Washington Sports Clubs

Vincent the GM there is excellent. Gym is generally decent. It is small and crowded during peak hours.
It has a sauna steam and machines for an excellent price in the city

I’ve been a member there for 2 years and it’s actually not my «home» gym, I’m a member of Sport and Health as well, and just joined WSC for lunchtime workouts.
My problem is not so much the gym, although I don’t think it’s set up very well, it’s extremely tight as other reviewers have mentioned. The weight room equipment is dated, is left around the floor, and is never where it should be, making it difficult to find two of anything in the same place. I don’t think anyone ever goes down to check to ensure that the weight room is clean and equipment is back in it’s place.
My problem is more with the management — specifically the general manager. I arrived today for a workout and was asked for a towel card, or they would charge my account.
I am aware my membership does not include towels; however, this is the first time I’ve EVER in two years even been asked. I did have several «towel cards» in my office, which I was given when I first signed up by the membership person, who also assured me that I really didn’t need them. Well, I was informed by Umay Akpan, the General Manager, that the membership person I signed up with hasn’t been with the club for over 8 months, and yes, I would need to walk back to my office to get the «towel card», and he was adamant about it. Having belonged to Equinox out in CA, NY Sports Clubs in NY and Sport and Health, I know how gyms work — my best friends are personnel trainers. Asking a member to actually go back and get a towel card or have your account charged is horrible customer service. I was totally expecting him to say, we can let it slide this time, but please be aware the next time you visit the gym. But no, he was totally unyielding that I would have to go back to the office to get my towel card or pay, clearly he has control issues.
I resigned my membership — there are too many facilities in the area to have to deal with such poor customer service for a mediocre gym at best.

I left Vida because of the cost to WSC a few weeks ago. Like other reviewers, I’ll say that you get what you pay for, and for me it’s okay. I work out on the weekends primarily so crowding hasn’t been an issue. Cardio equipment is fine and there’s a lot of it. I do wish that they had more weight machines like Vida has with the newer «Rocker» function instead of the older Hammer Strength machines. They have a couple that are in the nautilus area. Just my preference. Locker rooms are okay. Haven’t tried the showers or sauna there. On balance though, if you are a bit older, don’t care about the social scene at a gym, and saving money is important, this gym is about 80% cheaper than Vida.

The establishment is very clean and the employees are very nice and helpful. The management needs to improve in getting the steam room sauna or machines fix a little bit faster whenever they are out of service. Wi-​Fi is available at this location but the signal it’s not very strong and It gets disconnected often. I love this gym and I hope they fix the issues mentioned.

I tried a 5 day pass here on the recommendation of a friend. She suggested we take a Bootcamp class together that’s offered Tuesdays and Thursdays. The space itself is extremely tight but I guess that is to be expected for a downtown gym. However, I lived in nyc and I’ve seen larger crunch gyms and planet fitness gyms in Manhattan. Neither here nor there considering I wasn’t there to use equipment. The staff at the front desk was friendly– it was busy so I can understand why she couldn’t really spend a lot of time explaining where things were to me but it would’ve helped.
Now about this bootcamp class. I don’t consider myself an extremely fit person. I’m working on getting there. That said– I knew the class would be a struggle. But, to be honest the workout itself though strenuous was not what I had the biggest issue with. The instructor (I believe his name was Vincent) was an absolute horror. I understand that the bootcamp motto is «tough love» essentially and you should be prepared to be yelled at. But, this wasn’t an encouraging environment at all– if you’re gonna yell at me during a workout– yell encouraging things. walking around the room preening like a peacock and being a total asshole is NOT my idea of bootcamp. That’s just annoying. His snide remarks and total lack of direction for newbies was enough for me to decide not to come back.
I love a good challenging class but I’m not going to pay to be berated and insulted like a child. No thanks WSC!

If you need a place to work out before work or during lunch, and you work close by, this is the place for you. Otherwise, stay far far away and sign up for a better gym. The equipment is creaky and struggling but it gets the job done.
Beware the (probably illegal) sales tactics though. The current manager, Umay, and sales reps will lie, withhold information or deceive in any other way to get you to sign up. Keep in mind that the goal here is to get you to pay that huge one time fee and then hardly use the gym. I work close by and see signs for their «one day sales» way too often.

