David Lloyd Norwich Drayton Road, Norwich NR6 5DU

"If only zero stars were available... I'm not a fan of leaving bad reviews but my experience with David Lloyd Norwich has compelled me to do so. In short, I would advise anyone to avoid this gym at all costs. It’s very expensive, the facility is beyond tired (lots of things broken) and the service is just appalling. The final straw was that they increased the fees and reduced the opening hours and I was no longer able to use the gym. Despite being told (by the receptionist) that my membership had come to a natural end and that no further money would be taken from my account, they continued to take the direct debit. I've attempted to raise my complaint for the past two months but the general manager has ignored my requests for a call back. The membership team were equally unhelpful. They simply want members money, without any obligation of providing the service for which we've signed up for. Please avoid this gym."

"The gym decided to close their outdoor pool for circa 40% of a calendar year because it was "too expensive to run". This was done without any consultation nor reduction in fees and among a back drop of countless wet area faults. The outdoor pool was the main reason I joined the venue so I got in touch with the Head office to cancel my contract. This was painful; they invoked notice period clauses, blind to the fact that they had made a material adjustment to the service provision. After a little back-and-forth I agreed - in a charitable mood - not to cancel but to bolt on the period of closure to the end of my contact FOC but that I had to arrange this with venue management. This took MONTHS and countless back-and-forth. Painful. This was finally settled by a Manager called Kurt who, to his credit, acted decisively. During this period I've served several notices to cancel my contract but still received renewal e-mails. Tedious. This has the potential to be a fantastic venue but it is not currently run as such; it feels like they take advantage of their position as the closest thing to a premium health club in Norfolk. Equipment downtime is very high and response/fix times are terrible; communication/expectation management about solves is worst-in-class. Front-of-house staff are sublime. Best-in-class. Really lovely people who deliver service with a smile from 6AM to the late hours. A credit to their profession. Hard to recommend this club."

"I absolutely love this club! The gym and facilities are amazing. But the clubs staff and communication between one another is another level of poor. I have been a member of the club for years now, and had to freeze my membership due to my pregnancy, for this I had to send ‘proof of medical documents’, which is absolutely absurd - however I obliged and did so. Now I am on maternity, I have a newborn baby and obviously haven’t got the time to go to the gym, let alone finding the childcare for him. But most importantly I am on statutory maternity pay (about £170 a week) and cannot afford a £70 a month gym membership. However I wasn’t allowed to ‘quit’, for another 3 months, even though I have been a member for years and am definitely out of any contract by now. I had to once again send proof of my financial changes! Don’t join this gym unless you have a life long commitment to it, or miraculously know that in 3 months time you will want to leave, so you can give your notice before hand. Additionally the monthly price increase annually, and I was never informed of this! It went up £7 a month this year. Such a shame for such a lovely club!"

"Been a member for a few years now and the maintenance or lack of has got worse and worse. The changing rooms were refurbished and look no different, ignoring the showers and toilets which are pretty disgusting and smell horrible. Staff don’t keep the pool sides clean. I watched as two staff walked past an empty water bottle multiple times and a ball of tissue beside the indoor pool, just chatting and laughing, with no thought for the place. Some of the gym equipment is so tired and worn out, I wouldn’t touch it with gloves on. Such a poor quality leisure centre for the money. I just have to find one that is better, so I’ll be taking a tour of the others to see if they’re an better"

"Over-priced, always something broken, families/children everywhere, no compensation for the constantly broken facilities that we pay good money for. I loved David Lloyd Norwich when I first joined over 2 years ago. However, it feels that the quality and care has gone downhill. It’s quite an expensive membership, for what you actually get (I pay for the platinum one). I remember when the venue was a Virgin Active, it was basically the same, but around £35 cheaper!!! (In fact, it was much nicer when it was Virgin Active). The sauna, steam room, hydrotherapy pool, changing rooms, toilets and more, always seem to be broken in one way or another. If you do not have kids, like me, and are hoping for a more ‘adult only’ experience, this is definitely not the place to get a membership. There’s kids everywhere, and they seem to take priority in the club, even though they don’t have to pay a membership fee. All-round, I’d say this club was okay, with elements that I love, like great classes, but I am considering leaving. (Of which, unfortunately you have to give 3 months notice!!)"