Better - Hough End Leisure Centre Reviews 

The staff were amazing! Very helpful with helping me choose the right membership. A big thank you to Chris and his colleague who was also on the desk that day.

Great facilities & friendly staff, but fitness classes are oversubscribed meaning I spend a lot of time monitoring emails to try and secure spaces following cancellations. It would be great if more classes were available 🙂

I really enjoy going to the leisure centre but one of the things I seem to notice constantly is the lack of cleaning supplies available to the customers and a lack of cleaning maintenance in the ladies toilets and swimming changing areas.
I understand not ever customer cleans the equipment after they use it so I like to wipe down before and after I use things. This is extremely difficult when there is nothing around or just 1 spray bottle and no tissue. I would greatly appreciate if these things were checked and replenished throughout the day.
Swimming changing cubicles, really needs a wipe down of panels, doors and seats. Its horrible to see the same marks for days. I hope some of this feedback is helpful and some positive changes can be made. Thank you

Every time I attend classes and scan my card that I am there later on I get charged for non attendance so someone is not marking me in and the problem is I can’t book any further class until the charge is removed thus causing inconvenience

I am beyond frustrated with the digital experience and cancellation policy at Better Leisure. In an age where almost every service offers "one-click" management, Better has built a system that feels intentionally designed to prevent you from leaving.

The "Cancellation Trap"
The most egregious issue is how difficult they make it to cancel a membership. You cannot simply click a button in your account settings; instead, you are forced to fill out tedious forms or, even worse, call them directly. This is a transparent tactic to keep people paying for memberships they no longer want. Because of these "hoops," I was unable to cancel for two months and ended up paying for a course I wasn't even attending.

A Technical Nightmare
The website is virtually useless. Navigating it is an exercise in patience that I no longer have:

Constant Logins: Even after you’ve logged in, the site frequently asks you to re-authenticate just to move from one screen to another.

Poor UI: Finding basic account management tools is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Outdated Processes: Requiring a phone call or a manual form for digital-age services is unacceptable.

Verdict: If you are considering joining, be warned: they make it very, very easy to take your money, but they will make you fight to stop the payments. I won't be returning.

My review was all about their website not a specific leisure centre. I reviewed their website as I am a software engineer. THey need to look at the time we are living in. People are busy and they don't have time to go on their website to fill in cancellation for 3 children. It should have been easy to cancel or freeze as any other gyms or leisure centres.

Didnt lrt me use my FREE membship and the use is FREE swimming and it made me pay terrible leisure never go bad gym too

One of the most unorganised gyms I've ever been to, I'll try and get a refund asap as I regret registering. Lack of equipment, every piece of weight was on the floor. Dumbbells scattered everywhere.

The staff and who are involved with the smooth running of the Facility have been very accomadating and Helpfull With Huan as his Carer we have both enjoyed the support and help from all staff... Huan s condition is called Crue De Cry ..a condition thay develops in the womb..though 22 in years Huan has the mind of a three year old..your facilty has helped Huan develop and associate with people in a normal enviroment..thankyou all.

A disabled woman who uses a wheelchair experienced a serious breach of privacy and dignity at Hough End Leisure Centre, which is operated by Better (GLL) under contract with Manchester City Council.
On 10 July 2025, she was using the locked, RADAR‑key disabled changing room when a male member of staff, assisting another customer, opened the door and entered the room despite her loudly and repeatedly stating that the room was occupied and that she was a disabled woman getting changed. She was partially undressed at the time. After this intrusion, the door was left unsecured, which she only discovered after dressing and leaving the room, while already in considerable distress.
The incident left her feeling humiliated, unsafe and unable to trust the facility. She cancelled her membership immediately. She then pursued a formal complaint with both Better/GLL and Manchester City Council.
In writing, the Council has accepted that her privacy and dignity were not protected and that both GLL and Manchester City Council share responsibility for the incident. Nevertheless, the practical outcome was extremely limited:
Better/GLL have relied heavily on vague references to “learning” and “training” without clear, dated, verifiable safeguards.
Manchester City Council has described the incident as a “judgement call” by staff and has denied any wider “systemic failure”, despite the combination of a lock override, lack of an “occupied” indicator, entry after shouted objections, and failure to secure the door afterwards.
The tangible remedy offered to the woman has been a refund and three months’ free membership, which she understandably declined.
The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman later decided not to investigate further on the basis that the Council had apologised and offered what it viewed as a “proportionate” remedy. That does not mean the incident was minor or acceptable; it simply means that, procedurally, the Ombudsman was satisfied that the Council had done the minimum required within its own framework.

From an objective, safeguarding perspective this case is deeply troubling:

A locked accessible changing room, used by a disabled woman in a state of undress, was accessed from outside despite clear warnings.
The door was then left unsecured, compounding the violation.
The systems and culture in place allowed this to happen, and subsequent responses have minimised any suggestion of systemic failure.
This incident is particularly alarming for women with disabilities, who are at heightened risk of harm and rely on accessible facilities being genuinely private and secure. The combination of:

male staff override access,
absence of reliable “occupied” indicators, and
minimisation of the incident as a one‑off “mistake”
should concern any woman, and especially any disabled woman, considering using these facilities.

In short:

The facts are documented and not seriously disputed.
The woman’s dignity and privacy were violated in a way that any reasonable person would find degrading.
The remedial response has been, at best, minimal and defensive, focused on process compliance rather than robust protection for disabled women.
Prospective users – particularly disabled women – should be aware of this history when deciding whether they feel safe using Hough End Leisure Centre or other Better/GLL operated, council‑commissioned facilities in Manchester.

My experience has been good. You could probably inform members when the steam / sauna isn't working so that one can decide if wanted to book the session.

It’s a very good gym and swimming pool, excellent and friendly staff and a safe and welcoming environment. Plenty of car parking and bike racks. What lets them down is the lack of cleanliness in the changing rooms and showers. There are a lot of customers but more effort is required to keep these areas acceptable.

I had my swim beginner lessons. The instructor Mustafa was very welcoming and encouraging. I felt confident that to swim with the float and keep my face underwater to keep me afloat. Clean and not vety crowded in evenings.

Staff at Hough End are friendly knowledgeable and professional.
I also appreciate the ease of using the app and accessing the facilities.

Waiting for my refund for over 2 months and not received it.
I was disappointed with the customer service they have. After paying the membership for the first time, they did not allow me to go to the gym without paying penalties. It is annoying.

Good customer service, they managed to fix a problem with my membership.

The class was cancelled but too late as I had already arranged a lift.
Luckily , Ola took the class but there were only 3 of us.

Excellent swimming lesson. The teachers were both fantastic and really engaged with the little ones.
(Monday, 9:30, Hough End)

They’re hard to get hold of and app is hard to navigate. Hough End swimming pool could really use some decent cleaners as it’s not pleasant and people full on showering in the rinsing showers instead of cubicles so you have to wade through people’s grubby soap and shampoo all over the floor on your way to the swimming pool, not to mention having to wait ages just for a rinse. Unisex changing rooms also a horrible, uncomfortable concept.
The kid’s swimming lessons were very good as the main teacher was excellent, which is why we kept going back, but we couldn’t move to the Saturday class as it was full which was such a shame when so many others in the class were having to leave because of starting school. Also a staff member told me to continue my membership as there would be spaces opening in a couple of weeks but nothing opened up and so I wasted a month’s membership money on nothing.

He felt happy