Bethesda Sport and Health Review

Love this place! Very friendly trainees, great equipment selection and fair charges. I highly recommend.

AWESOME GYM!!! Great energy as soon as you walk in. Front Desk staff is Super friendly. I am a member 4 Life!

In the era of Covid, the Bethesda Sport and Health Club is the ideal club. As a visiting guest from Crunch Metro I was impressed with how much room there is to enjoy your own private workout. Covid compliant but relaxed with the full range of options from big beautiful wooden floors to have a great stretch, weight rooms with rubber floors, cross cable machines, a truck tire, abs in a few different ways, the best combination of new fitness options like crossfit style rubberbands, ropes and weighted balls to old school free weights and a great attitude by everyone there. The management is friendly and professional and this is as well organized and run a club as has been my experience with 30 years as a semi-pro athelete.
They have a pool, squash/racquet ball (schedule reserve on-line) courts fully glassed in and even a tennis court on the roof. Towels, lockers but closed for Covid so travel light, flat screens, treadmills, stationary cycles etc...available always for your use. Rates for membership are fair and the best value for a big club in the DMV. They have Private Trainers that are real atheletes but great for beginners also and they seem to come from varied sports backgrounds so their experience is diverse across disiplines to suit your fitness objectives.
This club seems big and complete in many ways.
Have a great visit...
Currently highly recommended.

Got my locker cut with pliers at 11 am. Got money and other things stolen from it. MaryAnn, the manager's response was "Shouldn't be using the lockers anyway" When everyone is using the men's locker. What a joke.

I really like this gym, even if the crowd is a little older and a little less intense fitness wise than the gyms closer to my office in DC. I wouldn't say the clientele is unfriendly, but it's definitely not a place to meet new friends and socialize (which is 100% fine with me...). The classes are decent and frequent, the squash/tennis/bball courts are a great amenity, and it's never so busy that I can't get on a treadmill or other cardio machine. I've also had positive experiences with the trainers and other staff there. We get a great discount on our membership through work so, for us, the price is right. Not sure how it would compare to other local gyms without that discount, but it's Bethesda, so there's no such thing as cheap. Overall, we've been really happy at S&H. Would recommend to others in the neighborhood, for sure.

They treat visitors very poorly. It is an extremely overpriced gym with a disorganized staff. They also interrupt your workouts. Further, they lie about their free trials! If you are a consumer with integrity I would advise choosing another health club.

This is hands down one of my favorite gyms I've ever worked out at. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful, trainers are phenomenal, gym is friendly a wide range of people. Very supportive environment from the gym newbie to the body builder. Would highly recommend.

Staff is unbelievably rude. I have a membership at the Old Town Alexandria Sport & Health, those guys are awesome. I was trying to get my membership transferred, and while I like the location- the staff is rude and my sense was that they were kinda racist.

My husband I have used Bethesda Sport and Health for coming up on two years. Since coming the staff has become more professional and the experience continues to improve. This sight has tons of space, lots of different activities available, and nice amenities. My only wish is that they would have childcare, but they have been accommodating by allowing us membership at other local locations with childcare (ie North Bethesda Sport and Health). It seems that most of the negative reviews were from before new leadership was established.

Bethesda S&H is an excellent place to workout. There is plenty of space and two stories - one just for cardio. Pricing is a bit high but that is more a testament to their quality.

Basketball courts are a little outdated, though. And when the place gets busy - it really gets busy. Parking may be a hassle as well. But overall, this is worth the membership if you are committed to keeping a consistent routine of going to the gym.

Great classes! Very nice that they have both a pool and whirlpool in this location. Never too crowded with nice amenities.

Clearly Bethesda Sport and Health has changed for the better in the past two year. There are no gimmicky "free" memberships. I accepted and used the 7 day free trial and joined soon after. There were no strings attached. All gyms, including my former one have a 30 day waiting policy when you cancel.
This health club is great! It's clean, especially the spa and pool, it has tons of equipments and classes that are included in membership, and the staff is super friendly, which tells me they have been well trained. I use the club 4-5 days a week and have no complaints - if fact I love it. It is head and shoulders above my previous gym - and yes, it costs more, but I get so much more from it. Give Bethesda Sport and Health another look. This is not the club that people wrote about one or two years ago. Clearly they have new management.

