Axiom at The Villiage in Meridian

I went in to talk about gaining a membership. It was a Saturday morning, and they didn’t have enough membership representatives working so we had to wait 15 minutes. Then the guy we worked with struggled to communicate the policies and different options. We kept asking questions, and he said that he didn’t know many of the answers. Finally, when we were able to see the actual fees, it was outrageous! $ 20 a month sounds great, but then you have to pay a $ 200 joining fee and an additional $ 40 within three months of signing. I asked him if he ever had specials on the joining fee, and he said he didn’t know. He said that you could stretch out the $ 200 joining fee into smaller monthly payments. It’s not when I have to pay it that’s the problem, it’s that the $ 200 joining fee is absolutely ridiculous in addition to another $ 40 within three months. It was pretty packed when we were there, and he said that the kids club could have up to 40 kids in one room. That’s insane! Also the hot tub is broken down when we were there. Needless to say, I walked out without a membership.

I’ve had many memberships to gyms and have faced every single underhanded tactic they will use to screw your of money. Up to this point, axiom in the Village, has done nothing other than exceed my expectations.
The equipment is new and in great condition. The space is large, and while crowded, I’ve never felt judged or out of place.
I personally love the younger crowd that frequents this gym. It’s fun and friendly place to work out and meet new like minded people. I wish the yoga room was free access with a membership, but it’s not. Def a disadvantage there.
Overall I love this gym and location. Recommend it to everyone.

Best gym I have found in Idaho. Started with Idaho athletic club and all they do is screw you in every which way possible. Staff here is super friendly and there when you need them. Just like any other gym they have there challenges but this gym is super clean always kept nice and tidy. Showers were recently re done and the locker room doesn’t smell horrible, the weights and machines and all up to date and nothing to old. Pool is nice as well as the sauna and spa.
I can see why you pay a little more here cause of the equipment and cleanness that this place offers. I come late in the evenings after work, it’s rare that I have to wait for a machine or a bench to use.

This is a very nice gym, that is not what this review is about. What it is about is their shady practices of keep charging and charging fees.
Sign up fee, monthly fee, annual fee, it never ends.
And yes, I know it is in your contract, the contract you sign after some high pressure sales, but it is ridiculous to charge an annual fee inside a couple of months of the initial signup. Of course I expect an annual fee, no issue, but they should come once a year.
Your practices are deceptive, and given you had to put a WARNING on your voicemail system for your billing company, I know I am not the only one that thinks so.
In addition, perhaps you should think about customer retention, and perhaps instead of hiring strictly high pressure sales people, you should hire someone in charge of customer retention.
A simple reverse of the excessive charge, even a good portion of it, and I, the customer, would have felt heard. Instead I got: «too bad too sad» and I cancelled my membership.
To top it off, and what settled my decision is signs such as: «Pool out of service until further notice» and «no more towel service»
I guess the technical term you are looking for is «Bait and switch».

I have been working with Jake Gold (a trainer at Axiom @ The Village) for a little over a year. I have been happy with with my results and I think the staff at The Village is exceptional. And I do agree with one of the other reviews that said it gets crowed there sometimes, but the other members are so nice it ends up being an excuse to make a friend. And my review may seem a little over the top but my doctor just told me that I will not need to take blood pressure meds because my exercise and diet reduced the need. Axiom is great!

