Reviews of Bucktown Athletic Club (Gym)

Andrew Stuart

I've been using this gym 3-5 times a week for 1.5 years. I mainly use it for lifting weights and cardio equipment. In terms of lifting, it's one of the better equipped gyms for body building and power lifting: 3 full racks (2 with deadlift platforms), 2 benches, and tons of body building equipment. I'm usually able to avoid peak hours (5-7pm M-Th) which makes it a really great gym that fits all my needs very well. My only complaint would be that i've had to walk around the entire floor more than a few times looking for 10 and 25lb plates, but that's pretty standard. I try to bike or walk here, but finding free street parking a few blocks away has always been relatively easy.

Brett Merle

BAC is a great gym in the foundational sense. It is clean, has top line well cared for equipment, and the staff is generally great. I also like the convenient locations off most of the major CTA lines. My issue with the gym, like many gyms, is the place is an absolute zoo at peak hours. It's so crowded that you have to puppy guard machines and equipment or wait in double digits for certain equipment to open up. Overall, I support CAC/BAC but they really should consider opening a new gym northwest, perhaps the Logan Square area, to help stem overflow.

Alex Emerick

Terrible customer service as a company. Beware - they will close locations, give members a 7hr notice then expect you to continue payments.

Kaiti Zolton

The classes are ok - instructors are all great and very professional. The staff at the front desk can be rude and the contracts/policies are definitely confusing and misleading. When I first signed up, I was told I could cancel my yearly membership for a fee if I no longer wish to use the gym. When I called to find out the fee to cancel a few months early, it’s just the entirety of what you owe for the remainder of the year. To me, that means there is no cancellation allowed. They should be upfront about it. Of course you can’t find that information on their website. If you go to any page on their website, it says “Free Guest Pass” on every page. A few weekends ago, I brought a friend in to try the boot camp class. They charged me $15 for the guest pass. By the time she was done filling in all the forms, we were late for the class and it was full, so we walked right back out. When I called to cancel the guest pass and get refunded, they told me it wasn’t possible and their reasoning was “because I already purchased it.” When I talked to membership to ask where this information was available, either on the website or in the gym, they said nowhere. It’s an ok gym but very expensive for the value and poor customer service. I’d rather do Class Pass.

Jessica H

When I joined a few years ago, I would have given BAC 4-5 stars. It is spacious, clean, well-maintained, well-equipped, and there are plenty of group-exercise options. The membership rate is not inexpensive but reasonable given the quality of the gym. Recently, BAC has undergone several renovations and added more amenities (e.g., massive pilates studio on the first floor, the equally huge "THRIVE" studio on the second floor, etc.). Although these were built with all membership fees, they are off limits to most members. Management locks up the THRIVE studio. To gain access, you are required to pay additional fees. The actual gym space for regular members, therefore, has shrunk significantly while membership rates have not gone down. And your money is going towards building equipment that you are not permitted to use. BAC - this demonstrates a lack of appreciation for and loyalty towards your membership base. Offering training programs for additional fees is one thing, but not allowing members to use the very equipment and space that their money has paid for is terrible. It shows that you care more about the bottom line than your customers.

John Schuster

This is the best gym that I have been a member at so far in Chicago.

Johnathan Wenske

This is probably the nicest gym I've been in. Price is good because the classes are free and you have access to other locations. Staff is friendly and play decent music!

Kirby Mills

nice gym, clean, needs more weights

Julia Anderson

As a CrossFit gym for CrossFit people: 5 stars, good facility with knowledgeable coaches, plenty of class times and class options. From the perspective of a non-athletic person: Can be intimidating and coaches can come off as non-empathetic. I think they care. I think they've often been athlete's most of their life so it's hard to understand how deep the uncomfortable goes. Maybe I'm a skewed perspective? - I want to please my coaches so badly I might overdo it when they push hard. - I'm constantly afraid of being hurt - I came from a gym that was very friendly to newcomers and people without athletic experience. That gym had a consistent "bootcamp" class that made that crowd of folks feel much more comfortable and gave them a good place to grow more confident with their bodies and the movements. We moved into CrossFit classes at our own pace. Bucktown uses a 6-week program that quickly integrates you into regular CrossFit classes and using the barbells. Pairing this with the common coach response of, "You can do it, it's fine, tough it out", I have often left class and cried. I understand their philosophies behind why they do this but the mental stress is more than I want.

Dan Lee

Awesome old school gym, with pretty much all you need. Pricing is very reasonable, and no cancellation b.s!

Joshua Stevens-Stein

Somone made the executive decision to put all the weights on a floor that can't support dropping them

Adam Brakhane

I canceled my account (with email confirmation from their billing people) more than a year ago and I'm still trying to get them to stop charging me monthly... At a certain point the amount they have stolen will be worth paying a lawyer to get it back.

