Fitness Centre \ Gym?

[am05]

hello folks....

im living in the victory monument area....

looking for a decent fitness centre \ gym ?... dont mind travelling a few stations on the sky train to find a decent one, .. ideally one thats a mix of `farangs` and thais... anywhere in central bkk area, as long as a bts station is nearby

heard theres one in the new plaza by vic mon bts..? is it any good, costs?

anybody with any suggestions?? cheers

[aaaaaa]

hello folks....

im  living in the victory monument area....

looking for a decent fitness centre \ gym ?... dont mind travelling a few stations on the sky train to find a decent one, .. ideally one thats a mix of `farangs` and thais... anywhere in central bkk area, as long as a bts station is nearby

heard theres one in the new plaza by vic mon bts..?  is it any good, costs?

anybody with any suggestions??    cheers

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you could simply come and have a walk between sky train stations Phloenchit and Asoke, may be even till Emporium - there are quite a few on that part of Sukhumvit. I remember there used to be one good enogh in Times square plaza (next to Sheraton and opposite Robinson) if it didn't move to another location yet.

California fintness on the corner or Soi 23 is easy to find

there are plenty of others, no doubt

[siamesekitty]

Towards Mochit:

@ Aree station - a fitness center called Fitness World. Only about a year old, mostly Thai, with a few farangs. They have a spinning class as well as group excercise classes (bodycombat, body jam, pilates, yoga, etc..) Steam & sauna rooms. No pool. Has pay-per-visit.

@ Phaholyothin Plaza (I think) - a small fitness center, on one of the floors in the office tower area. Not sure of the name not sure of the name and what floor it's on. Aeroboxing classes, yoga, etc. but very few. Has a small pool as well as steam & sauna rooms. Has pay-per-visit.

Towards Onnuch:

@ National Stadium station - The Olympic Club at Pathumwan Princess hotel. Good facilities, excercise classes. Large saltwater pool. Has pay-per-visit. Lots of hi-so types and quite a few farangs.

www.theolympic-club.com

@ Siam - California Wow at Paragon will be opening... but it'd probably take a while to finish!

@ Nana- Fitness First (Landmark Hotel). Good facilities, quite a few classes (2 group excercise rooms). Steam & sauna, no pool. A bit busy during peak hours, but less than CaliforniaWow. Initial registration fee + monthly fees.

www.fitnessfirst.co.th

@ Asoke - California Wow Sukhumvit 23 (Jasmine Tower). Lots of classes (2 group excercise rooms with full schedules. Steam & sauna, no pool. Packed with people during peak hours. No pay-per-visit. (oh, and careful, they force you to sign a year's contract )

www.californiawowx.com

I don't know much about weight-lifting machines and such, maybe a few of the old threads can help:

Fitness Studio Near Sukumvit Rd or a BTS Station

Gym in Sukhumvit

Gym, Sukhumvit

[am05]

Towards Mochit:

@ Aree station - a fitness center called Fitness World. Only about a year old, mostly Thai, with a few farangs. They have a spinning class as well as group excercise classes (bodycombat, body jam, pilates, yoga, etc..) Steam & sauna rooms. No pool. Has pay-per-visit.

@ Phaholyothin Plaza (I think) - a small fitness center, on one of the floors in the office tower area. Not sure of the name not sure of the name and what floor it's on. Aeroboxing classes, yoga, etc. but very few. Has a small pool as well as steam & sauna rooms. Has pay-per-visit.

Towards Onnuch:

@ National Stadium station - The Olympic Club at Pathumwan Princess hotel. Good facilities, excercise classes. Large saltwater pool. Has pay-per-visit. Lots of hi-so types and quite a few farangs.

www.theolympic-club.com

@ Siam - California Wow at Paragon will be opening... but it'd probably take a while to finish! 

