Nuffield Health Newbury Fitness & Wellbeing Gym

Had an enjoyable time with the gym for the six months I was a member. However, upon trying to pause my membership, as a student membership allows, I was told to send an email to the membership team. My email was ignored and as the cancellation only begins upon receipt of a confirmation email, I had to pay membership for the time I was away at university in the North East as I couldn't be present in person. Upon returning, the club said they could only let me fix the situation upon paying for the months I wasn't there to 'unlock the account'. Once I had done this the staff ignored me and threatened to call security if I didn't leave. Day after I speak to a different member of staff. The situation was resolved after speaking to another member of staff the day after, they were extremely understanding, it's a shame the staff are so hit and miss.

Myself and my partner were members of the gym for the last year. It started well but unfortunately went downhill for us. We were going a good amount, 4-5 times per week and mainly using the gym and pool. The gym staff were pretty friendly as well as the front desk team. However, maintenance issues started to become an issue - broken showers which only produced dangerously hot water, broken sauna with slats loose and exposed screws, the hot tub regularly out of action, the list was long. We were assured these would get fixed but months on and nothing really changed. This isn't the cheapest gym and these were basic maintenance issues which I doubt a health and safety assessor would let slip. It wasn't so much the issues as the false promises and poor communication. We then decided we'd try another gym a bit closer to home and were frankly fed up with these maintenance issues as well as what seemed to be an increasingly over-subscribed gym. The turnover of clients and staff appears to be huge which is always a worrying sign. We handed in our notice only to be told that we'd missed the small print deadline by 5 days so were forced to continue paying for another 2 months. We haven't used the gym for the last month as, when we wrote to ask if they'd waive the last month given all of the problems we'd experienced, we received no communication back. Nothing. We spent the time writing a polite letter and got zero response. This is a poorly managed gym and I wouldn't recommend paying for it in the current state and with the current management. A real shame, we wanted it to work out for us.

If you're a squash player, this place is shockingly bad. Courts are poorly maintained despite repeated requests from members to make repairs and keep them clean. They're happy to take your money, but not willing to provide a decent service.

Avoid! For unethical business practise. They sign you up with the impression that you can give 1 month notice, casually slipping in the word "calendar". What they don't tell you is that word "calendar" somehow gives them the right to charge you 2 months notice period if you give your notice the day of your payment or a day later. When you try to give notice at the desk they conveniently don't have the forms, as if trying to nudge you over that day. I complained about this the guy on the phone said 1 month should be OK since it was so close. But of course then they start sending threats when you cancel your direct debit and pass your details onto debt collectors. Disgusting!! Before anyone posts the stock reply about terms and conditions being provided: hiding this practise behind confusing legal jargon does not make it any more ethical.

When I joined I explained that I wanted an option to suspend my membership through the summer, they suggested a month by month contract which costs a bit more so I could do that. When I went in to suspend my membership yesterday they told me I couldn’t and would have to cancel and rejoin with a joining fee. Inconsistent and frustrating. The gym is ok, reasonable facilities and not too busy. On the downside they seem to have a lot of issues with facilities that take a long time to get fixed.