Cannons, Bromley, London

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Good
Is it part of a chain?	yes
Service	Excellent
Cleanliness	good

Advantages:	Plenty of equipment Clean Friendly service
Disadvantages:	Not cheap

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I first joined this club in early 2000. It was recommended to me by a colleague as he and his wife had been members of it and it's former carnation, Pinnacles, for some time. Cannons is a very large, two storey health club situated off Hayes Lane, Bromley.

Facilities
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It offered the following prior to me transferring my membership to another Cannons gym elsewhere in the country about a month ago:
2 swimming pools.
Gym.
3 group exercise studios.
5 squash courts.
7 beauty treatment rooms.
Steam room and 2 saunas.
Spa.
Play room.
Creche.

My usage was solely of the gym, swimming pool, steam room, sauna and spa. The gym is on the first floor and boasts a huge amount of equipment. There are row upon row of cycle machines, running machines, cross trainers, rowing machines and all feature a headphone socket that allows you to add sound to the 4 huge tv's that are in front of you. They normally play BBC1, Sky One, Sky Sports and MTV. This is a very nice touch that certainly takes your mind off the intense burning sensation in your thighs as you complete another mile on the bikes. There are loads of static weight machines, enough to exercise every muscle known to man. Following an hour long induction, you are free to use all of the equipment but I would compare this to viewing every piece of art in the Louvre gallery. If you spent time on every machine, your average exercise session would last several days!!!
There is an extensive free-weights area which is normally pretty busy compared to the rest of the gym but my main target was CV work so I didn't spend too much time here. The room is air conditioned and all in all a very pleasant place to work out.

The swimming pool is roughly 20 metres long and about 1.2 metres deep at every point of it's length. It is normally divided up using lane markers to fast, slow and general swimming. The main downside with the pool is that despite a large learning pool adjoining this one, there are often lots of children in it. This is solved by the adult only swimming time in the evenings. At the poolside is a spa that fits about 8 people and a unisex steam room. Inside each changing room is a sauna. (I assume there is one in the ladies!!!)

The changing rooms are very clean and have TV's showing Sky news, Shower gel dispensers, large lockers that require a £1 coin and several showers. I would imagine that the ladies are similarly well maintained!

In the main entrance area is a bar which also offers food. Drinks are pretty reasonably priced and the food is very good. Daily newspapers can be found here and it is a very nice place to unwind after a work out.

From what my friends wife says, the classes are excellent and take place in the studios and pool. They are included in membership fees and you simply sign up for them about half an hour before they are due to start. You will need to contact the club in order to find out a current list of whats on offer but yoga, pilates, boxercise, aqua aerobics and general aerobics are the type of stuff thats available.

I am unable to comment on the beauty treatments or squash courts as I have never used them. There always seems to be a steady flow of customers going in and out of the beauty area which may indicate it's popularity. As for squash!!! Too much like hard work I'm afraid!

The car park is partly tarmac with clearly marked spaces and the other part is the overflow which when I last visited was an uneven gravel area that would guarantee your car got covered in a layer of dust whatever the weather. There is normally sufficient space in the tarmac area though.

Opening times and membership details
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Tel no: 0208 336 8555
The club is open as follows
0600 to 2300 weekdays
0730 to 2100 weekends
0800 to 1600 Bank holidays
Last entry is one hour prior to closing and all facilities stop half an hour prior to closing.
It wouldn't be right for me to go into membership details as there are so many options available and they normally run special offers and so a call to the above number is the best thing to do. All Cannons clubs offer corporate membership to people that work for certain local firms. Again, a phone call to the membership dept should clarify this.
I was paying 52 pounds a month for peak corporate membership following a one off joing fee of about £150. It's not cheap but such pricing means that only people who place a high priority on their fitness use the facility. People who generally respect it as well!!
You are issued with a membership card that you swipe each time you use the club in order to gain entry.

Other features
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They offer members a number of activities such as golf at nearby clubs, new members evenings and various fitness challenges. All of the staff at the club are very helpful and really know their stuff. As I have said previously, there is always something new or a special deal being offered at Cannons. I have written about my experiences of the club, all of which were very good, but I'm sure that new things are being intoduced as I write this. A call to the club will put you in the picture.

Conclusion
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I am not a share holder. I do not work at Cannons. I have no other financial interest in the place. I happily paid quite a lot of money to join a club that offered me an oasis away from the hectic, busy lifestyle that London offers. I can't really justify the price. It is an extravagance but it's nice knowing you can go to a place like this when you want and you feel obliged to use it as well!!

Overall I would recommend this club but only if you have the discipline to go regularly. You get out of the club what you put in and it has plenty to offer.