Brunel Gym

Good gym with all the equipment you would expect. However, very busy from 8pm onwards. Would like to see additional separate cable row and Lat pull down machines as only having one combined row and lat pull down machine is not adequate for such a busy gym.

Sepertare almost fully equipped womens gym, lots of classes and good instructors. Lots of training equipments available in both ground and 1st floor.

Fairly well equipped given the spacing. However for certain this gym provides exceptional value for money

I do enjoy this gym as it is not usually overcrowded during my sessions and all equipment I need is always available and looks tidy. The gym has a separate cardio area, a spacious free weight area which is fairly impressive. One downside for the time being I would say that there is a lack of water coolers (the fountain near reception give warm water which tastes like tap water). Another one is that I feel lack of space for warming up, though it might be my personal preference 😊 Also I would add elementary soap dispenser and hairdryers in the shower and changing room. This review is done after about 10 sessions and can be revised or added 😉

If you are a student then the early bird membership is a no brainer, gym has everything you need, nice and clean, spacious, it can get a bit full between 8-9 sometimes but I've never had a problem using the equipment I wanted too. Great gym, great price, public can use for one off charge of £6.

Nice gym, just had a refurbishment… but it’s crazy busy at the moment!

Well maintained temperature and blowers setting.
Female gym has got very minimal machines to work on, however the other gym is spacious with most of the machines.
Really nice staff and ambience

Unfortunately, Brunel promises a lot but delivers nothing:
1. Climbing wall
The climbing wall is in the membership brochure but is not really available to gym membership users. You need to contact a separate climbing club who will evaluate you and then you can only attend in club hours. I’ve been climbing for 24 years, I really don’t need supervision over a 2 metre high bouldering wall. In the past you could just turn up at Brunel, be checked for safety and competence, sign a waiver and then be able to just start climbing.
2. Sauna and spa
Not only the venue is super dated, unhygienic and with no drinking water (water fountain dead and the water jug put instead was empty with cups rolling on the floor) but also you cannot use it as a gym user. Booking needs to be made on the day and the hotel guests take priority over membership users. If you phone to book a slot but the slot is taken you will be told what the next available slot is and if it’s for the next day, then you will be told you cannot book it- booking only on the day for the day. Since the spa opening after Covid, I’ve tried to get there at least 15-17 times, I was only allowed there once. Really degrading.
3. Gym
Gym is comprehensive however the equipment is tired apart from the dumbbells. Not really an issue unless you want to use the cables, which are unbalanced. An actual problem for me is that the floor is dirty and the floor mats that you are supposed to lie on are really, really dirty. I attend in the evenings and wow your head, back and hands hurt after digging into the grit on the floor mats, leaving red scars. Your gym clothes are filthy after lying down. Very uncomfortable if you want to do sit ups, push ups, gymnastics etc.
4. Cancellation
You can start paying Brunel at reception straight away and start a membership but nobody from reception will help you if you want to stop your membership. You will be given a number you need to call, then you need to send an email to an external party regarding direct debit. Reception has no real power in the gym, cannot help you with membership issues apart from referring you to somebody/ something else.

The staff is polite though. The gym users I came across were polite too.