The Zoo Health Club Manchester

I used to work there and now I am a member. I have met the owners and have been to many of the locations. The Manchester location is special because it is 1 mile from my home and it was the first gym I signed up for when I first started. I became friends with alot of people. Now, here is the downfall, you will run into some characters just like anywhere. Just put in the headphones and focus on you and your friends. It has turf, free weights, and ninja warrior equipment downstairs.

Let me start by saying I never write reviews... this is my first ever. But I felt I needed to warn potential future patrons from this establishment.I was originally a member of the Fitlab in Pinardville that got bought out by Zoo. I have been trying to get out of my now expired contract for 3 months. I have been told multiple times I am all set only to continue to be charged every month. They have been condescending and rude and I feel like they are placing the blame for this on me when they’ve been feeding me misinformation on how to cancel my contract all along. I would strongly suggest you stay away from this gym unless you never plan to leave it. Their business practices are very shady and you will regret it.. I know I am and I never even had any choice in the matter.

warning: they will do their best to prevent you from leaving.I've had a membership here since 2014. I signed a 12-month contract that expired summer 2015, and was told I can cancel "whenever I want" after it expired. I'm now in the final stages of closing on a house that's out of reasonable driving range for a gym visit (and has room to set up my own little workout space), so I called to cancel my membership. I was told by the gentleman who answered the phone that "you can only cancel in person or via a certified letter". Now this is just absurd, and the only logical reason is to make it difficult to leave. It's an intentionally anti-consumer practice to try and build revenue from subscribers who do not actually use their facilities. I'd like to note here that I *have no contract* at this point, and am *paying the normal rate*. Any argument that this is "for consumer benefit" to prevent someone other than the member from cancelling without permission is an outright lie. All I would have to do would be sign back up and I'd be right back where I was.The facilities were nice. They were always clean, and had options for free weights and machines. I just think that their cancellation policy gives some insight into what they actually think of their members... profit will always come first.edit: I got in contact with Julian at the Concord location (see reply) and was able to work this out. He was very helpful and explained that the in-person or certified mail cancellation requirement is a franchise (Zoo Health Club) not franchisee (Zoo Health Club: Manchester) policy. As a result of his assistance I have added a few stars onto the original review. I am still not giving it a full 5 stars because the original point that this is an anti-consumer policy still stands, and perhaps this will spread the word a bit better than nestling it somewhere in the initial agreement. I absolutely appreciate Julian reaching out and allowing me to cancel via phone, but it should not require public shaming and a very helpful local franchisee to make this happen.I also fixed some dates/contract details in the original review for accuracy.P.S. I would also like to call out the flaw in the "it's an industry standard" argument that was provided. This is just an example of an argumentum ad populum logical fallacy. "everyone does it so it must be right". Another classic example would the the cable industry's tendency to add unannounced fees to your cable bill... a practice so widely acknowledged to be predatory that it was just banned by the federal government in a bipartisan bill. Instead of following the pack, be the company to stand out with consumer-friendly account management. Allow cancellation by phone, or dare I say... the internet? Perhaps in 2020 accepting a mode of communication that was invented sometime in the last century would be smart. I just managed to get a mortgage entirely online, yet I'm expected to send a letter via snail mail to cancel my gym membership...

The facility is super clean. The 24/7 access is really convenient and the fitness classes are included. I don't use them, but I know I can jump in a Yoga class anytime. The equipment is always kept up on, repaired within a couple of days. I like that I can go to multiple locations primarily Manchester and Concord. The price is fair and the community feel makes the workouts and experience that much better.

Decent gym. Great best 24 hour gym in the city. Big problems with communication with billing. I didn't renew my membership. They didn't contact me, charged me an extra 4 months. Then sent the bill to a debt collection agency without even calling or emailing me. Bad business practice. 144 dollars later, no blemishes on my credit happened. Hope they don't continue this to other people.

I chose to join the simsbury location back in 2013 because it was at a very convenient location. I was a very loyal member for a couple years and I had to cancel my membership because of hidden fees. I couldn't take it anymore. This year I joined again because the management changed and the gym improved a lot but I still get hit with another hidden fee. I tried to get a hold of Ernesto or Julian twice and they still never got back to me. One of the members at the Manchester location picked up and I explained my situation about an 18$ increase in my bill and they said it's a maintenance fee(for that month only). You guys really need to be clear at the very start of a contract of what we'll expect to pay. What he said was "oh that's our bad in our part." This is an example of poor customer service. A maintenance fee is something you guys need to be responsible of and not expect the members to pay. They're full of frauds!!

EDIT: THEY CHARGED ME AGAIN!!! For crying out loud I was told and provided with a receipt that I was released from their membership. I sign into my online banking app and see a charge for Nov 8th from Zoo but that didn't make sense to me because I was told I was being charged one last time and it would be for the month of November. I will be in contact with their corporate offices and raise hell and high water because of how terrible their own employees understand or explain policy and contracts. I warn anyone, anywhere, the gym is not worth this. The gym facility is clean and taken care of but for the love of God I have been charged over 400 dollars for a gym I don't live near. A family member being diagnosed caused me to move my life away from this place and they're just enjoying the free money they're getting every month. Do not give these predators your information or money.I found the gym itself to be in incredible condition and clean while I was able to go there. I am giving 2 stars however because I was paying a membership fee for over a year and a half as a college student (24 something a month) but I moved to another state due to a family loss and change of lifestyle/job. Think the gym's corporate business model cares that someone is charged 8 months past their year contract with exactly zero days of checking in? Of course not. I still have the "free" training day with my signup that was given up on after 2 months. This gym has just informed me their "quit in 5 minutes(after the first year)" requires an additional 30 day waiting period and one final credit charge. So unless you would prefer certified mail, being in person on your day off, or whatever the fine print nobody reads actually says they will probably charge your credit card until you die. My interaction with this facility is that if I didn't show up for five years they would've still charged my credit card. I find that dishonest and rather annoying that after canceling a membership due to being in another state with other responsibilities to worry about I have yet another month of gym membership in a place I obviously don't live by.My advice with this facility is prepare for such a small charge to really bug you.

Terrible customer service. They tell you that you can freeze your memebership at anytime. But when you go to freeze it they make it difficult. Bad communication throughout the entire gym. You will speak to one employee about something and they will never relay the message to the appropriate person. I was told 2 times my account would be frozen but yet I was still charged for the month!!!! Then when you call to resolve the issue they say there’s nothing they can do !! So I suffer because of YOUR failure to communicate with each other. I will NEVERRRR return to this gym. Don’t waste your money. There’s other gyms around that are cleaner and have no contract!

If you're looking for a great, un-intimidating, friendly, clean space to work-out, go to The Zoo.1. The staff could not be friendlier or more helpful. The Zoo would get 5 stars just based on the staff at the front desk.2. The gym is clean, well-organized, and has everything I would need. The machines and spaces are new, and the music is never too loud or obnoxious, but perfect for ambient gym music (I don't like to wear headphones when I exercise).3. Can't beat the price. One of the best gym membership values I've ever seen.

One of the best gyms I've been to in NH. Very clean. Nice, modern equipment with lots of variety. Has two levels, upstairs is machines and cardio and downstairs is squat and crossfit weights. It's practical stuff too, not super specific bs targeted machines. This gym has plenty of space with a very friendly atmosphere.The people here are dedicated and it shows. It's also fairly easy to do HIIT training since either level has cardio equipment close to either setup. It is also the cleanest gym I have visited.It's a shame I don't live in Manchester because I would totally go here every day.