Virgin Active

Negative experience: Virgin Active Fulham Pools: Where Premium Prices Meet Poundland Standards Ah, Virgin Active Fulham Pools—a gym that charges premium rates while delivering all the charm of a neglected public leisure centre. Let’s start with hygiene—or rather, the complete lack of it. Machines are coated in a fine layer of mystery grime, the showers look like they haven’t seen a proper scrub since the early 2000s, and the changing rooms? A damp, hairball-infested horror show. It’s a miracle anyone leaves this place without a new strain of athlete’s foot. Then there’s the one towel policy—yes, you read that right. For the price of membership here, you’d think they could stretch to a second towel, but no. You’re expected to sweat through your workout, shower, and—if you’re brave enough—go for a swim, all while using the same damp, sad excuse for a towel. Because, apparently, personal hygiene is just a suggestion at Virgin Active Fulham. The showers? Oh, they work… if you enjoy the Arctic Plunge Challenge. If you were hoping for a nice warm rinse after your workout, think again. The showers here are reliably freezing, no matter how much you try to convince yourself that the water might warm up. Spoiler: It won’t. But at least you can warm up with a nice, hot lather of… nothing, because the shampoo and shower gel dispensers are always empty. And when you ask reception about it? The response is a masterpiece of customer service: “We have a lot of members at the moment.” Oh, my mistake—I forgot that large numbers of paying customers mean basic hygiene supplies are optional. How silly of me! Then there’s the padlocked lockers, permanently occupied by ghosts or squatters, because they never seem to become available. Good luck finding a space for your bag, because despite the gym floor being littered with dumbbells and resistance bands like an abandoned warehouse, all the lockers are mysteriously “in use” at all times. And if you try to avoid all this by booking into a class? Forget it. The schedule may as well be a work of fiction because everything is permanently booked out. I’ve seen tickets to Glastonbury sell out slower than these gym classes. And when you complain? Oh, they hear you. They just don’t listen. I’ve raised these concerns multiple times, only to receive the same robotic response: “We’ll pass your feedback on to management.” Translation: Nothing will change. So, if you enjoy overpaying for an underwhelming, unhygienic, disorganised mess of a gym, this is the perfect place for you! Otherwise, save your money and go literally anywhere else.

Negative experience: Not worth your time coming here or paying the membership fee. Your car is not safe in the car park at any time, the staff are not helpful and no one ever picks up the phone when you need to call them. The sauna is disgusting, not enough free weights. Car got broken in to during the day while i was training, the staff refused to assist police for CCTV. Absolute disgrace of a gym. AVOID!

Negative experience: The gym is good, unfortunately it is always at full capacity. I have had to leave multiple times because all floor space is occupied by classes and all machines are taken. This also goes for booking classes or courts which is also impossible, as well as for amenities like the sauna which is tiny and again, always at full capacity. The worst part is that they are still taking on new members so there is no solution for this.

Positive experience: As a club member i have actually wrote a letter in and send it recorded delivery before Christmas today is Feb 12th 2025 still awaiting a response. The fulham gym the last two weeks the showers have not been working properly. When i last asked they said the showers would be working by Tuesday 11th February 2025 i was there last night and they still are not working. This is very unfair to members as at the end of the month we have to pay in full our membership. I once again left my contact details for some one to call me and i am still waiting.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful gym, with two 25m pools, a creche open 9am-1pm every day, and three tennis courts. Thank you Telmo for giving us such an excellent tour, can't wait to start our membership!

Negative experience: The gym itself is good, however this is 2 stars because of a staff complaint. The member of staff is called Michael. I went to the front desk to cancel my membership. He said I would need to do it on the app, I then spoke to someone else at the front desk later that day and you can't do it on the app. Michael then said he would cancel my membership for me at the front desk, and I would need to pay £60 ish for the month of December... I never got the email confirming cancellation. I went back and spoke to a manager - my membership was never cancelled. Very frustrated and compensation for the last month would be appreciated

Fantastic experience: I recently visited Virgin Gym in Fulham, and I had such a positive experience. Daniel was very professional and gave me a thorough tour of the gym, explaining the membership options clearly. I also tried the reformers class, which was excellent! Tia at reception was so welcoming—she explained how to navigate the gym and made me feel at ease, especially since I was nervous about joining a new gym. Their professionalism and friendly service truly stand out. Great team and a great atmosphere!"

Fantastic experience: Swimming pool is massive. Everywhere is clean. Kind staff.

Fantastic experience: Update: Have seen a big difference in cleanliness since posting my review and appreciate being contacted by manager directly! Have updated to reflect! We come to this gym almost daily. The gym is perfectly functional, the staff, cafe are great - crèche is amazing! BUT the women’s toilets are absolutely filthy and the build up of dirt on them you can see they haven’t been cleaned in weeks. I feel grubby after using the showers here. There always seem to be someone cleaning the basins and changing room - but I’ve never seen them in the shower or toilets!

Fantastic experience: Thank you very much to Flora and Zohra for being extra kind, helpful and going an extra mile to make the birthday party very good while having a professional attitude. It wouldn’t have been the same without your help!

Negative experience: SCAMMERS I cancelled my membership at this gym in January. (I left England in January and came back in August) I wanted to register again but I found out that they had continued to charge me every month. I went to the gym in August and spoke to the gym manager and I told him that I had no problem receiving a membership for the months that they had charged me and he said that it was fine. I asked him to confirm everything by email and he said yes and I gave him my email. Since August I have not received any response and they have started charging me again. How would you feel? My experience

Negative experience: Arrived today at 6.20 because I had a swimming club at 6.40. I walked inside the reception area just to sit for 10' minutes before my club starts so I can avoid the cold. The guy who works there approached me and kicked me out telling me in a very rude way that they don't allow people here at that time. More specifically he asked me if I needed help and I said is it ok to wait here for five minutes until my club starts he said not really. We don't allow customers to enter at that time and he walked away.