I visited the gym with a 1 day guest pass as I don t live in the area. Some things I liked about it:
The gym was very clean and has lots of stuff for everyone. Lots of different equipment that I hadn t seen prior. It s huge & would have been nice to have got a tour prior instead of wasting time and trying to find the weights.
A couple things that bothered me was I haven t been in a gym that has trainers everywhere- good for the new gym goers but as someone who goes often it added to all the people just standing around. It reminded me a lot of a YMCA. Not a bad thing just not my type of gym.
Also I like gyms not freezing but how hot it was today was a bit much.

Great class schedule. I love the Insanity class! It is a large facility, so it never seems too crowded. The sauna and steam room are great too!

Nice people. Equipment is good. They have everything you need. The reason for the three stars is simple: the men's locker room bathroom had a STRONG urine odor throughout. It felt like you soiled yourself and were standing in it at all time...

Sun B's yoga classes are AMAZING!!! I usually stay away from gym yoga because it doesn't feel as challenging and tends to be lower quality than actual yoga studios. Sun brings a whole new dynamic to gym yoga. Her classes are carefully choreographed as they flow well and lead up perfectly to the more challenging poses. I have a ton of injuries and she always cues modified poses so I can be sure that I am protecting my body from re-injury. She clearly loves what she does and her passion enhances the energy of the class. I highly recommend trying her classes if you have a membership or are thinking of getting one.

The worst gym experience I've ever had. I used to be a member years ago and with a job change, I came in to visit all the gyms in my work vicinity. The sales person spoke to me and never once seemed very interested in my well being. She then charged $21.49 to visit the gym once when ALL the other gyms in my area let me try it for free (Who wants to sign up without trying the gym first?!).

After doing my research, I found out this is one of the MOST expensive gyms in Bethesda and it isn't even that good. Save your money (and the stress of dealing with arrogant Sport and Health workers) and go to Washington Sports Club down the street!

Bethesda Sport & Health is all that you would expect from a larger full service gym. They have loads of classes, with great instructors, great machines in working order, and a fantastic lap pool. Additionally, the locker room feels like a spa with a sauna, steam room, and whirlpool. The whirpool
could be a little warmer and make sure to turn on the sauna ahead of time to make sure it is warm enough. Great gym!

Very nice gym, great staff, kind trainers, can sometimes get insanely busy but once you start going you can figure out times when it s not insane

Staff and management are awful and not to be trusted

I've been a member for more than a decade. Love the multi gym membership that allows you to use any S&H facility, but I consider Bethesda my home base. Tons of equipment and classes.

Great gym! I love to workout here. It is always clean and tidy and they have all the equipment I need.

It is my great pleasure to write this unsolicited enthusiastic recommendation for Ms. Jayne Powers, Personal Trainer extraordinaire at Sport & Health Bethesda. I have been a customer of Jayne s for the past three months and can testify to her health expertise, professional bearing, expert knowledge, and compassionate guidance on specific exercises, stretches, as well as direction and informed (practically scientific it seems to me) advice regarding any question I may ask her on diet, foods, and their impact on my body, positive or negative.

For thirty years friends have commented regarding my slumped forward poor posture and tight shoulders. I have never known what they were talking about nor what to do to correct the problem. Until I began working with Jayne Powers. Since I began my work with Jayne I am stronger, fitter, tighter, and healthier and I enthusiastically recommend her to any and all others. Jayne has helped me immeasurably to lose weight, build muscle, correct my frontal pelvic tilt, and open up my chest. For me this is the stuff of miracles.

Jayne s intellect and commitment to good health are formidable. Jayne takes initiative and directs me to using certain exercise machines, directs me to perform core-building exercises, and cardio strengthening exercises, coaching me and I respect the heck out of her. She is always 1,000 percent professional, is well spoken, and is a sterling representative of Sport and Health Bethesda. I wish I had 1,000 Jaynes in every aspect of my business. She is a true asset and reflects the very best of healthcare professionals and personal trainers.