@ Nana- Fitness First (Landmark Hotel). Good facilities, quite a few classes (2 group excercise rooms). Steam & sauna, no pool. A bit busy during peak hours, but less than CaliforniaWow. Initial registration fee + monthly fees.

www.fitnessfirst.co.th

@ Asoke - California Wow Sukhumvit 23 (Jasmine Tower). Lots of classes (2 group excercise rooms with full schedules. Steam & sauna, no pool. Packed with people during peak hours. No pay-per-visit. (oh, and careful, they force you to sign a year's contract )

www.californiawowx.com

I don't know much about weight-lifting machines and such, maybe a few of the old threads can help:

Fitness Studio Near Sukumvit Rd or a BTS Station

Gym in Sukhumvit

Gym, Sukhumvit

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[am05]

thanks a lot for the helpful replys.....

full of information..... cheers

[orchis]

Clark Hatch in Century Park Hotel.

[on-on]

@ Asoke - California Wow Sukhumvit 23 (Jasmine Tower). Lots of classes (2 group excercise rooms with full schedules. Steam & sauna, no pool. Packed with people during peak hours. No pay-per-visit. (oh, and careful, they force you to sign a year's contract )

www.californiawowx.com

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Interesting side note on California OMG WOW Fitness. I'm a member and I have the contract and monthly CC ding and what not. I asked first and they said that it is transferrable in the event that you leave, so I can resell it. More importantly though, some Thais I know belong and they told me that if you tell them that you can't pay with credit card that they'll charge you only 10,000 baht for a full year instead of the 1599 baht a month (the current monthly rate w/contract). So make sure you beat all the options out of the salesman or saleswoman. Having invented the mass market gym system in the US we've also been through the stage where everyone found out it's a giant scam. Then we had the class action lawsuits over their unscrupulous penchant for not letting people out of contracts. So they're pretty well known as shysters back home (CWF is owned by 24 hour fitness from America IIRC), but in case that hasn't made it out everywhere I figured I'd give a warning. Also, if you don't want them calling you every day for the rest of your life soliciting for training sessions, just make very clear at sign up that you don't want your three free training sessions and you don't want anyone to call you about it. They'll make you initial a form, but it's easy as pie. The gym and the equipment itself (at least at Silom) is impeccable, though apparently in Thailand putting the freeweights back on the rack isn't considered part of your responsibility after using them - but that's another rant. Edited December 31, 2005 by on-on

[dantilley]

There's a brand new California Wow in the new Siam Paragon shopping centre. The year contract is breakable by the way, as long as you have a good excuse for leaving.

[siamesekitty]

A few notes to keep in mind regarding the terms & conditions:

Sources - discussion with salespeople, (disgruntled) pantip.com posters, and the Thai Consumers' complaints website

- They won't let you just leave before a year is up unless there is someone taking on your membership (and the monthly payments!) So you HAVE to either find someone to sell your membership to, or in some cases, just give it to, otherwise you're stuck with remaining payments. There are people posting ads on pantip.com practically begging someone to take their memberships, no payment required, just that they take on the burden!

- I have also heard that the person you transfer your membership to has to sign a contract for one year, so let's say if you have 6 months remaining in your contract and you sell/give it to someone, that person is obligated to pay monthly fees for not the 6 remaining months, but for a whole 12 months.

- Memberships are transferrable only once. That means that the person you sell/give the membership to is pretty much stuck with it and can't sell/give it to anybody else if they don't want it anymore. If it's a prepaid package then it's just a waste, if it's a monthly payment contract then they have to pay until the 12 months is up.

CaliforniaW has a bit of a reputation here as well, you see Not outright illegal, but just a bit tricky. Gotta make sure you're aware of all the terms and conditions, and as suggested by on-on, make sure you have all the possible options available to choose from. (eg. It's a lot cheaper if you pay a year - or four - in advance, and much much cheaper if you buy the off-peak membership.)

