The Gym Group - Reading Central Reviews 43

my son cancelled his membership as directed through online chat (it says not to cancel direct debit) and they still took money. When I spoke to someone they said that's not how you cancel and I need to cancel Direct Debit!

The gym is ok, but is not complete with the equipment most other 'the gyms' have. E.g. powersled. Also, even though other 'the gyms' have the same boxing bag and allow you to kick the bag without shoes, for some silly reason this gym doesn't allow it, even if you explain this to them, they seem to be super stubborn and have no brain to think its ok without shoes.

It was sok when I was attending - a bit tatty with leaking AC, but ok. However, I cancelled my membership through the app and they still charged me. You've got to cancel your direct debit yourself otherwise you'll be paying for ever!!

Extremely Disappointed with Failed 24/7 Rollout and Lack of Accountability

I’m writing to express my deep disappointment with the experience we had today regarding the promised rollout of 24/7 access to the gym - an update that was highly anticipated and communicated to begin today.

We arrived at the gym around 10 PM, fully expecting to be able to access the facility as per your new 24/7 schedule. However, to our frustration, the system did not grant us entry. We weren’t the only ones - several other members who came by foot, bus, or car were similarly turned away, confused and inconvenienced. Some had made special arrangements to come late in the evening, only to find the doors locked and no help in sight.

We waited outside for at least 45 minutes, hoping the issue would be resolved or that someone from the staff or support team would address the situation. Unfortunately, that never happened. There was no communication, no on-call assistance, and no backup plan in place - just silence and a completely avoidable failure.

Frankly, this reflects zero change management, zero accountability, and zero customer care. For a change as significant as moving to a 24/7 model, it’s shocking that such a poorly executed rollout was allowed to happen without any form of contingency or communication plan. Not even a sign on the door, an app notification, or an email explaining the issue - nothing.

This was not just an inconvenience; it was a display of disregard for the time, effort, and expectations of your members. If the system wasn’t ready, it should not have been announced. And if it was, where was the support when it failed?

We chose this gym because we believed it was professionally managed, but experiences like this seriously undermine that confidence. I sincerely hope this is not indicative of what we can expect going forward under the 24/7 model.

I urge you to:
• Acknowledge this failure publicly to your members
• Clearly communicate what went wrong
• Share what steps you are taking to prevent this from happening again
• Offer a gesture of goodwill to members who were affected today

-Gym member

i had a disappointing experience at the reading town centre branch that left me feeling singled out and uncomfortable. i forgot my gym shorts one day and trained briefly wearing lightweight trousers, a gym t-shirt, and proper trainers. i wasn’t unsafe or being disruptive.

later, i found out a personal trainer took a photo of me from behind without my knowledge or consent, apparently to report my outfit. i felt disrespected and targeted, especially since i’ve seen others wear similar things without being singled out. it felt less about gym policy and more personal.

i raised a complaint through the proper channels. while the gym admitted the photo was taken and said it was deleted, i still don’t believe it’s acceptable to take pictures of members without asking , even for internal reasons. it’s about basic respect and privacy.

i hope the gym takes these kinds of concerns more seriously going forward. members deserve to feel comfortable and respected in the space they’re paying to use especially at the reading town centre location.

I have been to the Tilehurst one and was surprised to see Reading central is not open 24/7! It's also smaller than Tilehurst.

I'm intrigued as to why and it remains disappointing.

But I can say that that is the only difference. Everything seems to be the same level of quality.

The cancelled my membership without warning when they had no right to do so. They have non-existent customer service and don’t care about members. AVOID

Great gym nice and spacious, lots of really good machines to work out with and good quality equipment.

The staff are also very friendly and helpful. Would definitely recommend to anyone who’s looking for a quality gym.

Jemma is a amazing personal trainer I would recommend her to all my freinds and family , shes so friendly and supportive with my goals ❤️ thank you so much Jemma

I come in last week with a friend.. everyone was really friendly and helpful especially jemma, she went out her way to help me with a few excersizes I was struggling with.

Friendly staff, gym and equipment is clean and well maintained.

I paid for this months membership and than cancelled for next month onwards as I am travelling. But the gym group blocked my ID right away. They are taking my money for this month but not willing to provide the service till the month ends.

I haven't been to the Gym for more then 6 months due to some personal problems. I payed my membership all this time. It never worked to scan for me to gain access. On top of that, it doesn't accept my PIN, so now I have to wait to get this sorted. Can't even explain how frustrating I feel.

Absolutely awful customer service and overall experience in general. AVOID this gym chain!

I signed up in my first month as an Ultimate member as they had an offer of this on their website. This is so I can access gyms in both Oxford and Reading as I live in between. There I go turning up at one of the gyms on a Saturday morning, not being able to get in and no one to answer the phone or answer the door. When I contacted them about this the customer service representative called Haroon insisted that I initially signed up for a Standard membership when I know for a fact I didn't.

The gym facilities in Reading Central are awful as well. It's in serious need of an upgrade. I'm massively disappointed in my experience with the Gym Group, if you can go to PureGym or somewhere else, I'd highly recommend you do so!

I went to the Broad street mall gym. Lack of machines such as hack squat and back rowing. Staff do their own thing and some are downright condescending and rude.

Since 2016 I am a regular member of this gym. All staff are friendly, if I have to mention name Callum and gianluca are legend.

Gym was good and very clean. The showers were very poor and very poor pressure.

Reading Central it won't be open 24/7 anymore. 5am to 10pm? Are you turning it into a kindergarten?
After 9 years of membership I'm leaving you. The main reason I joined was at time it was the only 24/7 gym near me. Now there are a couple bigger, better, with more equipment.. But.. I stayed loyal till now . Tanks for the inconvenience caused and good luck.

The toilets in Reading central stinks!!

The gym group is reputed and I expect basic level of hygiene.

Otherwise, all ok with the gym

I have registered for membership with the gym group they have charged me the amount but didn’t receive any confirmation so that I can use the gym, I received a reference number but now it’s been around 13 days I am continuously trying to contact them through emails, Twitter and every possible way but no reply at all from 13 days. It just feels like some sort of scam, I strongly suggest not to register with them.