Golds Gym Northgate

I used to be a Golds gym member until recently when my membership finally expired. Now, don’t get me wrong — Golds is a nice gym. It’s small at this location and it’s clean (thanks ONLY to the cleaning lady who seems to live there). It’s also not a busy location. Golds is fairly expensive (they charge BI-​WEEKLY — not «monthly» which means there are 26 payments taken from your account, not 24). They also have a few hidden fees that no one seems to tell you about. One of them is the freeze fee. They will tell you when you sign up that you can freeze your account if not using it (summertime etc) but they will fail to tell you that there is a charge of apx $ 10. Yes… a CHARGE to not be there using the facility. Never have I experienced this at former gyms. The other thing is a form of an admin fee of apx $ 85 that gets mailed to you yearly. Again — SURPRISE! Read your contract — the BACK part, before you sign anything. Now on an interesting note — my contract expired just in time for Fit4Less to open up a mere stones throw from my home. $ 10/​mo or $ 20 for the card that includes tanning and massage chairs. Well heck — where do I sign up! I was a bit hesitant because I liked that Golds isn’t overly busy. I called and asked one of the managers if he’d renew me for the higher amount of what I’d be paying at Fit4less (which would work out to apx $ 250/​yr). He said no. He’s not a very social guy — name is Adam. And he had a hard time with the conversation. Almost awkward. He said no one can compete with the prices at F4L as they are considered an express gym (no showers or classes). F4L has EVERYTHING i used at Golds, so to me it was a lateral move. Plus, I could get the tanning and massage chairs. I gave Golds one last opportunity to renew me at the $ 250 for the year and told Adam I’d be giving my $ 250 to them or the F4L. The choice was his. He still said no. The funny thing tho… recently (probably since F4L came into competition) was Golds starting advertising big signs at the door and the locker rooms that said if you buy one membership, the second was $ 14.99. Well quick math would tell you, an average membership with them is $ 500 (or more, give or take). Add the $ 15 and divide that by two friends. Each paying apx…$ 250. So Golds would rather lose a loyal customer than renew me and lose a few bucks. Fair enough… their call. I won’t be back.
BUT…I have to say…“THANK YOU GOLDS FOR NOT TAKING MY MONEY!!!”. Fit4Less is the best gym I have EVER been to. It’s HUGE, it’s CLEAN, it’s well maintained and it’s ²⁴⁄₇. I paid $ 150 for the year (signing up with their $ 10/​mo membership). They are no contract (but you do have to commit for a year to begin). Their equipment is NEW and there is a whole lot of it.
So again, FIT4LESS is where it’s at. It takes me less than 5 minutes to get to the gym by foot (as I live across the street) and no matter what time I go, there are machines available. The gym is well laid out and organized. It’s a smart set up. You scan your key tag to get you in the double doors (and don’t need to deal with any staff members). The staff at Golds were RUDE. Especially the red-​headed girl who used to be at the front. No one there ever acknowledges you when you come or leave. And many times you’d do there, the staff would be outside smoking. So again, thank you Adam for turning down my request to renew at your gym. I love my new workout facility, I will tell EVERYONE I know how awesome Fit4Less is… and I will NOT be back to Golds :)
Fit4Less is where it’s at! :) (BIG happy smiley face!)

Fact: All Gold’s locations here in Edmonton are owned by one person. Operation Manager for all is same person too.
As a reviewer, sometimes it dawns upon me whether I should be reviewing a place based solely on the equipment/​physical aspect or how the staff was so «friendly».
My review will focus more on the things needing change. That being said, Having the same owner and same operational manager for all Gold’s locations in Edmonton for almost a decade now, dont expect any change for a few more years. I will certainly not recommend all Gold’s locarions here in Edmonton and furthermore, discourage anyone else from joining up with them. There are certainly better gyms out there. Not perfect but better.
I go here mainly to weight lift. That being said, most of my review will be involving around the equipments. I posted pictures showing machines with leather or covering slowly decaying away from use or misuse. That includes benches too. There is even a lie down leg curl machine that is not stable and needs a 45lb weight at base to be stabilized! These are a few that go break down and yet doesnt get maintained for 3 – 4 months at least. They charge about 75 dollar annually for their equipment maintenance. Yes, I am nitpicking. Because these are safety issues. A broken covering for an equipment will indicate a reservoir for harmful bacteria and other pathogens. An equipment that needs to be balanced and kept still by other equipments i.e. weights is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Heck, a men’s washroom stall has been broken for 2 months now. Go figure.
Secondly, they have issues with cancellations. Yes, the dreaded C! To cancel with them, you have to send a registered letter all the way to Colorado in USA! That is where the gym’s finance handler ASF is located. It will take 90 days to cancel. Yes, that same 90 day is in their contract. And while you are waiting, they will be happy to charge you the bi-​weekly you are due and the 75 dollar annual maintenance fee if it happens to be due too. That also depends if they will accept your letter in the first place. To anyone who finds this may be an overexaggeration, I would suggest looking at their Better Business Bureau Score and same complaints. Look also at kijiji for ads to get their Gold’s gym membership transferred. Only Gold’s members are asking to have their contracts taken over.
If you happen to miss a payment just because you forgot to change your info with them, you get charged DOUBLE what you normally get charged.
If your contract ends, they will automatically put you on month to month. Paying the same rate, same maintenance fees BUT you cannot just quit the membership. You will still have to do the 90 day thing.
Third, memberships. I have been a member for 3 years. One time, I didnt know that my account was going on month to month so I asked on how to renew my contract. The teenage staff said to call the manager Rolla Chehayeb. She is the manager for all Gold’s location here in Edmonton. At the time she was in the west edmonton location. I did and inquired. What I didnt expect was for her to renew my contract without asking me for my specifics/​personal information confirming that I am really the one calling. She renewed it on the spot, told me to go pick it up next day. No contracts were signed also. Just verbal. Imagine my concerns when this was done. Yeah, they can and they will renew contracts without your written permission.
Lesson learned, ask more about a place, research via Unilocal/​Better Business Bureau or other sites with formal complaints. And dont be afraid to ask the questions especially if it pertains to how finances, memberships and cancellation processes will go.

