Lucille Roberts – Union Square

They called me said come try our place for free and I had just went their last week. So I was surprised but excited and said ok thanks. They confirmed that I will come morning of my appointment on which snow was scheduled for evening time. I said yes will be there. I walked in for my free trial and the girl at counter face changes goes oh you been here before? I say yes. She digs out paper with my name after asking last name begins with. Then gives paper to girl next to her, she wants to join, I said no I was called in for discussion and free trail. Then the girl goes you tried once so you like that why you here, join at register 2. So I was called in three times so I can give my credit information on snow day?
Obviously the girl who was calling numbers thought I was new client and recognized I was not by face and changed her mode. This is waste of my commute $$ and time. I said I will not join and walked out. With this type of treatment who wants to join?

A year later updating my review, I tired to upgrade my headphones to block out or muffle the music played during the Zumba classes here, but I should’ve spent the money upgrading my gym membership. Do not go here unless you plan on taking the Zumba classes and if you do bring earplugs. The music is so loud you cannot listen to your own music if you’re working out on a treadmill. Always leaving with a headache on Zumba nights.
Besides that, I do enjoy the other classes and the teachers are very friendly.

Was pretty disappointed with my brief experience at this location. I thought I was set on a membership, since it seemed like such a great deal, but decided to try the 3 day guest pass before committing. I was surprised by how small the whole location was, and by the fact that the area where the classes are held literally spills out onto the floor where the machines are. Even if you’re not taking the class that’s going on, it feels like you are because the music is so loud and there’s not even a wall to separate you.
When I went to the gym today to begin my trial period, the staff members who were working the desk were very nice and helpful, and the space seemed generally decently clean. A little older, but fine. My issue though was the fact I couldn’t find one available locker to place my belongings in. I went through and opened every single locker without a lock on it in the facility and couldn’t find one available. A few people left their coats and boots out in the locker room area, but I did not want to leave my bag and everything out in the open. I even waited until the class that was going on was finished and still couldn’t find one to put my bag in. It was really frustrating i couldn’t even run on the treadmill after coming all the way from my office (this was around 630, and I didn’t expect it to be crazy crowded). I’m bummed since I was pretty excited when I found this gym online but I’ll be looking at some other places instead.

Lucille Roberts and I have had an odd relationship over the past few years.
You see, my aunt has been a Lucille Roberts member at its Astoria location for God knows how long. She has been raving about the place for decades and what a bargain it is, so much that when I was 14, she wanted me to jumpstart into exercising regularly so bad, she tried to bring me in as her guest. Obviously, that didn’t work out because I was underaged. Even at that age, I was really turned off by the fact that you had to sign up for each machine – I’d say that was the basis of my fear of gyms.
Fast-​track to a few years today, my aunt is obviously proud of me for taking control of my health… and finally giving Lucille Roberts a chance. I signed up for a 3-​day Guest Pass on their website but upon redeeming, I was told that it was only one day instead. The guest pass includes the classes, so I took advantage of the Body Shred class. I have mixed feelings about the class. It was a full house and space was very limited but I didn’t feel like I achieved much afterwards because we were just using small dumbbells and 90% of the class was arm exercises. I love the diversity of the women coming from all types of backgrounds at this gym, and the equipment and machines are surprisingly good and plentiful, though you shouldn’t expect any weightlifting or any equipment useful for training. This is the place for a very basic workout.
If you’re using a guest pass, PLEASE do not leave them your phone number (or at least a real one). They have harassed me multiple times and left voicemails on my phone since my visit, asking me to sign up for a membership and it truly makes me regret ever stepping foot in here.

I left about 5yrs ago and recently came back. I tired other gym no other can compare. The cancellation procedure is simply as signing up. The staff, teachers are great. The space is clean. Great, Great, Great. And no pressure of personal trainer sign up.

There is a reason why there is an overall 2.5 stars here for this gym. I give it only one though. And it’s a generous rating! It is one of the most mismanaged gyms in NYC and I wonder how they stay afloat with the high rents in this neighborhood. Some of the classes are good some not so good– if the instructor shows up, but as stated here by another user, people save spots for other people and get there 45 minutes before the class! The environment is semi-​clean– it is what it is for the price. The people at this location are nice but the 42^nd street grand central are actually friendlier. Another odd thing about this location is there are some fat people who just sit on the machines and stare at you while you are working out. This is strange. In fact there are many morbidly obese people who just lay around and watch people working out. While the price can be right initially I’ve had the experience where they raised the price after 6 months and when I asked if they could keep it at the same price for a few more months they cancelled my account. No warning! That being said the main office you have to deal with is has the communicating tactics reminiscent of the soviet days. Is it better than NY Sport Club? LEt’s see.

