Downtown Club At the Met

The longer I am a member here, the more disappointed I am with the place. The staff is great and is not the problem. It is supposed to be a premier gym, at least that is the price we pay. I feel that it is getting very tired and old, this was the same reason I left the 24 hour fitness in Midtown a couple years ago. It is hard to explain, but I do not feel motivated working out at the gym there (I have heard this from several other people I know that workout here too). Also being someone who does not have kids (don’t get me wrong I do not dislike children) they swarm the gym during the summer during the day with the camps they host. I understand kids need to go somewhere during the summer when school is out and mom and dad work, but the gym I pay a lot of money to use should not be a miserable experience with kids wandering off into the gym and screaming. If it was not so convenient to where I work, I would probably not be a member.

Indoor tennis courts, squash, and racket ball! And no wait on any machines.
The machines and locker rooms are really clean too!
It is a little pricey but worth every penny!

I would really like to give this place a 5 star but the jacuzzi in women’s room never works and wish there was a closer restroom for the ladies.
But this is the best squash atmosphere to be around if your a squash player. Best squash pros (Muhammad & Larissa) in town coach here. The staff is very friendly especially my buddy Cleveland who works at the bar. Restrooms are fully equipped, all your items you need to shower, including blow dryers, q-​tips, razors etc. This racquet club has tennis and raquet ball cts. Also with nice fitness equipment cardio/​weight machines. Group classes… Personal training… Best club I have joined with many great squash players.

Indoor tennis and basketball facilities sold me on this club. The tennis leagues are very high caliber and Keith, the head tennis pro, is great.
However, it is very expensive for what it is. The locker room facilities are inferior to gyms that are half the price. They also do accounting «with an abacus» according to another club member. I would concur. Be prepared to review your bill every month.
Join for the tennis and gym, not for the locker room or cost.

I love my club! I have not worked out for years and the 24 hour fitness type places are the reason. Like the other reviews it is a great family gym. We have used all aspects of what they offer and have not been disappointed. My husband plays tennis in a league several times a week, I have been with Phillip Kendrick personal trainer for several months and he keeps the workouts changing and challenging. The classes are fun and also challenging. Everyone I have met there are super nice and encouraging. My son even takes basketball lessons from Coach Matt which helped him a lot in his basketball skill. I am glad my husband found this place.

Been a member for 3 years now and the little annoyances are starting to add up. So, I want to present an honest review by someone who goes to this location 5 days a week.
The good:
1. Extremely friendly and competent staff
2. Rarely overly crowded
3. Convenient downtown location
The bad:
1. Overpriced at $ 120.00 a month plus initiation fee
2. Basic membership does not include tennis or locker rental
3. Does not have a pool
4. Poor equipment maintenance
5. Poor facility (ie air conditioning in the summer will barely get you below 85 degrees)
6. Wifi bandwidth maxes out if more then 5 people are using it. I know this is a nitpick, but I like to stream netflix on my kindle while doing cardio)
7. Lack of working ice machine
Update: cancelled membership effective mid month and they did not prorate the last two weeks. Talked to 3 different managers who promised the refund, but no luck. What a bunch of crooks!

This is the nicest gym I’ve ever been to! I love that they have an indoors tennis club, racquetball court, squash court, and ping pong tables. They also have a basketball and volleyball court.
The ladies locker room is really nice and clean! They have towels, razors, shaving cream, and all kinds of women toiletries. We get our own hot tub, sauna, and steam room in the locker room as well!
If you can afford it, this is the gym you’ll want to join. — Oh, and you have to pay for parking.

The Met has it all. The tennis courts, staff, and members are great. A good competitive crowd. The Met is also one of the most reasonable clubs in Houston. You get a great value for what you pay for.

This is my first experience with a full service type health club.
By that I mean that besides the exercise equipment, they have a restaurant, snack bar, pro shop, etc. They also have a fully amenitized locker room with all you would need to wash up and get ready to go back to work. Towels, soap, shampoo, deodorant, hair spray, hair dryers, combs, brushes, razors… you get the point.
I pay a little extra each month and they even wash my work out clothes and put them back in my locker. No more lugging the sweaty stuff back home and having to bring work out gear in a bag every day.
The place is a little aged but they keep it in pretty good shape and the equipment is nice and in good repair. The cardio area is huge and Ive never had to wait for a treadmill, stepper, or elliptical.
If you work downtown, it is a great place to grab a work out and break up your day.

