Gold’s Gym

I was a Gold’s member for years and enjoyed the Arlington locations. This location is really bad and just late week I cancelled my membership. It has a very strong sweat/​rubber odor when you first walk in. I thought the class instructors were pretty bad (especially the yoga instructors). It’s outdated and you can get better at other gyms for just a few dollars more a month.

It is super small. After 5 pm there is no reason to go to this gym unless you like sitting around and waiting and feeling crowded around. Equipment is just meh. Also, (and this is not their fault) the parking lot might be the worst parking lot in the area.

This Gold’s is by far the best gym I’ve ever joined. The staff is friendly and accommodating, the equipment is well-​maintained, and the overall atmosphere is conducive to having a great workout. I have been working with a trainer, Zen, for a few months and I am thrilled with the results so far. Zen is enthusiastic and makes working out fun-​I look forward to going to the gym (which is not something I ever thought I’d say).

I would rather workout at planet fitness than this gym. Its small and the equipment is very outdated. My advice would be try the other 10 gyms around the area before signing up and being under on contract with this place…

Truthfully, I’m quite surprised at how others rated this gym so low. Yes, it’s odd that it’s upstairs. Yes, it’s definitely smaller than other gyms, so you might have to fight for a treadmill right after work. However, there’s plentiful parking (it sucks when that’s not the case at my Arlington gym), and the staff have been nothing but amiable (maybe even likeable).
I can’t speak for any classes or trainers, since I go after work just to do cardio, but this place serves my needs and is conveniently around the corner from work and just off 267.

I’ve been a member of Gold’s (formerly Fitness First) for 4 years. Yes, there have been ups & downs, mostly connected with the changeover to Gold’s. But so what? In my experience, biz transitions are always fraught.
My trainer, Neil, who’s also the fitness manager, has worked with me through all kinds of ups & downs, including a major sciatica attack & recovery, on-​and-​off fibromyalgia, and a chronic tendency to expect way more of my body than I should.
Gold’s Gym Reston is smaller than other gyms, but that makes it friendly and low-​key. It’s definitely not a meat market like some other places I’ve been to. The machines are maintained regularly, and the sauna & steam rooms are great, esp in winter. Also, the music is loud enough to enjoy, but soft enough so you can listen to your own stuff if you prefer that.
They’ve always been up front with me about costs. I had no trouble suspending my membership for health reasons and changing my coaching frequency when I needed to. Group classes are included in the fee, and membership gets you into other Gold’s Gyms & classes in the DC area for free. (Oh, and they have free childcare in Reston – not sure about the other clubs.)
For the money, Gold’s is the best deal around, and I’m very happy with it.

Not really sure what people are complaining about. I bought the groupon for 3 months and read these reviews about bad service but that’s not what I had at all. CJ the GM and Brandon were very accommodating and answered all of my questions. As far as the gym goes, it’s a friendly atmosphere and has the equipment necessary. Workers seem happy to help. It’s one of the cheaper gyms in the area at 30 $ a month. Not the biggest gym in the world but if you know what you’re doing, you’ll be just fine here.

Very tiny space, especially in the free weight room. This gym was previously a Fitness First, so despite the Gold paint job, its not up to the standards of a typical Golds.

I give golds zero stars if I could. We got tricked into a contract when we specifically said we did not want to be locked into anything long term. When we tried to cancel they had no idea how to do it so we wrote a formal letter to bring in — we saw the manager who signed us up and looked to him to help us and he walked away from us. I’m completely furious at there lack of customer service… them lying to my face, and the lack of knowledge they have with the company.
WORST GYM IN VIRGINIA. I hope it goes out of business.

