The Sporting Club at The Bellevue

Hands down the best gym in the city. It’s more than a gym, with so many amenities such as basketball gym, golf simulators, pool, sauna, barbershop, cafe, rooftop lounges and more. The staff (especially Thea who gave us tours and helped with the sign up) is incredible. Fresh towels, clean, attentive and always saying good morning. Not sure where the negative reviews come from, never an issue with scheduling or getting on machines, always a healthy balance of people here but never overly crowded. Plus who would want a gym that no one’s at anyway?

I’m a new member but so far am really enjoying the facilities and classes. I haven’t found it difficult to get into yoga or Pilates classes (Admittedly, I’m taking them during the day.) The locker room, hot tub, and sauna are well-appointed.

I had a decent experience at The Sporting Club overall, but I recently cancelled my membership because it didn’t quite live up to expectations. One of the main issues that led to me leaving was the fact that the club’s membership has increased dramatically over the last six months. I understand that their incentive is to have as many members as possible, but this results in the club being very crowded during peak times. I was super excited about the fitness classes when I first joined, but the rapid membership growth resulted in it becoming very difficult to reserve a spot in any class that isn’t held during the workday. To get a spot, you essentially need to set an alarm for when a class opens each week, but even this doesn’t always work because of how much competition there is. The increase in membership also made it a lot harder to find a place to do some remote work during the day, since there are only ~15 comfortable seats near a power source. It was also (understandably) too loud to take calls, so I can’t really recommend it as a place to work remotely. I definitely lost some respect for the club when they refused to honor their membership policies. When I asked which section of the membership agreement states that a freeze can’t precede a cancellation, they were unable to answer and seemed very unhappy that I wanted to cancel my membership at all. Also, they charge a $25 fee just to freeze your membership, which is such an obvious cash grab. Considering how high the monthly fee is (not to mention the sign-up fee!), it didn’t feel great to have them try to wring as much money as possible out of me before I left. It’s worth mentioning that the facilities are very high quality. There’s a ton of space, the locker rooms and showers are super well-kept, and there’s a great rooftop area. I think it would be a good fit for someone with a very flexible schedule so you can avoid peak times, or if you really want a pool since that’s difficult to find at other gyms.

This is the BEST gym in Philadelphia!!!! They have everything you need for a successful workout. Basketball court, indoor track, hot tube, cold plunge, sauna, steam room, fitness classes 💪🏾, spin, trx, business area, game room, snack bar. The absolute BEST!!

Over the past four or five months, the club has seen a dramatic increase in members. Classes are more difficult to book (good luck getting into Pilates!) The pool and running lanes are perpetually full. The locker room is overcrowded and consistently out of towels. The remote work areas are always occupied. I loved the club when I joined a year ago, but the current reality does not justify the sky-high sign-up fee and monthly membership rate. I only give two stars instead of one because the reception and locker room staff are all incredible even through they are stretched thin. If you want to join, I encourage you tour during peak hours (4:00pm-7:00pm) to see what you're in for!