Bannatyne Omdömen 7 023

I'd give zero stars if possible!

Extremely disappointing experience at Bannatyne Chingford. What was meant to be a relaxing spa afternoon turned into a very unpleasant experience from start to finish.

The changing rooms and spa areas smelled awful and were not clean. The steam room had a foul odour, the shower area near the pool smelled like sewage, and the overall environment was the opposite of what anyone would reasonably expect from a spa.

The jacuzzi — one of the main facilities included in the package — was not working, despite staff repeatedly telling customers it would be “on soon”. Clearly this is an ongoing issue, yet customers were still being charged full price without being informed in advance.

We paid £178 for two people and did not receive the standard of service advertised. Even the treatments felt rushed and were shorter than the stated duration.

Most concerning was the lack of management presence or accountability. Staff simply told us to email complaints afterwards rather than resolving issues at the time.

Poor hygiene, poor maintenance, poor communication and a complete waste of money. Had I known the true condition of this spa, I would never have booked.

As others have said, the customer service is verging on criminal. Despite my joining email saying that my membership was until 4th April 2026, when I gave notice in February that I intended to cancel, they insisted that I pay until the end of April. I only paid because they were threatening me with debt collectors.

Clean, friendly staff and very welcoming

I am reviewing Bannatyne’s spa service following a poor ELEMIS Express Facial experience at Bannatyne Health Club & Spa Hastings.

I booked a 30-minute facial for £57. I was around 5 minutes late, which I accept, but received less than 20 minutes of hands-on treatment. Bannatyne later confirmed in writing that their 30-minute express facial is designed to include approximately 20 minutes of hands-on treatment, with the remaining time used for consultation, preparation, redressing and aftercare. I think this is not clear enough at the point of booking.

The treatment felt rushed and careless. Obvious areas were missed during cleansing, and the massage involved downward pulling on the face, which did not feel appropriate for a professional facial.

My main concern is Bannatyne’s response on SPF. After the facial, on a sunny day, I asked about SPF and was told they do not carry SPF products. Bannatyne later confirmed SPF is not part of their standard protocol because their ELEMIS professional range does not include SPF. I do not think this is acceptable for a business offering skincare treatments.

Bannatyne’s response mainly explained their protocol. My complaint is that the protocol itself appears inadequate, especially around SPF aftercare and transparency over hands-on treatment time.

I have been a member a month and I am loving it. Had a B Coaching session with Daniel Brocklesby and he was fabulous. Really informative, excellent kind instruction and guidance and has given me the confidence to use the equipment safely. Every member of staff I have come into contact with has been very helpful and friendly, especially Sam on reception. I wish I had joined sooner. Thank you Team Humberston x

Filthy gym floors in both studios. Filthy ladies toilets , look like they’ve never been cleaned. £60/mth almost for virtual classes!

Been visiting this gym many year and the service of the staff is fabulous
Eveyone so friendly
Love Eds hit classes on a morning
The manager is always on hand if I have any problems
The new gym this minting looks fabulous and more machines so will defo coming back to this gym

Long inflexible contracts and non-existent customer service - avoid. Impossible to pause or cancel memberships even when injured or unable to physically use facilities.

Very poor customer service and attitude towards customers leaving. The contract states that a written notice has to be given to leave Bannatyne. I joined in 2023 and don't even remember this statement from when I joined. I left in January 2026 with a verbal notice, handing in my wristband. They continued to withdraw cash from my direct debit, so I cancelled my Direct Debit. Now I'm getting threats to pay up or else "our third party collection" will show up. They just want to empty every last penny - even after leaving. Disgraceful. Written or verbal, I asked to have my account cancelled - they have to respect that!