Don’t join this gym. Seriously… I am the nicest person on earth and I only give bad reviews when they are well deserved. I’d rather say nothing at all but in this case… please, heed my warning. DON’T JOIN THIS GYM!!!
First: Customer service is HORRIBLE!!! By far the worst I have ever encountered. I had a simple issue with my membership and the management ran from me like they owed me money. I would stop at the desk and say «I need to speak with someone about my membership» and be told, ok, manager is busy, he says stop by after your workout and he will take care of you. Ok, guess what, 45 minutes later, the manager was gone! Three days in a row and then the ridiculous excuses went from weird to just plain bizarre. I figured, okay let me take care of this electronically since the in person approach didn’t work. Guess what, emails promising phone calls that NEVER materialized. Almost two weeks later I just got fed up and refused to leave the desk until I could talk to someone about my membership. «He’s busy»…“Well I’ll just wait”…finally, I got the issue fixed, took like 5 minutes. The guy couldn’t even look me in the eye and he couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.
Second: The women’s locker room is smaller than my walk in closet. Changing clothes in there is the equivalent of a workout if there are more than 3 people in there… and there is always more than three people in there. I started changing my clothes in the bathroom at my office building because at least I could take off tights without feeling like I was doing tai chi to avoid bumping into a half naked stranger.
Finally: The equipment is raggedy and worn out, no innovative new machines, knobs fallen off, treads worn out, I mean every piece of equipment in the place has completely had it. Worse still, you have to wait for practically everything if you try to go after work. Want to do some ab work or lunges??? Good luck finding any space to do that. When I asked I was directed to a sliver of space in the direct walking path to the exit. The Gold’s that I LOVE has a separate area for Women to stretch and do ab work and cardio. Its close to my house and its the only reason I am not cancelling my membership. I have seen what a good Gold’s looks like. This place is an embarrassment to the brand. They need to shut this sucker down and start over from the ground up. Keep the attendants at the front desk, they try to help however they can. Get rid of the management immediately!
Listen, drive 5 minutes away and join a gym with decent equipment and half decent customer service. You won’t be sorry. If you join this gym, you will regret it. You can’t say you haven’t been warned…

I had a bad experience with this gym due to unresolved billing disputes that have went on for over six weeks. The gym manager promised one thing at the time of a new membership and claimed the opposite to the Gold’s Gym customer service rep after I escalated the issue.
I ended up canceling my month-​to-​month membership because of my bad experience by following the instructions that manager provided in handwriting I found the same details on my agreement under Buyer’s Right to Cancel section.
I also called customer service (866) 465‑3775 (back of your keycard) and explained the situation. The rep was very friendly as was able to assist with one of three disputed charges.
If you decide to go to this gym it would be smart to have every aspect of your new agreement written in plain English and signed by the manager/​sales rep. By doing this you will reduce the risk of going through the experience that I had.
Besides the billing disputes the gym is very small and did not have the assortment of equipment that I was looking for.

The General Manager (Rob) was equivalent to a use car salesman. Never believe a word that he says. After a tour, he told me to come back after 5 days and let him know if I wanted sign up. My credit card would not be charged unless I come back and sign up. Two weeks later, I noticed I got charged for a year long membership.
I called and spoke to him and he told he never said that.
Unbelievable.

I went to this gym for just over three years, primarily while it was still a Fitness First. As others have noted, it is small and does feel tight, especially after 5 PM on weekdays. If you’re an early bird and can squeeze a workout in before 8 AM, there’s no issue finding space or your choice of machines.
Absolutely on the positive side is the affordability. I joined in 2010 with no contract for $ 20/​month, and my rate was never changed, even following the purchase by Gold’s. The annual fee in March is also reasonable. I never experienced billing issues either.
If you need a decent place for some cardio or a good group class on the cheap, this is your gym. It’s not the best in the area by any means, but certainly adequate given the space constraints.

Pros: Most of the people who work there are friendly. The classes are awesome, and the instructors are great at what they do! The gym is reasonably clean. The monthly membership is affordable, which is hard to find in the DC metro. There is a good amount of equipment for the size of the gym, but forget about finding a treadmill or elliptical during M-​F between 5pm-​7pm. This brings me to my cons…
Cons: The gym is TINY. You can’t even walk through the gym on a week night without feeling like you’re going to run into someone. Forget about being able to stretch or do some toning work on a mat. If there are any mats available, you’ll be stuck doing your crunches next to someone’s crotch because everyone is crammed into the gym like sardines.
If it weren’t for the convenient location and affordable membership prices of this gym, I’d consider looking elsewhere.

Finally decided to quit — I just couldn’t take how dirty the place had become. I contacted the GM several times about this. Also, the equipment is old and some of the treadmills audio/​video equipment are on the fritz. But the dirt and mold in the men’s room finally did the trick. I just can’t stay there any longer.

The guy at the front desk could brush up on customer service. Let’s call him FDG for front desk guy.
Me: :walks up;
FDG: :two seconds later: yeah?
Me: I need to check in
FDG: The scanner is right there.
Me: I don’t have my key tag.
FDG: You don’t have to swipe in today.
I think this gym was bought out from Fitness First recently. It’s tiny to the point of claustrophobic. The lack of equipment has hindered me getting a full workout. It’s fine in a jam, for cardio, classes or for a short weight lifting workout.