When I moved out of London, finding a new gym was pretty high on the list of things to do. For me, easy parking is essential and the Esporta Tunbridge Wells is in a purpose built entertainment park, Knight's Way, at the northern Tunbridge Wells turning off the A21.
The staff who first show you round are predictably very friendly and can be a little pushy in trying to get you to sign up, but I was impressed by the facilities and managed to negotiate a good deal. If you pick your moment well, there is bound to be some kind of promotion on and expect a small reduction in the monthly fee or waive of the joining fee. I paid a very reduced joining fee of about £30 (this is 2 years ago) and pay 52 pounds per month. If you can pursuade a partner or friend to join too you can save money with joint membership.
On the ground level there is a cafe / restaurant. Take advantage of the free still or sparkling water, and occasional invitiation to free coffee and a cake (or mince pie at Xmas time - very helpful after you've just burnt those caleries off!). I feel they're really trying to push this as a dinner venue, but it's always pretty empty and uninviting in the evenings and there are a couple of alternative restaurants 1 mins walk away.
Also on the ground floor is the health and beauty area - I've had several treatments here and they are all wonderful, carried out by professional staff, and the rooms are very relaxing.
There is a large pool with adult only lanes, temperature is perfect in my opinion. You can also take advantage of the steam room, sauna and adult and family spas.
There is a tanning booth thing but I've never gone near it.
Esporta caters well for adults without children as there is a seperate area in the changing rooms and the cafe. On the other hand, if you have little ones, there's a creche and place to have birthday parties.
Traveling upstairs there there's a new hi-tec spinning area with large plasma screen - looks like torture. The gym has all the normal equipment - bikes, cross trainers, treadmills, weights - no free weights at the moment and that was a stark contrast to my last London gym which had more state of the art free weight equipment. But unlike London I have NEVER had to queue for a piece of equipment and I've used the gym at lots of different times of the day. There are always members of staff around who can help you with advice or a little bit of encouragement for the easily fatigued!
If you're into classes, there are a couple of studios. Yoga is my thing, and in my opinion there are not nearly enough classes, and none at the weekend which is a real pity. A bit of relaxation on a Sunday used to be my best hangover cure. If you want to shape up your 'bum and tum' you'll find plenty of classes to make you sweat.
So if you're motivated and have a car (although there are bus services from Tunbridge Wells) the Esporta in Tunbridge Wells is very easy to spend several hours a week in. And the added bonus is you can use your membership in any club across the country (and there are plenty to choose from).
More details
Price
£52 / month
Size
Big
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