I really like this place. It’s super convenient to my office, it’s quiet, it’s not too macho or competitive in the weight room (I’m a skinny guy), and the locker rooms are clean enough and not unpleasantly crowded at peak hours.
Also, I stupidly left my watch in the locker one evening and called ten minutes later in a panic. Umay the manager and his colleague Devaugn found the watch and held it for me until I could pick it up in the morning. Saving a knucklehead customer from himself — priceless!

This review primarily pertains to the manager at the South Dupont WSC location.
I have taken advantage of the free guest pass offered through my premium membership by bringing my partner every time I use the gym. While the regular guys at the front desk typically let us in without any problems, the manager (presumably) insisted on making a scene about my free guest today, both when we entered and left the gym. Upon entering, he insisted that my guest needs to sign the client information card (with his address and email) every single time he uses the gym, which is 4 – 5 days a week. We don’t typically have to do this, but for liability reasons, I understand. Then, upon leaving, the manager is standing right by the exit anxiously waiting to tell us that he took it upon himself to use my partner’s private email address from the liability release form to send him an «invoice» with a $ 0.00 charge where he can «track how often he uses the gym.» He also proceeded to note that he would be sending him an «invoice» every single time he comes into the gym. Upon notifying him that this is entirely unsolicited and we are not actually interested in receiving daily invoices from him, he said it was a company policy that applies to everyone using the gym, and that if we don’t want it, he could sign up for a membership.
Obviously, none of this is actually disclosed in the gym’s contract, and the manager’s attitude (I think his name is Umar) is arrogant and less than respectful, to say the very least.
I would suggest that as a manager, instead of spending your time writing nonsensical and unsolicited emails, you should monitor the locker rooms more frequently and keep an eye out for the creepy predators who use the gym to simply walk back and forth in the locker room between the sauna room and the water fountain. Or perhaps, make sure folks aren’t on their cellphones trying to snap a photo in the locker room. Or that the cardio machines work. Or that the TV’s work. Or that the air conditioning works. The list goes on.

The «South Dupont» location is probably the best of the WSC venues. I was a member for a year and found it to be quieter (I could always get a treadmill or use the exercise machines, etc.) and generally cleaner than the other locations, even if it is a bit watered down compared to those with pools and basketball courts, etc (that are usually too crowded to use anyways).
I can’t talk about the classes, since I never used them, but equipment-​wise, there’s all of the no-​frills essentials I use.
As a gym, WSC had what I needed… but the issue is the terrible and unclear «gotcha» policies. When I tried to cancel in mid-​December, one year into my membership, the representative «froze» my account instead. «Freezing» is not actually «cancelling,» and there had been some sort of misunderstanding, since you can’t actually cancel over the phone for some reason? No problem, it happens, and I realized it when my credit card was charged a «freeze fee» and a «rate lock fee» for January, and they tried to bill me for a full month in February (luckily, my CC info had changed).
I called to get things ironed out, multiple times with multiple people. No problem, right? But I was continuously turned down because I had no «documentation» — well OBVIOUSLY I don’t have any, they never provided me with any. Good faith was not good enough, nor was the fact that I hadn’t visited the gym since mid-​December.
After threatening to contest the charge on my credit card, a rep agreed to wipe out the February charge, but said that the January fee was there to stay, as a 30-​day notice was required anyways (What kinda BS is that?!). But to end the ordeal, I happily accepted.
Still, I don’t believe the message has been received. I received four emails in the month after that conversation about a pending credit card charge, from the GM. Each time, I have responded directly to the message, informing them that the charge should have been wiped, and to please call me if there are any remaining issues, and not received a reply. Yet I still receive emails and phone calls. It’s getting ridiculous. Let me out, WSC, please!
UPDATE: Mike S. (below) very quickly emailed me and resolved the issue — much appreciated!!!

