David Lloyd Beckenham

Had my Hair coloured cut and bouncy blow dried by Megan. Absolutely Amazing! So happy with the service and end result. Everyone in the Salon was so friendly and warm, I felt at home and pampered. Definitely going back!

I've been a member for 3 or 4 years but had not been making good use of my membership while working full time. Having recently ( semi) retired I decided to give it one last go and am now fully appreciating the benefits of the huge range of classes available for all abilities, as well as some personal training sessions. Yes, you do have to book ahead for the classes that you want but there's a reason that they're popular! I've found all the staff very friendly and welcoming- including the cafe and reception staff. The recent refurbishment of the gym has meant that there is always something there that I can do where before I found the layout somewhat intimidating. One aspect I would like to congratulate David Lloyd on is the age range of the personal trainers and class instructors - from fit young bods to inspirational older and experienced staff.

Love this gym and come regularly however last visit I had a (very clearly) crispy wasp or bee in my food. The waiter insisted it would have flown in whilst I was eating (this was inside, late evening, and I had been staring at my food the whole time eating it!). They did remake it but I didn’t exactly feel they were particularly sympathetic. Won’t be eating here again

Update: I emailed them as requested in their answer and I’ve not had a response. Seems like it’s just a cover for the Google review response

I recently left the club after being a member for about four years. I left because the communication was so difficult to manage, I found that if they didn’t want to talk to you about certain things they would lie and say staff members weren’t around when they were. The fact they could tell you to use the app to get a call back was a lazy excuse for them to have no interaction or decent customer service.
The cafe was always so busy and the food was poor and over priced.
The outside pool was so busy in the summer I would keep my distance!
The classes were brilliant however, I will miss those.

The gym is really well equipped following an refurbishment earlier this year, however, it appears that some members like some of the equipment so much they take it home with them (the Theragun massage guns seem to have completely disappeared). David Lloyd should probably conduct criminal records checks as part of the membership process, or put RFID tags on more portal items of gym equipment, and retail style anti-theft devices at the entrance/ exit to deter theft of equipment which is for the benefit of ALL members. Given the amount it costs to be a member, I would have thought that members can afford to buy their own equipment. The rules state that bags are not allowed in the gym, but as this is not enforced people take bags in and equipment out!

There seems to be a lack of gym staff on duty at times which means gym rules such as putting equipment back are not enforced with the result that members are forced to go "hunting" round the gym to look for weights, kettlebells etc, the end result is that the gym often looks a mess. The use of chalk powder by some members doesn't help either as everything gets covered in a white dust. There is no need for chalk powder as these people are hardly elite gymnasts.

The club has grown hugely since I joined in 2011. So much so that it is now over crowded on most days and evenings, and that is the problem. There are now TOO MANY members and the ambience at the club has deteriorated as a result. Even with a large car park finding a parking place can be tricky at times (avoid Saturday morning). Speed bumps also need to be put back in the car park as some members treat this as race track. The speed limit is 5mph, not 45mph! These are probably the same people who park in the baby/ disabled spaces, on the double yellow lines, or over two parking spaces. Parking regulations, like gym ones are not enforced by staff.

Don't bother complaining as you won't get a response, apart from the automated email saying that DL have received your complaint and the occasional email saying that someone will contact you, but never does.

The cafe area looks like an airport lounge and the food seems to be very expensive (from the menu). I have no idea why a health/ gym club is selling meals with chips, a well known "healthy option".

Children are not allowed in the adult changing rooms (and have their own changing area) but it appears that some parents are either unable read or just ignore the notices, and don't like being challenged. The changing rooms were supposedly refurbished early this year, but not much seems to have changed.

Be very careful if signing up for personal training using the app. Whilst it might be a cheaper payment option (by £2.50), what the app does not do is warn the unsuspecting client that they are in fact signing up for a subscription service with continuous payment authorisation. (There should be a pop-up on the app warning the customer). This in effect means that the client has no control of when David Lloyd takes payment for your session, and even if the card used to pay for the session expires, payments can still be taken, sometimes a week BEFORE the session takes place. The only way to stop this is to contact the card provider and dispute the payment.

Lovely outdoor pool, but avoid during heatwaves as it is like Benidorm in the summer, both in terms of numbers of people and culturally; towels on sun loungers at dawn! The club should set aside times in the summer for those people who don't have children to enjoy the outdoor pool without having to put up with other people's unruly offspring. The decision in the summer to limit the outdoor pool access to members only was a good one.

The club is supposed to be a "premium" club but no longer has the ambience of one, even if it charges a premium membership fee.
Update 1 week after owner post below. No contact from anyone in the management team at DL Beckenham. No surprise at all as they don't care. Have cancelled my membership.

Poor communication and fraudulent sales team.

Firstly my membership was incorrectly made to start on 30 September even though I made it crystal clear I wanted it to start on 1 October. I assume this was to meet sales targets and as a result 1 day membership cost was incorrectly taken out of my account.

Secondly I was set up on the higher membership (diamond) even though I made it crystal clear I would only be using the Beckenham gym so wanted the Platinum membership. As a result David Lloyd have been taking the higher membership fee from my bank account since 1 October and even though I have asked for my membership to be changed, requested a refund and complained to management nothing has been done.

I am extremely disappointed with the customer service at this club!

Beckenham is a family area so you get a lot of kids and parents there especially on weekends so I’d advise going during the weekday which actually isn’t too bad during 5-6pm. Gym is big with plenty of equipment but as it’s located above the swimming pool which is not enclosed, the gym gets very hot and humid which makes cardio hard.

Absolutely not worth the money my husband pays for our membership. I reported a concern about rope hanging down a week ago. They havent fixed it but tied it up into what is a massive strangling hazard for young children. Soft play also filthy as per photo. Staff mostly disinterested. Cafe staff completely ignore you when you go to order, i had to walk away as lady just kept her back to me despite me asking if she was serving. Shower gel containers always empty as are many of the hand gel stations. what does our £200 fee go on exactly?!