This place is old! showers are moldy! Very rude staff! Classes are great! But you have to get there early and a friend can save your spot even if your 20min late to a class that’s only 45min long! I went to one of the classes very crowed I had a tiny spot in the corner hardly any space to move. 10−15min in mid workout is when I seen a spot open and moved there. After moving 5min later a staff member told me that «this spot was reserved for a valued customer!» I then told her that” the person isn’t here yet and it’s about 20 mins into the work out why do I have to move? There’s no space.” «don’t worry I’ll find you a spot» «where?» «In the front somewhere» why don’t you place here there? Since she’s late? «Because she wants to work out with her friend» «so she’s a value customer that’s late and no one knows when she’s coming or even showing up I have to move and stop my work out?» «Yes that’s how it works here», when a friend places their gear out for them that’s a reserved spot.” I walked off and went to the locker room and changed 10 min later and walking out the room I see that she still hasn’t shown up! Needles to say to cancel your membership you have to go online and pay $ 15!

Do NOT sign up with the Lucille Roberts gym unless you have reviewed all of their policies in person.
If you are looking for a cheap gym you can sign up with the City Parks and Recreation, it’s only $ 125 a year for adults over 24 and $ 25 a year, yes, 25 $ a year if you are under 24 and they have locations all throughout the 5 boroughs.
If you are signing up with this gym they have a policy where you cannot cancel in person. This was not explained upon initial sign up. You have to go online, make an account for yourself separate from your sign up at the gym and cancel there.
If you go in, speak to the counter personnel on shift, and ask to cancel your account, they will assume that you were informed upon your initial sign up for monthly access to the gym.
Whether you were informed or not, if you do NOT cancel online and create your own account; even if you go in to speak to the gym staff/​manager about cancelling your account, or whoever is working that day, regardless of what they tell you about your account being cancelled, it will NOT be cancelled in person; you will still receive monthly charges; you should go ONLINE to cancel it.
I am very put off by the treatment: apathetic communication, experienced after discussing this situation with the manager and customer service at Lucille Roberts. When there is a misunderstanding and miscommunication about the cancellation policies, please do not charge your customer for the months they were not present in the gym; if they were not explained your policies upon initial sign up, they cannot be expected to follow the procedure.
The customer is always right. Without the customer, there is no gym. Please respect the customer and their understanding or misunderstanding of gym policies. If they tell you they were not informed, they were not informed. If there is a misunderstanding, it is the gym’s responsibility to honor the customer’s request, the customer should not be treated as a source of funding fueled by apathy. Why would a customer want to pay for months not spent in the gym? And after calling the gym and explaining this, be told their account is still being charged. I do feel that in the interest of the customer, their overall understanding of gym policies should be taken into consideration if they come in person to the gym and ask to cancel.
Very disappointed,
That is all.

You get what you pay for! I recently signed up and have no complaints about this gym. It is at a good location, the gym is air conditioned, there are enough machines, and it’s clean. Locks are not provided tho, but that isn’t a big issue. The staffs are friendly too

I never write reviews but feel compelled to give Lucille Roberts a shout out since they get so much needless hate on here. I just joined a couple of weeks ago, and as someone who NEVER goes to the gym, already feel at home here. The classes are perfect for someone who needs that extra motivation, the gym is no frills, and the all women-​gym factor makes me extra comfortable. I’ve taken two classes with Maria (drenched and bootcamp) and she kicks my ass in the best way possible. You can beat this for the low price you pay!

Seriously I don’t understand why there’s all this hate on this place. I have been a member since last year (monthly renewal) and have never once felt pressured to sign up for a trainer, or that the staff were rude. I enjoy the fact that it’s all women because I hated the googly eyes that you sometimes get from being a woman using weights at a co-​ed gym. Here, everyone just comes and gets their business done and goes home. Want to take a group fitness class? Plenty to choose from. Want to work at your own pace on the treadmills, arc machines, and ellipticals? Go ahead, I never had to wait for one. Looking to flex your muscles using hand weights or machines? Oh gosh there was plenty of those available too! (although some of the weight machines do seem a little bit squeaky).
In summary I never had a bad experience with this place and love it. True that this particular location is really only one huge room, so if there’s a class going on then you will see all of that activity while you are on your elliptical etc. But I never found that to be a con at all – if anything, it made me feel more hyped up about working out!
I gave 4 stars instead of the full 5 because it really is a no-​frills gym, so you can’t really compare it to the more expensive ones out there. But for the cost and location, I think it’s a pretty good deal.

DO NOT COME HERE. I REPEAT: DO NOT COME HERE. I had a free trial pass for Lucille Roberts since I was gym hopping around NYC looking for the best workout place. When I got to Lucille Roberts, they took away my pass and said it was already expired. Granted, I printed it out a few days late, but the pass or email didn’t even have an expiration date. Basically, the counter girl did not let me inside the gym… and all I really wanted to do was try it out to see if I like it. She sent me home and I was pissed because I spent time off my day to visit the place.

