North City Family and Fitness Centre image

North City Family and Fitness Centre

Gym Leisurecentre

😠 Total chaos and dangerously unprofessional! I booked a course of swimming lessons for my daughter (£30) on 19.04.22 to which she attended her first lesson at North City facility in Harpurhey on the Saturday morning. Upon attending the lesson it was absolute chaos and upon approaching someone to ask... People often mention staff, pool, swimming, lessons, membership, machines, swim, good, friendly, facilities,


Address

Upper Conran St, Harpurhey, Manchester M9 4DA, United Kingdom

Website

www.better.org.uk

Contact

+44 161 302 0930

Rating on Google Maps

4.20 (372 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Tuesday: 6:30 am to 10 pm
  • Wednesday: 6:30 am to 10 pm
  • Thursday: 6:30 am to 10 pm
  • Friday: 6:30 am to 10 pm
  • Saturday: 7:30 am to 6 pm
  • Sunday: 7:30 am to 6 pm
  • Monday: 6:30 am to 10 pm

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: staff (24) pool (21) swimming (19) lessons (15) membership (11) machines (11) swim (10) good (10) friendly (10) facilities (9)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 1/5 Lee H. 1 year ago on Google
    Total chaos and dangerously unprofessional! I booked a course of swimming lessons for my daughter (£30) on 19.04.22 to which she attended her first lesson at North City facility in Harpurhey on the Saturday morning. Upon attending the lesson it was absolute chaos and upon approaching someone to ask which group my daughter was in a gentleman said 'yes she'll be in my group'. I instructed my daughter to follow to the group and asked another lady if she was in the correct group and she said they will check off their names before they start, i then proceeded to go up to the balcony to watch. When I got up to the balcony there was nobody in the pool with her and she was made to swim an entire half length even though she said "no" and was crying. The instructor made her swim it to which she did really well in doing so, but refused when he instructed her to swim back - at this point I was going to go down to the pool and remove her. It was then that he spoke to a lady in the adjacent group and she was switched into a group which was obviously more suited to her needs; with a trainer in the pool assisting them. I spoke to the same lady after the lessons had finished and asked why my daughter was placed into an obviously more advanced group to begin with and her response was "sorry about the mix up, we are short staffed today". Whilst the lady was polite this was not a good enough response - my daughter could of gotten into serious trouble and possibly drowned because there was a complete lack of order in checking who my daughter was before she was made to get in the pool and swim half a length without any being in the pool with her. The instructor never kept a close eye on her as there was so many children per group and lifeguards around the pool were seriously lacking. I've cancelled my membership and complained to which the reason for doing so was marked 'unknown' despite my explanation and I will not be receiving the £30 I paid either! What a joke. Edit: I have now received an apology and a refund. Thank you however, I will not be returning.
    5 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 ᚨᛖᚦᛖᚱ 2 years ago on Google
    I have recently decided to join a local facility run by Better and this was a big mistake. Firstly, they charged £18.9 before lockdown and raised the price to £28 after, which I found a massive robbery. Secondly, the facility is always filthy and there’s no staff cleaning or monitoring customers who abuse it. Finally, I was prevented to access one of the machines by another customer and, after I complained to the staff, they did absolutely nothing. I made a formal complaint in write, using their web form, and I was told this would be passed to the manager of the centre who did not even bother to reply. I am absolutely disgusted by how rude the staff and management at North City Family & Fitness Centre are; the fact they dismiss customers’ complaint and care only to rob money from their customers’ account. I pay for a service and it’s absolutely unacceptable that I cannot access it because of rude customers. I will take legal action and ask the local councillors and my MP to take the centre away from you. You should just be ashamed of yourself.
    5 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Mike H. 1 year ago on Google • 54 reviews
    Excellent pool and facilities with friendly staff. Also had a gym, steam room and sauna plus a jacuzzi. All sessions need to be booked in advance via the Better UK app and you can either pay per session or take out a membership. Memberships are very reasonably priced and are flexible with only a one month notice to pause or cancel should you need to. Overall, definitely recommended to help improve your fitness, chill out or train.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Day R. 8 months ago on Google • 16 reviews
    Gym, swim and saunta facilties are all super clean. For the money this is one of the best options on the market (IMO.) I've been using pure gyms for years now and they are so grimey compared to this gym. No one cleans anything in pure gym. Not even their hands after using the toilets 🤢
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Ali Z. 1 year ago on Google • 66 reviews
    North city is fine. The swimming pool is new and fine. However, children playing in Pool most of the time I have been. There is no separate area for those who want to swim laps for fitness.

