City Fitness Nelson
40 Vanguard St, Nelson
Opening hours: Mon – Fri: 530 – 21:00, Sat-Sun: 8:00-17:00
Cost: After considerable bargaining, $10 for casual use.
Location and Entry
Having had no success in agreeing a reasonable price with other City Fitness clubs in New Zealand, I was keen to make a breakthrough. I arrived in the evening, wanting to work out early the following morning. Unless I wanted to walk to the other side of town to Results Gym, this was my only hope.
I was greeted by the lady behind the counter who firmly told me it would be $20 for casual use. After explaining I was a backpacker and asking if she was able to offer me any form of discount, she said no. She reiterated that this is the standard fee for casual use, so I explained that I am using gyms across the country regularly and am not prepared to pay casual rates. When I pointed out that these would rapidly add up to hundreds of dollars a month, she eventually kindly agreed that I could come for $10.
This is in line with what Snap Fitness (a few metres up the road) charge in any case. I took her up on it as they opened earlier than Snap’s staffed hours and I needed to train early the next day.
Note that City Fitness and Snap are both well-located in the centre of Nelson, a few hundred metres west of the museum and cathedral.
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Facilities
The facilities were typical of a leading chain – excellent and set over two floors. You’ll find the cardio equipment is split between the two, whilst most of the weights equipment is downstairs. Everything I found was of a high quality – they’ve provided a vast range of free weights, resistance machines and cardio machines. Showers and changing facilities were also very nice!
City Fitness Nelson additionally has a studio, the current class timetable of which is in the image gallery above. I counted 19 classes, which included titles such as Power, Fight, Blast, Active Centergy and Lifepace. I don’t think you’ll be dozing off in any of those!
Summary
Whilst the quality of facilities at City Fitness Nelson is excellent, the chain overall seems to be the least interested in accommodating backpackers’ budgets and needs. This is the only gym in the chain that has agreed to compromise on the rigid pricing structure for me so far. I hope that through other backpackers continuing to ask the question, they will eventually come up with a suitable pricing scheme for us. So, if you are in the area please go and talk to them!
Looking for something else?
Check out my post on other Gyms in Nelson.
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