Sincerely,
Jeff Silverman

This gym has everything anyone could need to do any sort of training. The staff is very nice and helpful. Could not recommend this gym more, love this place!

Purchased a trial membership and received a card citing my expiration date for trial membership. Received an email from Eric three days prior to expiration saying my trial expired. When I called, he explained that the sales associate messed up the date on the card and that if I wasn't interested in pursuing a membership, then membership expired that day. Total sham. Truth be told, I am looking for a membership to start later in the year once an injury heals. Also, still gave club two stars for variety of equipment and hours of operation. Won't be coming back here though. Either offer trial memberships or don't. If you do, then stand by the length of the trial.

I quit this gym a few months before COVID due to the cleaniness of the pool ( I swam past a large piece of spit one day) and the weight room being over crowded with gym equipment. There was no good flow to it in my opinion. There are better options in Bethesda.

Total rip off: they closed the local sports & health a few years back saying the new one would open in less than a year. Kept the membership, although other facilities ended being to far. It took them 2 yrs to open the new one, meanwhile I paid. I first went to the new one but figured out swimming was better at the public pool. Paid another year to barely use S&H. When I went to cancel they said I was a couple days too late, I would have to pay an extra 2 months without using the facilities. Customer service plaid dumb and didn t to hear anything. There is only one sport S&H does well: ripping off there customers. Avoid that club!

Love this place! Super friendly staff, great equipment selection and stellar classes. Can't ask for better :)

I'm only giving a one star review because I want them to know how rude and obnoxious they are. PLEASE STOP SENDING YOUR EMAILS TO ME. RUDE IS TOO NICE TO DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS PRACTICE. TAKE MY EMAIL OFF YOUR LIST.

I joined this gym about a year and a half ago when the other Bethesda gym I belonged to closed. The price was a bit steep but the gym was large and spacious, so I figured what the hey and signed up. A year later they raised my rate $10/month which they notified me of via a letter. OK, fine. I asked one of the staff members about it who told me I needed to "contact our customer service number because it's not my problem". They told me I would only be able to cancel after two months. So I stayed. Today I checked and they've raised my monthly membership to $65/month without ever notifying me in writing. Unless you have a lot of money to burn and don't care about how much you pay for the gym, I would avoid this place. It has nice equipment and the maintenance staff and half of the personal trainers are very nice (the other 50% are fairly rude, especially if you're trying to work in on one of "their pieces of equipment"), but that does not make up for their shady business practices. There are plenty of other gyms in the area that seem to be much more on the level with their membership fees.

They just know how to sell memberships but don't know how to serve customers AT ALL.

They are extremely rood and displeasing to potential customers. Maya, the introductory staff was unwelcoming and rather uncompassionate to a guest that was interested in joining. From the start over the phone she was adamant about 21 $ one day pass. We printed our free passes to checkout the scene and when we got there we were.met with very extreme resistance and could not figure out why. I would say either Maya needs retraining in Humility and respect for new customers as she will and has killed a lot of their potential business. DO NOT WORK OUT HERE TERRIBLE PLACE MOSTLY NEGATIVE REVIEWS. thanks

Sport and health clubs can run the gamut from good to so-so and bad. The Bethesda Sport and Health is very good and it all starts with the General Manager Mary Ann Nicklow. The staff reflects the manager's drive and warm and welcoming personality. Users of the club are greeted warmly by whoever is staffing the front desk, including managers at times.
The club is clean and well run. As with heavily used facilities, things malfunction or become disabled. To fix or remedy these issues, management and staff are always giving their full attention to matter. This is a reassuring aspect of the Bethesda Sport and Health club. Personal trainers are friendly and dedicated to their clients. They are professional and extremely knowledgeable.
I am part of a dedicated group of users of the convertible squash/handball/racquetball courts. Securing the courts is made convenient by dedicated online reservation system or through front desk personnel.
As in life, the are no perfect situations, but we adjust and adapt when necessary and hope for the best out comes. At Bethesda Sport and Health, when things aren't perfect, the club shines in its ability to adjust and this is a create character of the place. My five stars are not meant to say this place is flawless, they are meant to compliment the staff and the efforts to give users the best experience on any given day.