Negative experience: An okay gym with way too many memberships sold. No chance of being able to do a weights workout on any evening given the amount of people

Negative experience: Faulty/broken equipment just gets left in limbo unmaintained. General hygiene is considerably worse than your average gym. Car parking gets used as a tip - which does wonders for punctures! Staff although polite are very limited in their abilities. Slightly weird you have to call head office for any queries or assistance.

Positive experience: Great gym! Friendly staff, good vibes. New equipment, well maintained. Great rewards programme.2x from me.

Fantastic experience: Very friendly and well run health club. And it really is a "club" - everyone is very sociable, especially during the classes when everyone encourages everyone else. The (free) classes are great, the real reason I love coming here: there is a a wide range including mat and reformer pilates, weights, cycling machines, tennis, yoga and swimming as well as nutrition, and they take place from early morning until the evening. The instructors are very professionals and provide lots of personal attention during the classes. Lovely warm pool with sauna and steamroom. Masses of cardio and weights machines. I really can't rate it highly enough.

Negative experience: If you are thinking about signing up for the gym to play tennis - think again. It’s ridiculously frustrating paying for facilities you cannot use. I try and book a court the second bookings open and they are always instantly fully booked. What is the point in advertising having tennis courts if the system does not seem to be fair. When asking staff about it they do not seem to care, nor are virgin willing to do anything about it.

Negative experience: Virgin Active Fulham pools feedback: 1. Family swim part of pool had 2 men, elderly gentleman was swimming slowly in one row, but second men was massive and aggressively swimming pushing me and kids off his way, in spite being in family swim lane! He wasn’t stopping on purpose to avoid being spoken to by lifeguard. Was very unsafe situation for me with kids.Finally female lifeguard stepped in and told him to move to appropriate lanes. Shortly after 2 women start swimming in family swim area, while elderly men kept swimming in slow lane merged with family so we had no space with kids and had to leave. On this occasion women were not told anything as male lifeguard was too busy chatting with another lifeguard from neighbouring council pool. 2. Small kids pool was closed, when we arrived because “no lifeguard on duty today” , so on Saturday you don’t have any lifeguard to put in kids pool ? French couple came with 2 kids and raised complaint too, resulting in lifeguards finally allocating 1 lifeguard to kids pool, so we were able to use it. What if French couple would not arrive and make fuss? Would we still be send off ?! Turns out small kids pool room gets hot and humid, so lifeguards avoid to work there. 3. Some woman, I assume member, grabbed my bag in changing room, when I saw it she dropped it to the side of seating area. I told her, but she was hiding face wrapped in towel and won’t talk. Was it a theft attempt or just another rough member of Virgin active is mystery to this day! 4. Cafe area female cashier in headscarf was speaking to fellow colleague (brunette with ponytail) bluntly ignoring I came to the till . Until I asked “are you closed ?” No one even looked at me! We ordered 2 wraps and protein shake plus kids juice so after spending £35 kids were still hungry. In David Lloyd’s for £35 I get an adult main hot food dish plus all kids get kids meal hot food plus juice pack plus icecream ! 5. After swimming and eating at your cafe we walked into kids play area and woman start yelling at us “what are you doing here ?”, after she calmed down and like dozen of questions back and forth I was informed your kids soft play area only open 9 am till 1pm, so from 1pm till closure you not allowing members to use it and it just stands empty? Make it make sense! To add to insult we were told we need to book in advance, so I asked let’s book next Saturday, your team member checked and said “it’s fully booked” ! So even a week in dance we can’t get in?! In david Lloyd’s all kids areas are open to use during club’’s opening times ! And to add to offence this kids area you operate is available to public, not members only, just pay stay in fee and you in! How safe is that ?At least in david Lloyds we know everyone’s ID was checked on entry so it’s safe for kids to play inside club, here in your kids sections kids are as safe as in public park!, which is not great for members! Receptionist said we have 14 days to make up the mind but I had enough for 1 day to get the gist what’s like to be a member of this club and we will pass on that. We won’t be back! Your fees are not far off David Lloyd’s , your food prices in cafe are way above theirs , while no hot food served! Towels&showers are smaller, shower had no shampoo/conditioner in , you press and hear noise instead of liquid . Changing rooms are full of rude aggressive people grabbing strangers things like that woman grabbing my bag!Very limited seating area near cafe so no down time for family members. Kids can’t use soft play area for majority of the day if ever.

Negative experience: It's never possible to sign up for tennis class there. Either coach signs ppl ahead and all slots are always occupied this way, or bots do the job, but whenever minute to minute I'm trying to book a slot when it gets released, it fails saying all booked instantly.

Negative experience: Showers are way to hot at Fulham pools it can burn your scalp when washing hair I had to use cold bottled water to wash my hair complained about this on lots of occasions and ignored.

Negative experience: Fulham pools at virgin active is unacceptable with the of kids pools. The notice display dies match the operation of this particular pool the manager must display correct information online & after the reception? Attention even the phone system is a joke , no answer ever I call. I have raise it but nothing wasn't done.. @

Negative experience: absolutely horrible rude staff and didn’t even let me and my aged 16 over friend

Negative experience: Horrible experience with pilate teacher Vanda Laming!!!! I hardly ever leave a bad review. I like to leave positive reviews and, if anything, positive feedback. So, I want to start by saying that I like the Virgin Active Fulham gym. The staff are very friendly and helpful, and overall, it is a good gym. I was a member at the Kensington Virgin Active before. However, I had the worst experience at the Pilates class with Vanda Laming. In fact, it was horrible. For the first 10 minutes, she was moaning about having six classes back-to-back. When I mentioned that I had done Pilates at the Kensington gym before, she wouldn't look at me for the entire class. I kept looking over to her to see if I was doing the movements correctly to avoid any injuries, but she just ignored me completely. I understand that instructors can have their favorites, but the next day, I pulled a muscle playing tennis, which has never happened to me before. I honestly believe it was because of the Pilates lesson with her the day before. She should understand that just because she doesn't like the look of someone, she shouldn't treat them differently. She is responsible for all the people in her class and their health and safety. Honestly, if I could go back and change something, I would not attend her class. I haven't been able to work out for almost a month now. Horrible experience!

