Equinox – 85th Street

I am not sure why many people complain about this gym. Someone mentioned that the yoga at 8pm on Mondays was the worst. As a matter fact, I think it is one of the best. My muscles are sore from yesterday’s class. I guess it is too intense for beginners:)
No complaints about this gym! Best staff for sure!

This is my neighborhood Equinox, so yes I’ll keep coming here for cardio, strength, plyometrics and personal training (Dan Hutchins, Level 3+, is superb). I have an «all-​access» (multi-​location use permitted) membership, which is a good thing, because I like to sample some of the other locations around NYC.
Things I like a lot (in addition to Coach Hutch): clean, spacious locker room, no standing around waiting for a shower stall, cheery greet staff, coat room (in wintertime this is KEY), lots of cardio equipment and 4^th floor bench area with an ample set of dumbbells. TRX area next to stretching floor. Battle ropes are plentiful — they seem to get moved around, but they’re there, sometimes in a studio.
Things I DON’T like: when equipment breaks AND a member reports the issue to the staff, the repair just doesn’t seem to get done. BOTH of the ARC trainers (ellipticals) have had issues with their electronics, I’ve reported repeatedly on both, and STILL no repair! I sympathize with the reviewer who complained about the treadmill audio failures: there is simply NO EXCUSE for this. Other peeves: although the problem is FAR worse at other locations, it seems as if there is ALWAYS some cleaning going on in the locker room. Granted, as mentioned above, I like the high cleanliness factor; but the vacuuming/​mopping effort should be dialed back a bit when the locker room is crowded. Also, the selection of resistance machines seems a little dated, and a multi-​hip machine would be a big plus. (Note Rock Center USED to have a multi-​hip but seems not to anymore. {)-:})
Things I notice: juice bar is good and appears to be underutilized; and classes do seem to be popular. The demographic frankly varies: at times the average age is clearly north of 45, but hey that’s the UES, right? At other times the post-​collegiate/​professional school crowd predominates, and that’s UES, too.

Pros:
–Very clean.
–Not too crowded.
Cons:
–Overheated in winter. You will often see members dripping sweat with towels wrapped around there heads. The temperature is ok if you plan to stand around but i wanted to work out. For me this is why I quit.
–You can’t open the windows to get cool air.
–Front counter staff pretend to my listening if you have a compliant but they are really ignoring the compliant.
–High price — $ 188 per month!

I joined hoping the $ 200/​mo fee would translate into a better quality experience. Less crowded, better equipment, better classes. While classes are good, the floor space is much smaller compared to other Equinox locations. The layout is weird too — strength equipment is split across several floors and there isn’t nearly as much as you’d find at competing chains. There are so many trainers taking up space and equipment at this location leaving fewer options for people who can’t afford them on top of the premium price. There are a lot of treadmills which is nice if you’re into that.

After attending yoga, barre burn, and cycling classes at this location for over a year, I can now easily deem this Equinox location as «the one for old people.» The classes are NOT exciting as other Equinox locations (Bryant park location is BEST in my opinion) except for Warren Perry’s cycling classes on Tuesdays. I clear out my schedule to attend his class. Thank God for him, or else I would’ve cancelled my membership a long time ago.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m 32 years old. Definitely the average age –range for people living in the vicinity, but seriously, there is always at least one person in class who is pregnant, and all the weekend classes look as though half the students either have grown children at home or have grandchildren at home.
This equinox is geared toward married, older (mid thirties-​forties), pregnant (or are planning to get pregnant), stay-​at-​home or part-​time working mommies (or grand-​mommies). Probably has the highest number of elderly people attending Equinox than any other location in the city.

I love Equinox. I love every club i’ve been at. I have been a member at pretty much every gym in the city. This is the best. I will come back and add another star when they get the men’s steam room finished… equinox yorkville… your move.
EDIT: Steam Room Fixed.

I used to be a member, but ended up leaving. The positives were there were always plenty of machines open and equipment was repaired quickly. However, I would note that I go to the gym at off-​peak times. The showers and locker rooms were nice. The downside here is really the cost. The premium they charge over other gyms isn’t justified. They could charge maybe $ 40 a month more than a competitor, but I have seen quotes that cost over three times and even higher than their competitors. Maybe someone who does a ton of classes would see the value, but for my purposes of needing a gym to do my own workouts its a total non-​starter. It is a nice gym, but it is not worth the money they charge you.

I have come to dread going here, although I have been a member for years & years. It’s getting old and tired overall, but what I really can’t deal with is the deafening music, the bad upkeep of the equipment, and the fact that in winter, the floor becomes an absolute mess and obstacle course with members’ coats, packs, etc strewn all over the floor. I stopped taking classes there a few years ago because as loud as the music is on the floor, in the studios it is so very out of control that far many more people than just me seemed to be wearing earplugs. It used to be a place for serious work-​outs. Now it’s a substitute for clubbing.

