California Wow Fitness

[austallia_1980]

their website doesnt seem to have a thailand section.

i want to be prepared before i go down there.

1. how much should i expect to pay for paragon california wow?

2. do i have to give them my credit card or can i pay in cash for all?

[Swelters]

I'd avoid them at all cost, they are a public nuisance and use the lowest style of sales pitch. I'm very happy with Fitness First though.

[skippybangkok]

Generally, they will try to rip u off for what ever they can. Read some threads here about and angry frenchman who wanted to sell one at (i think) 14k, when it was 9k market rate.

Once u sign up, there is a "trainer" assigned to you. Non-stop hard sales during the training. Shot off a few verbal bullets which stopped the sales pitch in its tracks.

Quite annoying.

[austallia_1980]

so what about fitness first? website wants credit card number before they tell you how much its going to cost, lol.

how much should i expect to pay?

Are than any hotels which will allow you to use their facilites on a monthly, or daily charge?

[Donz]

Yeah stick with fitness first, there is a nice one in bangkok and has state of the art equipment, not sure about the price as I am a world wide member

[Simmo]

Are than any hotels which will allow you to use their facilites on a monthly, or daily charge?

A lot of the smaller no chain gyms have a day rate (usually around 300b) for the tourist.

[soi lurker]

Outside Bkk day rates go for 100 -200 baht ,monthy memberships around the 1000 -1500 baht for all the smaller, privately owned gyms. Ive also trained at California and found the gym very overpriced, but excellent equipment at hand. Huge dollars spent there so ofcourse they try to redeem it. Be prepared to pay more, much more there as a farang as opposed to a thai national. If i were to choose between Fitness First and California, i would take FF but in reality, i prefer to go to the smaller gyms. Much less hype, good equipment to be found, and much, much more reasonably priced.

[SamuiGreenLife]

Califronia wow sux...

To become a member i had to pay 10.000 baht 9 one time payment)while my thai friend one month later didnt pay anything.

Monthly fee - 2000 baht and they promise free lessons with personal trainer, but this never happened

When i wanted to freeze my membership due to going home for 2 months, they asked me for my return ticket work permit passport and payment for 3 months deposit ( to be sure i come back !!!)

Fitness first is the best or smaller gyms!!!

[bazmlb]

You have to wonder how long they will last with tactics like are being described here, Who is fronting all the Money for this place, its foreign owned isnt it?

[jlelouer]

I paid 17 kthb for 18 months with limited access (only before 3pm during week days, but at any time during weekends).

I am quite satisfied with this offer, knowing that this place is really crowded after 3 pm. I am practising during lunch time !

[soi lurker]

You have to wonder how long they will last with tactics like are being described here, Who is fronting all the Money for this place, its foreign owned isnt it?

The CW at Sukhumvit was boasting a 55 million American dollar injection when I was there by foreign investment. That place really is something to see, if you can fight your way in through the front door because your earbashed by the loud speakers on the way in.

[planetdannii]

Does anyone know if it's possible for me to sell my membership?

I have some unexpected costs coming up and I have not used my membership as I have been really busy, I have already paid for 18m upfront...1month ago?

It is for the new womens CW on Suk and the one at Major Cineplex...with no time restriction?

You think it will be easy for me to find someone to transfer it too ie, where can I advertise?

Thanx in advance for any advise xxxx

[beleby]

Here's a pointless little tale:

Today I arrived at Center Pink Lao very early. I needed a place with chairs and air con and at that time of day, CW was the only place open.

I went inside and devilishly pretended I was thinking of joining. To my annoyance I was immediately hustled by a man who gave me a guided tour of the gym. He then proceeded to very frankly ask for my credit card as he pushed a price list in front of me.

Just from curiosity I said "oh pheng" when I saw the membership fees. Without blinking he gave me a 33% discount. I still didn't want to go outside in the heat yet so I negotiated some more and he quickly gave me another large discount. He seemed very annoyed that I wouldn't hand over my visa card, he even offered to "look after" my card while I made up my mind about joining!

I noticed they had signs everywhere saying "last day", something tells me that every day is "last day".

Edited September 14, 2006 by greg_hill

[leftcross]

what a load of rubbish on this thread.

fitness first is around 2,200 baht a month and the gyms are very poorly equipped. they seem to be aimed more at the housewife type or the hi-so wannabee to walk around with his foolish backpack to show the world they can afford the ridiculous fees. forget them if you are serious about working out.

california wow is much better and cheaper and you can get a very reasonable deal if you negotiate in the right way. of course they will try to gouge you as they are on a hefty commission but if you stand firm while being polite and talking in a reasonable manner then you can get a deal that suits you. you can get a membership for around 800 baht a month, all hours. the equipment is top notch and there is plenty of it.

forget about personal trainers - they just look like skinny thais who have had a two hour induction for the job.

[ashacat]

Agreed Leftcross.

If you don't bargin for your membership at CW, you will get stung, you've got to be a bit of a muppet to accept the first price you are quoted.