Negative experience: The gym that could be the best in west London is losing its appeal. The equipment is great but the cleanliness levels are just appalling. Being it in the gym floor or the changing rooms, it’s just disgusting and requires an urgent intervention

Negative experience: Looking at most relevant reviews, I see that the review of false advertisement is absolutely valid!!!!! I walked to the gym yesterday also thinking the internet offer of 50 percent off would be a great deal for me and I would sign up for a year. The offer is valid until September and I should take advantage of. However, it was all just as the gentleman said, “false advertisement.” I asked to speak to the manager but was told that this was corporate issue and not the for the manager to resolve. They were rude and dismissive and made wait for almost 15 minutes and I was still not able to speak to anyone. One can only assume that the manager can communicate the issue to corporate but was again told to leave and “take it up” with corporate myself. Wow I’m glad this deal did not work out as I do not tolerate negative customer service.

Negative experience: 08/07/ 2024 Beware of false advertisement!!! Based on a friend being a member at this gym, I decided to possibly give it a try and look at memberships to join. One that caught my attention was one for £55 for twelve months until September therefore one must sign a contract before the end of September and lock in this sweet deal. However, here is the rub, Virgin active wants people to sign a contract for twelve months with a 50% discount of £55 for July, August and September then the membership is hiked up to a mark of £110 a month. Not indicated on their ad. False advertisement that Virgin active does not want to take responsibility for. Entice new member to join however they do not care about keeping those members long term. Oh and finally let’s not forget the £30 joining fee for paper work I fill in and hand it to someone behind the desk to take more money from me.

Fantastic experience: The Fulham Pools Virgin Active is the best in miles around. It has a weigh lifting area well prepared for calisthenics, boxing, crossfit and normal weigh lifting. It has two machines of each exercise so when it's rush hour it's easier to get a chance to train the group of muscles you were looking for. It has also a private pool for member, sauna and steam room. It has now reformer Pilates classes for 20 people that you can book through the App. It has Calisthenics classes, weight lifting fundamental classes, yoga, spinning, strength and conditioning, Hiit and water aerobics in the pool. They provide towels, Dgb hair dryer and strenghteners, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. It has tennis courts with guided classes and new refurbished magnificent restaurant area plus a caress where you can chill while your children are taking the classes or where you can leave your children while you are training. The atmosphere is filled up with good vibes so come and join it!!!

Positive experience: It’s great that you have a disabled lift at Virgin Active Fulham but keeping it locked means we have to ask a member of staff each time we need to use it. The staff are always helpful but when I am coming from the gym floor back down, they are rarely on hand as understandably, they are busy doing other things. I have seen the same model of lift in other local businesses (Eg. Daylesford Organic, Sloane Avenue) so I know it can be set to operate without a key. A member of your staff told me there is even a similar lift next door in Fulham Pools which is kept unlocked. Surely the idea of the lift is to make disabled people’s lives easier and to improve access. Your current policy erodes the independence of disabled people. Please consider this from a disabled person’s point of view: it’s inconvenient and if I’m honest, a little bit degrading having to rely on an able-bodied person for their help every time.

Negative experience: Average gym, however they employ a car parking company called MET parking services who will charge paying members, Virgin Active will do nothing to help paying members. Your £95/month membership will quickly become £195/month if you drive. Disgraceful way to treat paying members, AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Go to David Lloyd or Third Space, at least they are upfront with their higher costs.

Fantastic experience: I randomly came to check opening times and noted all the rubbish reviews. I guess if people want to complain, they will find a reason. Since moving back to the area, I recently rejoined and absolutely love the new refurbished gym floor, equipment and reformer pilates studio! For classless if you are on a waitlist there are high chances that you will get a spot. Lots of cardio equipment, free weight and functional training area

Positive experience: Good size swimming pool and friendly staff. The deep end is only 1.8 but a nice place to swim.

Negative experience: Used to be a great gym but their new royalty free "music" has killed the classes for me. Such a shame as I've been a member for almost ten years. I bet a lot of the good trainers will leave too.

Positive experience: My home virgin active gym is Canary Wharf riverside so review based on comparing the two. Receptionists weren’t friendly and seemed like the guy did not want to even speak when I was asking about guest passes. That was my initial impression, not very helpful. The gym does provide free parking which is a bonus. The swim pool next door only charges £3.30 for very similar swim facilities, given day pass here is £20 and the steam sauna rooms aren’t great. They don’t provide bath robes or a hydrapool. The positives are that there’s a decent gym floor, not over crowded (but I came on a Sunday). Lots of equipment. The changing rooms are also spacious, unlike the Canary Wharf gym. Anyways I wouldn’t come back as there are better virgin active branches.

Negative experience: Too busy to get on the equipment after 5pm, reformer Pilates are always fully booked and you have to set an actual phone alarm reminder to remind yourself to book and get one, nobody ever answers the phone so it’s impossible to speak to anyone, sauna and steam room aren’t hot enough, no free swimming area in the pool, other classes also run out really quick, customer service is poor. don’t bother!! Virgin gym hang your head IN SHAME! I’m so glad I didn’t commit for 12 months - will be going to David Lloyd!!!

Fantastic experience: I’ve waited to experience the gym for a few weeks before giving my feedback. It’s a really good one and I particularly enjoy the group sessions - reformer Pilates and yoga. Once in a while I use their cardio machines. So far my experience has been great and I would recommend this gym anyone in the Fulham and Hammersmith area.

