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August 2025 by Scott Bohe
Clean and uncrowded
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July 2025 by Hilary Fenton
I joined the gym about a year and a half ago. Today I wanted to review it. It is SO hot outside. We walked into the gym and it was CHILLY in there. 5 stars. It’s also *always* really clean, they have everything I could think of using, and Darrion is the best personal trainer ever.
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July 2025 by grizzly mike
Great gym
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July 2025 by Joseph Kellogg
Great location for where I live. The people who work there are awesome and always helpful. Never had an issue and the trainers are top-notch.
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July 2025 by Josh Young
Notice the response from the owner, she in no way offers to make this right. She only defends her hidden policies and sends me on my way. There is no attempt to save my business. There are plenty of options and other gyms coming to Altoona. This place will eventually have competition and their CS will have to improve, or face failure. This is not a good economy to be treating people poorly.
I’d like to get the thoughts of others who might be considering a membership at the Anytime Fitness location in Altoona. I recently tried to join and had such a frustrating experience that I’m now genuinely torn about moving forward—despite the gym’s convenient location for me.
It started with a “free” trial, or so the website promised. Like most people, I expect a trial to be no-cost so I can evaluate the gym's equipment and availability during my preferred hours. The Anytime Fitness website even markets a free trial and prompts you to schedule it. But when I arrived, I was told I had to pay a $40 “deposit” for the key fob—non-refundable if I chose not to get a membership. They said it would go toward a membership if I joined, but that’s not the same as free.
I pushed back, noting this wasn’t reflected on their website and that free trials are industry standard. Jesse, the staff member, stood firm. When I asked to speak to a manager, the owner came out and reiterated that these were “her rules”. After some awkward back-and-forth, she reluctantly let me have the trial—but not without making it extremely uncomfortable. Still, I used the trial, liked the facility, and planned to join.
Due to work travel, I couldn’t return for a couple of weeks. In that time, I received repeated calls asking me to either sign up or return the fob. I explained clearly that I was away and intended to join upon my return, but the pressure over the fob was off-putting.
Things got worse when I asked to pay the full membership amount up front, as I didn’t want to be drafted every two weeks (which I find excessive and a bit mistrusting). I was told the only way to pay in full was in cash. I offered to pay credit card fees if necessary, but they insisted on cash only—which raised red flags. Why cash only? Tax evasion? Pre-payment to avoid transfer of membership to other locations? A lack of trust in their own members? None of those are good signs.
Still, I went through the hassle of getting the cash. It wasn’t easy—especially without a local bank. After multiple days and banking headaches, I returned with $700 in hand, only to be told I also had to pay a $50 “activation fee.” I offered to pay the $50 by card. Jesse refused, repeating—condescendingly and multiple times—“As we previously discussed,” insisting all of it had to be in cash.
Here’s where it gets even more misleading: the activation fee is in addition to the enrollment fee they claim to “waive.” So while they advertise “no enrollment fee,” they still charge a separate, mandatory activation fee that only becomes clear at the very end of the process. Mind you, this is not the membership cost they said I needed to pay in cash, which I had the full $700 in cash, they turned me away b/c I didn’t have the $50 activation fee in cash as well! It feels intentionally deceptive.
At that point, I was stunned. I had done everything they asked, jumped through every hoop, and they still made it this difficult to become a paying member. Their policies are confusing, their fees are excessive, and their customer service has been—frankly—the worst I’ve ever encountered at a gym.
So now I’m asking:
Even if the gym is convenient, would you hand over $750 in cash to a business that treats potential members this way? I’m genuinely interested in hearing others' experiences and whether this is typical—or if I just had an unusually bad run.
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June 2025 by Steph G
Frustrating Experience – Inconsistent Practices and Disappointing Service
Approach Anytime Fitness franchises with caution—particularly when it comes to how memberships are managed across locations.
My husband and I were originally members at an Anytime Fitness in Phoenix, AZ. Before moving in March 2023, I canceled my membership in person, returned my key fob, and received confirmation from the local owner that everything was in order. My husband chose to keep his contract active.
After relocating to Iowa, we were within range of several franchise locations. My husband began regularly using two gyms in southeast Des Moines (not including Altoona). Shortly after, he began receiving letters stating his “home gym” had changed. Around the same time, we noticed what appeared to be two monthly charges to our bank account. However, the total matched a single membership fee, and the letters were all addressed to him. I never received any correspondence about my membership.
Two years later in January 2025, I decided to return to the gym. We visited a southeast Des Moines franchise, where the owner informed me that my membership had never actually been canceled. Instead, the previous franchise had quietly lowered our rate to the minimum and kept both memberships active—likely to avoid taking a hit to their internal performance metrics.
This was incredibly frustrating. Despite following proper cancellation procedures, I had unknowingly paid for two years of a membership I thought was terminated. To his credit, the local owner handled it professionally. He initially mentioned our rates were below the corporate minimum, but ultimately left them unchanged. Unfortunately, my experience with the Altoona location was much different.
After just a few workouts at Altoona, I received a text from a staff member named Leah requesting my address and stating that my rate would increase by $40/month. I explained the billing confusion and expressed frustration, noting we would likely cancel if our rates were increased. While she apologized and acknowledged the issue was mishandled, no effort was made to resolve the matter or offer a goodwill adjustment. Instead, she offered to cancel my membership via text and said my access to the Altoona gym would be disabled—despite me asking to speak first with the other gym we frequent. At that point, I had not authorized any cancellation or transfer.
The interaction felt abrupt, impersonal, and dismissive—especially considering the context. The lack of coordination between franchise locations was striking. My husband and I decided to join a different gym chain the very next day. When I followed up with Leah to formally cancel both memberships, I was told she had already transferred mine to the other southeast Des Moines location and could no longer cancel it.
Unfortunately, this seems to be a pattern of passing responsibility from one franchise to another without resolution or ownership. I’ve now reached out to the corporate office, though I’m not optimistic about the outcome.
Inconsistency between locations, poor communication, and unwillingness to resolve legitimate concerns create a frustrating experience for members. I hope Anytime Fitness corporate takes more responsibility for ensuring franchise accountability, transparency, and customer-focused service.
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May 2025 by Revaz K
Clean and nice gym
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February 2025 by Craig Perry
Great gym.Nice variety of training equipment. The staff always treat everyone well. The people are nice and it’s easy to get my workout in. It’s pretty clean and the equipment is well taken care of.
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February 2025 by Chloie rosenbalm
Horrible gym
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February 2025 by Randy Rosenbalm
Horrible customer service. The key fob didn't work. We used this membership for not even a month. Now they say we owe close to $1000 for a membership that we never used. The place was also dirty everytime we were there. Go with Planet Fitness. This place is a joke.
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February 2025 by scott marnin
Great Hour's workout anytime.
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August 2024 by Ricardo Cabeza
Nice gym with friendly staff. The one gripe I have is probably out of the staff’s control unless if they call it out for some of the members. There are way too many people at this location especially who will go to a specific machine, and just sit on their phones while others are waiting to use that machine. The members are the ones who need to learn better etiquette. If it weren’t for those few members, hands down this gym would be five stars.
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August 2024 by Clay Calkins
It's a lot better than I expected. Top quality gym and very convenient.
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July 2024 by Psyrus Ace
Plenty of room, AC and bathroom space. Lots of cardio and weights. More squat racks than most gyms.
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July 2024 by Ess hdx
Well maintained and friendly staff