Visited the Norwich Branch. One thing after another making it an unpleasant experience. The Spa Treatment area didn’t have a changing room, only a WC. It was dirty. The relaxation room had 6 heated stone chairs, 2 of which weren’t working. It was also backed onto a sports hall so you could hear the balls being hit against the wall. The music system was down so our lady had to use her phone. The Spa Treatment area was a fair distance from the steam room, sauna and jacuzzi so you had to make a decision there and then what you wanted to do unless you wanted to constantly walk the distance to use all the facilities. We were offered half price ‘top up’ treatments, which after 5 minutes of choosing, were told we couldn’t have as our lady wasn’t qualified enough to carry it out. Don’t offer them then. The cold pool (along with cold poolside showers and cold changing rooms) had sand on the bottom which was confusing us, unless they used a sand filter system which was therefore broken. The main food was ok but the side salad was obviously plated up long before it was needed and was therefore limp and stale. We won’t be returning. There are better Spas out there. As we overheard another lady mention, it was no Aqua Sana!

On two occasions staff have turned off monitors, machines and air con before closing time when i was still in the gym. I complained about this twice and cancelled my membership. The staff member and manager sue at ingleby barwick branch acknowledged this and apologized. Please avoid joining here if you want to train until 10pm. The opening times should be changed to 21:45 closing if this is the case.
I have joined a 24hr gym instead that is half the price of bannatynes.
The only reason i have upgraded this from 1 star to 2 because Sue was great about the whole thing.

Had 3 years at a Bannatyne club and the first 2 years were very good - local to me and staff and other members generally friendly and helpful. However for the last year or so, staffing levels including managers were reduced during the periods I was working out (late evenings). Sadly due to lack of experienced (and mature) managers being present, inappropriate behaviour started creeping in from some of the younger members of staff ultimately leading to me leaving the club and finding an alternative local club. So far so good at new club

Shout out to my massage therapist, Kade, who was awesome, and gave me a lovely massage. One of the best I have ever had!
I enjoyed the facilities too, although it was very busy, which slightly detracted from the relaxation

Terrible experience at the luton branch.
Four of us paid for spa bags, the robe was tatty and did not fit us, the pockets were broken it really wasn't fit for purpose.
The spa treatment was awful the young inexperienced staff did more harm than good, I did not feel relaxed at all infact far from that!
When emailing my reviews to the company even though this happened to me they could not discuss it with me as I was not the lead booking person.
We felt very uncomfortable there throughout the spa experience and will not be going back.

I’ve been a member at Bannatyne Leicester for around 2.5 years, so this comes from a fairly long-term perspective rather than a quick impression.

To start with the positives, there is a strong variety of machines and the classes are genuinely very good. For a long time, they were the main reason I stayed.

However, over time, some patterns started to take the shine off. The classes, while clearly popular, became consistently overcrowded — to the point where it sometimes felt like you were negotiating for space rather than focusing on the workout. Great instructors, great energy, just a bit too much of both in one room. Eventually, I stopped attending altogether.

The parking situation deserves a special mention. The NCP layout is… memorable. It’s narrow, with cars going both up and down the same route, which creates a daily opportunity for awkward standoffs and questionable manoeuvres. I was aware of this from the start, so fair enough — but it definitely adds a little adrenaline to your workout before you’ve even entered the building.

I used the pool occasionally and initially enjoyed it, but over time I did start to question the cleanliness. On one visit, I noticed what I’ll politely describe as some “uninvited organic presence,” which wasn’t particularly reassuring. There were also several occasions where the pool was unavailable entirely, making it difficult to rely on.

Maintenance was another ongoing theme. There was a leaking ceiling in the gym which, despite being reported, seemed to become a semi-permanent feature. I understand that the building may be managed externally, but having a bucket in the middle of a workout area for what felt like months doesn’t quite match the overall expectations of the space.

In terms of pricing, everything is going up these days, so I can’t really fault that — fair enough.

The cancellation process, however, was an experience in itself. Despite being on a rolling monthly membership with no fixed contract, cancelling couldn’t be done through the app and instead required a fairly detailed email explaining the reasons for leaving this fine establishment. I understand every gym has its own policies, but it did feel slightly excessive for what should be a straightforward process.

To add to that, the final outcome was quite confusing. A friend and I signed up on the same day under identical terms and submitted our cancellations at the same time, yet we ended up with completely different charges and end dates. Even the staff seemed unsure, suggesting it might be a system issue, which didn’t exactly inspire confidence. When I followed up by email, I was later told it was due to a glitch on their side—just one more issue to add to the list.

