Equinox Kensington

Nice facility. Everything you could possibly ask for in a fitness club. The cafe / lounge is very convenient. The music is pretty chill and eclectic. You enter the building along the side street not from the High St. You then take the elevator to the 5th floor. The same floor as Warner Music. Please note: You don’t have to show your phone to the front desk to gain entry. You just have to click “CHECK IN” on the app. Your profile turns green and it means your good to go. The human behind the desk will see your face and details on their screen.

Gym is nice and clean. Never really crowded but I hate the fact that they close the valves for the water fountains almost entirely to try to reduce costs. People will still drink water but it takes almost a minute to fill up a 0.5l bottle. Makes me angry every single day 🥶

Beautiful gym, have been training mainly at this branch for the last 5 months. It gets busy during peak hours and Saturday mornings.
Staff are nice and friendly
Easy to check in and walk into the gym without actually scanning anything
Food in the cafe it’s pretty good
Changing rooms are nice but missing a few supplies compared to the other branch in bishopsgate
Cleaning of the gym floor could be improved

Been a member at Equinox since 2015, starting in NYC, then moved to London in 2017 and the level of Equinox Kensington has been on a continuous decline since then with a sharp acceleration in the standard of what one has come accustomed to at both Equinox and from what to expect from gyms and fitness clubs these days.

Unfortunately I can’t take a picture of the air temperature in the gym for obvious reasons, but the fact that they don’t have a functioning AC system that keeps the gym cool is just the beginning. It is warmer in the gym than it is outside on a hot day. Not to mention that the dressing rooms don’t have functioning ventilation system, making the dressing room compete with a hot and humid Middle East in August. And the reason for not fixing it the management team just keeps referring to the local building management team.

As for faulty equipment, when things break - even simple things as a water pump switch, these things will go unfixed for months. Not to mention the equipment itself which is old an outdated. The most new piece of equipment in addition to the pec/delt fly machine which is more than a year and a half old are new ergonomic handles to lat pull/row machine.

Last but not least, one cannot overlook the poor level of cleanliness. It’s simply beyond acceptable. Layers of dust, hair, and dirt is spread out across the gym. And the explanation one gets is that they cannot find cleaners (!!).

After these points it’s only fair to mention the good parts - which are simply a bright and spacious gym. That one cannot take away. It’s not a gym hidden in a basement. You actually have a feel like you’re training in proper daylight. The general ambiance/style is nice (but a bit dated), but does indeed give a feel for a nice gym. But when one just takes a little extra look and not much further beyond the surface, Equinox is at a very disturbing low level - and there are always excuses for why and no remedied and fixes. So unless you live in the very proximity there is no reason to sign up for Equinox.

Definitely would not recommend this place. So many gorgeous gyms opened up around Kensington,
At first staff are friendly! (of course)

Try find out about your goals!(🙄)

This use to be David Bowie’s nightclub!
(Wonderful and what response are you hoping for?)

This is more of a private members gym!
(No It really Isn’t)

You can get your gym gear washed!
(Yeah for an extra charge I will take it home thank you)

There is a sauna in the changing room!
(One sauna amazing)

A little spa! (I will go and have an experience elsewhere)

Basically these staff are very devious!
They are clearly not going to be the same with everyone, because they would not get away with it, but I would definitely bare in mind you could be one of there victims.
At times they are no better than dodgy dealers.
And basically the gym is no better than anywhere else.
I could post pictures to prove my claim.
At this moment In time I won’t, just remember! What ever the staff say to you, what they mean is the opposite. They have your back!
No there own back! And commission! only these will go to any lengths to get it!!

Basically!!

1* Is because it was David Bowie’s club.

I want to highlight that my father is a member there and he has recently been a victim of organised crime by either a member at equinox or a staff member. His credit cards got stolen from his locker, as well as his SIM card from his phone while he was in the shower. With these valuables they have managed to steal more than £10.000, as they were able to confirm the two-factor authentication security system. A report has been filed and we have contacted the police but the equinox team have not put much effort into helping and they really should make this crime more publicity aware in the gym so that it does not happen to anyone else.

Not worth the money. Too much equipment cramped into a small space, so the floor feels super busy. You have to awkwardly walk through the gym floor to get to the relatively small changing rooms as well. Bishopsgate/St James Equinox’s are far better!

Instructors are super friendly and you can always ask them questions at the end of the class, especially if you’re a newbie or are unclear about how to correctly use equipment.
The space itself is very nice and is kept clean at all times. There’s MUNCH FIT, to have coffee/eat after working out. You can also work from the raised table with benches, enough space for laptops and to plug your charging devices.👩🏻‍💻☕️
Toilet facilities are impecable if you have to balance your ‘exercise-going to work right afterwards’ routine. I’m very happy with this gym.
PS: Big fan of Metcon3 and Strong classes by Hendrick F