Brixton Recreation Centre

This place is awful !! I got showed around on a tour here and the place was filled with gangs of boys. I was so intimidated. Literally gangs of boys everywhere just staring at you

As gym memberships go, you can’t complain about the price at Brixton Rec. It’s recently had a big image overhaul although tbh, I can’t say it’s interested me. I mainly go for the pool which is in good nick. I’m not going to lie, if I could afford a gym with a no-​children rule, I would wholeheartedly go there instead. I hate children and Brixton rec always seem to be overrun with them. Like rats, with a vocabularly. But the place is generally good and the staff are friendly and helpful. I concur with whoever said the mops could be cracked out more often BUT they did just replace all the broken hairdryers in the changing rooms.

Terrible, terrible music. Bring headphones (and flip flops if you’re heading to the pool)

Strange though they may be to you, I don’t care.
You will form a relationship with them and a very good one at that.
Really, it’s not that hard.
People have been doing it for hundreds nah thousands of years before you, and yet there seems to be a broken link between you and them.
I implore you, have your staff form a loving relationship with a mop and bucket, and make sure it’s a lasting one!

Lovely gym kind of ruined by rubbish staff.
Great facilities– from climbing wall to pool to gymn to bowling and a decent enough programme of activities.
The staff, however, are generally unhelpful– difficult to join/​leave, and it can be like pulling teeth to get anything done. Who is it? Yep– gll.

I have more or less grown up in this centre with all the swimming and basketball lessons, cricket club, junior gym for under 16s and of course the Play Zone which is the most amazing place on earth when you’re 4.
But I am now at the ripe old age of 17 and have to now make do with the pool and yoga/​pilates classes.
So as a student here are my pros and cons…
Cons (I only like to finish with pros):
–The rec is the most hideous building conceivable to man. Made in the 60s, this is a pretty gloomy place. Studio 2 has no windows. When the yoga teacher tells you to breathe in, you don’t.
–It ‘s not that cheap. No view over the park, for non-​members there’s no student discounts, it’s £4 a swim, £8 a class and there are only 2 pilates slots a week. And I believe you still have to pay for some if not all classes with a membership.
(at the Lido, classes are £7.50 for students and most are free for members)
Pros:
–It is a gazillion times better managed than the lido (that does not mean that the management is perfect). Classes are not overwhelmed with applicants so it’s nice not to have to phone to book and ladida.
–Since refurbishments, the place is a lot cleaner. For swimming, I still take flip flops but as a maniac with cleanliness, I do survive my weekly swim (and the water temperature is lovely… if anything too warm at times)
–I refuse to say that staff are rude… on the contrary their dryness always amuses me.
I can’t speak for gym-​goers because a normal workout is far too boring compared to the water workouts on offer :)

Good facilities and great pool but many staff seem anti-​child.
We have an 11 year old son and (like many kids his age) he spends too long on the sofa. We try to take him length-​swimming but the staff don’t want to let him swim, after or near 8pm. There’s nothing in the pool timetable to say he can’t swim then (and it’s a better time for him because there are fewer people in the pool after 8) but we have to argue either with the reception or with the poolside staff every time we go.
He has has at least one adult with him (and usually more) and he’s a competent if a little slow swimmer — and with all this hassle he’s getting discouraged about going at all.

Too much automation. Illogical, over the top security. Sloppy (can’t be bothered) staff. Bad management.
Changing rooms constantly filthy in the evening.
The few (very few) good staff members stand out from the crowd. Others should be inspired by them.
It really does seem that the wrong type of people are working there. Anyone can press buttons, but we want it to be a nice experience. Employ people not androids or miserable rude sods!
All the above has to (ultimately) reflect bad management.
My 1 star rating is because they put water in the pool!

They have good facilities.
Although trying to use these facilities can be challenging because they are either under-​staffed or the staff they do have can’t be bothered to answer the phone to take bookings.

Pros;
It’s HUGE. They have everything under one roof (like toys ‘r’ us)
Not too busy
Cheap as chips
Memberships to suit all
Cons;
The staff– they’re not rude, but couldn’t care less
Those new to Brixton might be put off by some of the characters
It’s a public health centre — it’s not perfect by a long shot.
But hey, it suits me fine. I play squash here regularly and always return!

This place is my local leisure centre, and its facilities are pretty great — big pool, well equipped gym, good classes.
Unfortunately, it’s let down by poor management and rude, lazy staff. Examples:
Currently, some classes are being held in only half a studio to ‘save space’ — huh?
Reception staff act as if they’re doing you a favour by serving you — they’re mostly more interested in chatting with each other. If they’re not ignoring you, they’re being incredibly rude and dismissive
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been wrongly charged for a court, or given the wrong time for a court, only to turn up at the time I asked for and be told I have to wait 30 minutes. Once I was charged £55 for a badminton court over the phone. It took me 2 months to get the money back.
The online booking system is great in theory, but rarely works. Ditto for the ticket machines in reception.
There is currently no air con on in the gym, which makes it like having a bikram workout…
And whilst the classes are good and generally lead by great teachers, they are often impossible to get onto and are attended by people who treat them more like a social gathering than an exercise class (saving spaces, chatting over the teacher) — not the centre’s fault, but something the teachers could do more to prevent.

Lots of stuff at this place, but all I can say is there aren’t many places in london where without being a member you can turn up on a weekend and 9 times out of 10 get a squash court without booking. In fact this might be the only one. Also according to the plaque Nelson Mandela has been here, so you’ll be playing squash in good company

Brixton Recreation Centre is an excellent facility to get a workout at. I enjoyed the swimming pool. I visited at a time when there were not many people.

I only ever use the centre for its swimming pool. If you go in the evening the pool is quite badly lit but there is quite a lot of space and a few lanes to choose from depending on your swimming skills. I would strongly recommend wearing flip flops as the changing room floors are quite grubby but they do have good private showers. I would say that it is not worth a trip but if you live locally it is perfectly functional. It is easy to reach from the tube. Go right out of Brixton station, go under the railway bridge and it is the first right. You will see the centre down this street on the left.

A good place to work out, all the latest equiptment and always people around to help.
Evenings are busy so try to go in the afternoons.
Some people can hog the machines and can sit on them chatting to friends rather then using them.
If you live in the area it is the best place to go.

This was completely refurbished about a year ago and the facilities are excellent. I play badminton there regularly and bought an annual membership for £30 to get a discount. It now costs me just £3.95 to book a court for an hour on weekends and £5.40 on weekday evenings. You need to be quick with your advanced bookings though as spaces tend to get taken up quickly, but once you get a rhythm, it’s great.
There is strict security on the door with a security guard you have to tell what you’re there for before you’re allowed into reception, which is a bit odd, but I guess it must have been deemed necessary.