All in all I'm pretty happy with my cali membership, nice new machines etc

My only complaint is the admin, I joined about 2 and a half months ago, howver I still do not have a membership card 'm still showing the receipt tha I got when I joined

Oh, and they haven't got an rowing machines!!!

Edited September 18, 2006 by ashacat

[Donz]

BS,

Fitness first in BKK is in the same standard as the west.

It has the latest equipment and is a great place to work out.

2000 baht membership? I dont know the price but what would be more then what I pay here in australia

[cwilliam]

I'd avoid them at all cost, they are a public nuisance and use the lowest style of sales pitch. I'm very happy with Fitness First though.

Agreed ,I went there on a trial.No towels,no class.Pay the same for a 5 star hotel!!!

[leftcross]

BS,

Fitness first in BKK is in the same standard as the west.

It has the latest equipment and is a great place to work out.

2000 baht membership? I dont know the price but what would be more then what I pay here in australia

it isnt the same standard as the west because i was a member in england before i came to bangkok. there arent enough free weights, there is a single smiths machine for benching at landmark and only two free standing benches for barbells.

i used to pay 30 quid a month in england when i was earning an english salary. 2200 baht is approx the same but because salaries are lower here the real price ends up being higher......

fitness first is more about image than working out, believe me. i was a member at landmark for three months and wasnt very impressed at all.

i joined california and the difference was amazing. its a real gym with a very high standard of service - and much much cheaper. i would recommend it to anyone.

[Firefan]

I tested out both California(Silom and Sukumvit) and Fitness First(Landmark and Qhouse) and Fitness First is BY FAR the best gym. Yes, it is about 2000 Baht per month(depending on membership type picked), but a would gladly pay that to avoid the dirty lockers/showers, having to take elevator to go to the cardio machines (CW Silom), blasting loud speakers (more a disco than a gym), having to bring your own padlock to the metal lockers and so forth. Cheers!

[Donz]

I cant remember how many free weights but its was alot bigger then most fitness first's in sydney, the equipment was exactly the same and had more things.

I went there once it was prtty dead and I was very impressed.

[leftcross]

up to you then. but i wouldnt go to Fitness First if it was free. they are very poor gyms in thailand, unless you are a showboater.

[Firefan]

Ok leftcross - thanks for not forcing me - a nice change from the California time-share-style sales efforts! Cheers!

[cwilliam]

Agreed Leftcross.

If you don't bargin for your membership at CW, you will get stung, you've got to be a bit of a muppet to accept the first price you are quoted.

All in all I'm pretty happy with my cali membership, nice new machines etc

My only complaint is the admin, I joined about 2 and a half months ago, howver I still do not have a membership card 'm still showing the receipt tha I got when I joined

Oh, and they haven't got an rowing machines!!!

I don't like any of their B/S.I joined a 5 star hotel on Sukhumvit they said " this is the price and no B/S. First class plenty of towels ,soaps etc.It pays to go first class,bye.

[leftcross]

when somebody says 'this is the price and no BS'' they mean ''this is the price for you farang sucker and i'm going to see if you have the balls to question it or just pad my pockets cos you're too limp to speak up!'

[backflip]

I joined CW, and I'm very pleased. I can go to any club, any day of the week, and my contract pricing is about 400THB/month. As another poster noted, the Silom club is old and trashy, but the clubs at Suk 23 and the Paragon are clean and very nice.

[Heng]

One good thing about the higher Fitness First rates is that they keep the workout areas fairly uncrowded (and even at these rates, sometimes you'll still have to wait for weights and machines). IMO the rates should be raised.

[Ijustwannateach]

I agree, Heng- for you, the rates should be raised.

[Ijustwannateach]

Getting back to the topic, I've been a California member for awhile. It's nothing special, but not bad- they do have awful sales techniques and diffident staff. They've been putting a lot of pressure on people to upgrade memberships at outrageous rates, but not putting a lot of time into upkeep of the gym, maintenance of the machines, attention to members training, etc. I give them hints via suggestion box, but no one's listening. I'll probably let my membership lapse and check out the other places.

[kat]

I have to agree somewhat with IJWT here. I joined CW at Rachayothin when it first opened, and I was very happy for the first several months. But now, they are signing up more and more members it seems with very little control on capacity, and it is getting to be unbearably crowded. I'm happy with the equipment, classes and instructors, but there is a long wait for equipment now and you can hardly move in some of the classes. Maybe it will get better as they open up more branches, but in the case of Rachayothin, I think it is a neighborhood gym, which probably guarantees that crowds will swell. I don't think I would join again on the basis of the gym, but maybe because I am familiar with instructors and people from the neighborhood who use the gym.

[trajan]

I joined CW, and I'm very pleased. I can go to any club, any day of the week, and my contract pricing is about 400THB/month. As another poster noted, the Silom club is old and trashy, but the clubs at Suk 23 and the Paragon are clean and very nice.

you got the 5 or 8 year Diamond card right?