The Anonymous

Review of The Porchester Centre

You get what you pay for.

You get what you pay for.
Bottom line: Gym is OK for beginners on a budget, but definitely go elsewhere if you can afford it. The spa is awful; avoid it.

First, it's never a good start when staff tell you to not leave anything valuable in your locker because it will "most likely get nicked" and that others have had stuff stolen. Says something about the clientele...

Some of the staff are OK, some are quite grumpy and irritable, so just be warned. Good luck if you have an enquiry; there's usually a big queue at reception.

The gym equipment is average/OK. So that means mostly machines, and one whole rack for the club. They do have some free weights upstairs and some benches which is good. However, the gym can get pretty crowded, and you'll probably have to wait to use stuff / work-in sets.

The spa doesn't feel very clean. Not to mention that you can only go *every other day* because each day is single sex only (except Sunday).

Be prepared to see a lot of naked men in the spa; it's fully nude. Within 5 mins of being there, a strange man asked if I could give him a massage (?!). When I went into the sauna, I then saw naked men massaging other naked men -- I felt as if I had accidentally stepped into some homoerotic club against my will. I don't have an issue if one wants to do that in their own privacy, but I would prefer not to see it in a public facility.

Having been horrified in the sauna, I tried my luck with the steam room, which was full of loud raucous men (good luck trying to unwind after a workout). To make matters worse, naked men were sponging down another naked man on a table. Again, if that's your thing... good for you. But it's not for me, no thanks.

The whole experience was horrible. I couldn't wait to leave and never return.