Princeton Club

Princeton Club East is a great gym -- clean, plenty of equipment and a huge variety of it. But I too was dismayed to find out that the owner is a fundamentalist Christian, and the club clearly skews that way too -- only religious events ever stay on the bulletin board, Christian business directories in the lobby, it just really feels oppressive. They even have some affiliation with the scary unmarked building next door that hosts cult-like events. I'll be moving along when my contract expires; considering Ford's Gym, Capital Fitness, and Pinnacle's new Downtown location.

posted by Anonymous User on 2007-10-23

I signed a 2 year contract with a sleezy salesman here. I regret it everyday. They do have racquetball courts but you have to reserve them 30 minutes before the hour. My friend and I called 31 minutes before the hour and they wouldn't give it to us....we called back one minute later and were able to secure the last available court. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

posted by Anonymous User on 2007-11-09

You will have big regrets with this club if you value cleanliness, politeness, your children's involvement with exercise and fair policies. The staff need lessons in customer service. The kids club has no ventilation and can be pretty stinky some days. As for the policies, I guess it depends on who you are and what you look like. I can't figure them out. There is no encouragement with children's health and exercise. Four hours a week and your kids can come swim with you on their schedule. It is true the equipment doesn't get fixed on a timely schedule and they do hold church service in the gym. It is also true they don't tell you this when touring the building. I would never recommend anyone to give their money and time to this business. Next year my family and I will be joining the Prairie Athletic Club.

posted by Anonymous User on 2007-10-24

My wife and I moved in from out of the area and I joined with a single membership for me under a 1 year agreement (after considering a 3 mo. agreement instead). During my free trial period the club seemed reasonably clean, had functional equipment, and didn't have roving bands of thugs (i.e., meat heads) who grunted everytime they moved a plate. I have observed carpeting in the lockeroom be wet (soaking) for more than two weeks and begin to smell like mold, equipment which does not get fixed, and members who break the rules in front of staff (yelling, swearing, dropping wieghts, etc) without any notice or concern to how that effects others. Staff are rude and inconsiderate, and at best not friendly. Perhaps most troubling and not disclosed during the tour was the fact that the club is used to host religious events on Sundays. While I am open minded about other's choices, I am not of the thought that I want my money supporting any organized religion, and yet the club holds church in the gym with music and singing which can be heard throughout the rest of the club. If you cant hear it, then you can see the prostilytizing occuring by peering into the b-ball court. This is an awful awful awful club. I would not recommend it to anyone that I liked. Obviously I will not be renewing my contract with them.

posted by Anonymous User on 2007-10-04

I went with my boyfriend to take a tour of the gym, we liked what we saw so we signed up for the 1 year membership and paid first month and last month cash on the spot. I signed the contract, but the sales rep did not make my boyfriend sign the contract even thought she put his name on it (I did not realize this until my now-ex refused to pay his half). So, when my boyfriend of 5 years and I broke up four months into the membership he refused to pay his half. I go to the gym to take him off of the membership, they said "no", you signed a contract. You are responsible for his half and if your bank account gets force closed because you can't pay the bill by yourself, then we will garnish your wages. I asked if I could give the membership to someone who would like to take over my membership, they said NO! you have to stick with it until your contract expires, if your friend wants to sign up, then they can start their own one or two year membership.

Needless to say, I will not be renewing my membership.

So a word from the wise...if you are thinking about starting a Princeton Club membership, make sure that you have money set aside to pay every month of your membership. No matter what the reason they will not work with you to make the situation favorable for both parties. they just want as much money as possible.

posted by Anonymous User on 2007-09-11

Not impressed
I bought a 2 year membership before the new club opened...but when the new club finally opened, I was very disappointed.  The place is cavernous and impersonal, and the people are cold.  They are missing basic equipment like a decline chest machine or good decline freeweight bench.  It drives me crazy to be there during the day because they mounted the flat screen TVs in front of wall to wall windows, so that you have to squint to see the TVs.  The staff is not at all friendly.  And the locker rooms are a bit damp, partly because of the carpet.  If you like to play basketball you will love this gym, however, as they seem to have dedicated half of the space to courts.  The children's area is large, and there is a running track on the roof.  But I will not be renewing my membership.

posted by Will on 06/17/2005