Negative experience: I got very sick from swimming in these pools after just 2 swimming sessions. Having done tests with the doctors, they discovered it was human faeces related. Severe sickness lasted a few weeks and I was bed (bathroom) bound and signed off work. For the following 11 months I had bad gut problems and was unable to exercise. Virgin then continued to charge me despite my request to cancel my membership. My doctor recommended I should not use this pool, I would agree.

Negative experience: Feeling of a unkempt public bath, tiny steam room that is shared and smells dirty, watered out shampoo or definitely not Molton Brown as is used elsewhere in London, not hot water in sinks so forget about shaving after a sauna.. Cold changing rooms and only tiny towels handed out by reception.. I could go on but I left after 35, check out Mayfair or Riverside Canary W. branch for comparison and you probably never return here ;)

Positive experience: Nice gym overall but disappointed with new reduced hours. For the price I pay it would make me consider going back to puregym with longer hours for half the subscription price.

Negative experience: This is a review of the Fulham Pools, located in the same building. Decent pool in general, but extremely unreliable re. random closings due to various "gala" events. They don't announce these in advance (a paper sign at reception a couple of days earlier is not an announcement), so unless you go there multiple times a week, there is a chance you show up and the pool will be closed. They should have a mailing list to announce these, or at least a website that they would keep updated – but they have neither. Otherwise, it is a friendly place to swim, and usually not too crowded.

Positive experience: It is a nice place to go for sports in general. Lots of machines for running or cycling, big spaces, big swimming pool as well outdoors tennis club. They also offer many courses but it can be challenging at times to register as when courses "open" people race to register. Changing rooms are decent with different ones for family, men and women. Lockers are a bit small (particularly in winter times) but work as expected. There is a small cafeteria where you can rest, watch TV or play snooker. The food is not amazing but it is a gym after all, not a restaurant. Car park is available and free to members. They offer small discounts for members if you opt for specific lessons (tennis etc...). It is not cheap but not as expensive as other gyms. For me it is a good place to practice sports in general.

Positive experience: Generally good but a few points below that really need exploring to make it a better experience for members... 1) The tennis court system is dreadful - if you're thinking of signing up for this - DON'T. The second the courts are released, they are booked. This is fine, if people were always using them... The reality is they are always fully booked yet often empty. There really needs to be firm penalisation for those who no-show and this needs to be enforced. Even beyond the no-shows, the cancellation period for classes (haven't seen for the courts but imagine it is the same!) is far too generous. I get stuff happens but cancelling last minute makes it really difficult for anyone else to jump on and the current rules allow people to go relatively unpunished for repeatedly taking a court booking / class spot from others. It hugely takes away from what could be a great feature of the facility. 2) The decision to remove the free tea and coffee during the renovation is a joke. A receptionist told me that it was costing £1000 per week and that people were making a mess. That cost seems way off but still, you're a premium club yet leaving paying members with no opportunity to have tea or coffee (even paid?), given the club fee, this shouldn't be an issue. If it's a mess - give people a chance before taking away. Put a sign explaining it will be revoked if people don't adhere to keeping the place clean. No one could argue without that. Removing based on this and for financial reasons is a kick in the teeth... 3) The sauna has heated up recently but, given how popular it is, is often cold due to people jumping in and out. Although this is unpreventable, it'd make sense to have a sensibly weighed door to close it automatically. People often leave it open for 10/15 seconds a time and it makes the sauna somewhat redundant. I've seen reviews below responded to in a very professional manner - but the reality is nothing is done about this stuff for the most part, it's just a token response. The tennis court system in particular needs sorting ASAP and it'd be fair to reinstate tea and coffee.

Negative experience: Treated very poorly in fact the manager she was downright rude on many occasions..some staff are lovely but too many of them are not ..they really need to put their staff through a proper training program to teach them how to deal with people ..many people feel this way it's disgusting you pay for a service & get a tiny blonde dictator & her minions talking down to you over the most minor issues ..will finish my contract & leave .

Fantastic experience: Good sports centre, though sometimes not the cleanest. Seems that different workers care differently about their workplace

Negative experience: Sadly, even though the "app" says lowish percentage of usage between 6:30-8:30pm weeknights, you cannot put a pin in the place, so I cancelled my membership. I am sure there will be those who don't care and I hope they benefit from my not being there.

Positive experience: Been enjoying going here. I would suggest if possible can the VA team clean out the lockers in the men's changing room each night. They do that in the gyms in South Africa. As the inside of the lockers are really not in the best shape and I think they could do with a general wipe clean each day. Thanks so much.

Negative experience: Very disappointed in the club’s decision to remove cardio classes to prioritize machines without requesting any prior input from members and despite internal petitions not to do so. I would no longer recommend this club that offers very little variety in their options and now so few classes that it has become increasingly challenging to get in. Furthermore, dressing rooms/lockers are often dirty and “tired”. With recent membership prices increase, really no longer worth the investment.

Negative experience: Was a member here for a couple of years ending 2022. One of the worst gyms I’ve been to. First the condition of the machines and equipment is laughable, all on their way out, broken or very near to it, you can clearly see they haven’t replaced any of their equipment in a long time, machines wouldn’t be available because they had finally broke and surprise they still didn’t replace them and yet you’re paying at least a 50 plus monthly membership (depending on what plan you can go on), I paid 84 before I left which was a basic scheme that allowed me to go at all hours the gym was open, nothing special but cost me a small fortune. They also lock you into a contract, you can’t leave until a year. Would not recommend if you are into your weightlifting, it’s not worth the aggravation you get from other casual gym goers who don’t know what a rest period is, especially the yummy mummy’s who are just rude and looking to pick a fight. Dont know what they put in the water there but the gym is just full of people wanting to argue, totally bizarre. Been to 4 other gyms and this has never been the case. Don’t believe me, sign up at your own peril. Secondly, one of the trainers at the gym is extremely rude and unprofessional, a number of incidents where without asking would get a client onto a machine you’re using and get aggressive at you if you reminded him you were on it first or get sarcastic. Manager Daniel Forster is incompetent and rude, had an incident where an older woman jumped over me to get on a machine I was using and he handled it badly. Allowed the woman to continue using the machine even though reception staff told myself and Daniel that the lady was known to them for her behaviour. Made a complaint which was never responded to by him. Looked like he knew the woman personally and did her a favour. Then finally they would allow druggies/drunks to loiter at reception who would shout at you and generally harass you as you come in and out. Reception staff were the only good thing about it, never had a rude experience, always pleasant and helpful. I would recommend going to any gym other than this. There are new gyms that have opened that are 5-10 mins away at a fraction of the price and with new equipment. Jetts gym for example cost me 35 a month, the trainers and fellow gym goers are great and the equipment is totally new. Don’t waste your money on this hell hole.

