Bexleyheath Marriott Leisure Club – Review

Last week I was invited along to the Leisure Club in Bexleyheath’s Marriott Hotel to have a look around their facilities in particular their new gym equipment.

Now as most of you know I am not able to use these sorts of machines due to my illness. However, I managed to coax Mr B to come along for the afternoon to possibly try some of it out.

If you’re anything like me, you probably would think that the facilities in the hotel’s leisure club are strictly for the hotel guests, or for those booked onto a spa day retreat. But this could not be further from the truth. In fact the Bexleyheath Marriott leisure club already has over 600 local members.

It has a small swimming pool ( the type you would totally expect in a hotel) that has a decent sized raised jacuzzi at one end. It has comfortable lounge seating along each side of the pool. Just off to the side there is both a steam room and a sauna and separate showers. So once you are changed and in this area all these facilities are together. The whole space is set out as you would imagine a day spa to be and there are often clients in there in their robes enjoying a spa afternoon.

Just before you reach the leisure club reception desk itself is a separate gym room with all the equipment your regular gym would provide. Again it is the size you would expect from a hotel facility. So it’s not huge, but it is extremely well equipped and set out in a manner that allows them to make the most of the space.

As you can see they have all the regular up to date equipment. Normal running machines, cross trainers, cycle machines and a rowing machine.

They also have specific weights equipment in one area and then a separate small weights area to suit all styles of training.

There are TV screens up on the front wall to help occupy your mind while you’re doing your thing.

When I used to run regularly, before my illness, I always loved to pop my earphones in and listen to some fast, loud music. It would help me to keep to a suitable rhythm and pace. But I do know some people prefer something visual as they work out.

So what did we think?

 

I visited the facility on an early midweek afternoon and the hotel was kind enough to allow my husband and I to enjoy the club for a few hours. At the time we were there, I have to be honest there were only a few ‘regulars’ in the pools area. The gym itself was empty.

This is obviously music to ‘off peak’ patrons ears and this is definitely a bonus in my eyes. If you were able to use the facilities at these times it would indeed be a very relaxing time. Or if you love having a gym to yourself that is definitely the time to go. We all know however, that most people will be at work during the day and therefore would be visiting at the ‘full peak’ times after 4pm into the evening and on weekends during the day.

I can imagine the club being quite different at these times. There may also be the possibility of waiting for gym equipment to become free, or say the pool/ Jacuzzi being quite full. But obviously I can only speak from my experience on that particular day.

One thing I did really pick up on was the ‘non exclusiveness’ ( and I truly mean that in a very good way) we felt while we were there. The staff were very friendly and I noticed the manager would talk to all the members as she went about her business.

The ‘regulars’ also seemed quite friendly and openly chatted to my husband and I while we were there. They did not ignore or exclude us because we were new faces. This is something that  DOES NOT happen in all leisure style clubs. I have experienced an awkwardness in another well known club so much that I never went back. So I can say wholeheartedly that this was one of the main things I liked about the Marriott’s Leisure club.

Another bonus is that the hotel offers free parking for patrons so when you do visit the leisure club you just need to register your car registration and your parking will be free.

Membership Details

Memberships at the Bexleyheath Marriott leisure club start at £44 a month, which is a rolling contract and can be cancelled at any time. It has a 30 day notice period to cancel. The only additional payment I noticed was a £35 joining fee. This Marriott membership also allows for some additional benefits. There is as 20% off food and beverages at the hotel and 10% of any Health and Beauty treatments.

I personally found that using the 2 heat rooms on the day seemed to help my muscular pain levels especially in my neck. That in itself allowed me to get some extra sleep that evening.

As it’s a rolling contract I can cancel any time, I decided to join this week to allow me to explore using very gentle exercise such as a short swim followed by the use of the steam room and sauna to help with my levels of muscular pain. I will be looking at using it maybe twice a week to see if there is any difference.  Or whether the heat rooms used as a therapy will help manage my illness overall.

 

For more info on the tariffs and memberships please visit their website

DISCLAIMER- we were gifted an afternoon use of the spa to try out the facilities for review purposes