Thursday, December 4, 2008

South Loop Review: Gyms & Fitness Clubs: Bally’s Fitness Club

This is part two of our attempt to get a lay of the land for those of us trying to stay fit (or like me become fit) over the winter months.

I recently tried out the Bally's Total Fitness at River City - which is located at 800 S. Wells. My initial problem with this gym is that there is no free parking (besides street parking, which is hard to find). There are two parking lots - the River City Garage which costs $3 for two hours and a parking lot just outside the complex that is $2 for two hours. I don't have a car, but that's a bit of a pain in my mind.

The club is actually rather large and has most desired amenities that one would need: cardio, free weights, machine weights, numerous class rooms, racquetball, squash, pool, sauna and steam room. I'm probably missing a couple things, but the moral of the story is that they have a full fledged fitness club. When I went it wasn't busy and there were plenty open machines (both cardio and weights) to use.

The club looks to be a little dated and doesn't have a some of the bells and whistles that the newer clubs have (ie individual TV's on cardio equipment, towel service, the lockers require your own lock, etc.). However, you get what you pay for and Bally's is considerably less expensive then some of the other gyms.

In terms of price, for two people it was approximately $35-45 per month per person (not including the initiation fee). This also get you access to other Bally's locations throughout the county, which is nice since they have a lot of locations.

I like the price, but the location doesn't work for me (the fact that there isn't free parking is also a problem in my eyes). The El isn't very close and Wells isn't the easiest street to get to. If you live in Printer's Row or north of Roosevelt I would tell you to strongly consider this gym, but if not, don't bother.

Bally's River City - Yelp Review
Sloopin Fitness Club/Gym Review - Check it


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