Virgin Active UK Reviews 

I strongly recommend avoiding Virgin Active.
I have tried to cancel my rolling monthly membership since 14 December 2025 using their official website chat. I repeated the cancellation process on 23 December and again on 2 January after phone support failed (30+ minute wait, then the call disconnected when I reached the front of the queue). Each time I was told cancellation was confirmed and that I would receive an email copy of the chat and someone would contact me. None of that happened.
Virgin Active later said they would respond within 72 hours, but it has now been more than a week and still no written confirmation, no response, and no ownership.
The final joke: a staff member at the gym told me my account would “go to arrears” because I cancelled my Direct Debit — despite the fact I have been trying to cancel properly for weeks and Virgin Active has failed to process it.
This is not how a reputable company operates. If you join, be prepared for a battle just to cancel.

Despite getting an email from Elliot wood in 21 November confirming there was not payment outstanding I am still receiving threatening emails and texts demanding payment. Surprise surprise I can’t get hold of the club or the mysterious Elliott to resolve this.
I am at the end of my tether with the constant stress and worry of theses threats and noone is able to help.

Not very clean, overcrowded, limited equipment and overpriced for a “premium” gym.

The Spa seems to have constant issues where something is not working. My sole purpose of using the CW Branch once a week, and yet my custom seems to be expendable. I continue to pay for a service that I’m not able to make use off. The remedy is always a non relevant apology. No other service you pay for would continually fob you off without remedy, but now I’m just ignored when feedback/complaint gets raised.

Absolutely hopeless customer service experience. I can only say that they need to go back to school. I explained my issue multiple times and they came back with the same response which was to go to my local gym. I explained I couldn’t get there but they suggested it again. To top it off you can’t call them and the chat is non existent. They need to step this up or lose custom.

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding the recent £29 price increase that was applied to my membership.

I was notified of this increase but, despite responding to the email, I have received no reply or explanation. The complete lack of communication is unacceptable and does not reflect a company that values its members.

As a loyal member, I would have expected transparency, justification for the increase, and at the very least a response to my enquiry. Instead, this situation suggests poor marketing strategy and a disregard for customer loyalty.

I wrote and broke down my concerns and yet I get nothings back.

Dear Virgin Active Team,
I am writing to formally escalate a complaint following my email of 16/12/2025, to which I have received no response. Unfortunately, this lack of engagement has become a consistent issue and is deeply disappointing given my 15+ years of membership.
I have now been notified of a £29 increase to my monthly membership fee. This represents a substantial rise—almost a third of my current payment—yet there has been no clear explanation of what additional value I would receive in return.
In reality, my access to facilities and services has reduced rather than improved. In particular:
• Classes are consistently fully booked, making them effectively inaccessible.

• When classes take place on the gym floor, equipment cannot be used, further limiting access.

• Key equipment (such as balancing balls) has been removed.

• Promised offerings, including calisthenics classes, have not materialised.

• New additions such as equipment upgrades and the restaurant provide no benefit to me, and the restaurant pricing represents poor value compared to readily available alternatives nearby.

Taken together, these issues mean I do not feel I am receiving value for money at my current rate, let alone at an increased cost.
Unless this price increase can be reviewed or clearly justified with tangible improvements that address the issues above, I will have no option but to cancel my membership. After many years of loyalty, this outcome would be extremely disappointing and entirely avoidable.
I would appreciate a prompt response addressing:
1. The justification for this fee increase, and

