LA Fitness vs. Lifetime Fitness (Sandy Springs: coupons, credit card, YMCA)

[brownhornet]

Originally Posted by serialdriller

towel service? you can go to Walmart and buy a pack of like 15 towels for 5 bucks..

50 bucks for towel service is rip off. even 20 is a rip off

I have never had towel service...

and if you go into la fitness sometimes you can get good deals paying up front. I paid like 680 for 3 years then 16 a month after that. no initiation fee.

Lol, that's how I think. It's funny to me the things that matter to some people.

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[ATLTJL]

The issue isn't the cost of buying a towel.

Towel service is convenient for people who swim or shower at the gym so you aren't constantly going home with wet towels. Particularly if you work out before work, it keeps you from having a stank wet towel sit in your trunk for 8 hours. If you forget to bring it in that night, it gets nasty fast.

I agree it's not worth the price, but towel service is nothing to sneeze at.

[ATL Golfer]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Sounds like it's pretty much identical to any other Lifetime Fitness except it offers golf benefits and has a restaurant by the pool.

Am I missing anything?

Pretty weak sauce for a $60 per month premium over gold level.

There are two restaurants, spa, salon, golf....and supposedly poolside adult beverages which I have yet to see. I don't know if the equipment is better. Everything seems pretty much the latest and greatest. I save that $60 in 1.5 rounds of golf. I play 3 times per month so my savings I'm guessing will be about $90-$120 per month. Net gym membership for whole family, $100 per month. Again, if golf wasn't in play, I probably would not join. However, seeing how much my kid enjoys the pool, its hard to pass up. You can also put your membership on hiatus for $20/mth which I may do during Nov/Dec/Jan. No golf, no pool during that time. I think the locker rooms at the Diamond clubs are supposedly nicer as well. Again, I have nothing to compare to.

Love kids and all, but perhaps the concourse athletics club is more my style, I dunno. I prefer quiet gyms but I do love the amenities offered by Lifetime. Distance-wise, they are about even.

Kids are only present in the pool areas. Workout areas are completely kid free.

[ATLTJL]

Just FYI, the regular gold level Lifetime Fitnesses have a restaurant and salon as well.

I'm not sure if they technically have spas or not, but I do believe they offer massage services and other spa-like treatments.

It was kind of irrelevant to me because those services all cost extra, and it's not like I have ever in my life said, "Well, I'm working out....might as well get a haircut while I'm here!"

Adult beverages by the pool would be a big, big plus! But that sounds a little odd to me, I would guess it would be more things like smoothies and frozen drinks with no booze.

[ATLTJL]

Always use a letter to cancel membership and send it via certified mail with a return receipt.

It costs $5, but worth it.

[CaniMove]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

It's a business like any other.

Eventually, they are going to reach a point where enough people simply say "not worth it!" and they won't be able to increase prices anymore.

It's also not like it's not an easily imitatable business model. Any other club could come in with similar or even better amenities and sell it as the same or even lower price. I kind of thought that's what LA Fitness was going to do, but I guess they aren't stepping it up that much. That doesn't mean that nobody else will, though.

Anyway, I'm not worried about Lifetime increasing its rates. Whatever happens, it still has to abide by the invisible hand. The market will tell them when the price has gotten too high. I would think $80 is getting pretty close to that level, but I would have thought that about $70 as well. $50 or maybe $60 seems an appropriate level to me for what they offer, but clearly I'm wrong since they are already at $70 and talking about raising it even more.

Lifetime also, while nice, isn't *THAT* nice. For that price, I would expect private changing areas (which they have, but only in the family area...pretty hard for a man to go in there without kids and no look like a weirdo), all toiletries like soap, shampoo, razors, shaving cream, etc. to be provided for you, MUCH nicer restrooms (not to sound gross, but I wouldn't take a dump in Lifetime's bathroom!), TV monitors on all the cardio equipment, and so on. In fact, instead of lowering prices, I'd actually rather see Lifetime step up its game to make the high prices more worthwhile. I was actually there one time when they ran out of towels in the locker room. It wasn't even prime workout hours, and that is completely unacceptable for the prices they charge.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I wouldn't necessarily have a problem paying $80 a month for a gym, but I would expect more spa quality facilities and a locker room that never smells. I think Lifetime thinks it is better than it actually is. For people that actually take advantage of all the classes and childcare, it could very well be worth the price of admission. Maybe they should offer a lower level of membership for people who don't need daycare and don't go to classes or use the climbing wall.

just fyi, they increased membership prices again, so maybe the market doesn't think the prices were too high when this was written in 2012.

I don't agree with starting a "lower level membership" because the clientele needs to stay at a certain level imo. I know I don't go to Lifetime for a bargain. Bargain-hunters can find plenty of other places to satisfy their needs.

Originally Posted by serialdriller

towel service? you can go to Walmart and buy a pack of like 15 towels for 5 bucks..

50 bucks for towel service is rip off. even 20 is a rip off

I have never had towel service...

and if you go into la fitness sometimes you can get good deals paying up front. I paid like 680 for 3 years then 16 a month after that. no initiation fee.

And I'm really not meaning to offend anyone, however, "walmart", "i have never had towel service", and "rip off",..... these are a couple of reasons I go to Lifetime.

[mrpanda]

There are certain things you go cheap in life but my health, wellness, and my membership to lifetime fitness is not one of them.

Lifetime in johns creek has some pretty awesome instructors. For me it is worth every penny. My favorite is josh n hip hop dance classes on Wednesdays. Now that dude is straight out of a MTV video.

[Chengdu Nanhai]

How's the LA fitness on Duluth Highway? I am trying to find a place with an indoor basketball court, and I don't use any other gym facilities. I will be living in Olde Savannah Square off of Old Peachtree/Satellite, any recommendations from the good folks in this area?

[ebsga2294]

Hey I think the la fitness at ga tech provides you with a towel but you have to put it in a renewal basket when u leave. Hope this helps.

[bryan alan]

I would never join a gym WITHOUT towel service. Nope.