David Lloyd Clubs, Milton Keynes

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	The best facilities I have ever seen
Disadvantages:	Expensive and elitist

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I have just come back from a lovely (but knackering ) day at the David Lloyd fitness centre in Milton Keynes and felt inspired to write about it. Although I am not a member, I have been using the facilities for a few years now obtaining day passes which grant you access to all facilities available. To write this opinion I have also gained the opinions of a few of my friends who are (or have been) members.

If the Ciao website is to be believed, there are 40 of these clubs dotted around the country. Click on the 'David Lloyd Clubs' link above to see if there is one near you.

•• LOCATION ••
The Milton Keynes David Lloyd Centre is situated about 5 minutes from junction 14 of the M1 in Livingstone Drive, opposite the children’s theme park Gulliver’s Land and near the very pretty Willen Lake. There is a large car park surrounding the centre, and you can even get your car valeted whilst you are visiting.

•• PRICES ••
� Couples
£225 joining fee (can be waived if you work for certain companies)
£91.50 per month for fitness facilities only
£123 per month including racquet sports (reducing to £115 from October)

� Single
£150 joining fee
£59 per month for fitness facilities only
£74.50 per month including racquet sports
£42 per month off peak for fitness facilities only
£69 per month off peak including racquet sports

� Daily pass
Free if you win one like I did
Free if you manage to get one from a member (some allocated each year)
£12, but only available to go in with a member

•• FITNESS FACILITIES ••

� Gymnasium
I have never seen such a well equipped gymnasium, and I have seen quite a few in Milton Keynes, as I was seriously considering joining one. There are approximately 30 jogging machines spaced all along one wall. Some are situated in front of a mirror so that you can watch your technique (or fat wobble!), and some are positioned so that you can watch a TV screen. There are all manner of cardiovascular machines – rowing machines, step machines, ski machines, etc. Every piece of equipment is state of the art and programmable for your weight, age and fitness level.

There are also the usual weight machines, such as for leg and arm curls, bench press, pecs, etc. There is a separate section for stretching and using the many ab machines, and then there are my favourite sort of machine. They have a whole set of electronic machines that test your strength and then adjust the programme accordingly. You have to do 10 reps and the lights turn red if you manage it and orange if you don’t. This is very motivational as you are determined to beat the machine rather than give up when bored (as I do at my gym at work). There are equivalents of all the normal weight machines, but my favourites are the ab machine and back extension.

An additional nice touch is a ladies only gym for those who are too embarrassed to train with men. When you first join, you are given a personal trainer to work out a fitness plan with you. You will then receive regular reviews to monitor progress.

Despite this extensive equipment, I have been told that it gets incredibly busy at peak times, which is when I would generally be using it. When I visited, it was reasonably busy throughout the whole centre, despite it being a working day and not during the school holidays.

� Fitness studio
The fitness studio has regular classes going throughout the day and evening. Some examples of the classes available are: step, aerobics, yoga, tumble tots and legs, bums & tums. It is a large room, with air conditioning which can be a bit noisy. It has mirrors on two sides so that you can see the pain you are going through, and mats are provided. You need to put your name down for the class beforehand as they can fill up quite quickly, particularly at peak times. I have only done a couple of classes there, but both were extremely enjoyable (if hard) and run by very professional and passionate people. Be warned, the power yoga is much harder than you might think!

� Free weights
For the muscle bound men (and women) there is a free weight fitness studio upstairs. Most people who use this area are heavily into weight training, and it can be embarrassing to walk past these hunks as you go into an aerobics class and then stagger out again an hour later.

� Tennis courts
There are 10 indoor and 8 outdoor courts. As I do not play tennis, I have not used this facility, but they look extremely nice! Individual tennis coaches are available at a price and the indoor courts are normally heavily booked. There are large green curtains at either end so your stray balls do not stray too far. You can hire tennis racquets and balls if needed.

� Badminton courts
There are 4 badminton courts and I must say that they are the nicest I have ever played on. They are on green grass like carpeting (a bit like indoor bowls covering), which is non-slippy. The ceiling is a suitable height so you don’t lose your shuttlecocks and the lighting is good so you can see them up in the air. There is no room for spectators, for which I was very grateful. We hired badminton racquets and shuttlecocks for £3.00.

� Swimming pools
There is a large, rectangular, indoor heated swimming pool that is half divided up for lane swimming (slow, medium and fast). They provide towel hooks so that they don’t get wet. There is a steam room, a sauna, a toddler jacuzzi and an adult jacuzzi. Of course, I tried them all! Unfortunately, we visited on a cloudy day, but there is also an outdoor heated pool and jacuzzi, which are surrounded by sun loungers. In previous years, I have spent the afternoon sunbathing rather than exercising. It was a lovely way to finish a hard day.

•• OTHER FACILITIES ••

� Food and drink
You might think that the restaurant would be full of healthy food, but fortunately it also includes some fattening stuff too. There is a breakfast menu for those who go to the gym in the morning without eating, and all items on the menu are marked for vegetarians and healthy eating. We both had a pasta dish this time and it was £5.75. The meal was lovely, tasting like a home cooked pasta sauce (with chicken, bacon, basil and tomatoes) rather than anything out of a packet. They serve drinks, including alcohol, and a few sweet snacks. We also had a cup of tea each and a Danish pastry, which cost £3.80 in total. The area is spacious, with heavy wooded chairs and tables, and you can even eat outside on nice days.

� Changing rooms
Obviously I can only comment on the ladies’ changing rooms. Now, this is what all changing rooms should look like! Beautifully laid out with wooden lockers wall to wall, there are lots of mirrors and hairdryers for us ladies to beautify ourselves after a hard workout. The toilets and showers are immaculate. There are lots of nice touches, like free plastic bags to put your wet swimsuit in and a dispenser with shower gel in the showers rather than bringing your own. You need a £1 coin (returnable) for the lockers.

� Saks hair and beauty
Upstairs at David Lloyds there is a Saks hairdressing and beauty salon. This is open to members and non-members, and I have used it quite a bit. It offers the usual range of beauty treatments and sells Elemis beauty products. It is expensive though! When receiving beauty treatments, you can obtain a bag containing a bath robe and towels, and use their steam room and Jacuzzi. There is a rest room offering free fruit teas, which overlooks the swimming pool. The beauticians are very professional, but can appear a little aloof. I have also used the hairdressing salon, but again it is expensive and I don’t believe it is worth the extra cost.

� Shop
There is a shop near the entrance which sells lots of sports wear and equipment, such as racquets, goggles and jogging bottoms. They offer a racquet restringing service and it is here that you can hire racquets from. Prices are reasonable, but not the cheapest going.

•• THE FASHION SHOW ••
A big negative for me is the fashion show that goes on in David Lloyd. Every woman there, when I have visited, is like something from a fitness magazine cover, and this can be off putting. To quote my friend who is a member ‘they put bloody make-up on BEFORE going to the gym!’. The vast majority are extremely thin and fit, and wear the most fashionable fitness clothes available. This can mean that if you are new to the fitness game or overweight, it is a very intimidating place to be.

•• CONCLUSION ••
I am very unlikely to join up with this gym for 4 main reasons: it is not conveniently located for me, I do not like the fashion show element, it is very busy at the times I would normally be visiting and it is very expensive. On the other hand the facilities are simply the best, so I will continue to use day passes during the week at least once a year. If you are thin, fit, rich, local and will use it off peak I can highly recommend this wonderful place.