I love Esporta Islington. I can't put it any other way.
Since the age of 21, I had managed to double my body weight, and achievement of which I am both proud and horrified. I had certainly eaten all the pies.
At the age of 32, I was feeling miserable about my size, and my boyfriend, ... Read review
A review by Zoe_South on Esporta Club, Islington, London May 23rd, 2002
Author's product rating:
Value for Money
Good
Is it part of a chain?
yes
Service
Excellent
Cleanliness
good
Advantages:
Very friendly club
Disadvantages:
Pricey
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I love Esporta Islington. I can't put it any other way.
Since the age of 21, I had managed to double my body weight, and achievement of which I am both proud and horrified. I had certainly eaten all the pies.
At the age of 32, I was feeling miserable about my size, and my boyfriend, bless, who just wanted me to be happy, tentatively suggested that he would pay for membership and three months fees for any gym I chose.
I was extremely nervous about walking into Esporta. I had already visited two Islington gyms (which I shan't name because I'm too nice), and decided against them. When you get to the size I was, you become very conscious of how people are looking at you, and frankly, the receptionists at both of these places might as well have had "you lardy fat cow" tattooed on their foreheads.
I slunk into Esporta. I was greeted by an extremely friendly receptionist (who is still there, still friendly, and still as helpful as she was on that day), who immediately called an instructor out to talk to me. John was equally approachable, and worked out an exercise plan which was manageable, if a pathetic 20 minutes of Cardiovascular exercise only.
A year on, I'm three stones lighter and four dress sizes smaller. I stuck to it, with their help, encouragement, and sometimes their shouting and swearing. I'm still lardy(ish), but supplement a whopping 60 minutes Cardiovascular exercise with 30 minutes weights, and 30 lengths of the pool to finish up with three times a week. I'm fit. I can run upstairs.
So what makes Esporta special?
The gym is always supervised. Instructors pounce on you if they think you are going to injure yourself. There are regular reviews of your fitness programme, and since the computer system - Fitlinxx - was installed in November of last year, there is an award level programme, starting at an Esporta water bottle (whoopie doo), but working up to prizes like a cholestorol tests, tshirts, and personal training sessions.
There are a couple of curtained cubicles in the changing rooms, so if you are feeling self-conscious, you can change in complete privacy. The shower cubicles are also separate, and if you do a bit of cunning Mata Hari like subterfuge, you can creep from shower to towel to cubicle without anyone ever seeing your flab.
No one on the training staff will ever treat you as a second class citizen if you are overweight. I have been praised, cajoled and pushed to the limits. They publish a list of "Top 30 members" on a monthly basis, and instead of being the 30 fittest gym fascists, they are the 30 highest achievers according to their fitness level.
They give you nice incentives for introducing new members. My boyfriend joined just before Christmas, and they gave me a nice Molton Brown set worth about £100 in the shops.
The pool is terrific. Only 20 meters, and sometimes a bit crowded (why do people insist on swimming backstroke when there are at least seven others trying not to drown each other?), but warm, clean, not over-chlorinated, and with sun loungers dotted around to laze on if it all becomes a bit too much. Oh, and did I mention the steam room, sauna and jacuzzi?
There's a pretty good cafe, although meals are not always available when they say they are, and recently, they've got a bit crafty about shutting early, so you can't even get a drink.
I have no experience - yet - of the beauty salon, so I can't comment, although I have bought some Clarins cosmetics in there, and was impressed by not only the product knowledge of the beautician, but her advice on my skin, what colours would look good, and different things I could try.
Downsides? Well, I still get stares from some ignorant stick folk, and there are a lot of those, this being Islington and all. Esporta is also pricey - £55 (monthly) approx for Off Peak Membership (out of the gym by 4pm, no weekend access), £67 full membership, and £135 approx joint membership. I can't comment on the joining fee, as they frequently have "free to join" offers, and if you are canny and keep a look out, you can avoid this. The cost is a great incentive to go more often, however.
Lockers could do with a good scrub out (make sure you have £1 for a deposit), as they often smell of someone else's BO and feet. Not pleasant.
But do I recommend it? Oh yes. Is working out in the Municipal Gym ANY incentive to get fit at all?
My advice regarding this chain of fitness clubs is don't touch them with a barge pole. Yes, their premises are clean, well-equipped and worked in by some excellent fitness instructors. However, apart from British Gas, they are the worst company I have ever done business with. Check out the BBC Watchdog programme website for more information on their scams and dishonesty.
I joined their London Islington club four years ago. The guy who did the initial ... ...were to have huge consequences and costs later on. Incidentally he was nowhere to be seen a week after I joined.
First lie was that the membership fee was non-negotiable and had to be paid by everyone joining the club. After a few months I discovered this was not the case. Regrettably, this was after I had encouraged a couple of mates to join as well.
Second lie had to do with how a person closes their membership. I was concerned because, as I ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Value for Money
Is it part of a chain?
Service
Cleanliness
helpful
16.06.2007
Quick review of Esporta Club, Islington, London Review ofEsporta Club, Islington, Londonby
gymuser
Truly awful.Has improved a little bit in terms of the running of the club.Things are now being fixed more quickly,ie. the drinking fountain in the Gym was out of use for 6 months.But the general attitude of the staff is very poor.I had a lot of personal training sessions and no medical history was taken,no assesment was done and in my first session a very heavy weight was placed on my back resulting in a back injury.I have joined the Virgin Gym which is cheaper and much better.Staff are much more professional.
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Good enough if you don't mind having money removed from your account against your will Disadvantages: Similar to the disadvantages of being mugged
I was a member of Esporta Islington for a year or so and was reasonably satisfied with their facilities. I then broke my arm and suspended my membership. A year and a half later I noticed unexpected withdrawals from my bank account. It was Esporta - they had reactiveated my account without telling me and removed almost £400 over 6 months before I had noticed. I complained to Esporta and despite the fact that I had not made a single visit to their ... ...active) they REFUSED to re-credit the fees. They said that the contract I had signed allowed them to make the charges. They claimed that they had written to me, but no such letter was received. I was shocked by the behaviour of this supposedly reputable gym and would strongly recommend you find somewhere else to get fit. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Great Service, Great Facilities Disadvantages: There aren't any!
My experience with Esporta is very positive, I enjoy my membership very much and find the staff and facilities first class. Surely the reviews on this site are somewhat self pitying not to say naive. The terms and conditions are very clear regarding notice period and commitment period, the words Credit Agreement are quite clearly printed along with all the terms and conditions, everything is clearly set out in black and white on all the membership ... ...If people sign contracts without reading them properly or questioning anything they are not clear about, they can hardly complain of duplicitous behaviour (scamming, lying, dishonesty!!?? Get real people) on the part of Esporta when members try to bypass or conveniently forget the terms of the contract they have signed. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Most of the responses to this thread seem to come from people that are either not members or people that have not fully taken advantage of the Money Club's services. Like a gym membership, it won't do you any good if you don't use it and the benefits... more