This Equinox is ok. The locker rooms are clean, could use more hair dryers, and more space.
The yoga class was the WORST. The one on Monday at 8pm led by the lady with the tired whiny voice. The class where the instructor nags you through your asanas, but with no real direction, and then wipes oil on your head and tries to sell it to you. Seriously, this was allowed.
When I was signing up the membership advisor assured me only the best teachers and trainers work here, and the hiring process wasn’t an easy one. Outside of this class I’ve had some really good experiences. If this was my first class at Equinox, I would have cancelled immediately. I don’t know who let this lady in, if her name wasn’t on the calendar I would have assumed she wasn’t actually a teacher but someone who snuck in so they could push oils.
I took a yoga class here on Monday ¹¹⁄₁₁ at 8pm. I wont name names, but you can figure that out for yourself.
This person’s adjustments made no sense, if that’s what the random touching was supposed to be, people definitely needed adjustments, all our asanas looked different, that meant some of us were doing it incorrectly. People slumped into their downward dogs, knees not tracking over ankles, lots of little things that any noob would have picked up on. She came by and touched my wrist for no reason, not to turn it in the right direction or move it at all, it was like a person imitating a yoga instructor. It was probably that.
During savasana, she put a gratuitous amount oil on our temples without asking first. Instructors always ask the class to raise a hand if they don’t want oil, some people are allergic, some just don’t want oil on their heads, especially unexpected, random oil. Worst part, she tried to sell the stuff to the class. She said if we liked it, she had more and we can buy it for $ 20.

Disgusting and foul. Don’t sign up. Horrid staff. Never do anything to take care of complaints. When you try to talk to someone they are «all in a meeting «. REALLY ???
When I tried to quit my membership it was impossible. Kept having my credit card billed.

I’ve been a member of this gym for many years, and although it has much to recommend it, there is a major problem that is a true deal-​breaker. The vast majority of their classes are high-​impact, aerobic,“power” exercise or «EXtreme»
(their terminology, not mine). They’ve eliminated stretch classes, NIA classes and gentle yoga — all those classes that are healing and good for one’s body. And despite numerous and frequent requests, management pays little attention to members’ wishes.
To maintain a diverse membership, they will need a greater diversity of classes.

First of all, no complaint about the staff– the people that check me in are super friendly and always put a smile on my face. Trainers are nice usually, although some can be aggressive about trying to get new clients which you usually need to dodge if you don’t want to spend an extra $ 200 a week…
But my absolute pet peeve about this place is a ton of their things are broken and they don’t seem to care about repairing anything! I’d say about 50% of cardio headphone jacks that plug into TVs don’t work. When I’m ready to get my cardio on, I’m not exactly in the mood to hop 5 treadmills to find one I could use! And one of their bike seats was broken yesterday too. Unfortunately this place is down the street from my apt, although I sometimes take the extra trek down to 75^th street Equinox for a better gym

Severe problem with room temperature in this location. I am not someone who sweats much but I have had to leave the gym due to how uncomfortable it gets to work out here during summer days. Spoke to the managers who said they are aware of the problem but can’t solve it. ?
They also miss important weight machines and little stretching space — Steam room/​shower area is small.
Overall, pricey yet leaves a lot to be dissed. I do not recommend.

The people who work at this gym are THE WORST. I cancelled my membership 60 days before I moved. Still charged me for a month I was no longer an NYC resident.
Emails to me: your payment of $ 175 is late.
Emails from me: I cancelled. I don’t live in NYC anymore. Cards expired. No longer a member.
Emails from them: no response.
(Next month.)
Emails to me: your payment of $ 350 is late. We will turn this over to collections of my paid.
Emails from me: I emailed repeatedly about this. My membership is cancelled. I haven’t lived in the city for months.
Calls to Equinox: I cancelled my membership.
Them: OK. Don’t worry about it.
(Sigh of relief)
Emails from them: your debt of $ 350 is past due.
Me: !!!
(Throws phone out window).
No, I’m not going to give you an updated credit card so you can charge me $ 350 for a gym membership I cancelled and did not use, especially if I wouldn’t have been allowed in the club for those 2 months with an expired card.

