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| - "Meh. I've experienced better," fully captures how I felt about CAC. I found them here on Yelp, visited their website, and sent an email requesting membership info. I'm new to town and used to a certain quality of gym and have some requirements: Precor ellipticals, zumba and body pump classes that actually fit my schedule, and a convenient location. I don't even mind a hefty price tag because fitness is a priority for me.
But I was distinctly underwhelmed by this gym.
Sure, you walk in and it seems ultra swanky and exclusive- even the guy at the front desk is wearing a jacket, for crying out loud.
But as I took myself on a tour of the facilities, I couldn't help but notice a few things that turned me off: the women's locker room has a ton of lockers, several bathroom stalls, and a bunch of showers.. but a tiny area to change in, with only one bench. It appears there's a push for members to pay the extra $50 for access to the private locker room. Okay, duly noted.
The downstairs cardio area has the machines I like, but I was a little bummed that the models present did not have the individual screens. Rather, there were two screens for the entire cardio area, and set at a bit of a distance away. No big, I can bring in my iPad and watch Netflix while I churn out my miles right? Nope, no wifi. For $50/month, you'd think that would be a given.
Upstairs wasn't much better- tons of equipment, and only a few people present, most of whom were working one on one with trainers or just sitting around. In fact, that's what bugged me most: maybe I was just there during an off-peak time, but everyone present seemed more focused on being in such a swanky environment. I don't think I saw anyone there genuinely working up a sweat.
Ultimately I didn't feel very comfortable here but still wanted to give the place a try. Met up again with Juan, my tour guide who stayed at the front desk, and received what passed for the "sales pitch"- a laminated card of their pricing, and a vague, "So, wanna sign up?"
I had mixed feelings about that- I really didn't feel sold to or pressured, which was a plus. But I also didn't feel like any attempt at all was made to MAKE me want to join this gym. I genuinely wanted to give them a try, but the fact that I wasn't even able to get a pass for a day or two to try it out and see if I liked it was discouraging.
To end on a positive note though, for the month of January their promotion is that the initiation fee is half off: to join it's usually $120 + your monthly fee based on your membership ($50 on up to like $150 to get access to kickboxing/CrossFit); but in January it's just $60.
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