Is Equinox Gym Worth the Cost? (Get a $100 Gift Card)

Positioning themselves as a “luxury gym”, an Equinox membership can range from two to ten times the cost of other gyms. Whether it’s worth it to you is a personal decision. Obviously there are plenty of people who feel it is worthwhile to pay that kind of money for a gym. Here are some factors that we’ve observed during our membership at Equinox that can help you decide if it’s worth it to you.

The Classes

One of the biggest advantages of Equinox is the unlimited group fitness classes. If you take even just two classes per week, it could turn out that Equinox is a better deal than some other gyms. Equinox offers a wide variety of classes, including cardio, strength, running, cycling, yoga, pilates, boxing, and cycling.

Equinox also prides itself on the quality and training of its class instructors. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee that they’re all better than at other gyms. We’ve found the instructors to be well qualified and friendly.

When we were re-evaluating gym membership in our area, no other gym could match the variety and sheer number of classes that Equinox offered throughout the day. Only Equinox’s selection of classes fit our schedules. So, we decided to stay at Equinox.

The Facilities and Equipment

If cleanliness is important to you, that might be another good reason to choose Equinox. There are always people going around cleaning things. In the locker room, I often see someone mopping the floor. It’s very easy to find plenty of horror stories about the cleanliness of other gyms.

I find the general atmosphere of Equinox gyms to be high-end and worthy of the luxury gym label. Our Equinox gym in Santa Monica has views of the ocean from the patios.

I think the selection and number of machines and benches are good. Yes, there are peak periods when the machines are crowded (i.e., Saturday mornings), but in general, I haven’t had a problem getting on the machines I want to use.

The Amenities

Equinox is famous for its eucalyptus-infused towels. It’s a thing – after I get home, even my gym bag smells like eucalyptus.

Lots of folks online tout the Kiehl’s products in the locker rooms, but actually, Equinox discontinued Kiehl’s a while ago and now offers Grown Alchemist toiletries. For some, this might be a strike against Equinox, as many perceive Kiehl’s as higher quality.

We have not tried their smoothie bar yet, but we are definitely going to; I’m getting tired of paying $20 for smoothies at Erewhon! I’ll update this article afterward, so check back!

The Clientele and Location

Because of the cost, Equinox attracts a young professional demographic, with folks who value physical fitness enough to spend a lot of money on it. There are also affluent older members.

Equinox gyms are usually located in hip urban areas with a high concentration of young professionals. The one in Santa Monica is between Ocean Avenue and the famous Third Street Promenade.

Online On-Demand Classes

We survived the pandemic by taking Equinox’s on-demand classes at home through their app. Sometimes we still do a yoga class on the app from home. It’s a nice perk of membership.

When we do these workouts, I use Apple AirPlay to cast the video from my phone to my TV.

Workout Clothing Discounts

Surprisingly, Equinox’s small on-site store actually has really great prices for workout clothing during sales. I was able to get a bunch of my favorite Vuori shirts at a big discount at their store, much cheaper than at REI or the Vuori store. Different types of items are on sale at different times, so keep an eye out.

Ease of Cancelling and Pausing Your Membership

When the pandemic was just starting, we were easily able to cancel one of our Equinox memberships and convert the other one to online-only by simply emailing the manager. No questions asked. Note that we were past our one-year initial mandatory membership period.

Later, when I broke my foot and wasn’t able to work out for a few months, I just emailed my doctor’s letter to the Equinox manager and she paused my membership for two months. Simple as that.

The Reviews

Our Equinox location in Santa Monica gets a lot of five-star reviews on Yelp!, but also a good number of one-star reviews. I decided to investigate these and found many were frankly ridiculous.

• The first complaint in a one-star review was that the men’s and women’s locker rooms are far apart in the Santa Monica location. That’s true; they are on different floors, but so what? I go with my wife, and even I don’t care about that. I just wait for her in the lobby after I shower. I don’t get why this is an issue worth complaining about on Yelp!
• Another complaint was the layout, specifically that the equipment is spread throughout three floors. I don’t understand this one either. This is a gym and you don’t want to go up and down stairs? I guess it could be an issue if you want to alternate between two machines. But there are plenty of machines on each floor to do that with.
• One person complained about not enough TVs. I actually prefer a gym with no TVs, so this is not an issue for me.
• A lot of other reviewers complain of bad gym etiquette, like people staring at their phones while on equipment. To me, that seems more like a societal problem than a problem with Equinox. I think having staff going around scolding people for looking at their phones would make for a terribly oppressive environment, and not somewhere I’d want to be.

Honestly, it was hard for me to find a legitimate complaint. A lot of the reviews seemed like whining. Probably the only legit complaint I found was the replacement of Kiehl’s products in the locker rooms.

Conclusion

So is Equinox right for you? If you’re into the classes, the cleanliness, and working out in a premium environment, and you have the means to afford it, it might be.

I admit, it’s expensive; we’re spending thousands of dollars per year on Equinox. My wife and I considered switching after the last price increase. But, she loves the classes, the cleanliness, and the overall atmosphere and amenities, and we weren’t able to find any other gym with classes that fit our schedule. Also, knowing that we are paying so much forces us to go; it would be insane to pay this much and not use our membership. I’ve been guilty of doing that with cheaper gym memberships, which truly is a waste of money. We figure this is for our health, so how can you put a price tag on that?

If you’re interested, use the link below to get a $100 gift card with membership:

Questions? Comments? Let me know what you think about Equinox in the comments below! – Brian

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