[dantilley]

A few notes to keep in mind regarding the terms & conditions: 

Sources - discussion with salespeople, (disgruntled) pantip.com posters, and the Thai Consumers' complaints website

- They won't let you just leave before a year is up unless there is someone taking on your membership (and the monthly payments!) So you HAVE to either find someone to sell your membership to, or in some cases, just give it to, otherwise you're stuck with remaining payments. There are people posting ads on pantip.com practically begging someone to take their memberships, no payment required, just that they take on the burden!

- I have also heard that the person you transfer your membership to has to sign a contract for one year, so let's say if you have 6 months remaining in your contract and you sell/give it to someone, that person is obligated to pay monthly fees for not the 6 remaining months, but for a whole 12 months.

- Memberships are transferrable only once. That means that the person you sell/give the membership to is pretty much stuck with it and can't sell/give it to anybody else if they don't want it anymore. If it's a prepaid package then it's just a waste, if it's a monthly payment contract then they have to pay until the 12 months is up.

CaliforniaW has a bit of a reputation here as well, you see    Not outright illegal, but just a bit tricky. Gotta make sure you're aware of all the terms and conditions, and as suggested by on-on, make sure you have all the possible options available to choose from. (eg. It's a lot cheaper if you pay a year - or four - in advance, and much much cheaper if you buy the off-peak membership.)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I recently broke my California Wow membership without handing it over to anyone. I was only four months into the contract: if you have a good reason to cancel you can sever your ties, although it may involve speaking to a manager or other senior person in order to do this.

[on-on]

I recently broke my California Wow membership without handing it over to anyone. I was only four months into the contract: if you have a good reason to cancel you can sever your ties, although it may involve speaking to a manager or other senior person in order to do this.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I asked about this and they told me that the only way was if you had a signed note from a doctor - shouldn't be that hard to come by in Thailand. I asked if moving was considered a good reason - they said no. I have no idea what the practicality is though - can you give some insight into your good reason? Unless it's too personal, that is. I'd like to know what kind of thing qualifies.

[dantilley]

I recently broke my California Wow membership without handing it over to anyone. I was only four months into the contract: if you have a good reason to cancel you can sever your ties, although it may involve speaking to a manager or other senior person in order to do this.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I asked about this and they told me that the only way was if you had a signed note from a doctor - shouldn't be that hard to come by in Thailand. I asked if moving was considered a good reason - they said no. I have no idea what the practicality is though - can you give some insight into your good reason? Unless it's too personal, that is. I'd like to know what kind of thing qualifies.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, my "good reason" was exactly that - I was moving to Chiang Mai! I had a signed letter from the company for the job I was taking up there and this was considered sufficient. Even if you don't have such a letter, you can probably either forge one, or give some other proof of you moving elsewhere; e.g. plane ticket if you're leaving the country, a bill addressed to your new address, etc...

Which branch of California Wow are you a member of? Or, if you have Platinum membreship, I guess what I'm asking really is which branch have you been making enquiries at? It was made clear to me that moving away from Bangkok was a valid reason to break the year contract I'd signed.

[on-on]

Which branch of California Wow are you a member of? Or, if you have Platinum membreship, I guess what I'm asking really is which branch have you been making enquiries at? It was made clear to me that moving away from Bangkok was a valid reason to break the year contract I'd signed.

Silom - but I never believe anything the shysters at the fitness places say, so it's entirely possible she was bs'ing me. Thanks for the tip!

[dantilley]

Which branch of California Wow are you a member of? Or, if you have Platinum membreship, I guess what I'm asking really is which branch have you been making enquiries at? It was made clear to me that moving away from Bangkok was a valid reason to break the year contract I'd signed.

Silom - but I never believe anything the shysters at the fitness places say, so it's entirely possible she was bs'ing me. Thanks for the tip!

Yeah, you should be OK at Silom - just make sure you insist that it is possible to leave, and say that you know someone else who has broken their contract (i.e. me). Speak to someone in management if need be. Post again, or PM me, if you try this and still have no joy.