Adnan Baleh

Three levels, love the stretching area, the cardio floor is well equipped, the workout floor is big and has decent amount of machines. Only down side is no guest passes offered with membership and purchasing a one day pass is unreasonably pricey.

Michael Odenweller

A bit busy right after work but very clean and organized.

Benjamin Yoder

While I have enjoyed the classes and staff, Chicago Athletics Clubs have an extremely misleading term of agreement for month-to-month members. Not presented up front, but hidden in the contract is the terms stating that you have to give them a 30-Day notice of cancellation from their program. This effectively forces you to pay for an extra month of service even though you are on a so-called "month-to-month" program. This happening despite the fact that it costs extra to have a month-to-month membership, with basically no difference between it and a normal one. Also, during the time we were members at the Club, they completely devalued their point system by eliminating it entirely. All incentives that had been earned by going to the Club were lost. While technically not violating any of their terms or policies that you have to sign, they are misleading in the naming and pricing of their memberships. They should have a more ethical approach to business and be up-front about any potential fees and cancellation requirements.

chris lietz

One of the smaller locations, but still clean with plenty of equipment.

Michael Bargo

Membership is super helpful. Lots of open space to stretch and do less tradition work outs too.

Katherine Luebke

Gym is alright not my favorite CAC location but they have a great class schedule. I recommend walking or biking because parking is awful. Not sure why there's a "valet" or what his exact job duties are.

Patrick Rahill

Nice gym but they have terrible cancelation policies. I was essentially scammed into 6 extra months of memberships.

Scott Friedrich

New equipment, friendly staff, always upgrading the gym. Good place to workout.

Jim Madras

This rating is for the staff. The staff at the WPAC and WAC are professional, friendly, and are usually attractive individuals that look like they know what a gym is. The manager and the rest of the staff at the buck town location are rude and unsightly. Those two traits together are enough to make me go somewhere else.

Sam Epley

I've been a member of this gym for almost two years. Locker room is very clean. Towel service is a plus. Yoga classes have been excellent and instructors provide helpful feedback. Parking is a very difficult. I’ve changed my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars because the valet parking they offer is often full. Very frustrating. Otherwise, you have to pay for the closet parking.

Krista Burdinie

Really enjoy the gym and convenience of location. Very clean, front desk is extremely helpful. However the classes are sub-par. Previously went to FFC and the quality of the instructors and classes offered were far above. Would suggest more 45 minute classes and better instructors.

Joe Bringley

gym is good again!!!

Sam Menke

This is a nice gym. Very happy with the classes and the equipment. The locker rooms are nice too. I don’t have any complaints.

Jena Komo

This would be a steller workout place if it wasn't completely jammed packed with people M-Th. It is extremely difficult to find space to change in the female locker room, and the locker room is not set up well to handle the number of people to number of lockers present. That being said, the classes & instructors are awesome. The gym is so clean & fresh. The employees are very friendly & helpful. This would be the best gym I've ever been to if the lockers rooms weren't like walking into Times Square on a Saturday night.

Ryan James

Stay away these people are crooked

Bec McHenry

Very well equipped gym, has three levels! Only down side is a guest day pass is very expensive. $30 per day! Opt for the week pass if you will be there for a few days, a bit better value at $60 but still the most expensive I’ve encountered in my travels in the USA - even NYC was cheaper!!!

Johnny Sierra

Great gym as far how clean it is. Horrible parking, reason why 2 stars is cause of Tim Davis.....real horrible guy, talks to people like children. Go to another CAC

H W

Really clean enironment and up to date machines - just gets a bit crowded after work due to strange building shape. In a perfectionist though so it’s probably not that noticeable to most. Enjoy!!!

Zoe Slutzky

Fine gym, very confusing layout and they need a map for new members to get the hang of because it's that strange. Or just signage/arrows would be good. Barre classes were so unorganized it was like a childs play studio where the instructor was oblivious that no one was following her. Cycle classes were great but a stuffy room. 1 star because of their cancellation policy/stint. This is their logic: when you join, you will pay us every 30 days. But when you cancel, you need to tell us MORE than one month before the start of your final month, otherwise you will be charged AGAIN for a month that we know you don't need to use the gym for. Such an obvious money grab. Who says to themselves, oh I think I'll quit my gym in 61 days? Nobody.

Kyle Ramirez

FIND ANOTHER GYM! This company cares a lot more about their revenue than they do about your life. They have no buyout if you want to cancel your membership before your year-long contract expires. That means you'll need to pay for nothing if you don't intend to use the gym. It's their policy. They won't go over that of course when you sign up because why would they? Like so many similar types of businesses, they desperately need to keep memberships. They're struggling to provide value. While so many companies offer flexibility, this one does not. Their bottom line is more important than you. Beware. Please beware. They do not care.

Meg Kenney

Great gym for the price!

Juan Carlos Montes

The best!