There are much better gyms in DC for a similar or lower price. Unless you work in the same building, don’t bother — even then, there are better options a few blocks away.
The front desk staff and trainers are friendly. It’s small and dingy, but for $ 20 month to month that’s to be expected. That rate comes with about a $ 150 upfront payment that they do not seem willing to negotiate. I haven’t seen lines for the machines even at peak hours, but the locker rooms are far too small and ALWAYS crowded. Oh, and did I mention there’s a $ 2 fee to rent a towel for your workout? I don’t mean monthly, that’s for EACH USE.
The real trouble begins if you try to cancel your membership. After reading other reviews here and on Consumer Affairs, it’s clear that TSI’s (WSC’s parent) corporate policy is to make it extremely difficult to cancel your membership. There are two ways to cancel, as far as I can gather: you must speak directly with a clubs GM, who is next to impossible to find, or call the 877 number if you have an afternoon to spare. It took me almost a week of calling the club directly («You just missed him! /He’s not in today, try tomorrow! /​He’s busy, can you call back later?») before I finally called membership services directly. Their call center is either severely understaffed, or (I suspect) TSI’s deliberate policy is to keep you on hold until you toss the phone across the room in frustration. There are no estimated wait times — make sure you have about two hours to spare.
If by some miracle you actually speak with the GM, or a membership services rep, do not leave/​hang up the phone until you receive an email confirmation. They are very reluctant to commit to anything in writing confirming your cancellation. I had to keep the rep on the phone for five minutes before I received an email. I have friends who have had similar experiences check their bank statements months later only to tind they’re billed even after they cancel — in one case up to four months later. There was no refund, no explanation and no record of his cancellation. Treat your correspondence with TSI like a very contentious custody battle — EVERYTHING in writing.

I’ve been a member for 5 years and I have seen the level of customer service go way down hill. All they care about is recruiting new members and could care less about existing customers. All of this is evident when they launched their new 19.99 a month deal. I pay way more than that and because of this new promotion, it has created overcrowding, long waits for the locker room, and more long waits for the equipment. Today I had to wait for a locker, wait for a treadmill, then wait again for a place to stretch. I finally found a place to stretch and then the trainer told me I needed to pay to be in this area. I was in no way near him or his clients. This is typically an area where people can stretch but trainers do use it as well. The trainer was so rude with his response then ushered me away. I talked to the General Manager right after and all I was told was to wait it out. He said he’s never seen such overcrowding at the gym before. I’ve endured many Januarys before with people making resolutions and have never seen overcrowding like this before. I mentioned to him it’s your cheap rate that’s packing them in and you’re driving away loyal customers with this new business model. I’m now looking into Vida or the YMCA. Don’t join WSC!

I was originally a member at the K street location, and when that location closed, I began going to this downtown location. This gym (and WSC in general) has no loyalty to its customers. They are advertising a deal for $ 19.95 a month, which is about $ 30 less a month than what I currently pay. When I inquired about switching, I was told that to do so I would have to pay another $ 149 enrollment fee (which I already paid when I originally joined). Additionally, they told me they were going to charge me a «rate-​lock» fee of $ 50 for the month of January – when I told them I had already been charged this rate lock on Jan 1, 2015 for my current membership, they said it didn’t matter and they would have to charge it again. So to get this better deal, current members have to pay $ 149 enrollment for a second time AND a rate lock fee twice (total of $ 100). When I was in the gym on Friday I told the man I was speaking with that I thought it was ridiculous and wanted to speak to a manager – apparently they couldn’t find the manager. I then called Saturday morning and asked to speak to a manager over the phone – the girl who answered told me there was no manager in today, but he would be here tomorrow. I called the next day, and I was told that the girl lied to me, because there were 2 managers in on Saturday and none on Sunday to speak to. I have continued to get the complete run-​around, and have yet to speak to anyone in charge. Screwing your existing, loyal customers is a terrible way to run a business and I will be looking elsewhere for gym memberships.