Negative experience: I was happy to join virgin 1 year ago but due to a back injury I had to abstain from working out for a few months, only to learn that Virgin have completely removed all the classes that I enjoyed. Boxing, strength and conditioning, hiit, body pump, Zumba and have replaced each and every class with reformer Pilates, whatever that is! Plain and simple virgin, you don’t want to pay your instructors so you have decided to pull the plug. This is not customer satisfaction at all and for that reason I have decided to leave. Interesting that some of the old classes are at Wimbledon but guess what! Since the refurbishment there they have almost doubled the price! So it’s a goodbye from me!

Fantastic experience: Love this gym! Especially the classes with Dean and Alice - they are the best ✨

Negative experience: From last month i have been receiving PCN from car park which is really not great and it used to have virgin membership free but not they start steeling people money in other way which is really disgusting way of thinking. i hope that they remove these PCN otherwise I will cancel my membership with this dirty and unhygienic place.

Positive experience: I hated the way they ended all fitness classes as body bump. Body bump was always fully booked and they decided to end it out of the blue. They are trying to convince everybody to start pilates. We dont care about pilates!!!!! We want body pump classes... strength classes!!! If you are paying this gym, you will now have only pilates and yoga classes... this is a joke!!

Negative experience: Terrible place. Main issue is the staff. Rude, always aggressive and doing everything to make so difficult till you hate coming to this gym. Been a member for couple of years just cos there is nothing else with a pool around but couldn't take it anymore. Try anything else but this place, waste of time and money, and very bad atmosphere overall specially if you have kids.

Negative experience: If you want to use weights and build muscle, do not come here (go to TheGym) round the corner. The machines are old and there are not enough benches or dumbbells. It is definitely more a yummy mummy kinda gym, but it does offer a variety of activities. The reception staff are a moody bunch but if you can look past that then it’s a decent spot, although very overpriced.

Positive experience: Been a member for a while now. The club is nice although the gym is dirty and the locker room is tired. Also one should be careful of thieves and don't leave anything there even with a padlock. Last, the sauna is really small and not particularly hot, probably they are saving on energy there. Overall, a mixed bag to be honest

Negative experience: After the revamp, things are much worse with many machines missing !! Looking for new gym now

Negative experience: Fulham public swimming pools. Pool is ok for a public facility. Changing rooms are not the cleanest. Avoid the Swimschool. Classes often cancelled / teacher replaced meaning small children don't get critical continuity. When complaint was raised it was met with absolute unapologetic engagement from management. Update: Adjusting down to 1 star - management response to proof of change of address and email requests in March to stop the 12 month contact in August resulted in still being charged for September with "no reversal possible" This is the prime example of the vilified trope of gym memberships in cartoons.

Positive experience: Decent gym but did get quite busy after a while (Sunday approx 9am) and I couldn't use all the equipment I wanted to.

Negative experience: I do not recommend this club if you are looking for a family club. Virgin Active Fulham Pools positions themselves as a family club where you can leave kids in the V Club whilst you can go and exercise. This is unfortunately not true. It’s almost impossible to book V Club - they never pick up the phone and never reply to your emails sent and nobody can explain why. When you question this with management (spoke with Dani and Misha today), they just say they are not responsible (management of the club is not responsible - very interesting) and suggest to speak to non-existent Kimberley. This has happened on numerous occasions during the last 2-3 months resulting in us for paying for gym memberships whilst we cannot use them (if the kids cannot be left in V Club, I cannot use my membership to exercise as well). I submitted complaints on a few occasions and never got contacted back by Misha (despite he promised a follow up) or “Kimberley” or anyone else suggesting a resolution. I strongly suggest you look elsewhere as this club is not a family friendly place. It’s also impossible to cancel your membership once you signed up (check other reviews), so be super careful. Not to mention very dated facilities (scratched my arm badly in the changing room) and unhygienic environment (infestation of water taps). Lots of apparatus is “taking a break”, an indefinite break as out of order for months.. Kind regards, Chris

Negative experience: Hey Swimmers! If you are keen to do some swimming training, Fulham Virgin is not for you! No swimming pool timetable is available for customers. Any type of activity will take priority and they will block lanes, even if this is for one to one classes. Pool activities are constantly changing, making any swimming training almost impossible. The public pool activities will also take priority over you as a Virgin member. Customer services are completely unresponsive and indifferent to the issue. Disappointing to say the least! Find a better pool and stay away from this one!

Negative experience: It's just unbelievable when you try to cancel your membership and go to the gym, talk with a member of staff and their answer is.... "do it via the App" How ridiculous, impersonal and unfriendly this is! This just happened at Virgin Active Fulham Pools at 12:30.

Negative experience: Do not join the Rolling monthly commitment, it is a scam and impossible to cancel your membership. I'm deeply disappointed with my brief experience at Virgin Active Gym, Fulham. I joined on a monthly rolling option in July and quickly realized the gym was not suited for me - largely due to the insufficient equipment available for the volume of members. My issues don't stop there. When I attempted to cancel my membership, I was directed to contact the membership department via phone. Despite the claimed average wait time of 2 minutes, I made numerous calls, each lasting over an hour in wait time, without success. Left with no choice, I cancelled my direct debit to avoid further charges for a service I no longer wished to use. Now, to add insult to injury, I've been informed of an "outstanding balance" on my account. If not settled, they threaten to forward my details to ARC Europe Ltd with an added £50 administration fee. This is simply unacceptable, given that it is impossible to cancel your membership on the scam number they provide you with. I expected more from a brand like Virgin Active. My advice? Think twice before joining Virgin Active Fulham.

