Bannatynes - A friendly, relaxed gym. (Bannatyne's Health Club)

Member Name: emskibeach

Product:	Bannatyne's Health Club
Date:	13/08/09 (740 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic staff, great facilities, clean.

Disadvantages: Years contract, cancellation policy.

Well, I've read many reviews for different Bannatynes clubs and I have to say most of them are not complimentary, so in that mine might make a nice change!

Bannatynes Info: Banntynes are a chain of health clubs( gyms to you and I) owned by Dragon's Den entrepenuer Duncan Bannatyne. The first club appeared 11 years ago, but now they have over 60 clubs across England, Scotland and Wales. As well as the gym's a lot of the health clubs also have an attached Sensory spa which provides massages, waxing and various other treatments for both men and women.

My Club :
My local Bannatynes club is in Bristol, based in Cotham, just off Gloucester Road. The club is in a nice plot, surrounded by trees which makes it quite a relaxing place to visit. It is also boardered by a local Tennis club and a bowles club. Membership to the club can like most gyms be taken out at different prices depending on when you go, obviously if you will only use the club midweek in the middle of the day your membership will be cheaper than someone who works 9-5 and can only use the gym at peak periods. My personal membership is anytime and costs me £55 a month.

A bit about the facilities the club offers:

The gym - An average sized gym I would say, mirrors on the front wall by the exercise machines and two at the rear in the weights area, for those who like to check how they are looking at the gym (I personally would rather not see my bright red face). Cardio machines include upright and seated bikes, steppers, cross trainers, treadmills and rowers. There are enough of each so as when I have visited at least there have been no queues for machiners as I have noticed at previous gyms. One feature everyone seems to love is as well as the tv screens on the gym wall, there are also seperate tv screens with sky tv attached to the cv equipment such as bikes, treadmills and cross trainers, so as well as seeing your times and stats for your workout you can also watch what you want on tv. There is a well eqipped weights area, with all the usual smaller weights, heavier barbells, resistance weight machines and balance balls. The gym is also equipped with a vibration plate machine, which is often in use, although not something I think I will trying anytime soon.

Classes/fitness studio : The club has both a large fitness studio and a smaller spinning studio for weekly classes. I believe although I haven't tried all of them, that there are over 60 different classes run weekly at the club. Ranging from Spinnin (which is very popular and there is at least one class every day), to aquarobics, aerobics to salsa, as well as gym favourites like bodypump and bodybalance. So there are classes to suit everyone. Most classes last about an hour and are inclusive of your membership.

The Pool : The club boasts a great pool area, which is always clean, although one thing I would say could be improved is that the pool has no lifeguards although this is mentioned in signs around the pool area. Built with windows surrounding the area looking out onto the green area around the gym, the pool is a nice place to have a relaxing swim, the good thing for me personally is that the pool is child free apart from between the hours of 11-4 on a weekend. The pool also have a jacuzzi, which is situated next to the pool, and a seperate sauna and steam room, which is arranged between the male and female changing rooms.

The club also has a Sensory spa attached which is next to the gym area, which has a range of treatments including Massage, waxing, eyebrow tinting, manicures and pedicures. Although I have no experience of this side of the gym yet myself, there are various posters around the site showing the offers available and I may soon be tempted to check it out.

My Opinion:
Personally I think that Bristol Bannatynes is a fantastic club. I think for the price I pay £55 for my monthly membership the facilities they offer are very good in comparision with other gyms I have used, where for example for the use of sauna and steam rooms I have had to pay extra to my membership where at Bannatynes it's free.

All the areas around the gym are also tidy and clean which is one thing that does make me smile, as there is nothing worse than going to a changing area where you tend to be barefoot and having the floor be filthy.But no such issue at Bannatynes thankfully. I hope their cleaners get paid well :)

One of the best things about Bannatynes is the staff, especially the trainers in the gym who are second to none. I have been advised by two of the clubs trainers Anthony and Jenna who couldn't have been more helpful, they devised a plan for me and have also done my body mass ratio twice with never a complaint they were too busy. Whenever I am working out in the gym one of the trainers will always come and see how things are going, and I think that really makes you feel valued.

All in all a great club, the one sticking point is the fact that you are tied in for a years contract, and once you want this changing you have to give 3 months notice after that years period. Illness is not seen as a reason for leaving the club before your membership year, which I do think should be loosened slightly in the cases of severe illness.
I don't know how easy the cancellation process is as I have no personal experience but it does seem to be a problem for others I know who have used various Bannatynes clubs.

Summary: Bannatynes - Bristol!