Midtown Athletic Club 1760 North Hicks Road, Palatine, IL 60074

"Great gym. If anything, the price is reasonable for weeding out most of the people who would leave their clothes in their lockers and towels on the floor and pee in the hot tub if the gym they go to even offers one."

"Had to schedule a meeting with a manager to view the gym. We viewed the facility that was still under construction. Drywall not mudded yet and insulation hanging from the ceiling. Eventually we talked about price. We mentioned that the membership price is a bit too high, which we were willing to work with, but with a tacked on enrollment fee, it was even more inflated. Most places currently have in place but waive immediately. Midtown does not. Additionally, they wanted to lock us in into a 12-month contract that was not favorable to us as we tend to be out of town for extended amounts of time due to work. Having said that, most places will also allow us to freeze our membership for an extended period of time, which Midtown does not. Also, having such a high membership as compared to most gyms, additional costs for some equipment made the price tag even less appealing. Pilates and tennis courts are extra fees. I understand that the gym is currently under construction and I'm sure it will look beautiful once completed. We were not able to get a timeline of when construction was to be completed. We have dealt with construction recently and we know drywall dust and insulation raining down on people in the gym field is not the safest thing to be breathing in, especially during exercise. Other gyms we have been to have provided a discount, albeit small, for the "inconvenience of the renovations" but Midtown does not. A few days later we got a phone call from a manager and we expressed the same concerns and we got the reply back of "maybe we can help you work your spendings and budget.” I found this comment flat out disrespectful and insulting. The red tape and membership cost was not as much of a dealbreaker, but the disrespect and unwillingness of the staff to work with us is what is driving our decision to not join Midtown."

"Was interested in checking them out / joining as I only live 2 blocks away but they don't have any pricing info on their website. Major oversight on their behalf considering everything can be researched online in 2024. They lost a potential client that couldn't compare pricing to other places so sticking with one of the other local gyms. Thank goodness for Google / Yelp / Reddit."

"Okay new setup on the main floor, but they got rid of the beautiful basketball court to put pickleball in. Supposedly they’re making a silly half court, but with construction being behind schedule it’s won’t be there for at least 6 months. Can’t freeze membership even though the only reason I signed back up was for basketball. Training sessions on the new field is way too loud. I don’t recommend."

"There are a lot of pros with Midtown. Great outdoor pool for families, the renovations are great (which they’re still working on), the staff is really friendly, their GM Chase is very nice, and the facility is very clean. It’s also got a good community/family vibe which I dig. If you’re into tennis and pickleball, you have that option too along with other classes. However, the reason why I’m giving it three stars is because they have an area in the middle of the gym called “The Field” where they have classes during peak hours. They blast music and the instructor is speaking using a speaker too. It’s so obnoxious to me to the point where our family is considering switching to Lifetime (lifetime also offers 2.5hrs of childcare in LZ). It’s a shame they put that in the middle of the gym. Since it’s new, we’re hoping they tone it down a little bit. I’d prefer to listen to my own music without putting my headphones at max volume (even then I can still hear the class)."