Clean, great equipment, helpful staff, not pretentious, light and bright

This branch has an eclectic clientele, that ranges from many older people that socialize more than workout, younger folks who take swim/tennis classes or workout in groups after school to some regulars that are always there. The Les Mills group classes are nice. The pool is often crowded. The weight/machine area is so-so. The cardio area is good and rarely crowded.

Clean Gym! Highly enjoy one of the front desk attendants, Catherine. She is FUNNY and always asks me how I am and engages in conversation! Get more people like her! She is GREAT!

I ve been a member at Bethesda S&H for over 10yrs and absolutely love it. They are absolute professionals from top to bottom. The facility is always super clean and all the equipment is up to date. It s super spacious and the amenities are great. Incredible value for an exercise facility, including a pool, tennis & racquetball courts, cardio, weights, hiit area. You couldn t pay me to go somewhere else.
Their staff are consummate professionals and always there for their members. They helped me reach and exceed my fitness goals, and keep me motivate to strive for even greater heights! 12/10 I would recommend training here for all ages

I have been to some of the most beautiful clubs throughout the United States and Bethesda Sport & Health is by far one of the finest most well run and thoroughly furnished clubs in the country.
They have everything you could possibly imagine for your health and fitness needs, including an immense array of easy to use state of the art fitness equipment (machines, treadmills, stair masters, rowers, free weights, Pilates ), swimming pool, tennis/squash/racquetball courts, steam and dry sauna with finer touch amenities providing a relaxing comfort and special touch that makes me look forward to going to the gym.

In addition to the wonderful variety of workout options, what I personally love the most is the hospitality and graciousness of the staff. If I have a question or need assistance, the management and trainers are very knowledgeable, friendly and passionate about health and fitness and as a result I have learned a lot about my body and how to train and heal myself with intention.

Another life-changing feature is the vast line-up of fitness classes offered. These classes are worth their weight in gold as some of the best of the best fitness pros are teaching these great classes and it is all included in my membership. I revel in all of my experiences each and every day I go to the Bethesda S&H club and I would highly recommend all they have to offer to you as well!

BL: Bethesda S&H - Please make sure you are operating in compliance with State & County laws/regulations.

I was very excited to get back to the gym after living on lockdown for so long, but my experience today was very disappointing and a little alarming.

During my 45 minute workout today, I encountered 5 people walking around without masks on (three took them off while working out, two took them off soon after walking into the gym), and nearly a dozen individuals wearing masks improperly (covering only their mouth while their nose remained exposed). At least one of the individuals walking around without a mask on was an elderly woman, who walked by at least three gym employees without being asked to put her mask back on. About 20 minutes later a second woman, while walking up the stairs to the second floor, took her mask off completely and stuffed the mask into her pocket!

Trying to return some level of normalcy to my life, like workout at a gym, is risky enough. Please don t make it so uncomfortable that I m unable to return.

An expensive gym, tons of unused VIP lockers while the regular ones are overused and crowded, not clean many times, good variety of cardio equipment though.

After speaking with a representative and making an appointment for the free pass I was called on the way to our appt and told my free pass was denied due to COVID-19. The manager Mark Germain never mentioned anything about not honoring the free pass! I will never come to this gym. Don t register for the free pass it s a fraud! Mark never returned my call!

I was just visiting and got a free day. Great gym. I would join if I lived in Bethesda

Wonderful staff all around. Most of the staff know me by name and are always helpful. And the amenities are above and beyond what you would expect in such an urban area - a pool, multiple indoor and outdoor tennis courts, squash courts, a sauna, and all the weight/cardio equipment imaginable. Definitely work checking out!

Beautiful facility with great classes and lots to offer. Unfortunately if you are a swimmer, the pool is very small (4 lanes, 25 yards).