I love going to the gym. Loving the sweat! The classes are great cardio & you feel the burn!

I come here for the classes, so my review is based on those.
I do not care for machines like treadmills for my workouts. I want to sweat, and i like having someone yell at me.
The classes offered here are pretty good, my favorite being the F.I.T. Bootcamp and wednesday night Zumba. The instructors are awesome and dont take your bullshit excuses! Interval training is an amazing workout and highly suggested for those who want to lose weight or get in shape. They kick your butt!
Locker room is basic, girls at front desk always smile when i come in, and hey, its only $ 20 a month! This is the very first gym i have ever signed up with so its perfect for me and very close to where i take dance classes. The ladies who come here every day are very nice and non judgemental.
Come here to take class and sweat, shower when you get home if the locker room grosses you out, and this place will work for you.

Ew Eww Ewww!!! I first started going to Lucille Roberts at the location on 42^nd Street. I was satisfied there & have been a loyal member for 2 years. Unfortunately, my favorite zumba class on Fridays after work with Nicky have disappeared so there is no reason for me to go to the midtown one anymore, hence trying out a new location.
This one on 14^th and 5^th is a bad joke of a gym.
Here is the nightmare I endured right before the holidays…
It appeared that my lock had been tampered with during my work out. My Beats headphones, phone, wallet, customized sparkling fitted bra (haha, I know) had been stolen. I immediately alerted the front desk. They had the nerve to tell me that I probably didn’t close my lock all the way. WHAT??? CLEARLY some thief cut my lock open. One of the girls rolled her eyes & told the other employee that she never brings her expensive items to the gym. I wanted to smack her so bad. (Yes, violence is never the answer).
I am SO DONE with Lucille Roberts. Helloooo NYSC!

This gym is only good for someone that is tight on money and has no other choice lol. It’s small, you can literally see the whole thing by standing in the front and doing a 180. The locker rooms are mediocre. They were never dirty though. Never went into the showers though. The classes are wack, there’s this Spanish personal trainer who was a no show to my appointment twice so clearly these people don’t give a f***.
This gym is geared towards people that want to lose weight which is definitely not my goal. All the machines are weight loss related… tons of cardio and considering there aren’t a lot of machines to begin with. I should’ve researched more. The fact it’s all women bothered me after a while when there was zero eye candy LOL
One thing I will say about this gym was that cancellation was super easy. I logged in to my member page and cancelled that ish and was done. There was no motivation to go there and everyday after the gym my friend and I would eat a fat pizza next door lmao. The women there look like they have goals and you never ever feel judged which is nice. Good starter gym for someone strapped on moneys and with weightless on their mind.

This gym SUCKS. came here for a few months had to cancel it because they were just not that good. not enough machines and somebullshit is that i left my card at home so i went there once they let me in, so the next time i forgot it they wouldnt let me in cause i forgot MY CARD are you serious??? u see me everyday at lunch time you couldnt let me in i had to pay 10 $ for the stupid card thats paper are serious $ 10?
POOORRRRR never recommend this place to anyone. SIGN up for blink only 20 a month so much better.

I am a nice person. Really I am. But in my honest opinion…
Lucille Roberts likes money. Lots and lots of money.
Sure when you are poor you think, «hey, 4/​week? Not bad!»
But ladies it gets worse. They start bugging with you with $ 90 bootcamps, trainings etc. Next thing you know 400 dollars you have is gone. kaput. You think you can handle not falling for their offers? Think again. They are sly foxes that learn to get to your most emotional insecure feelings to make you hand out cash.
The equipment and the gym was mediocre and dirty compared to the YMCA where I live. NO stair masters. Just ellipticals. The Y I go to now is fun, friendly, and the staff are not cold or pushy. They do not act like annoyed sales people.
They want you to get thin, when all I wanted was to get healthy. They nagged and nagged and nagged about my tummy and butt, when in all seriousness, I have no problem with it. I just needed to lose 10 pounds. Ironically, I gained when I was there! At the Y I go to now, I’ve already lost 20. I’m now where I started at Lucille roberts a year ago. Thank god for the Y and their wonderful stairmasters.
When I told my trainer I wanted to cancel my membership, they did NOT want met to go. They pushed all these reasons on me. I kept my head held high and paid that god damn huge fee for leaving… which they don’t really tell you about but kind of do… You know so you can give them more money. Even after you want to leave.
Also, my trainer did not care about my sore ankles and I actually became injured in their care.
A few months ago I started getting text messages from them to join their Gym again. Why would they still bother me if I cancelled my membership and text messaging a year ago? Why?
Because this is a greedy, greedy gym. They want your money. They don’t care about your weight loss or your health or anything for that matter.
The manager was obnoxious on the phone and stated I was being rude when I was just upset that I was being harassed with text messages. I decided to not give her my phone number because in all seriousness, I asked for them to stop a while ago and they won’t!
Go to the Y on 14^th street. I’ve been there. They have so many more facilities and a pool.
So yeah, Lucille, because of your self entitlement greedy poopoo head, I’ve decided to leave the bad review I should of put a year ago, but was too lazy to do so.
Thanks a bunch.
Sarah F.

