The Gym Group - High Wycombe Reviews 63

This gym has gone from being a pleasant place with a great atmosphere and personal touch for nearly 10 years to something that now feels far more toxic. There has been a noticeable shift in attitude and general professionalism.
Cleanliness and maintenance have declined significantly. The mats, lockers, and equipment are often dirty, and some lockers and machines have reportedly been out of order or unmaintained for years without being repaired. Overall, the standard of upkeep appears to have been neglected.
What was once a hygienic, welcoming environment now feels like a money-driven operation with little attention to member experience. I also have concerns about the authenticity of some of the Google reviews, which is why I felt it was important to share my own experience here.

So I’ve recently started using Gym Group and they are very reasonably priced, especially with Ultimate membership meaning I can use the Gym in my home town but also the gyms at my workplaces. Great so we start off with 5 stars:

This is specifically for the High Wycombe Venue

Deduct 1 ⭐ due to the equipment needing tlc, the adjustment to seating etc are stiff and could do with oiling/ greasing. Some of the clips for handle changes are loose or broken. Some of the cup holders are either missing or cracked. The treadmill conveyor belt slip at times. The weight plate stick on some of the machines, and drop down when used.

Deduct 1 ⭐ due to the parking, this is an absolute joke in my opinion. There are Gym Group branded signs all round the carpark. Yet apparently they have no discretion over parking charges, as they have no ownership of the carpark. Now even as a tenant I know Parking Eye give a certain amount of discretionary write offs for Parking charges, as I know other tenants in other locations that have this agreement. I got 2 tickets, both due to the parking number plate screen locations being unclear. The first screens you come across when you enter the gym building are the Gym Group joining screens, with no indication where the parking machines are. It is only when I got the 2 fines that I realised these must exist elsewhere.

Deduct 1 ⭐ due to not being able to carry out my full workout in the High Wycombe venue due to the 2 hour parking restriction. To me this restriction is dangerous especially for a beginner who is still trying to learn about all the machines and what level to set them at and what adjustments etc etc. The 2 hour limit does mean I have to be constantly clock watching for fear of further parking fines. Also due to using multiple locations the parking allowance varies considerably, creating further confusion! Yes there is clear signage, but that doesn’t stop the confusion as I effectively have to create a different workout for each gym. High Wycombe 2 hours limit, Slough no limit, Reading West 3 hours limit! Please can we have consistency here and at least the opportunity to pay to extend if needed.

Deduct 1 ⭐ for the cleanliness of the changing room lockers, they are either hard to lock due to the lock being bent out of shape or the lockers are dirty and unhygienic. I know you have a cleaning routine. But it doesn’t appear to be all that effective!

Deduct 1 ⭐ for the Yanga sports water issue. 500ml every 25 minutes is not nearly enough. Especially when doing heavy exercise! Having to constantly go back and forth to refill is tedious and unnecessary. Can this at least be increased to 1000-1500ml the size of most water bottles!

This doesn’t even leave 1 star for this location. All this could be resolved to make a 5 star experience, with very little changes.

2/5 of the concerns need addressing on a company basis.

3/5 of the concerns are venue specific!

The gym has a variety of equipment and classes. Rocky is an extremely supportive, dedicated and motivating PT with great knowledge and insight .

I paid for a full month’s membership, but the gym removed my access immediately after I cancelled the direct debit — even though the payment had already gone through. I didn’t use the gym once, yet they refused to refund me. Can’t cancel on their website! Unless it’s buried somewhere

When I contacted support, they admitted I’d paid but said access was removed instantly “as per their policy.” They offered to reinstate it only after I chased them — but by then, I wasn’t interested in jumping through hoops just to use time I’d already paid for.

This is a clear breach of Consumer Rights Act 2015 — I paid for a service and didn’t receive it. They still refused to issue a refund, so I had no choice but to contact my bank to recover the payment.

Really poor customer service and totally unfair to loyal paying members. Avoid.

Really disappointed with the gym group in general moved from the bolton gym to the high Wycombe gym. First day in high Wycombe gym found a few crucial bits of equipment missing, these are standard pieces that should be in the gym. No pec Dec for compound work out, no back extension, no tricep dip and no rotary torso which were all available in the bolton gym. Gym group will offer alternative work outs but that's not good enough, I use the resistance machines to ensure correct posture and movement. I would give them a 1star but gave 2 stars as the gym was clean, not seen the shower and changing rooms yet will update review when I have. Would avoid and go to the new buzz gym, they offer parking which is more secure and have these pieces of equipment. Really disappointed in gym group HO customer service also. Long time customer, their happy to take your money but lack loyalty.

While my husband was stretching after his workout, gym instructor approached him and, in an extremely disrespectful manner, demanded that he "put the weights back in place," even though my husband had not been the one to leave them out. Despite my husband calmly explaining that the weights were already on the machine when he began using it, gym instructor continued to behave aggressively. He even made demeaning comments, including asking my husband if he was "a five year old" who needed things "spelled out" for him.

