Equinox West 76th Street

I’ve been a EQ member for going on 6 years but this club made me cancel my membership. Long story short - there are various other studios opening up in the UWS which are significantly better options for what UWS residents would expect quality wise. I rarely write reviews but this place really stinks and is a comical waste of money. 1) Facility itself: very small and so overcrowded, you can’t sit anywhere or use machines without having your head in someone’s crotch during peak hours. Every couch / seat available always had people working in it, it looked bizarre like a really busy airport. Half the machines were broken for weeks on end. No nice amenities like the other clubs and classes are limited in times/types. My husband got herpes gladiatorium from their mats!! It always smells like sweat. I don’t think I ever saw their smoothie bar open. Cockroaches in the basement locker rooms! The towels were so rough and over washed, they seemed to be relics from the Bush administration. 2) Administration just looks to suck money and provides no help. I expect that from like NYSC but not EQ. I had a 48 session personal trainer package automatically renew without my permission 2 years ago. I went to the front desk the next day and asked them to cancel it but they said nothing they or their manager could do. I sucked it up and figured that eventually I’d use it. Because I didn’t renew the personal trainer package myself, I never saw that they expire after 6 months. They didn’t notice until recently when I had asked again if there was a partial refund I could get because I’m struggling to get through them (I’m a nurse with an erratic schedule - hard to get standing appointments that trainers need), my trainer was AMAZING though. They then told me “nope and by the way now that we’re aware you have 3 weeks to do 14 sessions good luck”. I emailed at least 5 people (both at SC where the package was renewed and at 76) and only one got back to me was 76’s club PT manager who did try to help me out but at that point I was fed up with the club in general and cancelled my membership. Rene from SC straight up just ignored my various emails after initial “no”. I lost well over $1500. EQ touts itself for being top of its class, and you would expect for the price you’re paying they wouldn’t be like this. I used to belong to Sports Club, which was worth the expense and they even had cute events from time to time as well as a rooftop in the summer and outdoor running track. This location ended up being more per month since they only accept the all access package (which doesn’t include locations like Sports Club).

Overall: Gym is fine, but customer service, ability to provide services, and ability to communicate and make things right is lacking. 1. I signed my 2 kids up for child care through the app 2. The morning before the appointment, I find out from a friend who also signed their kids, that they don't have someone to staff childcare, and it is cancelled for the day. 3. By the evening, I still haven't received a call from equinox, and I proactively give them a call. They said they were super busy and sorry for not calling. They also confirmed class will be cancelled, and they will refund me the money and cancel my class. 4. I receive an email the next day saying, I didn't attend the class which means the front desk person didn't follow through on cancelling my class and childcare. 5. I call in a few days later asking them to refund my class, and remove the "missed class strike". (Nothing happened) 6. A week later, I ask them in person to refund me and remove the strike for missing the class. Unfortunately, they only refunded me for one of the kids. 7. I walked in to the location, and asked to speak to a manager. They let me know the general manager quit and things were hectic. (Shocking, right?) and that the Assistant manager would speak to me. Unfortunately he/she was busy, so they said they would call when they were available. 8. Still Nothing. For a brand pushing a high end experience, the customer service and execution are not excusable. Maybe this location in specific is having issues, but it should not be this hard to get a refund when they cancel class.

EQ HAS LOST ITS EDGE. The staff is largely wonderful. Nice front desk and sales team. The cleaning staff is always working as well as they can with what they have. The trainers… there are a few as fit as you might hope to one day become but are not at all the army of aspirational bodies EQ was once known for. The design and layout, while due for a renovation, is pretty good. There are a lot of windows, which is ideal. That being said, it’s a bit cramped for the number of members they have. Ultimately, EQs prices keep going up Up UP and its quality goes down down down. Poor financial management and performance likely explain why the local team is not able to address fixes as well and as quickly as they used to; showers and patched up ceilings go unmended for months on end. There are showers in the men’s locker room that have been broken for months. “Out of order” signs are the norm and not the exception. Additionally, back in the day you’d never see maintenance happening. It’d be expertly done during off hours. Now you’ll see the cleaning staff painting or quick-fixing tile grouting during operating hours. All last week there were boxes of tiles sitting around in the Lounge in the men’s locker room. Far from the luxury experience it was before Related acquired EQ… which exponentially got worse since Covid. If you’re gym shopping, go to LIFETIME.

OK gym, but I would expect no cockroaches for $300+ a month

Charges way too much money for how overcrowded it is and many of the machines are broken for weeks at a time. Crunch and NYSC are much better options