Not at all pleased with this club. Overpriced, multiple customer service errors. I ended canceling my membership when I went abroad and was put off by unclear and confusing contract conclusion. I do not recommend this club, find a cheaper cleaner option.

Bethesda Sport&Health is the best gym that will suit a wide variety of needs. This gym has everything anyone could need to do any sort of training. The staff is very nice and helpful. Could not recommend this gym more, love this place!

This place is awesome! It has friendly staff with great amenities.

This club has everything I want!

Convenient location, large variety of strength training and cardio equipment, swimming pool, professional and caring staff and a full menu of group exercise classes as well as available personal and small group training.

Included lockers, showers, steam room and sauna and whirlpool. Also included garage parking under the building as well as adjacent lot.

an okay gym. BUT: all too often there are no towels at all for those exercising on the main floor. As bad or worse: Hygiene doesn't seem to be uppermost in their minds, as cleaning off the exercise machines is, to say the least, very rare on the part of personnel. ALSO -- big ALSO -- dirty towels on the floor and used moist towelettes allowed to languish next to some of the exercise bikes. For the price of membership (fairly high), they could do better. And should!!!

The classes and staff are great but the women s locker room is filled with mold and rust, especially the steam room. If you have any sensitivities to contaminants, I would stay away. It s unfortunate because otherwise it would be a great club.

This place is totally a SCAM!! NEVER go here! I signed up for a 2 weeks free trial, which i was told that it's totally risk-free, and all I need is to email back after 2 weeks to cancel if I don't like it. They never mention about all conditions of the 2 weeks trial that I have to use it at least 6 times, and if not, I'm obligated to a one year membership. None of these were mentioned. I had a long talk with them, but they just kept saying "There's nothing we can do. You have to pay til the end of the year". What a HORRIBLE experience! Writing this, I see that they're ripping off everyone here.

This place is my second home. Not only because I lose track of time with everything I can do here but the staff is like family. They really get to know you and are always happy to help!

For a commercial gym, Bethesda Sport&Health is not too shabby. The front desk staff is for the most part amiable. It offers more than enough cardio equipment. The weight area is packed fairly tight, but has the basics. Here are my suggestions for improvement in order of priority:

1) Proper barbell maintenance. Lube them up to prevent rust/optimize performance. Clean them thoroughly. After a session of squats, the region of my white t-shirt in contact with the bar will turn brown. I've been lifting 10+ years with no such problems previously.

2) Overnight Locker Access. With a $70 monthly membership, I don't expect to pay $60 monthly to rent a locker for overnight storage. Please offer a financially feasible option.

3) Personal trainer etiquette. For the most part, the personal trainers are friendly, respectful, and focused on their clients. Keep up the good work. One problem I have is that sometimes they will grab one of the weights off the rack/bench I'm using without asking first. One individual in particular - Caucasian male, earrings - consistently does so and appears visibly annoyed when asked not to take weights. Mutual respect - if you need a weight, it's ok to walk a bit further to find one not being used; let's not inconvenience patrons.

4) A/C. Please improve the cooling of the weight area via fans or A/C. The gym is too humid and quite frankly, hotter than any other gym I've been to.

5) Heavier dumbbells. 100 lb dumbbells are sufficient for most exercises, but I'd appreciate 110s-150s, even in 10 lb increments.

6) Towel access. These used to be stored in the locker rooms. Please return them there.

7) Fix broken mirrors. There are shards of glass in the weight area (particularly by the kettle-bells and deadlift platform) 2/2 broken mirrors that have not been repaired for 6+ months. I understand the deductible may be high on your insurance policy, but this is not one area to cut costs.

Thank you for your support and willingness to improve, Bethesda Sport&Health

Would be the best gym in DC if it wasn t so filthy.

Okay place, but they haven t fixed the flickering lights on court two for months despite multiple requests, which causes migraines. Would rate higher if they fix the lights.

Addendum - 13 JAN 2019: Thanks for reply. I ll check it out this morning and am changing my rating.

Addendum - 5 OCT 2019. Same story. Lights in squash court flickering causing migraine headaches. I ask them to fix. Nothing happens. Now it is two courts. Please fix!