Negative experience: Price is insanely high, its also pretty busy so hard to ever use the weights you want. I always have to go for the last hour (closed at 10pm) because its the least busy time and still cant always use the free weights I would want during that time. The pool is only useable when its not busy which again is very rare. The place is fairly clean, but would expect better for the price and none of the weights are put back properly which is just annoying. Short opening window for a gym that is this busy being from 6:30am to 10:00pm, sometimes shorter. On leaving after paying constantly for years this such insane price for very medico at best, my leaving experience was made worse, having to pay already for a month I wont be there due to their cancelation policy, then being chased afterwards for an outstanding few pounds from their debt collection. Very disappointed in the lack of customer service after having to pay so much, brought this down further to a 1 star cannot recommend. If the gym was cheaper like £35 - 50, I would understand, but its not even 24/7 and charges around £90 mark. I would not recommend and already enjoying myself at a much better gym for less than half the price.

Negative experience: Only a good gym if you want to use the pool or do cardio or play tennis, none of which I use. For weights, it's really lacking and just not worth it for the high price tag. Literally only ONE bench press. I once had to wait 40 minutes for a group of guys to get off the bench press before I could even start my workout. When equipment breaks down they take forever to fix it when there already is not enough as it is. Really expected better at this price. In addition I've seen an alarming number of teenagers using equipment with such poor technique that it's painful to watch because they are going to injure themselves. PTs are walking around but do nothing about it to help a member prevent injuries. I used to pay a mere £25 at The Gym around the corner on North Road and PTs would stop people and help them when they saw this kind of thing regardless of if they're a personal client or not. It's pretty absurd that a gym that charges as much as it does is providing such a worse service than a £25 per month gym that I could access 24 hours instead of the frustrating limited hours at Virgin, particularly on weekends. I really regret moving over to Virgin thinking I was treating myself to an upgrade when all I've done is damage to my bank account for no additional value.

Positive experience: We use the pool which is a generous 25 metres with 7 swimming lanes. We go in the afternoon when not too busy and generally you can have a lane to yourself. A clean sauna and steam room are poolside. The changing area is fine. A mix of clientele, some friendly some definitely not. The only problem is the locker maintenance. Many lockers are without hangers or hanger hooks or have broken coat hooks. You need to be attentive before selecting a locker that it can be locked and has the requisite fittings. This is a weakness of many Virgin Active clubs. An on site handyman checking out the facilities constantly would sort this easily.

Negative experience: This ridiculous ! I cannot book tennis court! I tried whole month and nothing! I spoke with admin and they don’t know nothing! For what I paid 67£? I wanna play tennis!! Some people here take advantage on , THIS NOT FAIR!

Negative experience: The disability bathroom of the virgin active has been broken for a week. I spoke with both the reception and manager on site and I was simply told to take a shower in the other non disabled shower. I explained we couldn't and their response was well there is nothing we can do. I want to remind you that it is both discriminatory, unacceptable and a breach of the Equality Act 2010 to not fix your disabled bathroom and not have alternatives for your clients who pay to access your gym. If the bathroom is not fixed by next week I will not be coming back to Virgin and I will expect a full refund of my membership.

Negative experience: I was very embarrassed to known while visiting the gym that below 25 year old is cheaper , up to 35 another price and more you get older higher the subscription. No thank you

Negative experience: Don’t join, impossible to cancel membership once you are locked in! I have tried to cancel my membership many times due to a personal medical problem. They REFUSE to answer the phone, I try to call numerous days a week waiting up to half an hour at a time, no answer. I call Virgin Headquarters. They advise me to send an email. I send an email, no response despite repeatedly following up! It is theft at this point as I am desperately trying to end my membership from this gym.

Negative experience: Starting to get very busy with the closures of nearby Virgin gyms, if the situation doesn’t improve soon, or prices aren't dropped to reflect the inability to adequately utilise the facilities, I will not be renewing my membership. Further, it seems cleanliness standards have slipped. My wife refuses to use the club showers and toilets due to dirtiness and mould. Such a shame as this used to be such a fantastic place. Please put the focus back on where it should be - the members.

Fantastic experience: Clean club and friend staff. Been to many health clubs over there years and really enjoyed my visit to Virgin Active Fulham. Well spaced out gym with several training zones and lots of natural day light. Changing rooms and wet facilities were clean and well maintained. High recommend and will be using frequently.

Fantastic experience: I have been a member of the gym for nearly a year and decided to utilise PT session which I took with Nauris. He showed me great exercises to my request. He was knowledgeable and explained after each exercise the benefits of it and how to do it in a proper way. Overall I had very positive session.

Negative experience: Genuinely don’t believe there is anyone sitting in reception. They never answer the phone. Have sent 5 emails with zero response. Lack of management is the core issue.

Fantastic experience: Spacious with plenty of equipment. Fairly priced. Been enjoying my PT sessions with Nauris. Would recommend!

Negative experience: As a member of this gym, I was joined by hoping to utilize the pool, yoga areas etc. however, my overall experience has left me with a 1/5 rating. While the facility does have yoga mats and accessories available, they are unfortunately locked in a room and require supervision to access. I was also advised to bring my own mat, or use fitness mats around the gym. However, these mats do not stick well to the floor and are often in short supply. This begs the question, why am I paying for a gym if I'm not able to use a yoga mat? It's also disappointing to see such an important gym accessory locked away, when other gyms I'm a member of have them readily available for use. Additionally, the cleanliness of the showers during especially in busy hours leaves something to be desired. While I understand that maintaining a clean facility during peak hours can be challenging, I would appreciate more attention to detail in this area. Furthermore, I would like to add that the sauna area is consistently dirty, which is not only unpleasant but also poses potential health risks to members. I urge the gym to prioritize the cleanliness of all areas, including the sauna, to ensure the safety and satisfaction of its members. With these improvements, I am confident that the gym can reach its full potential and provide a positive experience for all who use it. Note: They didn’t call me as they claimed to be so I cancelled my membership because I lost my hope.