Update! Same exact dust bunnies everywhere, no more towel service.
Not vacuuming and cleaning daily is alarming. All sorts of bro fungus festering in here — you’re going to get sick. Very sick.
Alright settle in, kids — Iceman’s gonna drop some real talk on you here:
First of all, this is a brand new facility that somehow manages to remain pretty filthy. Don’t believe me, Axiom staff? Take a peek around your jungle gym station — pretty sure those dust bunnies have established a political structure and are launching a space program soon.
You’ve had a broken faucet in the men’s locker room for a month. Inexcusable.
You have an uncovered towel drop in the locker room, which is not particularly sanitary but more so is just disgusting, especially when it’s the first thing you see upon entering.
The one or two maintenance people you employ are friendly and industrious, but you need more of them. If you go to any quality fitness club in a major city, you will see staff cleaning not only the locker rooms, but the equipment itself at least once an hour. I have yet to see anyone cleaning equipment at this location. That is troubling.
It should not be the responsibility of the member to spray the equipment — people are lazy and just won’t do it. If you want them to wipe down machines, replace the spray bottles with Clorox wipes. It’s easier and you won’t have soggy used rags soaking up bacteria all over your facility.
Your water fountains are visibly harboring mold cultures and probably shouldn’t be used until you figure out how to clean them. Inexcusable.
Moving on…
Front desk staff are the typical disinterested college types, normally seen texting and avoiding eye contact rather than even faking good customer service.
I’m not sure if there is any in-​club management — if there is, he/​she/​they are not visible which tells me that they don’t really care.
Next, can we please for the love of Goose’s widow lose the ‘80s and ‘90s pop music??? You are the only gym not named Curves that still plays that crap.
You want the truth in fitness? Your music blows. At least stock some headphones in your shop area for those who may experience suicidal tendencies from your playlist.
Next, why do you have multiple TRX stations, but no TRXs available for anyone to use? Are you that concerned of theft? Why not purchase a few of the handy dandy TRX ceiling mounts?
Why do you have a «track» if one lane serves no purpose other than to house your kettlebells and rowing machines? Poor design as well, as the far lane isn’t even really a whole lane because of the nearby windows.
Which is a nice segue to the next point — lack of equipment as a result of poor layout and lack of space.
Hex deadlift bar? Nope.
ViPRs? Nope.
Dual cable/​pull-​up station? Nope. (Side note, how can you have ONE cable station for an entire facility? That is absurd, especially during peak hours.)
Oh, but we’ve got curl bars up the wazoo! You can do curls all day here at Axiom. No waiting!
Again, the whole truth in fitness thing is a joke. Axiom was absolutely taken to the cleaners by whomever coined that tagline.
The truth in fitness is that a decline bench serves no practical purpose and you have several machines that can cause serious injury as they promote dysfunctional movement and harmful torque — Smith machine, quad/​hamstring extensions, etc.
Imagine what you could have done with the space occupied by unnecessary equipment and your «Cardio Theater». Rather than have two people ride a stationary bike while watching Caddyshack, you could have installed more practical equipment and training space, which right now is virtually nonexistent.
And how about a no cell phone policy? That’s a no brainer in this day and age. It’s one thing to keep your workout on your mobile device for reference, but there is absolutely no place for phone calls on the fitness floor or in the locker room.
(Hey management, this would be a great opportunity for you to come out of your cave and establish a presence!)
As the Treasure Valley continues to grow, it’s only a matter of time before a LifeTime Fitness or Equinox moves in and puts Axiom out to pasture. This is a convenient, low-​cost option geared towards bros and people who like to listen to Garth Brooks and Mariah Carey while they work out. Poor atmosphere, poor customer service, poor layout.
This is all a reflection on the corporate strategy, or lack thereof. The branding and marketing is illogical — there is no «truth in fitness» reflected in anything happening in this facility, and the hyped-​up Perx program offers incentives to pizza parlors and tanning beds, which, last I checked, were not the cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle.
As someone who has spent his entire life in front of a mirror flashing his pearly whites, the Iceman knows a thing or two about gyms. Without serious investments in marketing and operations, Axiom is headed for a rude awakening. Book it.
Iceman

*2/​19/​15*** Unilocal was read… bathrooms improved greatly! HOUSE MUSIC WAS TURNED UP EVEN LOUDER FOR SPITE. You can see what you’re dealing with here– encouring others to join other clubs and comiserating with others how problematic management hasbeen on such a silly thing. Lose another star.
*UPDATE* 2/​18/​15Axiom at the villiage has really gone downhill since only 4 months. With the hearing loss due to WAY TOO LOUD HOUSE MUSIC… my eyesight has improved to see how filthy the ladies lockers and general locker room are. The toilets are often disgusting also to mention often OUT of toilet paper! The gym management in charge won’t hear you over his enormous ego… relagating all issues to «intolerace». I’m pulling a star from my review for these major oversights in good business.
10/​30/​14-​Lots of gym for your money. Its very clean. Great equipment; never see a down machine– and I’m here nearly everyday. Childcare is state-​of-​the-​art and attended with kind and lovely women. Massage spa in house big plus! Movie theater workout is the BOMB! The pool and hot tub is treated with a salt water solution; ‘le love’!!! My only compliant (and the reason two of my friends quit this gym and I can’t get anyone else to join — hey I want my perks so I want to get joiners) but their house music is so loud I have to blow my ear buds out not to hear their awful music selection on the P.A. system. Or worse, I feel like I have to shout to a pal to chat during work outs. Not good for ear health. Maybe more people will complain and they’ll turn down the nasty house music. There are more workout options; but the above is what I use.