Reebok London - Probably the best gym in the world (Reebok Sports Club London)

Member Name: SilkCutSilver

Product:	Reebok Sports Club London
Date:	03/02/09 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Has everything you need

Disadvantages: Water is £1.60!

The Reebok Sports Club (London) is situtated inside the Canary Wharf shopping complex above Waitrose. Access is via the lift on the left hand side of Waitrose/John Lewis which takes you directly into the lobby of this stylish gym.

As well as the main gym the lobby also holds the bar which serves breakfast in the morning as well as dinner and drinks in the evening and is available to hire for corporate functions. There is a dry cleaners, wich offers a discount to club members and offers a very speedy and convenient service and also the Reebok Shop which sells a variety of sports wear including swimwear for those last minute purchases or treats following your workout.

The gym is accessed via gates which are either side of a central reception desk. The staff are always extremely friendly and say good morning each time I pass them -even at 5:30am! The main staircase sits ahead of you as you enter and behind this is one of the most impressive parts of the gym - the climbing wall. But more of this later.

There is also a Reebok Spa situated near to the changing rooms which provides a variety of treatments such as sports massage, teeth whitening and beauty treatments - I had my eyebrows waxed here once and it was fantastic and very reasonable compared to other London salons.

The changing rooms (well the women's anyway! I can't comment on the mens) are HUGE. There are literallly thousands of lockers for which you just enter a PIN number instead of needing a pound. There is endless numbers of clean towels, as well as cleansing wipes, combs, deodorant, flip flops, moisturiser and make up remover pads all provided. There are numerous hairdryers and ceramic straighteners available to use as well as a wet swimwear bag dispenser which is very useful. The showers are super hot and strong and really help you after a workout - there is about 20 showers in individual (lockable) cubicles at the moment but these are currently being expanded into what used to be a powder room type area. There is a sauna and a steam room for exclusive female use also.

The swimming pool is accessed through the changing room and is great for a relaxing after work swim. It is situated looking out onto the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf and is split into lanes so you can swim at your own pace. There are sunloungers dotted around if you feel the need for a rest.

The main gym contains hundreds of the usual equipment who would expect like treadmills, steppers and cross trainers - you never have to wait for others to finish. There is a floor devoted to weights and machines and one for cardio. Each has water fountains and small towels available. There are rowing machines, medicine balls, kettle weights, mats, dumbells..everything you could need. For those who want to use the personal training facilities there is also a boxing ring.

The gym opens at 5:30 and stays open til 10pm so it's very convenient for City workers who traditionally work long hours. At the weekend I think it only opens 9-5 which is a little annoying but I don't go at weekends too often myself.

The central sports hall is used for corporate hire as well as games you can just join in (power play), and weight watchers classes which are held here. There are hundreds of types of class to attend including spinning, dance and circuit training, not to mention the shorter workouts like Reebok Abs which occur on the gym floor for just fifteen minutes. Yoga and pilates classes take place in the new mind and body studio. All classes are included in the monthly membership.

Which takes me onto the price - and as you can imagine all this doesn't come cheap. I viewed the Virginn Active not far away on the same day I joined the Reebok and that cost £125 and there was no locks on the shower doors (you had to look under to see if someone was inside), shocking service and no straighteners. For the Reebok's £91 monthly fee I thought they did a hell of a lot better. But it's not cheap. You have to go at least 3 or 4 times a week to make it worth it. Luckily it's a no tie in contract - you only need give a months notice and you can leave, and there are other membership options available such as off peak and weekend only. For me - when I was going 5 times a week I was more than happy to pay as it was convenient for me. Now it's not so much and I have frozen my membership for a while (which they were more than happy to help with), when I get time I'll be back there again in a heartbeat - for me it's the best gym ever and likely to keep me motivated from it's sheer fabulousness as well as the convenience.

Summary: Great gym, not cheap so only for serious exercisers