Southbury Leisure Centre

In more than 20 years that I have been going to the gym this is by far the worst gym that I have come across. If you are thinking of joining, please listen to me: look elsewhere. I know other gyms might be far, more expensive, not offer a swimming pool but you will regret joining this gym. The price that you pay (for gym and swim) is the cheapest in the area but there are many reasons for it.

First of all, the pool itself: the pool is always overcrowded because they only have 2 sessions for lane swimming (generally, early morning and late evening). In an area with thousands of people, you can imagine there are always too many people at each session. Moreover, if you are a fast swimmer, forget about being able to swim in peace. What is supposed to be the fast lane is used by all sorts of people with the result that it becomes dangerous as you are constantly trying to avoid slow people/people who don't know how to swim. If you swim to relax, you will find it has the opposite effect.
Secondly, the gym: the machines are old and some of them are broken. It is incredibly hot as there is no air conditioning so when you exercise it becomes very uncomfortable.
The building: it is incredibly dirty and the changing rooms/toilets smell of sewage all the time. Not to mention that the showers and the pool have been unavailable for weeks because the boilers were broken, despite the fact that you still pay your full membership for services you are not able to use.
The staff: most of the staff are a bunch of (at best) 15 years old who have got attitude problems. They don't care about helping members or about fitness, they are literally there to collect a paycheck so they can get drunk over the weekend. They obviously forget that our useless council might pay their salary, but without members the council might not be able to pay them anymore!

In essence, AVOID AVOID AVOID at all cost unless you are prepared to deal with a very substandard gym. I (and I am sure others) would be happy to pay more if that would mean getting a better service but, trust me, even if you only pay £34 a month it feels way too much for what you get in return.

Very disappointed with my visit to the fun and floats session. There was a very long queue that took 15 minutes to get through, despite paying upfront on the app,15 mins out of our session time. The changing rooms were dirty and stunk of sewage. And to top it all the pool was absolutely freezing.... Far too cold to be enjoyable. Not wasting my money going there again!

clean pool, water was warm and good in the kids pool which is amazing in the head, lovely staff. Swim room showers were broken, we had to use the shower changing rooms outside. One good thing i like about the pool. Is the sauna and steam is front the kids pool you can use while the children having fun and you take your time☺️

I have been coming here for a few years and it has gone completely downhill. As soon as you enter the changing rooms for swimming you can smell the drains. The floors are always quite dirty. The showers are constantly broken and aren't fixed for ages. The pool is ok but sometimes a bit crowded. No one showers before they enter the pool. The gym equipment is outdated.

Decent size gym. Nice swimming pool with a separate are for kids. It has a steam and sauna too. The kids soft play is small and they removed the cafe area that was next to it which is a shame

Soft play and pool are convenient.
Staff are nice/generally helpful and friendly but they are always short staffed. Never enough people on the front desk which is not their fault but the managers.
Place is dirty.
Lift been broken for a month which is unacceptable for all sorts of reasons.
Never has hand soap and toilets truly are a last resort if you really need to go. But they are disgusting. Went once first thing on a Monday morning and all the ladies toilets were blocked in the swim area.

It could be really nice if it was run better and staff were invested in.

My kids go to swimming school here. I don’t even know where to start or how bad of a state this place is.
First of all, it is FREEZING cold in the swimming section and I am not talking about the pool, I am talking about the changing room area and where the actual pool is. Whilst I wait for them to swim, I sit there in my winter coat with my hat and scarf and I am still cold, imagine the poor kids there in their swimming customs and their body being wet, they must be freezing.
When you come in to the changing room area, it stinks, not sure what it is but it could be the sewage as that is the smell I get. The toilets are NEVER clean, it is dirty. The showers NEVER work.
The biggest issue is that they charge us a monthly direct debit every single month without fail and in the past 4 months their lessons have been cancelled over 10x. When you speak to the receptionist they just take your name and contact details down and they never call you back, when you try to speak to a manager they say they will sort it out but NEVER do. Their excuse is that there are things not working or need to be fixed but they do not reimburse you and they only repair whatever needs to be repaired for a week or two and it is back to cancellation again. I am glad I have now left and I wish the best to those new people signing up and the leisure centre just taking their money. . It is ridiculous. No public place should be open to the public especially kids in that state and condition. It is disgusting!if you are thinking of bringing your kids here, I would say STAY AWAY FROM IT. If I could give them 0 star review, I would’ve. But for the health and safety of your kids, keep them away!

I have been using it to swim amd whilst the pool itself is fine there are very limited lane swimmimg sessions avaiable and theynare not at good times.
The changing rooms stink, they are filthy as are the rubbish showers, the whole place is very dirty.
Staff couldnt give a toss. To sum up..its a dump, im going to go elsewhere even if i have to travel out of the borough. Its a disgrace.
I booked to go today, got there and was told to pool was closed because its too cold. Asked why i was able to book when the pool was closed and she didnt know. Asked for a refund but she couldnt do it. When will it be open next, i dont know, you will have to ring and find out. But noone ever answers the phone....absolutely usesless, no apology and couodnt care less.