  • 4/5 Aisatu C. 7 months ago on Google • 11 reviews
    I take my children swimming here and I also enjoy a swim here every now and then. Pool is clean Soft play area could do with some KEEP UP WITH CLEANING touch especially at busy times. Staffs are helpful and are visibly about.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 JJ 7 months ago on Google • 3 reviews
    Went first time with my kids, staff were not approachable when I needed help at the pool area. The water was very cold inside the pool. Can’t this be changed?
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Sonya N. 2 years ago on Google
    Advertised as women's only class but it wasn't when we showed up. Was told if we asked for it to womens only it would be the following week and a member of staff would ensure this, however the following week it wasn't women only again. Was again reassured the following week no males would be allowed to attend however without being told the class has now been advertised as a mixed class not women only. Very disappointing service which has put us off attending future classes at this gym.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Monica P. 2 years ago on Google
    It's a quiet gym. Not busy. In the fitness classes we around around 6-7, some times 9. But there are not so many classes. And l dislike the fact that l need to download the app in my phone in order to access... I prefer to bother the reception guys...
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Chris F. 1 year ago on Google
    Impressed with new blue badge parking.just wish people without a badge would not park there.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Marika D. 2 years ago on Google
    its ok just a average swimming pool but theres no deep end the lowest there is, is 1.5 meters . The place is really dirty theres hair and dirt in showers and changing rooms not a great place dont recommend
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Tough C. 3 months ago on Google • 35 reviews New
    The pools freezing and it winter put the heat up abit its ridiculous how cold the water is!

  • 4/5 Sharon P. 9 months ago on Google • 8 reviews
    It's a really good atmosphere, staff are helpful and polite, .. one issue I have is I personally think there should be a wall between the health suite and the pool as children have swimming lessons at the same time.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Digital J. 1 year ago on Google
    The swimming instructors are not good at teaching, after a few lessons I was not improving and was advised to bring my own float and learn to swim myself, they have 1 lane to teach beginners
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Shohab A. 2 years ago on Google
    This place is a bit far for me but with having to book a sauna spot with the Better gyms getting harder because of the limited spot available I came here Saturday and I was impressed by the health suite, it was very spacious with 10 comfortable chairs hot and cold showers. The steam room and sauna are larger than Hough End Leisure Centre plus they have a jacuzzi
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 My To (. 1 year ago on Google
    We use this leisure centre for our daughters swimming lessons. Reasonably priced and plenty of times as lessons for each stage is available throughout the day (Sunday). Also has a soft play area for our little one (3) whilst we wait.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 M M. 2 years ago on Google
    Very expensive if compared to other gyms like pure gym which charges only £18 a month providing newer machines and better facilities. I don’t think I’ll be paying £28 a month for a gym when I can join a better newer one at much lower price.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Rosie B. 1 year ago on Google
    I moved my daughter here after being really unhappy with the swim teacher at Rebecca adlington swimstars. The teacher there was very aggressive and terrified the kids. The lessons are half the price but ten times the teaching quality. My five year old daughter has thrived and just moved from beginnings to intermediate. I’m so pleased with the lessons here and can’t recommend the staff enough! Thank you from Isabella’s mum.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 kevin l. 1 year ago on Google
    I'm aching from being at the gym but it's definitely a great place for exercise and keeping fit with friendly and helpful staff. I fully recommend
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 nazia S. 8 months ago on Google
    Health suite never works. Spent 10min in sauna and it broke down. Refused to give refund.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Valentina A. 2 years ago on Google
    Managment is never greating customer, always with unhappy face, if you have any issues and questions even do not want to approach and ask for help. Swimming lessons always starts with delay for 5 - 7 minutes while lesson is only 30 minutes long.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Michael s. 1 year ago on Google