Negative experience: I accompanied my 7-year-old son for his swimming class, a certain Elionor told me that I am not allowed to enter with my son?? my husband and my son his member in the club and I stopped my subscription because I gave birth? and my access must be from outside and not from inside the club and she told me that she will block my son's subscription if I go back with him I think it's unacceptable that people like she works there down it's shameful

Fantastic experience: I had the best PT session with Nauris today. He made me feel comfortable and knew exactly what I wanted to do. He was super motivating and would definitely recommend him!

Fantastic experience: Fantastic gym! Also Nauris was great! Explained and showed me all the exercises and how to execute them properly! Definitely recommend.

Fantastic experience: Nauris is very kind helpful make my training easy I feel much better I don't need to worry about what to do next have been great thank you so much Nauris I am happy happy

Fantastic experience: Nauris was a fantastic pt trainer he really pushed me to my limits to achieve my goals

Fantastic experience: Just joined Virgin Active a Fulham Pools. Thoroughly enjoying it. Really at the begging stage of going to the gym and training on the floor. Got an introductory PT session with joining. My PT was Nauris Tisanchins he was really good at making me feel at ease on the floor (which can be intimidating). We got to work on what I feel comfortable and showed me the ropes on how all the machines work etc. I feel so much more at ease and ready to tackle it on my own. I have signed up to more PT sessions to help on the journey but very excited to go back.

Fantastic experience: I had a personal training session with Nauris Tisancins and found him to be really helpful. He was particularly good at pushing me while also focusing on good posture and form. I will be seeing him weekly for another month before I head back to LA.

Fantastic experience: Amazing gym, near home and friendly people. I've been welcomed from the first day by all the members of staff, including Nauris, my PT which I already had a few sessions with and I already can say that is one of the best PT I ever had.

Fantastic experience: Nice gym with lots of space and equipment. Highly recommend PT Nauris who gave me a great training session that suited my goals!

Fantastic experience: Love this Gym all trainers are super friendly and make you feel at ease straight away. The exercises are catered to your individual abilities specifically my PT Nauris Tisancins

Negative experience: I have reported many times that the pool It’s not clean at all . Lots of people are not wearing the swimming cap so all the hair goes in the water . The floor of the pool is all full of dirtiness which you can not see from the outside but only when you swim . It’s clear that the filter don’t work properly. Also the level of sauna and steamer room , it’s not the best . I will cancell my membership very soon because of this .

Negative experience: I am the mother of a 2 year old toddler that is currently enrolled in the Saturday morning 10am class. Over the past few weeks we have noticed that the water has been very cold, too cold for a toddler to spend 20-30 mins in it. We have raised our concern with the virgin reception, Fulham pool, Fulham swim school to no avail. No one could advise on when the water temperature will return to normal. Virgin also refuses to change her class such that it takes place in the smaller pool instead of the large pool.

Negative experience: I would've given them ZERO stars if I could!!! Worst customer service ever!!! Sent them 8 different emails to inquire about the swimming classes but no one cared enough to reply.. went to the centre but couldn't get any answer! What would anyone should do to know about the swimming classes in their centre?!?!? They are just so careless !!

Negative experience: Swimming pool full of childrens, playing, shouting, running, toys thrown into other lanes, in the summer there was people eating sandwiches on the loungers. No discipline. Chaos! Oh and no point calling to complain, they don't pick up. If you call, press "I want to join", THEN they pick up!

Negative experience: Locker robbed on Christmas Day and 6 weeks later still waiting for a simple response of the club’s manager to my message about the robbery Also, just this morning 3 first bikes I wanted to use were not functioning. A place on the fast track to mediocrity. (And minutes after writing the above another example of the state of this place … see photo of handles of gym machines falling appart) (addition after VIrgin's answer to my first post: 1) No you did not report the theft to the police, because I did. 2) No you did not send the cctv footage to the police because you wrote to me that you are waiting to for the police to come and look at it. 3) Since the theft on x mas day I am still waiting for a courtesy mail from your general manager 4) No you did not repair the bikes as one week later the very same bikes had the very same issues. )

Negative experience: I recently had an extremely upsetting experience at Virgin Active Gym Fulham Pools. I was working out in the group fitness room with my partner when no classes were scheduled. Part way through our workout, a man walked in with a group of children. I queried with him whether there was a class as nothing was showing in the Virgin Active timetable. He said that he would run downstairs to let reception know. Given the children required the room to workout, my partner and I packed up our workout gear to finish off our workout outside. As the man came back upstairs, he started shouting at me for wasting his time to go to reception and kept shouting and hurling language at me (even though I was the one doing him the favour given no class had been scheduled). I was very shaken as a gym should be a safe space for everyone, including women, and went downstairs to let reception know what had occurred. The reception staff did nothing and simply told me that I would have to write an email to the manager. So apparently staff using the gym facilities can verbally abuse members and absolutely nothing will be done at the time it occurs. I was told after the fact that the man was actually employed by BROMPTON SWIMMING CLUB (who I understand have a contract with Virgin Active Fulham Pools Gym) and should never have been using the group fitness room. I have never received any apology from Brompton Swimming Club (despite asking Virgin Active to pass on my complaint) and I urge all parents to reconsider sending their children here. Not only did this man shout verbal abuse at me, he also said to the children when they first entered the fitness room "like I told you before, anyone who is late to class is a LOSER". So this man finds it appropriate to verbally abuse women in the gym and also finds it appropriate to speak to children in a demeaning manner. Some other issues with the gym - a very late opening time of 6.30am which means working out before work is very difficult as the weight section is absolutely heaving with people and often impossible to get machines, moisturiser dispensers in change rooms do not work, items being stolen from lockers, undertrained staff including life guards at the pool who allow men to constantly go between the sauna and pool without having first rinsed off (it’s extremely disgusting).

