lifeLEISURE Reviews 18

I joined in 2024 after retiring! As an avid gym goer I was taken in by the initial look of the companies logo etc! A bit like when someone gives a fantastic interview for a job, then when they start you realise it was just BS!

Rubbish equipment always breaking down and not fixed quick enough! Very limited equipment at HG!

Pure Gym is much bettter, cheaper! And cleaner! Very sturdy equipment, the same I used before retiring! Then I used the sudgen centre n Manchester!

Thermal suite has very limited opening hours at Hazel Grove due to school swimming "safeguarding" and Grand Central thermal suite has been closed now for several weeks due to "problems". No updates from the company as to when it'll reopen. I joined Life Leisure primarily for using the sauna and whirlpool due to ongoing back and neck injuries. Others have said this is also a problem for them. I raised with their communications manager but nothing is being done.

An Agent came into my place of work and asked if I wanted to join up. They said I needed to pay a £10 deposit - that I didn’t have so I didn’t join. I have now found out they have signed me up and taken 2 months out of my bank. They have advised that they can’t pay this back to me. I have NEVER been to the gym as I didn’t sign up. This is disgraceful and this should not be allowed to happen. Watch out for anyone trying to sell memberships - they will lie to you and rob you of your hard earned cash

Absolutely stupid I have been going to this gym for almost a year now and I pay monthly in cash but have a terrible memory I walked in the other day and they said you pass has been cancelled and you owe us £53 because I hadn’t paid for 1 month but they could of atleast told me it was overdue instead of just getting rid of my membership but I go pure gym now and it is much better would recommend not going life leisure

Absolute nightmare for accessing the thermal suite and pool. Every time I want to go it’s either closed for swimming lessons or just closed yet it’s book able on the app…. Fed up of turning up to use what I pay for and have to sit around waiting for end up having to go home…stop closing the thermal suite for pointless reasons, it is separate from the pool.

Hi I've been a member for over 13 years but since Romiley had its "upgrade" because there are less running machines I am finding it harder to get a free machine and today there were none available so I came home. What's the point of paying good money for nothing, maybe sadly its time to look elsewhere

Great pool and great experience whilst you are swimming but those changing rooms are an absolute disgrace tbh a real health hazard and those showers need tipping out and replacing shocking place to visit once your out of that gym & pool I’m afraid

Emailed one week ago but no reply. Couldn’t work out information about senior citizen concession from website so thought I would ask online.
Better experience today
Very helpful woman on the desk at GCS. Lockers are a problem though

Lifeleisure Stockport long review but worth reading if you are planning on visiting DON'T. Website was only showing morning family swim sessions so rang the day before to see if there was anything later to be told there's a session 12.20-13.20, turned up the following day just before this time to be told its adults only the next family swimming session would be at 13.40 so after passing time for over an hour we arrive for this session. Hardly any keys for lockers so carted all our belongings over to the other side of the changing rooms to put my last £1 coin in, it accepts the £1 coin but the key doesn't work and can't get the £1 back out, asked a member of staff for help, who then got another member of staff who after several tries could not get the £1 coin out. I suggested could they go upstairs to reception and get me a token, they do this and return to say sorry a token isn't allowed. 15 minutes now into our session bearing in mind you only get an hour, I march upto reception in my swimming costume and after a few choice words was reluctantly given a token. Finally enter the pool, which is not the cleanest, jacuzzi jam packed not monitored by staff, get out have a shower where the water dribbles out of the shower head, attempt to use hairdryer and have to keep fingers on the button for it stay on and eventually gladly leave. Will not be returning, its in need of a good renovatiin and staff need training on customer service. Very dissatisfied and one upset little boy who was so looking forward to coming here.

Try phoning Life Leisure Cheadle, Avondale, Grand Central...any of them, they're all a joke. No one answers the phone. You get a recorded message for 15 minutes and then the lines goes dead. The website is impossible to navigate, trying finding a family swim on any week day at any site. Impossible. Trying making an enquiry by email, no response. So the website is hopeless, no one answers the phone, no one replies to emails. I made an enquiry in person at Cheadle and was given incorrect information and sold a ticket for a baby swimming group that finished in ten minutes when my child can swim. I just wanted to have a swim in the small pool with my child. I don't want a class or lesson, how difficult can this be! Absolutely zero communication and customer service.

