hey all - wow - a lot of chat bout gyms! i too looked at holiday gym, but it's mad expensive and i didn't dig the contract thing. which lead me to look at some others. here are my findings and my final conclusion at the end:


-gymnasio maravillas near republica argentina (i can't remember the name of the street, but it connects the plaza rep. argentina w/ la castellana) is spacious, has treadmills/bikes/nautilus and one room w/ classes. they charged 40euros/month, no contract.

-energy on hortaleza is nice, but not very big, and i got the feeling they jacked up the prices b/c it's kinda swank and in chueca. around 55/month. not sure if there's a contract or not.

-gym on calle libertad en chueca. small, very limited treadmills, mostly free weights. but nice price - underr 30euros/month. i don't know the name of it - it actually might be "gimnasio libertad" across the street from a physical therapy place called "ya no me duele"

En fin, i joined Polideportivos & Fitness on Juan Hurtado de Mendoza near <m> cuzco, right off la castellana. they had a promo which ended, so i think now it's 60 euros/month, but the place is GREAT. huge, for one. clean, 3 studios for classes, spinning, free weights and nautilus, televisions, sauna, locker room, showers (again, CLEAN!), treadmills, bikes, rowing. and it's open late on saturdays (closed sundays, but alas, this is spain we're talking about). i'd recommend it if you don't mind the price. it's never crowded and the staff are pretty friendly too. oh, and no contract!

hope this helps...

Ok, I finally joined a gym after reading all this info and doing some investigation. This is what I found-I went by the polideportivo in La Latina and wasn't thrilled-VERY humid and a bit close inside and the prices weren't all that great. I don't remember exactly what it was per visit, but it was about 50 euros for an unlimited month. Which seemed on the high side for what is supposed to be a bargain place.

At the advice of a Spanish friend I then checked out and joined El Horno Centro de Ocio which is on the Calle Esgrima a few blocks south of Plaza Tirso de Molina. I think it strikes a good balance between an American style gym and a local Spanish one. It has step and body sculpting classes primarily, but a good set up of machines-both weight machines as well as treadmills, elliptical trainers, bicycles, and stair masters. It is bright and has decent circulation-sorry, I don't mind sweating, but not because the place has no air! Also, flat screen tvs set to VH-1, and, gosh, it wouldn't be Spanish if they didn't have a cafe area where you can smoke!

You don't need to do a contract, but they make it less expensive the more time you commit to. One month is 47 euros, with a matricula of 30. But for three months, it is 135 with no matricula, for six, 240, for a year 360. Which seems comparable price wise with the poli. I went for the first time today and it seemed mainly Spanairds-though who these people were at 11:00, I don't know.

And, best of all, in terms of atmosphere, the gym portion is housed in a dance center where they have classes of flamenco, tango, etc-so the sounds of castanuelas drift through the rooms-making it seem quite a bit less American!

Of course, you can't have everything, I am used to being able to go to the gym before work (ie: 6 or so), and this one doesn't open till 10!

hey Wendy.

thanks for your take on el horno.

quote:

...it wouldn't be Spanish if they didn't have a cafe area where you can smoke!

not to worry, that may have to change in jan. with the new no-smoking laws

ok, the only bad thing i have ever heard about el horno is that it is a meat market but i guess that could be good for the singles out there

saludos,
jer...

quote:

Originally posted by schwendy:
I don't mind sweating, but not because the place has no air!

hehe I guess that's way they call it El horno gym!!!

what on awful joke, but couldn't pass it up..

I am thinking of joining the Holiday Gym located at Ortega y Gasset, 56
Metro: Nunez de Balboa
Tel: 91 410 4491
Just wanted to know if anyone had been there, goes there now, or knows of a better gym in that area.....Thanks!

I think Jer posted before saying he could not find any info for Holiday Gym, but I have found... taa daaa... their website.

Holiday Gym

Someone told me there was a Holiday Gym in Plaza Espana... Do you think she means the one on C/ Princesa? Which to me, is certainly not "in" Plaza Espana... Or is there one I'm missing?

hey binkxy.

actually, i added that web address about a year ago but it is posted on another thread HERE about holiday gym.

thanks for adding it to this thread as well however the more placres it is listed the merrier

yes, the one in "plaza de españa" is the same as the one on calle princesa. it is about a 10-15 minute walk from plaza de españa but the closest metro is "argüelles" and next closest is "ventura rodriguez".

saludos,
jer...

I joined the Holiday Gym at Ortega y Gasset if anyone has any questions. I also checked out Urban Fitness/Body Passion by the San Bernardo metro.

Are gyms here (Madrid/Spain) typically air conditioned?

Thanks,

Chad

hey Chad.

yes, even the polideportivos (town hall run sports centers) have ac.

at least i have never seen a gym in madrid that was not air conditioned.

saludos,
jer...

but beware, in some cases it may not be "air conditioned" to the level you expect from back home.

Yeah I have to second binkx's thought -- my gym has a/c, now whether they actually ever turn it on is another matter. I rearranged my gym schedule to go either early in the day or late at night b/c if there is a/c, it is not effective.

good point.

interesting to hear that they do not put on the ac much binkx & llewilli. in my opinion, if you pay good money for a gym that has a/c, you have the right to demand they turn it on in the summer.

at the polideportivo la latina down in the weight/excercise room they have it on all summer and i must say it is pretty cool down there. it helps that it is a basement too since that naturally cools it down.

that said, they also close for the whole month of august since "nobody" is in madrid

saludos,
jer...

I have to say i'm happy with mine is not the best but is close and not so expensive.

It's in Ramon de la cruz .. Lista area and i paid 120 something for 3 months.. unlimited!

can't even remember the name of it! :S

Hey that's in my hood - try to look at the name next time you go!