I came to Gold’s Northtown mall location last night for the first time to attend a Zumba class by Mariela Jara.
The entrance to this location is at the back of the strip mall (behind T&T). The entrance was bright and clean and the layout was easy to follow.
The women’s wash/​change rooms had a work out section for ladies only including cardio with individual television screens.
There were lots of cardio options and a double set of free weights available. The gym itself was smaller than some I have been to but laid out in a logical fashion.
What really surprised me was the cardio cinema where they have a HUGE projector screen in a dark room for watching movies on while doing various cardio!
The group exercise room had mirrors on 2 of the 4 walls, was spacious, had an engineered floor, and was quite organized. This room was probably the best for size and layout I have been to in the city but it was overwhelmingly warm yesterday — not sure if that was a random fluke or the norm at this location? The exercise room had numerous boss balls, spin bikes, as well as equipment for step classes and weight lifting.
There is also a juice/​snack bar on site but they were not open when I was there (sunday night).
As a side note, Mariela was a total kick a$$ Zumba instructor! I’ve taken Zumba classes from about 8 different instructors over the years and this lady’s energy was insane and her demeanour incredibly welcoming!
I give this Gold’s Gym 2 thumbs up and a solid 4 stars!

I’ve been going to this gym for over a year now and I prefer it to any other I’ve tried. Spa Lady is full of older women, plays terrible music, and just wasn’t for me. I don’t like World Health because it’s so open and exhibitionist – so many people are there to have people watch them and to watch other people. Not for me, either. The YMCA is much too expensive.
There’s the occasional leering creep at Gold’s, but they have a great women’s section for everything you need if you want a bit of privacy. I’m also a huge fan of the Cardio Cinema, which lets me watch the latest movies on a big screen (projector) while running, biking, or using the elliptical.
The machines are fine – other reviewers have said they’re outdated, but how state-​of-​the-​art do you need to get to lift weights? Everything is kept clean and their free weight selection is impressive. They also have a co-​ed and women’s hot tub and sauna. The only downfall is they’re often out of commission.
Gold’s also has a health bar at the front where you can get smoothies, water, or supplements. The guy who runs that is lovely and very helpful.
All in all, I really like this gym and I’m quite happy to go there 4 – 5 times a week!

I had memberships to at least 4 different gyms, so it’s not my first time at a gym, The good: The place it’s spacious, has lot’s of cardio machines, lot’s of smith machines, and double sets of dumbbells. The bad: the machines are outdated, they look really old, and the place looks like a dungeon, dark and not very clean. When machines break down, it may take months for them to fix them, they also took them months to fix their screen tvs on the walls. They don’t offer many group classes, every time I go there, there’s never a class going on. During peak hours, it’s just a bunch of college kids hanging out around the machines, and trying to check out the girls at the gym. The worst part about Gold’s Gym, is the cancellation policy. My one year contract, expires in a couple of month, so I decided to go in and try to cancelled my membership, just like I did with my other gym memberships at the other gyms, in an out with no hassle. But that wasn’t the case, I have to mail a letter (not even email), to a third party in Colorado, Colorado?!? under ASF Payment Solutions, which it is not state it in the Gold’s Gym contract, so BEWARE!!! it will take 90 days until the cancellation it’s completed, and you will be charge a cancellation fee. Out of all the gyms cancellation I have made, this is the worst cancellation policy I have come across with, and the first on which I have to mail a letter to a third party. Before joining any gym, find out what’s cancellation process is, and where your banking information it’s going to. In my opinion, DO NOT JOIN THIS GYM.

Well I find it hard to believe there are no reviews about this gym, and no negative ones at that. This is by far and away the WORST gym I have EVER been to. If a dirty, poorly maintained building isn’t enough to deter you, the egregious contract they have you sign should. If anything breaks around there eg. Leg press machine or water fountain, don’t expect it to be fixed anytime within the next 6 months. The floors are always littered with weights. Sometimes it’s borderline comical how many dumbbells are on the floor in the free weight area compared to on the rack. In winter time, don’t even think about taking your shoes off to head to the change room or else your socks will be soaked by the time you get there. Nobody takes off their shoes at the front like you’re supposed to. Now let’s move onto the staff. At best they’re dismissive and uninterested and at worst they’re downright rude. Dont even plan on getting treated like a human being unless you’re one of their friends or a good looking girl. Smarmy trainers who spend more time hitting on girls than anything. And it’s also funny how nice they are to you until you sign on the dotted line and then suddenly it’s like you don’t even exist! The staff can frequently be found smoking in front of the entrance so you literally have to walk past them and their cloud of smoke to get in. And now the contract. A 3 year contract seems pretty standard and par for the course, until it’s over and it automatically rolls over into a month by month. Also pretty standard. Now here’s the difference. Any other gym you just have to kindly ask to cancel and they’ll do it. Not Golds! Nope. The front desk staff not only can’t help you, you have to send a registered letter to a third party company to request that they cancel your account. Best part is they need 3 months notice! If your letter isn’t worded perfectly it doesn’t take effect. Awesome hey. It sounds like i’m just dogging on Golds but it’s all true. Every word. If you don’t believe me go find out for yourself. But do yourself a favour and just sign up with world health. Simple contracts, clean gym, friendly staff. What more can you ask for?