Nice, clean, pretty facility. Lots of machines. I never have to wait although I go around 730pm after the work rush. I had a personal trainer for oct — April got some results but not what I really hoped for. I stopped because it was getting too expensive. I tried the cardio sculpt, spin and power strike class. I normally love classes but these did not do it for me. I felt so stupid in the power strike class, it was a good workout but I couldn’t help feeling like an idiot the whole time. The cardio sculpt class was a decent cardio session but I hated the fact you are in such a crowded room with late 40yr olds sporting the latest collection of lulu lemon wanna be’s who are taking the class way to seriously and the instructor screaming with a mike on… I actually left early. The spin class was alright not as good as soul cycle so when I get a chance I go there instead. Overall would recommend because of the clean facility, kiels products and friendly staff. Cons because it is pricey and needs better classes

I have been going here for years and really enjoy the classes. The only thing that is really missing is onsite child services. How can an upper east side location can be the one missing it when there so many kids around here.

I’m giving this place three stars instead of five because they have consistently put money ahead of customer satisfaction and employee well being ahead of everything else. Yes, the gym is very clean and the maintenance staff is super efficient and very friendly toward customers, but management is just not running an ethical company I want to be a part of. The classes are pretty good and varied but the whole enterprise has become one giant money machine. Here are just a few of the problems: As of about a month ago, trainers can no longer use overnight lockers because some premadonna member complained that there were not enough lockers for her to use and took photos of the dressing room. Then, management decided that trainers can no longer eat in the café area because they «congregate» there for too long and there’s not enough space. Prices have gone up AGAIN and again, personal training is about $ 115 per session and the trainers keep a TINY percentage of that (yes, I asked and you should too). Showers in the locker room have no hot water at different times of the day. I had shampoo all over me in the middle of a quick shower and then suddenly no hot water. Also, they have you set up on an «automatic» payment schedule on their website for personal training so when you run low on sessions, the system will automatically charge your credit card again for more sessions. Um, who told you to do that?!! Very sneaky. I had to manually remove that feature in my profile. I understand that the club has to make money, but they will no longer be taking mine.

The gym is fine (not nearly as nice as any of the other NYC locations I’ve seen, and because of the location is more expensive, but it does the job). My complaint is with the staff, or particularly the GM Michael Obertlik, who is extremely unresponsive and difficult. Painful to deal with.

I’ve been a member of this gym for the last year and a half, and it has been an absolute pleasure.
Joe Vito (GM) approaches this business with extreme detail.
Michael Borak (Membership Advisor) is so in tuned with clients and incredibly responsive. (Including Vicki Vargas — Although all member advisors are really pleasant, I don’t know their names for this review)
Edwin (Front Desk Mgr) and entire staff, always makes sure to address any issues when coming in professionally! (You know, whenever you have one of those credit card issues — hah!)
Oraine Barret (Trainer) places emphasis in understanding clients and has given me pointers any time he sees me doing something even slightly off.
This goes the same for Jessica, Martha, Rob, Mamou, Sophia (and others that I don’t remember their names)– They are incredibly dedicated and passionate about training! (Seriously)
The Juice Bar ask me every time I get a smoothie how I like it (who does that?), and they will make sure to make it right if I’m not 100%.
I decided one day to do yoga and walked to the locker room with just my socks on, and there wasn’t a single sign of dirt anywhere!
Weekends I was hoping they stayed later and I recommend calling on Holidays as they close early — I know — I’m really reaching for anything.
This facility should represent the flagship of Equinox and embodies a group of consummate professionals.

If I could just live here, I would. It’s impeccably clean all the time, all the staff are laid back, cool, and hip. They go the extra mile to make the gym feel like your second home and just a generally great hangout spot. I am literally obsessed with their group fitness classes and for better or for worse I organize my entire life schedule largely around spin, cardio sculpt, barre, and other signature classes LOL because they are so effective and fun. I was and still am a big yoga person and while I used to be highly averse to going to the gym or «working out» (I never owned sneakers and work out gear until I joined…), I have totally converted because Equinox makes the experience of getting fit inevitably addictive. Highly recommend this gym!!!

Equinox is the best BIG gym in town, but the mere size and price costs a star in my book. Their phenomenal ad campaign has increased membership, and thus the crowd factor of the gym, but people are pretty serious about their workouts so the issue is not as critical as it is at NYSC where people are packed like sardines in post-​work hour classes. The variety of classes at Equinox is equally impressive and is aimed at the after work crowd which is always nice. David Barton — along with the small pay per class studios (Exceed, AKT in Motion, Exhale) — will always be my fave, but it’s nice to have a big chain membership too in case I need to make a class before 7:00 am.