2. Whether any adjustment or resolution can be offered in light of the reduced access and ongoing service issues.

I feel compelled to raise a further concern regarding the recent blanket membership price increase and the lack of engagement from your team.
Rather than applying a uniform increase to all members, it would seem far more reasonable—and commercially sensible—to limit or tier access to certain services such as premium classes or restaurant facilities. Many long-standing members, myself included, do not use or have any interest in these additions, which are being presented as “upgrades” despite being entirely irrelevant to our usage of the club.
A blanket price increase risks losing a significant number of loyal members who are being asked to subsidise facilities they neither want nor benefit from. This approach feels short-sighted and unintelligent, particularly given the number of club closures in recent years. From a business perspective, it is difficult to understand how this strategy supports long-term retention.
This is now the third Virgin Active club I have had to join due to closures, yet it appears that little has been learned from those experiences. Communication remains poor, responses are absent, and member concerns are routinely ignored. At the very least, members deserve the courtesy of a reply.
Additionally, the justification that recent increases are simply “natural” because prices had not risen for years is demonstrably inaccurate. Membership fees have increased multiple times over the years, and I retain email correspondence that clearly evidences this. To suggest otherwise is both misleading and deeply frustrating.
I am extremely disappointed by how this has been handled. Long-standing members should not be treated with disregard or met with what feels like arrogance when raising legitimate concerns about value, access, and transparency.
I would welcome a meaningful response that acknowledges these issues and explains whether any smarter, more flexible approach is being considered before further alienating loyal members

Kind regards

Sean

Yet I get nothing back which is so unprofessional and rude.

Great Gym. Loads of space and equipment to use.
Also has a great sauna - and steam room in the men’s changing area.
I always enjoy going!

If you are thinking of a gym membership for the new year do not consider this company and particularly the solihull one! Manager doesn't respond to emails, head office customer service appalling and do not respond to complaints.
They will sign you up and then take away the classes you signed up for. There are better gyms out there to join. Don't waste your money!!
Update
As you can also see below, they contacted me for further information in February and I've still received no response from Solihull or their customer services 2 months later. Yet they ask me to contact them if they can support further. How about responding to complaints made in December and January first!!?

EDIT - complaint raised 12th December 2025, it is now March 2026 and I haven’t heard a peep.
I cancelled my gym membership in person in October on a cancel-any-time contract and was told it would be processed immediately. It wasn’t.
Since then, I’ve received repeated texts claiming I owe money (£47, then suddenly £127.32) with no explanation or breakdown, despite not using the gym at all.
I raised a formal complaint on Friday and received an automated email saying I’d hear back within 1–3 days. I’ve had no acknowledgment, no explanation of the complaints process, and no response.
When I called today, I was told the complaint would now be “assigned” and I should wait 7–10 working days, completely contradicting the original timescale. The advisor ) was unhelpful and showed no understanding of the issue. I was also asked to provide proof that I cancelled in person — which is impossible when staff failed to process it correctly.
On top of this, the gym itself is overcrowded, classes are rammed, and the facilities are dirty and dated, which was a big part of why I chose to cancel in the first place.
Long hold times, unavailable live chat, unhelpful automated systems, incorrect charges, and no accountability. This has caused unnecessary stress and wasted a significant amount of my time.
I would strongly caution others before signing up.

Get ready for your membership to increase 35% without being properly informed about it. And good luck trying to fight it back.
8 days waiting for a reply, calls not answered after 45 minutes on queue, dismissive customer service both on HQ and local gym.
Unless you are extremely persistent they will not get anything half-sorted for you, and if they can, they will make it worse.
I am sure they will be super fast sending me a credit controller company if I dare to cancel my DD before getting any solution.
Still waiting for solution, I was just told might take another 3-4 days. Outrageous.

Be very wary they are all friendly at sign up time and it’s all downhill from there, charges increase way above rate of inflation and facilities decrease on the quiet

Staff, trainers & class quality (friendly, knowledgeable, personal training support)

Excellent service i m happy thanks

I have delayed writing a review about Virgin Active for some time, but following my recent experience, I feel genuinely heartbroken and compelled to share it. I experienced racism from a personal trainer employed by Virgin Active at Sheffield. When I submitted a formal complaint and provided a written statement, the handling of the matter was extremely poor.

