Virgin Active - London

malia J.

I recently joined, and it’s been a great experience so far! Abel is incredibly helpful, he showed me around the gym, making sure I felt comfortable with the facilities. He also took the time to recommend some exercises tailored to my goals. The gym is clean, well-equipped, and has a great atmosphere. Overall, really impressed and happy I joined. Highly recommend!

Holly K.

A great gym, with a number of lovely facilities. Staff are also very friendly in particular Abel, who initially helped me set up my membership. He is always goes above and beyond to help and is such a joy to speak to. You can tell he genuinely loves his job and is great with people!

Styliani E.

Recently joined the Moorgate site, a very well-equipped, clean and spacious gym environment. Spa facilities are nice (would only suggest doing some refurb to the steam room). Worth mentioning that Abel did a great job showing me around and setting up my membership. Staff is very friendly and helpful.

Jada P.

I’ve had a fantastic experience here. The facilities are great, and the staff are always friendly and eager to help. In particular Abel, who has been incredibly supportive in assisting me with my membership. He provided all the relevant information, reassured me when I was unsure about a membership change, and made the whole process smooth and stress-free. Highly recommend!

Connor C.

The Moorgate Virgin Active is up there with the best. Great place to train and relax in central London if you have a busy schedule with work in the city. Staff are super friendly and go out of their way to help, Abel is a top guy. This man deserves a raise.

Ken L.

I have been a member for 10 ish years. It has always just not been bad enough to quit (I get work subsidised membership and certainly wouldn't pay full whack for a membership here). Definitely not a premium service.

In November they decided not to give out wrist bands to those that forgot them. They also don't allow more than one wrist band per person. I lead a hectic life - the last thing I want to worry about is whether I'm taking my gym band on a work trip knowing that in three days I'll arrive back in the morning and might want to go to the gym after work. A card I could carry in my wallet - but who wants to carry around a ridiculous rubber band all their lifes?

The jobsworth on the front desk seemed to enjoy telling me "that is wasn't his fault I'd forgotten my band" - and that it was company policy not hand out temp bands. (You cannot lock up your valuables without a band).

Ten years of monthly payments and I had to take my stack of clothes and work laptop into the gym to workout. They charge £7.50 for a new band which definitely costs them £0.20 to restock. It's not the money it's the principle of being forced to pay £7.50 to got the gym you already pay for.

I know it's London, but you definitely feel like a number here, with the club trying to upsell you mediocre personal training (do yourself a favour and use chat gpt to build yourself a diet and training plan instead) and overpriced protein bars in the vending machines.

I could list all the other problems over the years- ok go on then i will-

The towels have become thinner and scruffier. I was robbed once and the staff couldn't be bothered to check the CCTV. The showers are frequently out of order. It took them years (literally if remember correctly) to renovate the squash courts. Staff turnover is high, and the staff that are around hang around at reception d*cking around with each other. The lack of guest passes is a joke - you used to get them every once in a while on the app, but you weren't informed and they often expired by the time you realised you had them. Now they seem to have stopped handing them out at all. The soap dispensers are frequently empty(this is low hanging fruit guys).

The selection of fitness classes has dropped - for example there used to be a once a week spin class for serious cyclists which was was was always over subscribed and then dropped. I used to go to general fitness classes (I forget the name) but these were dropped over COVID too. Some people many not love having their only class option to be a work out in the middle of the gym floor.

I could go on.. but it's easier just to say there are better value gyms and more premium gyms within a stones throw of this place.

P.s the pool area is decent - but they should insulate the steam room properly - the heat eascpes too easily through the bottom of the door.

Sam A.

It’s a great gym in a good location in Moorgate. It has a decent range of classes and the gym floor is massive. The reformer room especially is well lit and nicer than the other Virgin gyms I’ve been to.

Another highlight is the customer service - Abel is the best person to speak to about anything you need in the gym or any questions you have. Honestly deserves an award for how many issues he’s solved and how on it he is - makes the gym experience that teeny bit better.

Jess

I only go to this gym because it is located conveniently, the natural light is nice, and I enjoy being able to swim, do weights, and do yoga in the one spot.

However, in line with the other recent reviews, it’s terrible.

- People don’t re-rack their weights and if they do, it’s usually re-racked in the wrong spot so you spend unnecessary time looking for the right weight.
- It is very stuffy inside and the body odour can get quite overwhelming.
- There used to be some good S&C instructors but they’ve since left and class quality has declined.
- Drain flies in the showers.
- Staff are very rude and unhelpful and I’ve had several friends who go to the gym say the same thing. Staff seem to spend all their time loitering at reception and chatting to each other. Good to see this is what my gym membership goes towards!
- No effort is made to enforce good gym etiquette.