I’ve been an equinox member for the past two years or so and I love this gym for being consistently clean and full of attentive trainers that are willing to correct your form gratis. People who don’t want to pay their membership don’t need to go here. I like that I get a good value for my dollar because it’s always consistently clean. I still have memberships at LA fitness and bikram yoga studios but don’t use them as much because I like the variety of classes that EQ has to offer in addition to the new equipment.
I have been traveling a lot and am a gym junkie. So I’ve been to their locations in most of so cal, in addition to the one here in NYC and another in SF. So far the only one I didn’t like so much was SF, but I’m not reviewing that one. ;)
This place is a gym rat’s paradise. If you don’t go to the gym often then I would suggest a different place because it wouldn’t be worth it. I go about 4 – 6 times a week, love running, and just being healthy.
Anyway! Hope this was helpful guys! Now go get your sweat on!
Oh I also like the emails equinox sends with new workouts for their members to try out. :)!

This is quite a nice Equinox location in the Upper East Side. Compared with all the other gyms in the vicinity, Equinox is by far the best. The particular location is located right on 85^th Street and 3^rd Ave. Hidden within the residential area, you’re pretty much going to the gym if you live in the area. Nonetheless, it is new, and is a top notch facility.
If you want to compare apples to apples, and Equinox to Equinox, this UES club is better than half the ones in Midtown. First of all, it is spacious. Stretched out over 4 floors, there is plenty of room for you to work out. The 1^st Floor isn’t really much. There is a couch there, and it’s sole purpose is to check you into the gym. Once you walk up to the 2^nd floor, you’ll find the Shop, juice bar, another check-​in area, membership services, and of course the locker rooms and spa. As far as the locker rooms are concerned, they’re pretty big. There are 9 shower stalls, a steam room, and more lockers that I can even count. Like all Equinox locations, Kiehl’s products are there for you to use.
For working out, you’ll be spending your time on the 3^rd and 4^th floors. The 3^rd floor is where the yoga and spinning studios are. There’s also a nice little TRX section next to the stretching area, which is always a big plus. For both floors, you’ll find that the cardio machines are in the middle of the floor, while the weights and machines are kind of scattered around the cardio machines. Although there isn’t a plethora of machines, there are enough to go around to the point where you never really have to wait to use something. Lastly, you’ll find the dance/​cardio room on the 4^th floor.
This Equinox location is incredible. It’s clean, not too crowded, and beats out all the other gyms in the area. Sure it might be a little more expensive than David Barton and all the other spots, but you get what you pay for.

By the looks of the «bathrooms» board on my Pinterest and my «beautiful bathrooms» list here on Unilocal,one could tell I’m a fan of nice bathrooms. Following suit in this trend, I’ve been a member of this club since moving to the neighborhood; the locker room with its luxe Italian marble counters and Ann Saks tiled floors, being a huge draw. It is so luxurious and clean that it inspires me to work out early in the am before work, partly just to get ready here. The creamy Kiehls products in the shower certainly don’t hurt either. My gym philosophy is also, hey, whatever it takes!
The work out space leaves for some to be desired. I am not motivated to lift weights on my own and given finding a bench/​space to do some squat jumps, let alone tricep dips, is tricky, I stick to the treadmill and classes. Also, it seems everyone has his/​her own trainer, so although this provides some gratis inspiration and guidance for me to watch and learn from, it also hogs up more space on the minimal sq footage floor than necessary. Although it’s never very crowded, it has more then its fair share of entitled old lady mean girls, who boss the staff around and elbow you out of their way as they set out for their «dance the decades» class. Amazingly, the staff are super nice all the time despite that they have to endure this workplace abuse.
As for classes, I quite enjoy spinning, barre burn and yoga. However, the pounding «unce, unce, unce» from the spin class next door cancels out many of the benefits to dedicating an hour or so to the «mind/​body» practice of yoga. Maybe when I get good enough to attempt a head stand or crow pose, I will grow out of yoga at Equinox and join a real yoga studio. For now, I will have to tolerate the «unce, unce, unce». Given the club also seems to cater to the «ladies who lunch» set, there are only one or two class offerings before 8 am on weekday mornings, and a plethora of classes offered at all hours of the morning, which is no use to us working girls.
Lastly, I have a beef with the marketing/​business philosophy of Equinox. If the members actually looked like the models who only eat lettuce featured on their ads that plaster the walls of this gym, I would for sure be sitting home depressed while eating Ben and Jerry’s, instead of working out here. And, during the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, while other big name gyms were embracing the spirit of humanity during this tragedy for our beloved city and region by graciously opening their large locker rooms to people who badly needed showers, I got an email from Equinox stating that «during this time, we will not be able to honor member guest passes… sorry». Seriously, lame.
All in all, I’m sure this Equinox pales in comparison to other club locations in the city, but the neighborhood location, location, location and of course, the locker room, will keep me checking in here for a good work out and clean shower.