The gym isn’t that great to start with (I went for convenience to my apartment) and then they have a horrible cancellation policy. Washington Sports Club gives you the complete run around when you try to cancel your membership. I tried to call to cancel but they said I had to speak to a manager in person. Low and behold, I go in but the manager was not available so I couldn’t cancel. I made a fuss so the guy at the front desk said he would cancel it for me but when I looked back at my credit card months later, I saw that I was continuing to be charged. When I saw this, I called the corporate office and the club itself but no one was willing to help since I didn’t have documentation evidencing the cancellation (note: the usage logs showing I hadn’t used the club since April was not good faith enough for them). Truly awful customer service and it is appalling that they will not refund my fees from the past few months. Literally, stealing from customers.
Washington Sports Club is the worst and I will never join again — future gym goers choose somewhere else. I’ve never had a process be so difficult and it is undue hardship on the members.

Went in today to downgrade my membership from the regional to the core since I really don’t use any other WSC locations. I have been a loyal member for over 3 years. I was told that there would be a 49.99 fee for downgrading and that since the new core membership price had gone up it would only amount to a $ 10 difference per month. This might have been acceptable if several of my friends had not joined in the last month and gotten a lower rate than I was offered.
I understand trying to drive in new members with introductory rates, but what about doing the same to retain loyal members? There are other gyms out there that might actually value a client.

Washington Sports Club closed its very busy, Washington DC K Street location with little notice and no concern for its loyal members. It forced its best trainer (Carlos Dukes) to move to the Conn. Ave. facility and did not offer him a studio in which to conduct his very popular and well-​attended Kettlebell and Kettlebell-​TRX classes. He is and was the reason that many DC professionals joined WSC. Now, many of them have moved to Gold’s and/​or the Ritz Carlton. This was a shortsighted move and WSC is terribly managed from the top of its corporate ladder.

I was a member here for about 3 years before deciding to join Vida this past fall. And man, am I happy with my decision.
My favorite way to exercise is to attend group fitness classes, and WSC’s are really terrible. They lack in variety (pretty much just spin, yoga, and bootcamp) and are always too crowded. Many make you sign up in advance (if you don’t, you can’t participate), but don’t offer any convenient way to do so. None of the instructors were any good, especially in comparison to those at Vida.
The locker rooms were fairly clean, but never felt safe — I had friends who had their valuables stolen out of their locked lockers.
Now, I understand a place like Vida is significantly more expensive than WSC. But you get what you pay for. If you’re the type of person who just needs a functional treadmill and a set of hand weights to have a great workout, there is nothing wrong with WSC (as long as you keep your valuables close). If you’re interested in challenging, fun exercise classes with good instructors, I recommend you keep looking.

This was a really horrible experience. I went in expecting a hard sell but this was truly awful and scamy. The guy tried to offer me a few options; it felt like buying a used car. I negotiated something that sounded good knowing– according to their policy which they heavily advertise– that I could cancel in 15 days of enrollment and get the refund.
Well, I had a couple really bad experiences there in the first 15 days including really condescending mean people. Then when I tried to cancel– that’s where the headache began. No one was there to help me cancel. (Um, I have a normal day job and I had to go in person?). Then I tried to call and no one would speak to me about it even. Then I got their Philadelphia corporate number and called them. A woman said she would cancel it and then email the confirmation. No email came. Then I tried calling again multiple times. No one picked up the phone.
To date, I’m not sure if my membership is cancelled and if I will get my refund. um. YIKES?!

UPDATE — I’ve tried this place again a few times recently and they seem to have a new management team that is more responsive.

Typical sports club, close to DuPont so great location.
A little small and has low ceilings which I hate, but it was clean and still a place to work out. If I were to return to the area I would probably go to the WSC that was a little further, but a little nicer. Still if you need a quick work out and are in the area, there is nothing wrong with this location.

This is a pretty weak gym. They have more members than they can accomodate, so there are wait times for any machine other than a treadmill, there is often no room left on the floor mat, and there is very little space by the free weights. You also shouldn’t plan to work out here if you need to shower and be somewhere on a schedule, because at peak times they have more people than they have towels for, so there are periods while all the towels are being laundered. That means you can’t always count on showering after you work out, unless you bring your own towel.
There are also no classes on weekends, and there are no water fountains on the ground floor. Because there aren’t a ton of class options and space is limited, classes are fully booked a day beforehand.
The staffers are friendly. I wouldn’t want to knock them.