Imagine, if you will, a gym that is the total opposite of the big-​box gyms that litter Houston. A gym that isn’t crowded. A gym that has reasonably priced alcohol, food, and other post-​workout goodies. A gym where you don’t have muscle-​bound «bros» or girls who spent an hour getting ready to look pretty for those bros (just so they can preen while on the no resistance elliptical). A gym where you can put lemon and lime wedges in your water. A gym where you can play racquetball, squash and tennis, or basketball. Well, this imaginary gym actually exists, and it is a part of the Downtown Club at the Met.
Caveat: The Downtown Club ain’t cheap, but it comes with much more than just a gym membership. Access to the Downtown Club also gets you access to the Shell Plaza Club (an exclusive restaurant/​lounge at the top of the Shell building), as well as access to the Houston Center (near the Four Seasons). There are membership specials, and when you sign up, it also gets your family access as well. Therefore, if you’re married (or pass yourself off as married), the cost is really ½ the price.
The amenities at the Downtown Club at the Met are plentiful, though the biggest benefit is the clientele. You’re likely to get businessmen and their families instead of the meat market at your local LA Fitness. A big benefit. My favorite amenity is the laundry service that comes with getting a locker: you can put your dirty gym clothes in a laundry bag and toss it in the dirty towell sack and the next day, your clothes will be back in your locker. Not too shabby.
Lunch at the club is steadily improving. I had the $ 5 lunch burger (add-​ons make it about 6 or 7), and it was delicious. There is an option for buffalo if you’re trying to count calories, and the salads are also quite tasty.
Another significant benefit is access to the Club Corps, the organization that the Downtown Club belongs to. Through your membership, you can get discounted hotel prices with VIP treatment (we stayed at the Coeur D’alene Resort over xmas and got a great rate and a great room), as well as access to other club corps clubs (my brother used a club corps club for his rehearsal dinner at his wedding in North Carolina; and they waived the fee, so we only paid for food).
Of course, there are a few small things I would change. The gym closes at 10 PM during the week and earlier on the weekends. And they’ve cut down on the number of group classes (including yoga) because the attendance wasn’t high enough. But this gym works very well with my and my wife’s lifestyle.
All in all, you get what you pay for. You pay more at The Met so you get more at The Met. If having a relaxed, high-​end club is a priority to you, then join the Downtown Club. If not, I’m sure you won’t mind waiting another 20 minutes for a treadmill at your local chain gym.

I can’t say enough great things about this club: Great workout equipment and classes, nice tennis courts and good pro’s. There are leagues and functions to keep you busy and active in the club. It’s a place to feel very comfortable and if you have kids they have a babysitting area and summer events. Nice and clean, comfortable setting.
Cons: Please serve food in the bar area — especially Sunday’s for lunch; please put in a bathroom for the ladies on the main floor; please put towels and a hamper for towels near the tennis courts.

This is not the cheapest club in town, but if you are looking for a great health club that has lots of social opportunities as well, check out the Met. Great restaurant, a choice of clubs to work out at (membership includes access to the Houston Center Club by the Four Seasons downtown, as well as the Plaza Club in the Shell building although that second one is strictly a restaurant), nice locker rooms, nice equipment, and just a good, non-​threatening atmosphere. Great customer service as well, and the $ 5 buffet on Fridays for members is an awesome deal.

Pros:
— Lots of machines and free weights, virtually no waiting even during «rush» hour (s)
— Clean (and not smelly) locker rooms
— $ 5 member buffet every Friday @ lunch — awesome choices
— Love tennis, racquetball, squash? They’ve got the courts.
— 2 choices of workout facilities (Met & Houston Center — close to 4 Seasons)
— Access to Shell Plaza 49^th floor restaurant — Mom would love it if you take her during Mother’s Day (no cooking for you), Thanksgiving Day (no cooking for Mom) or Easter buffets. Plus awesome views while you dine!
— Great personal trainers like Kevin Ward
Cons:
— Not the cheapest, unless subsidized by work (mainly downtown companies)
Overall:
Great space, continually updated equipment, clean facilities, good food service, outweighs the slightly high membership fees.