Cheap and handy (Otium Health Clubs)

Member Name: luke1081

Product:	Otium Health Clubs
Date:	09/01/09 (103 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The price; great for amateurs; those starting out

Disadvantages: Small-town feel could be a bit small for some

If you're looking for a cheap alternative to your usual Fitness Firsts and Virgin Actives, this could be for you. I am a member of my local Otium Health Club, a chain of spa/fitness clubs that are owned wholly by Thistle Hotels in the UK.

Thistle have health clubs at many of their hotels, including my local in Cheltenham, as well as in Bristol, London and Glasgow.

As a member, I pay around £35 a month and get access to the fitness rooms, cardio-vascular machines and swimming facilities including spa, sauna and steam room. There are also tennis courts and sunbed. And if this isnt enough, they throw in a free towel and an "Otium card" giving you discounts at the hotel bar. This is excellent value for money and is generally at the cheaper end of health clubs as a whole.

You don't get the elitest, "look at me" attitude in Otiums that you may get in Fitness First and others. You are more likely to see a 70 year old hotel guest struggling away on the running machine, rather than some buff 20-something body-builder working his muscles. For many, this is an attractive feature, me included. For people who are worried or concerned about visiting a health club for the first time, this is fantastic and you don't need to be concerned about who is looking at you.

They offer free day passes for friends and various other offers, as well as an annual summer social BBQ and Xmas Party. The staff are friendly and approachable and make this gym feel more like a home away from home, rather than a large, corporate machine begging you for more money and another yearly contract.

All in all, I can recommend Otium gyms for people who are perhaps concerned the larger health clubs are too elitest and full of "buffness". Otiums are cheap, accesssible and also great if you just want to use the swimming facilities and not the fitness machines.

Summary: Recommended