Overall, Bannatyne Leicester has its pluses, mainly in equipment and the potential of its classes, but I wouldn’t describe the experience as consistently high quality. Taking everything into account — from overcrowding to maintenance and the unnecessarily complicated cancellation process — it didn’t feel worth it in the end. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend joining.

Lovely gym plenty of equipment not to forget the luxurious sauna, steam room, hot tub, cold plunge and huge swimming pool with wonderful water fountains

Came today for a package bought by my daughter as a gift.
My treatments with Shauna (I’m sure that was her name) were wonderful. She was polite and chatty when appropriate but suitably quiet to let me shut off.
She had nice pressure for all treatments and was very hands on. I know that may sound a bit weird but as an ex-therapist myself you need to feel full hands not finger tips. Lovely, lovely treatments. And loved loved loved the smells of the Elemis products.
Thankyou.

The spa side of the package however was not quite as positive.
I went downstairs to the Sauna, Steam room etc and although the facilities were quite nice it was extremely noisy due to a water aerobic class and it would appear the ‘Quiet’ signs in the ‘warm relaxation room’ don’t work.

I returned back upstairs to the beauty area and zoned in their quiet, tranquil chilling area.

Been a member since the place opened in 1999 (was not Bannatynes then. There are a few minor niggles about the facilities which have been made in previous feedback. Never had any feedback on my feedback/ comments. In the Gents changing there is a water fountain, previous ones had two water sources, one for filling water bottles, one for getting a drink. The current one does not have a filling spout. The situation poolside is the reverse, bottle filling spout but no drinking spout unless you want to stick your head under the filling spout. Upstairs in the gym there is now only one water station. Cleaning poolside takes place during the day - annoying when you have used the gym or just going to the pool when the poolside showers are out of action for 15 plus minutes. This is usually in the morning when place has been open for an hour or so. Facilities that are out of action (shower, locker, vending machine, gym equipment etc) have a “We’re on it “ notice attached which could be there for weeks- a date should be on the notice when it is put on the relevant piece of equipment etc. Bins with wipes on the gym floor are sometimes almost full - this is at 6:30 ish in the morning so obviously not full from the current day. Poolside showers have adjustable temperature controls. There does not appear to be a maximum temperature so you have to be careful not to get scalded, important to watch if you have any kids with you. There are two “warm” showers and one cold. The showers are only for rinsing between using the pool, saunas and steam room so can’t see why a reasonable warm temperature is a constant. Safety stops on controls do not appear to work. The app for the club does not appear to have a bit where you can log any complaints, comments or suggestions, this would make it easier to note issues as you do not always have the time to speak to someone at reception who may be busy with other members.
The rear car park is finally being resurfaced after a good few years of nothing but potholes and flooding when it rains.
That’s the feedback for the moment

We received an £82 voucher, but booking at Bannatyne Spa turned out to be a stressful and frustrating experience. The process was not straightforward at all. When I tried to book the appointment online, I was asked to pay an additional £18 on top of the £82 voucher just to secure the booking, which I found confusing and questionable.
After paying the extra £18, I was given an appointment for two people. I arrived first and informed the receptionist that the second person was on her way, as she had mistakenly thought the appointment was scheduled an hour later. However, the receptionist displayed an unprofessional attitude.
The second person arrived just a few minutes after my treatment had already started, but she was told that she had missed the appointment. She was not allowed to join me in the treatment room and was instead asked to wait until my session was finished. Prior to this, I had spoken to the therapist who was treating me, and she reassured me not to worry, saying they would see what could be done when the other person arrived. Unfortunately, despite this reassurance, my companion was still refused access.
As a result, I only received my back massage alone, despite the booking being for two people and having paid both the £82 voucher and the additional £18 fee. Overall, the experience was disappointing, unprofessional, poorly managed, and not good value for money. I would not return or recommend this service to others

I’ve been a new member since Oct last year and wish I had joined sooner. The facilities are perfect for me. I joined primarily for the coached classes as I’d never felt particularly comfortable in the gym. However, the welcoming staff and inclusivity of the centre has helped embrace a gym workout and I’ve come to love it. Keep up the good work!