Applemore Health & Leisure Centre

A lot of the reviews here point towards the negatives, but without considering the whole picture. As a not for profit company with links to the local authority, this is one of the best 'budget' gyms I have been too. The monthly membership is very reasonably priced, to suggest otherwise considering all the facilities and classes you can access is absurd. What price health and longevity of life anyway? The gym is large and well stocked, there are occasions where frequent use and heavy footfall means certain machines can sometimes be found out of order or waiting repair. There is usually an alternative option though, and the gym has more than enough machines and free weights to ensure this. I take my son to soft play at times, I read a review that the tables were left uncleaned at times, half eaten food left sitting on the tops, and the staff should do more. I have never found this a problem, except sometimes at busy times when it does take a while to be tidied up, which is consistent with a non profit gym that can not afford to employ an abundance of staff, they are often stretched and do a great job. Here's a novel idea - why don't people actually use those large plastic things that are found in the play area? What are they called again? *checks notes*. Oh, thats right, A BIN! If people were more considerate half the so called issues would not be an issue. It's not a £200 a week exclusive health club, where you get given a clean folded towel and complimentary green smoothies after your workout. It's a community leisure centre. Yes, it can be a little rough around the edges, and yes this means sometimes things take longer to resolve than private gyms. But the trade off is superb value for money, good staff, an abundance of facilities to use, and a great sense of community. (FWIW - the gym has more kit and is larger in size than several of the more so called 'exclusive' gyms you can find).

I have to say I love going to the gym, it's a great gym but the downfall with my membership is the steam and sauna. The fact that it only gets cleaned once a week is beyond me. I went in the other day and it really didn't smell that nice. These rooms should be cleaned every day and a fresh smelling scent in the steam room for freshness. They are lovely rooms and look better after being refurbished. Changing rooms needs some TLC too.

Premium Middle Age Gym (premium because they have electricity). I don't even know where to start... The £44 membership is very, very expensive for what you get for this amount. Locker room, half of the lockers are out of order and the vast majority of the remaining ones are not working. Changing area is filthy and disgusting, they should probably hire a cleaner. The gym is small, a lot of the equipment available is out of order and the rest of it is in very poor condition. Don't even think of dropping your towel on the floor because you will have to throw it in the bin after that. This gym needs major investment and proper management, in its current condition, it won't survive for too long. The customers they have are most likely forced to stay with them because they have no other options in the area, not because they enjoy it. Very disappointed and if you don't believe me, please go and have a look for yourself. December 2023 update It is getting better, this time I would like to give them 5 stars for the gym, but they still have only one star for changing rooms, therefore to meet somewhere in the middle, I will give them only 3 stars for the moment, but I promise to change to five stars, 1 extra for the changing rooms and one for a better value gym membership for those interested only for gym. Anyway we do appreciate the new improvements and good luck with the other issues.

After the refurbishment, I had hoped the gym and its facilities would improve, but unfortunately, things seem to have gone downhill. I joined two months ago, and the leg extension machine is taped up instead of being properly repaired or replaced. This feels unsafe and disappointing, especially given the high membership fees we pay. The downstairs water fountain has been out of order for months, which is inconvenient, and the sauna has also been out of action again. Overall, the gym has potential, but the ongoing maintenance issues really let it down and makes me reconsider the membership.

Used to regularly use the soft play, but it’s honestly really grubby. It just needs a good deep clean and a regular cleaning schedule. We sent an email three weeks ago but have had no response. Please let me know when it’s been cleaned and we will come back.