Nice gym but I've gotten things taken out of my locker and stolen several times. The manager dosent do anything about it.

I've been a member at a lot of gyms, and this one is superb. Huge facility, the only one in downtown Bethesda with free parking, awesome group fitness schedule. True community feel - the members like one another and it shows - everyone looks happy in here!! Family swim on the weekends is very convenient for families with small children like mine, great for year-round indoor activities. The small details are what impress me most - free coffee, chilled filtered water dispenser, friendly staff, awesome lounge area with large televisions after your workout to sip your coffee/water and just relax or recharge for a moment.

Incredibly friendly and professional staff. HUGE gym!

My go to sports club -

I joined Bethesda Sport&Health about a year ago and have never been happier. This club has everything I need - a sauna, a steam room, a pool, tennis courts, and much more. The staff at the entrance are always warm and friendly and the manager MaryAnn knows all of the members by name. 10/10 would recommend.

Most complaints seems to have to do with the process of enrolling as a member. My husband and I joined about three months ago, and we have been pleased. They have tons of cardio machines with personalized tv's, they have a nice weight room, plenty of body weight exercise space, an explosive exercise area, a pool, tennis courts, squash courts, and a basketball gym. They have everything that you would want in a sports club. They also offer a variety of great classes. The people are friendly, and we have been very happy with our decision to become members.

I have been a member of this club now for about 6 months. I have belonged to a few others through the years so I have some idea of what a good club is and a bad club. I have been very happy with this club so far. They have equipment one would need and I never seem to have any problems getting on a machine at any time when I go there. I plan on staying around for a while. Good club

The hardest thing about writing a review is deciding what to actually review and by that I mean deciding which features of the product seem the most relevant to future users/purchasers/stakeholders in the product, e.g. cost, usefulness, ease-of-use, value-for-cost, overt pleasure facture, etc. etc. ect.

The hardest thing about reading a review is trying to decide how much you trust what the reviewer is saying given that you ve never met them (and probably never will), that you recognize that one person s pleasure is often another s poison, and that (sadly) you have doubtless heard and maybe even fallen prey to one of the various schemes that companies have for getting fabulous reviews from people who sit in cubicles and crank out lofty-sounding accolades for products they ve never used or services they ve never accessed.

So, with those two caveats in mind, let me say that I have had the opportunity to workout in multiple health clubs chains, hotels (budget and very pricey), YMCAs spread across the US and over three continents you name the type of club/facility and I ve probably worked out there and I can say directly and simply: the Bethesda Sport and Health Club is by far the best health club I have ever been to, and if I lived in the DC metro region, I would immediately join the Sports and Health community so that I could make an on going habit of going to the club virtually every day.

What is it about the Bethesda Sports and Health Club that makes it so special? Basically, everything. I can t think of a workout or training option that one can t pursue at the club. They offer a diversity of activities and options from all sorts of aerobic machines, to an even greater number of specific resistance training devices, free weights, balancing balls, not to mention swimming, tennis, and squash, as well as a whirlpool, sauna and showers for post-workout rejuvenation. Although I didn t hire a Personal Trainer during my multiple visits to the club, I had the opportunity to observe several of the staff of a dozen or so Trainers whose profiles are displayed for client perusal and each seemed extremely capable, focused, motivating, and compassionate when necessary. Finally, the Management (Mary Ann) and her Staff were always available for help, including answering questions or addressing issues with equipment that needed slight adjustment, etc. In particular, the Staff keeps the club in pristine condition with virtually every one of the numerous machines clean and in top working condition. I think that in general one should always have at least one but on the other hand statement to make about even the most positive product or service review, a tip to make things better. In fact, I can t think of a single thing that Bethesda Sports and Health Club could change to make things better. I think they have defined the standard against which all health clubs should be judged and compared. If you are either a resident of the Bethesda area with the even the slightest inclination about starting to workout, or a veteran of health clubs with the experience and perspective to recognize a winner when you see it, make a visit to the Bethesda Sports and Health Club. You won t be disappointed, of that I am virtually certain.