Ok so I went for to World Gym at Da an yesterday to take advantage of their 7 day trial offer advertised on their website only to be told the offer isn’t open to foreign (I fail to understand why they advertise this offer if foreigners can’t take advantage of it) anyway I manage to get a free go and have to say I was disappointed with the general quality place especially for this place.
Does the quality of World Gym from branch to branch vary or is it all the same? Also what is regarded as the best gym in Taipei in terms of quality?
+1 asking the OPs question. World Gym simultaneously sucks and blows, and it seems the only reason they get away with awful quality and mouthbreathing “it’s not open to foreigners” staff is that they seem to have no competition at all. Somebody please tell me there’s a gym out there - preferably towards the Danshui end of the red line - with good kit and decent locker rooms/showers?
I was really surprised considering the marketing and all that makes it come across as a high end gym, but it ain’t great at all.
Gold’s Gym is my choice of gym in taipei near anhe. good equipment, relatively clean, convenient location, convenient times for cycling, aerobics schedule, and not too crowded. the patrons generally are ok to share (and not hog while sitting around watching tv) the equipment.
I just tried looking up Gold Gym and can’t find anything about it. What’s the prices like? I’m prepared to pay since I will use it quite often.
I didn’t think there was a Gold’s Gym in Taipei anymore, either. Do they have a web site? The single location I knew of in Da-an MRT station was bought out by California Fitness and then subsequently by World Gym. When it was a Gold’s, it was actually my favorite gym in Taipei, except for the weight equipment being too close together. It was clean, modern, well maintained and fully equipped.
World Gym is a mixed bag. I go to the one in Xindian and it’s not too bad; fairly well equipped and offers free parking. Some things bother me, though. The tiles have been falling out of the shower walls for a year and they don’t do anything about it, aside from pasting them back in now and then. The hinge on a window in the weight room has been broken for months, preventing the window from closing, and now that summer is here, it’s hot as heck. There is a urinal that has been out of order for at least the last 2 years. The same empty water bottle can usually be seen on the floor for a week before someone picks it up. I get extra calorie burn by picking up the weights left on benches, machines and laying on the floor every time I go in there.
The new World Gym Elite in 101 is probably very nice, having just recently opened. I haven’t seen it since they finished remodeling. If that area is convenient for you, you should go talk to Nick, the general manager. He’s very professional and helpful.
This is probably just a very poorly implemented policy to prevent tourists from just coming in for a free workout. In gyms I worked at in the US, we required ID that showed local residence to prevent this. Perhaps World Taiwan could require foreigners to show ARC/APRC or other proof of local residence.
It depends on what you’re looking for but I would put my gym up against any in Taiwan in terms of results. Check out our testimonials:
formosafitness.com/?page_id=123
Granted we aren’t for everyone but if anyone likes what they see there, then pay us a visit! We’d love to show you around.
mmm yeah… but that would require someone thinking.
Exactly the same crap at the Taipei station gym - which almost never happened at the old location. Machines broken, fixtures and fittings broken, badly designed building (eg., you have to walk by the piss-stained toilet area to get to the shower), things not finished (sauna has been a work-in-progress for months). Just general sloppiness, really. The other day some fuckwit filled the shampoo dispensers with industrial-strength bleach.
I find the weights-left-everywhere thing quite interesting, because I never noticed that happening before, yet it’s the same clientele, and free-weights people usually know gym etiquette. I wonder if this is a real-life example of the “broken windows” theory? Effectively, “you guys don’t give a toss about yourselves or us, so we’re not going to either”.
mmm yeah… but that would require someone thinking.
Exactly the same crap at the Taipei station gym - which almost never happened at the old location. Machines broken, fixtures and fittings broken, badly designed building (eg., you have to walk across the piss-stained toilet area to get to the shower), things not finished (sauna has been a work-in-progress for months). Just general sloppiness, really. The other day some fuckwit filled the shampoo dispensers with industrial-strength bleach.
I find the weights-left-everywhere thing quite interesting, because I never noticed that happening before, yet it’s the same clientele, and free-weights people usually know gym etiquette. I wonder if this is a real-life example of the “broken windows” theory? Effectively, “you guys don’t give a toss about yourselves or us, so we’re not going to either”.
EDIT : double post, mods please remove.
You being serious?? Wow
If you are looking for quality. There are a few gyms in Hotels that are excellent quality. The rates are the most expensive I have ever seen. The W and Grand Hyatt both have nice small locations that are extremely high end on quality. State of the art equipment but it will cost over 5000 per month (which is the most inexpensive of the High End gyms I have seen in Taipei).