning all the equipment and proper techniques first. He has been an absolute pleasure to work with and I signed up for a second package before my first one even was finished! For the first time in my life, I feel like I am actually accomplishing something when at the gym (as opposed to just going through the motions) and I owe that to Tim.
I would recommend Lakeshore Sport and Fitness to anyone in need of a gym membership. Great facility with a really great personal trainer on staff!

I thought long and hard about joining this gym because of the extremely negative comments here. But I was given a 2-​week pass and I decided to try it out. I’m very glad that I did and it’s been a really positive force for me thus far.
About the facility:
— Yes the floorplan is vertical with a big connecting stairway. Yes that means you can go up and down the stairs a lot. But it’s a gym so I don’t know why that’s an issue. For the injured, disabled or sadly lazy, there are very functional elevators on every single floor.
— The equipment is new and in very good shape. The weight rooms are well-​organized with plenty of stretching mats, medicine and stability balls and free weights.
— The swimming pool has 8 lanes. The most people I have ever seen there at once were 3, including myself. There is a Master Swim class a few times a week early in the AM for those interested. The whirlpool is wonderful.
— Yes there are 2 areas under construction. They do not affect using the gym at all.
–The spin room has great Schwinn bikes and very good instructors who take time to help set up and encourage good form during the classes.
–The free screening with the physical therapist that comes with membership is great. Very helpful with advice and rehabilitation tips.
–The trainers seem generally on the younger side. They are all very polite and professional with their clients from what I can see.
–The cardio floor has plenty of options to keep everyone busy even during peak hours– 3 – 4 types of ellipticals, treadmills, stair steppers and stair climbers, recumbent and stationary bikes, etc etc. All the equipment is in very good shape and I have never seen a broken machine.
–Fresh towels on every floor and bath/​shower towels in the locker rooms. The water is filtered and available hot or cold.
–For my basic membership, I have access to the steam room and the sauna in the women’s locker room. Both are very clean, as are the showers. Executive Members for women have a different locker room (names on lockers for permanent use? nice for some but I didn’t need it).
There is definitely a strong sales factor here, but I think that is common across gyms now. The gym staff is polite and leaves the members alone but they are available for questions. This is not really a place to come to meet people or to mingle– people work out and then leave. Maybe that’s because it’s in the Loop. I think they are trying to encourage a more social environment with the bar area but that just seems ridiculous in a health club (juice would be more rational but oh well) and there’s never anyone there.
I came to the club with a lot of questions based on these Unilocal reviews and requested a copy of my contract to keep with me. I have noticed that the club manager responds actively to reviews here and that is a positive sign of engagement on her part. I have read through my contract and I feel that I understand the policy. If the time comes when I need to cancel for some reason, I hope that it will be handled professionally.
I recommend this club. Do your homework before you join, ask a lot of questions and I’m sure you will appreciate it as well.

Extremely disappointed in this club. It’s big and there is some good equipment but it’s kind of a pain to be going up and down the stairs all the time (cardio is on the 3^rd floor, weights are on the second basement, pool is in the sub sub basement.
The showers in the main locker room are all about 20 years old and look it. The soap they use smells like it was made using a maraschino cherry mix. The elevator to the pool has been broken for a year — the hot tub in the mens locker room is the same. Both were going to be fixed ASAP when I signed up in January. And then nothing.
And the final kick to the stomach is when you call to cancel, they inform you that it’s 30 days AFTER the last day of the current month. So if you cancel on November 2, they will tell you that you have to pay them until New Year’s Eve! Others have said that leaving this club is a total pain in the ass and they’re right. What kind of service is it where they punish you for just wanting to leave?
Imagine if Comcast told you that if you want to cancel their service they’re going to force you to pay for it for the next 59 days? And then you can cancel? People would be trying to storm their office. But that’s the policy of Lakeshore Athletic Club.