I’m giving this location 2 stars because they DO have some really good machines, lots of space, are located in a nice part of town and offer some good classes. Not even with all these pros can I justify giving them an additional star :(.
Let me begin with stating that when I joined Lucille Roberts I joined at their Grand Central location on 42^nd street near Vanderbilt and this is still the location that I frequent 2 – 3 days a week.
My first time coming here was because I met a friend briefly on 17^th street and had gym plans that day so it made sense to me to go to the Lucille Roberts location on 14^th street and take advantage of my Gold membership… boy do I REGRET it.
I go in and the two girls at the front desk are sitting on the floor giggling and talking while I had trouble scanning my membership card, finally one of them noticed I had been standing there for about 5 minutes and scanned my card for me on their side. I smile and nicely ask her where the lockers are, this ghetto & pathetic excuse for a front-​desk person rolls her eyes and says, «turn around» and does what I lovingly refer to as «the ghetto head bop» — ladies, you know what I’m talking about.
I wanted to smack the acne off her face (ok, I’m being mean right now, but a little visual stimulation to imagine this scene is always positive and I’m fond of descriptive lingo) but instead I chose the more mature route and quietly made my way to the locker area. It smelled like a horse with an awful dietary problem decided to poop everywhere… but seriously, it was PUNGENT in there. I tried my best to ignore it and quickly got changed, shoved my stuff into a locker (ONLY AFTER I CLEANED THE INSIDE OF SAID LOCKER) and ran outside. I signed up for a stationary bike and a treadmill and got to work, halfway in between of treadmill-​ing I decided I needed to leave. I could feel (and see) two of their personal trainers oogling me AND the music playing was terribly demotivating (top 10 r&b slow jams… on a date, sure! While working out — no please) so I packed my stuff up and bounced.
I accidentally left my combination lock there so I had (unfortunately) return to pick it up and decided I’d work out while I was at it because I thought I should give them a 2^nd chance to redeem themselves. I had called in advance about my lock, was told that they had it and it would be waiting for me with my name on it. The front-​desk girl was nicer this time around, but the bathroom still looked like something that the United States Environmental Protection Agency should look into… turns out that the box was magically missing. That was this week, I just called and the box is still missing — the girl asked for my combination to «check» if it was my lock, my telling her there was red nail polish on the front should have been enough of an indicator… I’m convinced this employee pocketed my lock after I gave her my combination.
K, so this gym literally stinks, the machines are old/​stale (except for the ab/​midsection machines, these 3 are actually QUITE great), employees have an attitude problem and 1 of them is most likely a thief. If you’re looking to work out on the cheap, check out their Grand Central location — they’re MUCH better. MUCH.

I think the people giving this place bad reviews have very different expectations for a gym than I do – if you are one of those people that expects your gym to be a luxury spa-​esque experience with flowers, design-​y furniture, flattering lighting, shiny modern fixtures in the showers, egyptian cotton towels, a guy who follows you around to wipe the machine down for you, a blonde haired personal trainer with bulging abs, etc — yeah, you are going to hate this place. Go to Equinox and pay your $ 300 a month.
If you just want no-​nonsense, inexpensive, straightforward access to, like, a treadmill and some weights a few days a week for basically a dollar a day — this place is awesome and I have no complaints. I go frequently after work and while sometimes you do need to sign up and wait 10 – 15 minutes for one of the ellipticals during peak hours (5 – 6, I’d say) it’s REALLY not a big deal or anything to get uppity about, just do your weights first. I shower at home because I’m skeeved out by public showers in general, but I don’t find the locker rooms unsanitary or unclean at all — they are old, small, and definitely unglamorous but definitely clean and perfectly fine.
The classes ARE a little limited and it’s sort of weird that they are on the main floor of the gym while you work out like 2 feet away from them, but again, who really cares? Yes, you have to wipe the machine down yourself, but again, what’s the big deal? It takes 3 seconds and besides, you should be doing that yourself anyway at any gym to be clean, safe, and polite.
I also LOVE being at an only ladies gym — I just feel way more comfortable not having a bunch of sweaty grunting dudes around while I work out in my running shorts and sports bra.
No, it’s not luxurious, but if you’re just looking for the basics — a clean place to lock your clothes and access to cardio machines and weight training equipment — it’s totally perfect for $ 30 a month.