Boston Sports Clubs

BSC on Boylston St. has the best trainers and the great equipment. I go to Randy's boot camp class every Monday and I am always very satisfied. He is an excellent trainer and I'm putting him on my Christmas list for personal training!!! Pros: Professional and Passionate Staff Cons: none at all more

After you cancel the month to month membership, i mean cancelled and agreed with the club employee/ manager i continued to be charged and when i clawed back the monies through my bank i started receiving calls from some new york office trying to collect money from myself... After explaining the membership was canceled the collection office agreed and promised to remove my name from their list... a few months later again a new call!!! This process was repeated 4 times until finally the calls stopped.... EXTREMELY annoying. I was a member in 2007 and after reading other reviews decided to write my own... there are other options in the area with better training programs as well - Pros: Location Cons: After you cancel the 'month to month' membership ... more

First off, if you do a google search, there are a number of glowing reviews for BSCs (mostly on cityvoter) that are clearly written by BSC staff (most are dated Jan 1, 2005) - unbaised opinions, I'm sure. Regardless, I am going to try to write this as an objective review and not a rant. \r \r Boston Sports Club Copley is great for a number of reasons - it is fairly clean, has great classes, a sauna, and a wonderful pool, which is tough to find in the city (I might give it 2-stars if it had a steam room). It was also one of the cheapest gyms I found within a few blocks of my apartment at $52/month for a 12-month commitment and a $50 initiation fee.\r \r However, I should have known better than to sign up after having problems at a Philadelphia Sports Club a number of years ago. I attributed those membership problems to a manager that was fired by the time I needed to deal with them (he said he signed me up for a month-to-month membership, when in fact, it was a year contract), so I didn't hold it against BSC. I signed up at the Copley location in September 2007, and when my credit card expired in June 2008, I started getting calls once and twice a day for over a month from a call center demanding updated credit card information be given to them over the phone (it was from an 800-number, so I simply stopped answering and deleted the voicemails). I told them I would prefer to deal with it at the gym, but they insisted that was not possible and persisted. The only positive in the situation was when I spoke with BSC Copley's customer service manager, Vincent, who was very professional and accommodating. Honestly, I would have been happy to update my credit card info and continue my membership but the borderline harrassment from the call center completely turned me off to ever stepping foot into BSC again. BSC is part of a corporation that is only intersted in profit.\r \r I have since switched over to Healthworks, which is so far amazing (sorry guys, women only). Pros: Pool, yoga room, location Cons: Membership services, issues with corporate more

This place has a new & witty marketing campaign each week, but the air conditioning is often broken, the little TVs on the treadmills are often broken, the desk clerks can check you in, but for anything else, they, ""need to have a manager call you back"". This last point is especially true if you wish to do anything that may lower your rates whatsoever, but it also applies if you just want to rent or renew a locker. I belong due to convenient location, and I have to work out in the mornings if I don't want to fight my way through the crowds. Their class schedules are also not very flexible, and they close too early (10pm weekdays, 7pm Sundays). Evenings after work are ridiculously crowded, meaning they continue to over-sell their facility. I wish they put half of the effort into service that they put into sales. Pros: Location. Pool. Cons: Lack of service. Hours. Expensive. more

In regards to Boston Sports Clubs, the pros are the multiple locations (and the variety that comes with that)... everyone has a different reason for liking the different locations so its kind of up to your personal preference. I can't help but jump to the defense of the staff at these places, having been a member for years and also employed by the club for some time, I know for a fact that BSC cares less about their staff than they do about their members. Staffers have ZERO control over anything, lousy pay, no respect, and they are often thrown to the wolves so to speak, because it is them who have to deal with angry clients and yet they have absolutely NO power to change anything because the place is a CORPORATE MONSTER set up not unlike a pyramid scheme. So try to be kind. When I worked there I was made only more miserable by how poorly members treated me because they were unhappy. Also, I got a staph infection from cleaning machines and the company offered me ZERO assistance finding medical treatment and/or any time off. \r If you ever have a complaint, don't take it out on the people being forced to wear bright blue or red shirts. send an email to the company. It goes straight to the top and doesnt hurt the little people in the process. \r I have since quit the company and Im so much happier Pros: lots of locations Cons: company treats their members and staff as dispensible (but quick cash) more

After seeing the old reviews for this gym (late 2002) I just HAD to write a current one! I have been a member of many different gyms and I must say that, though pricey, BSC Copley is one of the best I've belonged to. Unlike what one reviewer stated, this gym is all on one level. The only stairs are at the entrance, as it is a basement-level gym. There are no windows, though the ventilation has been fine for the 2 months that I've been going there. They have a nice, clean pool that is open all day, everyday for adult lap swim. They have a TON of cardio equipment, machines, and freeweights. They also have a litany of classes, including aerobics, strengthening, spinning, yoga and tai chi. The locker room and showers are clean, and includes a roomy sauna. The location is extremely convenient. At $70/month it is somewhat pricey, but even the YMCA is $50/month these days! I looked around alot and realized what I would be spending in gas to travel to a ""cheaper"" gym outside of the city. A good gym with a **NICE, CLEAN POOL** is hard to find. Also, I don't know what the other reviewers were talking about when they said the staff at BSC Copley were rude...they have all been great to me, and the people at the front desk are always very friendly, both as you arrive and as you go. Pros: Clean pool, lots of equipment & classes, location Cons: A bit pricey more

I've been a member of various healthclubs and gyms for over 15 years and BSC is by far the most overrated, overpriced club in the city. They continue to raise membership dues while simultaneously running membership campaigns to increase headcount, however where does all the money go? Certainly not adding new cardio equipment or weights. The Downtown crossing location is poorly managed and has an abundance of unused space which could easily be occupied with new equipment. The cardio machines that they DO have are constantly breaking down. The Fenway BSC is much better but even they haven't stocked themselves with Cybex, the best equipment around. Stick with Golds for $30/month and forget BSC! more

BSC has nothing on any health club except its convienence. There is a club near almost everything and everyone. That said, the staff is snobby, the rates high, and nothing special. Pros: lots of clubs Cons: expensive more

I joined BSC Copley because of it's convenient location, and a good promotion. But I regret it every time I go there. The people are rude and the person at the front desk always seems put-out when you ask for a towel. The gym is 3 floors high - so to go from the treadmill to the free weights, you have to climb two flights on this ridiculously narrow stairway and hope you don't collide with anybody coming down. There is no air circulation, and the equipment is too close together. It never feels clean there. The air conditioning has been broken for a month now, and they've done nothing to compensate their members who are dying of heat exhaustion on these 90 degree days. Everything about this gym sucks. Pros: Location Cons: Rude Staff, Claustrophobic more