I nievly booked my sons 8th birthday with grand central, it was a swimming party. I was told I'd have to provide the food but they provided cups plates and table cloths then to be told by another memeber of staff they didn't, we paid for the main pool with inflatables and floats, I rang to ask when we could decorate and was told any time as we was the only party that day, I got there with the decs and food in the morning to be told we couldn't do the room until my son and friends were in the pool as another party was on, I wasn't happy as each call I made to the centre I received a different answer, when we arrived for the pool party we were told we'd have the room at 4.15 by one member of staff then I spoke to the people from previous party to be told they had the room till 5pm which is exactly the time we were due to have the room after swimming. I didn't have any time to decorate the room the inflatables were only for confident swimmers who would do laps of the pool which i do understand but non of this information was relayed to me before hand, so the kids couldn't use them we had the use of very few floats and rings, the life guard did allow 2 kids to use the smaller pool where my mum found the women's toilets shocking and had to take my son in the men's, once we were in the party room the staff vanished my sister couldn't even get back in the building after nipping to her car, I didn't get told how long we had the room for how to use the music system. If there would of been an accident we'd of been on our own as there was not one staff member in sight. Never again would I book a party here. My son has swimming lessons here and I've never had an issue with that side of things so I'm really disappointed.

Over crowded classes.
Not enough sessions for popular activities. No response to criticism. No exit strategy.
Are we in between Rock and a hard place?

Expensive and overpriced. Equipment is shoddy and frequently out of order. Reception desk staff rude and frosty as are the managment. Far better alternatives out there.

Having only ever used 3 gyms including this one, this has to be the worst of the 3. The contracts are sneaky and like to tie you into a nasty little contract for one year. First time I joined I had to cancel due to personal circumstances, they tried to force me into buying a new membership package for double the amount I was already paying, which I could then cancel permanently two months later. If not they “Would send debt collectors.” Having fired two more responses outlining the fact that under the direct debit agreement with given notice that I was able to terminate my contract with them. I fired proof of evidence to them, of this from the contract and they reluctantly cancelled when I threatened to seek legal advice against them.

Second time I stupidly rejoined early this year before Covid 19 broke out. Again I did not use the gym that often due to work and with the gyms evidently closing I decoded to cancel and gave 30 days notice of cancellation. They claimed “As a gesture of good will.” They would cancel the contract and I was allowed to cancel the direct debit. On many occasions I turned up to find the gym/pool shut having checked online timetable to make sure they were open which they claimed to be. Life Leisure is a dishonest, untrustworthy company. Use Puregym where it is about £17-20 a month and you can cancel whenever you like which is great to use in winter months when it is hared to run and cycle outside. As you’ll have probably seen from many other reviews of LifeLeisure it is a bad company to be a member of. Do not join this gym as you’ll be out of pocket £45.00 roughly every month for a Gym/Pool that is mainly used for private hire. Absolute joke/scandal.

Terrible, outdated, overpriced gyms even worse customer service. Cannot believe Life Leisure even call themselves Stockports number one gym! Nearly all gyms are over-priced and have old equipment - Marple gym has not been renovated or had new equipment for decades, Romiley gym the same yet is still over £30 a month? Cheadle's gym again, outdated and so hot. A lady fainted in the changing rooms due to the heat and lack of air-con / windows. I made a complaint via the email address on the website that an elderly lady had fainted in their changing rooms and this wasn't even acknowledged until i cancelled my direct debit - even then their reply was that i had outstanding funds to pay. When i replied saying once you acknowledge my complaint i will re-join the gym they simply cancelled my membership.

The Village Gym, Pure, Redrock etc are either much cheaper or around the same price and offer new equipment, renovated and clean gyms with helpful and attentive customer service. Life Leisure just want to tie you into a contract and do nothing with your monthly fee. Invest in your gyms and your customers and hire some useful staff!

Apparently keen ad revenue supporters of racist channels on YouTube. Contacted a few times and no answer, not even an acknowledgement. Avoid this morally repugnant company.

I joined the Woodley sports village in March 2015. The gym is only small and I never felt comfortable training there. I carried on using the gym anyway as I was tied into the contract but planned to cancel at the first year. About half way through and I encountered a change in circumstances. The gym did not want to know and would not budge even though I could prove i needed to terminate the contract.
Life leisure do not care about their members and only care about money.
When I am ready to go back to the gym I plan to join a pure gym. The one in my area is under 20 pounds, includes all gym equipment and classes, is a big spacious gym and best of all is no contract. A year is a long time to be tied in with one company when anything could change. Do yourself a favour and don't join with this company.

I used the hazel grove gym for about a year and found the only good aspects were the friendly staff and its location, the equipment was not maintained as often as it should, there is only one toilet for men and women, not a lot of equipment unless you go on a friday evening!

If you want to cancel your membership within the first 12 months is an absolute nightmare, even if you've moved out of the area.

There are lots of other better gyms in the area which I would recommend you visit before signing up to, its worth visiting any gym on an evening to get a feel for how busy they are and how accessible equipment is.