The complaint took an unreasonable amount of time to process. Throughout that period, I received no follow-up calls or emails and had to repeatedly chase the gym for updates. Management later informed me that the delay was due to the manager’s personal circumstances, but this was never communicated at the time, nor was anyone assigned to take responsibility in their absence. This left me feeling that my concerns were not taken seriously.

My husband was also directly involved in the incident and included in the complaint. However, he was not acknowledged by the gym at any stage, and several communications completely excluded him. The staff member involved continues to work at Virgin Active, and we have been refused any insight into what the investigation involved or how decisions were reached. We also repeatedly requested a copy of the equality and diversity policy, but each request was ignored.

The staff member who behaved in a discriminatory manner continues to make me feel uncomfortable, often giving us inappropriate looks. This has genuinely affected my mental wellbeing, and the gym is aware of this. Despite repeatedly stating that the matter is being taken seriously, their actions consistently suggested otherwise. It felt as though they were more invested in protecting their employee and preserving the gym’s reputation than addressing discrimination.

We requested multiple meetings, yet were often given last-minute appointments with little notice. This experience has been deeply distressing, and I still feel that the severity of what happened has not been recognised.

I’ve missed a lot out of what happened but hope you can understand.

If you are from an ethnic background and considering joining this gym, please be aware that this was my personal experience.

There is one staff in thundersley that is very strict but the rest are pretty good otherwise. I think it is very inhumane to lock people into a 12 month contract at the rate of 69.99 a month. I literally have to pay mine and my boyfriends subscription which will cost me over £1.5k that year. I referred my boyfriend and they are saying because I didn't go through the app I can't get a free month. Also I told them that I want to end my subscription because I can't afford to pay both memberships and that I have no heating this winter and I am having to pay more for electricity because I have to rely on electric heaters. Locking people into such an expensive contract is very inhumane. I haven't even been to virgin active for the last 2 months which is about £250 down the drain and they are telling me that I have to provide evidence of my change in circumstances like the inflation rate of 3.8% is not enough.

Avoid when strength and conditioning sessions are held unless you enjoy extremely loud techno music.

Raised a complaint 1-2 weeks ago was told I would receive a response in 72 hours. Been chasing ever since with still no reply.

I am extremely disappointed with the way Virgin Active has handled my situation. I made multiple safety complaints about conditions in the gym and clearly stated that if the situation was not resolved, I wanted to cancel my membership. Instead of addressing the safety issue or taking my concerns seriously, they continued to take my direct debit, even after I explained that I did not feel safe using the facility.

I contacted them several times by phone and repeatedly asked for written confirmation of my cancellation. I gave them over a month’s notice, which is more than what my contract requires. Despite this, they still ignored my request and kept my membership active without my consent.

Eventually, a manager contacted me and gave me a scripted line about my “wellbeing being important” to them—but he still failed to confirm that any safety measures would change and did not confirm my cancellation, even though I had already requested it more than a month earlier. Absolutely unbelievable.

Even freezing a membership requires “manager approval,” yet these same managers ignore messages, fail to follow up, and seem completely unable to carry out basic responsibilities. Who is training and supervising these people? The level of incompetence is astonishing.

At this point, it feels less like poor service and more like deliberate obstruction designed to keep charging members against their wishes. I will be reporting this to the ombudsman, because no gym has the right to continue charging someone who has given clear notice to cancel and has repeatedly raised legitimate safety concerns.

This entire experience has been unacceptable from start to finish.

Don’t believe the offer of £100 credit or a free personal training session upon joining. The Virgin Active app can’t be downloaded to an international based App Store, so if you’re from overseas you won’t receive £100 credit and can’t book classes. Promises of contact to book your complimentary training session doesn’t happen.
Trying to do follow up and ask for an alternative to get the £100 credit is met by staff shrugging their shoulders, telephoning is a recording directing you to online. The gym is expensive and there are much better options, Kensington is small and often crowded.

I’m moving to Australia to live with a friend and they’re not letting me cancel.