Negative experience: Terrible experience at the club incompetence of doing the right thing for the users of the club still not surprised looking at the new comments about virgin active.

Negative experience: Worst possible gym to have around your neighbourhood… rude stuff with very few exceptions, classes from people who are not working for the gym and that are not on the gym schedule with abusive verbal behaviour, and of course, people missing personal stuff from their lockers… Management has lost every control of this place, wild wild west 29/01/2023 - Guy comes into studio one with a group of kids. There is no class on schedule (app or else), asks us to leave in tone as his class is taking place, and when we start packing our stuff, so as not to make a scene as he had children with him, he replied very abusive and shouted on my girl that asked him if the class is on schedule, shouting “get out of here”. Of course management absent, we reported at reception but they did nothing. The guy was some sort of swimming instructor who was swearing to the children like they were in the army or something. Virgin PR please do not reply “thank you for your feedback”. This is pure hypocrisy. A similar story is listed below from 2 months ago (Naina’s review). I sure hope it is not the same person.

Fantastic experience: Great gym fantastic staff all very welcoming great classes,nice café very kind manager there.Clean changing rooms.Friendly atmosphere.

Positive experience: Nice pool, Steam Room and Sauna are , locker rooms are super.. People are ok, yet opening hours could be expanded a bit and the pool should be deeper/wider to allow better training.

Fantastic experience: It’s one of the best places I have been for the Last 10 years. Outstanding clean and nice friendly staff.

Negative experience: In theory they have good facilities but unfortunately they are not able to keep them open for customers to use during claimed opening hours. You only find out when you turn up whether they will be available for use or not. High price for unreliable service. Couldn't recommend.

Negative experience: I have had the worst experience 11/10/22 ( Tuesday) normal school session with my son. My son who is diagnosed with ASD has attended 3 sessions already with this being his last. The swimming instructor small man who usually teaches young school aged children on rotation with schools. Already knowing my son is on the spectrum with needs he forcefully dunked his head under water without my permission or my child's, not that my son has full understanding of giving consent, upon coming up my son screamed, wanting to get out, the instructor held onto his arms keeping h stationary, whilst my son was screaming mum, no, I don't want to, The instructor still by force was preventing him to leave. He proceeded to state that my son was acting like a three year old. My son is 8 with needs I stated this multiple times, yet the instructor was ignorant and very rude. My son's school and police have been informed. The staff do not want to hand his name over and are avoiding cooperation. An investigation will take place, I strongly urge you to know all about your children's instructors and be present when in the presence of this particular instructor or any as they are arrogant, rude, and very careless, safety is an issue too. I am absolutely ashamed and shocked with the standard of service especially for SEN children.

Positive experience: It’s a great place. The boxing area could be bigger, but it’s pretty affordable as well as always clean. But when you signup you get 2 guests places which run out in 3 months… very annoying.

Negative experience: Poor management, communication and service and they don't care as long as you pay your monthly subcription, take up a personal trainer and pay your monthly fee. Once they receive payment, you are not important to them. They say sorry without meaning it. Teachers leave and are not replaced in quick time. Attendees of the class are not informed of the changes etc. Additionally, Jonny Glass, (Head of Customer Service) is the worst. The impression I have of him is that he does not not know his job and he is unprofessional /ridiculous in his reaoning. He doesn't even know how to investigate issues thoroughly. He blames things on the wrong people and expects to get away with it. He is irrational and illogical. Not impressive for some in his role. Virgin Active - Fulham Pools is not worth the money and you will be disappointed with the service, the team at the club and the customer service team's lack prossionalism, IQ and EQ. Their proceses, complaints procedure, Jonny Glass and the Management of the club are awful and out of whac. In relation to Jonny Glass (Head of Customer Service), I can say based on my own experience that there are no facts or reasoning or logic to support his decisions. Their management skills replicate that of a novice and reminds me of entry level candidates/applicants. As a professional my self I'm totally unimpressed and disgusted by my experience with Jonny Glass and the club. I am totally shocked at how things are run as well as what I experience hence my decisionnever to return to the club all together. I made a decision to cancel my membership with imefiate effect following my encounter with Jonny Glass. Please avoid this gym at all cost especially if you are a professional. You will not be valued and you will ser and experience unprofessional to a level you've never experienced. They will take your money even if they were the once who offended you profusely hence your decision not to return to then. Note: If I were to attach correspondence between Jonny Glass and me you would be shocked at their customer service procedure and conduct as well as how the club is managed appallingly. Worst Virgin Gym of 2022. Avoid Virgin Atlantic- Fulham Pools at al cost.

Negative experience: We still have no drinking water dispenser in ladies changing room. 9 months after it broke. Sign on it says : cant get part, but my builder says: PARTS READY AVAILABLE. please virgin get it fixed. Stop the excuses. Thanks. Usually very good, but today, rude and unhelpful. Shut the pool as they didnt have enough life guard staff for the two pools, as communal pool also owned by Virgin too, so had to go to communal pool, where there were two life guards, who stood together talking, paying no attention to overcrowded pool. Lost a toenail as someone pushed me into barrier, got kicked a couple of times too. Not impressed. We pay for private pool, they are making money by making us go into overcrowded communal pool, as people are allowed in as they pay as you go, and we pay direct debit every month. So Virgin Active making excess money. No signs up at desk on entry, or staff telling you pool closed, no sms, text, email sent to members. Got filthy look from young member of staff when i asked why there were no staff. No manners at all