The situation escalated when gym instructor aggressively confronted my husband again as he was attempting to put the weights away, even though my husband was simply placing the weights where others had already been left. Gym instructor’s tone, language, and overall demeanor were extremely rude and unprofessional. He aggressively jumped around different machines pointing out saying you can put it here, here and here. What’s worse, he didn’t confront other members about similar issues, making me feel unfairly targeted. The situation left both my husband and me feeling singled out, disrespected, and threatened.

We have been loyal members of this gym for many months and have never encountered such behavior from any instructor. My husband has always been diligent in following gym protocols, and this incident has made him feel unfairly targeted. It is particularly concerning because we have witnessed numerous instances where weights have been left out by other members, yet we have never seen an instructor react in such an aggressive and personal manner.

When I attempted to address this, gym instructor confidently told me to "take it up with the assistant manager- let’s see she he says ." His dismissive attitude only added to the hostility of the situation.

Despite our attempts to address this through emails and feedback, we have not received any acknowledgment or reassurance that this matter is being taken seriously. This lack of response only adds to our distress and uncertainty about whether it is safe for us to continue using the gym.

It is crucial for us to understand why my husband was treated this way and what measures will be implemented to ensure that no other member has to endure such an experience. We need to know if this behavior is tolerated at your gym and what steps will be taken to make sure it does not happen again.

This is a very serious matter that has affected my husband deeply, and we need to hear from you as soon as possible regarding how this situation will be resolved.

code never works - spent over £50 in the last week swapping gyms. Rubbish customer service (non existent) sat here waiting for the code to work - 20 minutes now. Fed up of this gym.

I previously joined a branch in 2022 that was not opened and had paid to secure my place there. It said it would open in Early 2023 with no actual date. I went to finf emails of this confirmation and never had any confirmation so thought maybe it never went through but oh well since it isn't open. Fast forward to January 2024 I find out the gym had bren charging me since November 2023 as it was supposedly open since then and I contacted them to ask about communications I had never received. They said I had received them and gave dates but I still to this day am sure I did not magically delete 6 emails they claim to have been sent to me and they were not in any junk or spam folders (I work in customer strategy data, I would know how to check my emails for marketing comms). I decided to forget this as I am not sure where this mistake came from and joined another branch and have been going for a month. The website advertises this price as 24.99 a month so I chose that option. Today I got charges 31.99 for the month and the price on my account is not aligned to the website. No one with a 9-5 job and a life is checking if the gym group is sneakily changing their billings WITHOUT sending emails to confirm the price is as shown. Be careful if you want any monetary transparency from a gym as these are NOT THE PEOPLE. I have emailed an enquiry so am looking forward to my problem being resolved as per the customer not to fuel their interests.

If you want a super friendly gym with great staff and brilliant classes run by the best instructors look no further. Fantastic large open and well-lit workout area with excellent new equipment. Cosmin (the assistant manager) goes out of his way to keep members happy. If you have any issues he is more than happy to help resolve them. Been a member now for a number of years having been to 5 other gyms in the area including the new Buzz gym and this one beats them all. Highly recommended.

I want to raise awareness of Gym Groups RIDICULOUS AND UNFAIR CLAUSE IN THEIR POLICY.
I paid for my son to joine the Gym Group in High Wycombe. For the first month he was denied entry. I contacted customer service to understand why they were denying him access despite the Gym Group having been paid the monthly gym fee.
Upon contacting the Gym group they confirmed taking payment but as I changed my direct debit details without informing them, they cancelled the membership.
There was no communication from them to inform me that the membership had been cancelled and they did not return the months membership even though they took funds from my account and denied my son access to the gym.

The gym its self is fine. But I have moved out one town and written to them 3 times over the last 2 months asking to stop my membership as 1: they have no email to write to and 2, there is in cancel option in their members account section. Yet again I have been charged. Even received a letter stating they are sorry to hear I am leaving. This total £46 taken for nothing. Having been a regular gym user for 18 years, the gymgroup has no doubt the most complicated and most thieving system out of any I have ever encountered. I will never ever use this company again.

Great gym with professional and helpful staff.

Great staff, always friendly and willing to offer advice.
Lots of equipment which is well
Maintained. Recommended.

I really enjoy the range of classes available and the friendly ☺️ helpful team

Lots of classes to choose from

Classes are very motivating and High Wycombe has great staff

I like to go to this gym as staff is always very professional and helpful and cannot fault the facilities and the group classes either - they keep it regularly updated and interesting.

Love the layout of this gym and lots of space and equipment. Had some issues with parking tickets as I was initially unsure of where to input number plate details, but these have been quickly sorted and cancelled for me!

Do not be put off by negative reviews about the gym. I have been to many gyms over the years and this is by far the best kept well maintained gym I have ever been to. Very friendly staff, always ready to assist you. Any concerns they would listen and do whatever they can to put things right or improve things like new class ideas. Do not hesitate to join. You will not regret it .