    I will break this review down into sections regarding individual parts of the Establishment. Staff - when I first went in after signing up online, I spoke to a lovely lady. Who assisted me in how to scan myself in through the app at the gates. I was then shown around by a different member of staff. a gentleman this time, who was also extremely nice, he advised me on when to book different things. and the best times to attend. On my first visit a young lad who works there, also assisted me in the gym, and gave me some really good advice. he did this while also going about his duties cleaning the gym. professional and overall amazing and lovely staff. Facilities- overall there are many facilities to attend, sadly I do not use any others except for the gym, but it is nice knowing I can use them (even though I don't think I ever will) The gym- The gym is ok at best, it has a mediocre variety of machines. and on busy peak times, machines are usually in use. which causes a lot of waiting around and breaks up your workout routine. (would be much better to have multiple of each machine). The gym is always kept clean, and everyone who attends has been lovely and polite, NO "gym bunnies" here. The only thing that lets the gym down is sadly a lack of machines. I would love to see a larger variety of machines. and as mentioned possibly multiple machines. Other facilities - I can't comment on the other facilities as I haven't used them yet, but when I have seen them, they look very pleasant to use. Overall - overall a few things are missing that I would love to see.: 1. there is nowhere to buy protein bars or protein shakes, which would be amazing for those times I forgot to bring my own. (sadly it seems there more concentrating on the children and adults who attend, and only really sell sweets/crisps/ice cream. 2. I would love to see a drinks machine placed on the upper floor. the only one I have seen Is downstairs near the kid's play area. once again this mostly sells junk but also does sell some Lucozade's. it would be nice to have one upstairs on the outside of the gym, containing some sports drinks/healthy drink options. 3. this kind of links to staff and facilities, I would love to see a member of staff attend the gym more frequently than just clean. simply to re-organise weights, machines and such. and make sure everything is up to standards. (sometimes dumbbells and weights will be all over the place, and you can never find them due to them being on the other side of the gym) - (I have experienced the weight pin missing from some machines also, which is sadly quite a big inconvenience, this really should be checked more often) Finally moving on to membership and price- Sadly I have very little positive to say here. The memberships are very very limited. you either get everything or nothing. I would love to see a larger variety of membership options. for example a gym-only membership, a swim-only membership, and so on. for me, 3/4 of my membership is wasted as I simply never use those facilities and probably never will. This also connects to my second point Price. £28 a month is a large amount for what is offered, and I understand this is for all facilities. but once again for people like myself who only attend the gym, paying £28 a month for a gym with limited machines and space is an outrageous amount, especially compared to the likes of 'Pure gym' where memberships are £15-17 and they offer newer and a better variety of machine and is also 24/7. My final notes - overall the fitness centre is good. amazing and friendly staff and ok gym, with friendly people attending. Sadly all the good points are overshadowed by the negatives of hugely inflated prices on memberships, lack of variety in the food & drinks. and the lack of variety in the memberships in general. if the above things were improved upon, even just the Food and drink situation, and having protein bars and shakes available to buy. I could easily rate this 5/5. The price can be overlooked if everything you need was there.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Rebecca K. 1 year ago on Google
    Difficult to book this gym online via better app, facilities very outdated and equipment limited between 4-7 due to both adults and children trying to use the gym. Entering is very chaotic also and bathrooms are not often cleaned throughout day
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Nigel B. 1 year ago on Google
    Everything you need A bit rough A ideal place for the Royal family Jim & Barbara would love it haha
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Vikki O. 3 months ago on Google • 7 reviews New
    JESS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST SWIMMING INSTRUCTORS EVER!! she teaches my son every weekend and straight away picked up he had certain anxieties. She adapted her lessons to meet his needs and the progression he has made already is beyond words. JESS THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING

  • 1/5 Patryk 2 years ago on Google
    Greetings Reader's, The good things first, Sauna & the steam room are kept in good condition as well as the swimming pool. Things that should be worked on. The gym, worse than basic, little space, not enough equipment & low quality equipment. Moreover, the annoying radio broadcasts & TVs everywhere to distract you. Additionally, the shower's are open area's, don't drop your soap, when you do, don't pick it up. Looking for a high quality gym, consider looking elsewhere. Pozdrawiam, Patryk.

  • 5/5 Mihaela S. 2 years ago on Google
    Best place for a bit of fun with my family. Very friendly staff

  • 5/5 Aisha H. 4 months ago on Google
    I have a question, is there any fitness gym only for women ?

  • 5/5 waqas a. 7 months ago on Google
    Swimming pool is good. Gym is not that big . Take my kids to Swimming there . Losts of parking .

  • 3/5 Ripples g. 2 years ago on Google
    Review based on Swim for Fitness only - decent swim first thing in the morning

  • 4/5 Elliot M. 2 years ago on Google
    Good setup, nice staff, though I wish they'd enforce their rules about people cleaning equipment after use.

  • 5/5 Carl H. 2 years ago on Google
    My twins go here for swimming lessons, started about two months ago and was finding it hard on bigger classes and Tracy asked would I like smaller classes help for them as can be very difficult kids, could not ask for better staff, George, Courtney, Jamie, Amy maybe a few more but I can not thank the swimming teachers enough for the effort and hard work they give my boys each and every time, like today, all of them so happy and give so much effort to my boys you can’t ask for a better team ❤️

  • 4/5 Chaz J. 2 years ago on Google
    This is part of the Better Gym franchise, so if you get a membership here, you can also opt for a membership to the other gyms in Manchester, or even the gyms all over the country (but that seems a bit excessive and comes with a big price tag). North city is right on the edge of Harpurhey shopping centre so there is plenty of parking. Also Asda and Lidl around the corner so could tie in your food shop if needed. When you go in, you scan your membership card on your phone and the glass doors open, so you can head to the gym. Currently, the changing rooms are closed so that you have to come and leave in gym gear. Most of the equipment is spaced out well, and there is plenty of cardio equipment. However, if you're there for a barbell workout where you will need a rack, you'll need to book at an off-peak time otherwise you'll be waiting a long time. Also, in that area, people don't tend to tidy up after themselves, or occupy more than one piece of equipment at once (this is against the rules but there doesn't seem to be any staff around). Sometimes you can't tell if equipment is in use or not, because it's all set up but the person using it has just gone off somewhere else. The gym does have a studio though, just through the gym. At the moment, all the spinning bikes are set up in there, but there is enough space in there to still do your own workout. There are some smaller weights, barbells, step boxes and mats in there so if you're not doing heavy weights and the racks are full, you could work out in the studio (as long as there's no class, but you can see these on the app). Also enough space to do a little workout with a slam ball, skipping rope etc. You can get membership of the pool but from what I can see, you need to book a week in advance, or be lucky and get a slot when someone has cancelled. Not sure of the set up in those changing rooms. Overall, decent gym, but does have some inconsiderate members at busy times.

  • 5/5 Bev S. 2 years ago on Google
    Love the play area for the children and the swimming baths

  • 5/5 Jay D. 1 year ago on Google
    First impressions are good- staff friendly and helpful. First real visit will be the test.

  • 5/5 Kyle J. 11 months ago on Google
    My children come here for swimming lessons and they enjoy every moment :)

  • 1/5 sam s. 1 year ago on Google
    Sauna is always on the blink, but they will tell u its working, to get you through the door. Jacuzzi was running cold for 2 weeks. I only go there because its a 2 min walk. Most staff apart from Michelle are economical with the truth....

  • 5/5 Simona Maria La R. 1 year ago on Google
    Perfect place for baby swimming lessons at excellent price

  • 5/5 Danielle W. 2 years ago on Google
    I bring my young son here swimming.easy to book online and clean. Staff on the reception always really friendly

  • 2/5 True R. 1 year ago on Google
    Staff friendly but the pool is way way to cold we had a pool party and the birthday girl who was 2 was out the pool in 20 minutes very unfortunate.

  • 5/5 Sam W. 2 years ago on Google
    My girls love coming here. They have swimming lessons here. All staff are friendly and approachable. Cant fault it

  • 5/5 dave t. 1 year ago on Google
    A* friendly and helpful staff , had a pool party , and party room, for my little girls birthday in there and all the kids and adults enjoyed it ,

  • 5/5 Alan R. 1 year ago on Google
    Went to a birthday party in the soft play area. A room upstairs was reserved . First time I have been but would go again.

  • 5/5 Imran A. 1 year ago on Google
    -Really good swimming pool with all the equipment to improve swimming technique and a decent gym with a boxing bag👍🏼 -Huge studio to do any sort of workouts. -One thing no one told me, you have to get the 'member card' open on your phone using the 'Better UK' app and scan it UNDER the bar scanner. It'll take like 3 seconds to scan then will open, on the way out you don't need to scan anything- just walk through the other barriers.

  • 4/5 qweuwewe f. 1 year ago on Google
    Next to Salford Royal, North City Family and Fitness Centre is located at Upper Conran St. Last week, I went there with my family to exercise. The service staff made different coaches according to each of us, and the coaches also made different fitness programs for each of us. This personalized service is worth praising!

  • 4/5 harry h. 2 years ago on Google
    The staff always makes you feel welcomed. The only down side not enough fitness classes

  • 4/5 Red W. 1 year ago on Google
    Health suite is great. Very warm. Gym has variety but not enough benches even during quiet times. Clean though.

  • 5/5 Arnie B. 1 year ago on Google
    Plenty of space a lot of machines for strength and cardio and decent weights

  • 1/5 Thomas H. 4 months ago on Google • 1 review
    No refund after finding out that my little girl was paying more than she supposed to pay for her swimming lessons over 5 months. we did ask for a refund and they refuse to give our money back very bad.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Reni R. 3 months ago on Google • 1 review New
    I took my kids to the swimming pool today and it was our first time and we don't know the place very well. I just pick one ball from the basket for my 2 year old because I thought that's for the kids to play and the trainer was so rude and ask to put the ball back and he said that the ball should not be taken away. I am very much aware that we are not in the shopping mall.. that was so rude and will not come to this place again
    1 person found this review helpful 👍


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