Evanston Athletic Club in Evanston, Illinois

“Evanston Athletic club meets my fitness needs, and I plan to remain a member. However, there are strong signs that the parent company, Chicago Athletic Clubs, is cutting costs by not doing basic maintenance. For me, this is most apparent in the men's locker room, as an example. I've uploaded four photos as documentation of a few of the problems. One of the most comical is that there are containers of dish soap, inste”

— buzzer · ★★★☆☆ · 2026-1-26

“This place is gross and itu2019s clear that no one from the parent company has looked at it in decades. Stuff is in appalling condition. Iu2019m pretty sure that the soap dispensers have never been refilled with soap. Theyu2019ve just been adding water every time it runs low, so now itu2019s just water with a slightly orange tint. When I canceled, no one even bothered to ask me why. Some of the staff are nice? I guess?”

— Zach T. · ★★☆☆☆

“Staff are not helpful, climbing wall still not open while membership fees remain high. They require a 30 day notice to cancel so youu2019re still charged for an entire month when you no longer want to be a member and will not attend. Honestly itu2019s a really sleazy practice, and the staff donu2019t even tell you this when you try to cancel. Theyu2019ll only casually mention it over email after theyu2019ve already charged you.”

— Yana G. · ★☆☆☆☆

“overall, this is a good gym. i enjoy the instructors for the group fitness classes. i like the pool and hottub. it is not a brand new facility, but it gets the job done. i wish they would reopen the climbing walls. they closed for covid in 2020 and then have never reopened them or explained why.”

— Liz H. · ★★★★★ · 2023-7-4

“Save yourself the trouble and buy home gym equipment. Worst experience ever. My wife and I were members from 2016 until 2020 when covid hit. I had purchased a gift card for my wife for $170 for massages for her birthday. We were still members when I purchased the gift card. They stopped massage service during covid and never resumed. We have called and stopped in several times to try and get a refund to no avail. The”

— Jim H. · ★☆☆☆☆

“Water in swimming pool is cold they should keep it at 82 degrees but hold 78 and lie to people . Lincoln Park athletic and Lakeview at least honestly keep water at 82. Couple people get sick to swim in cold water”

— Sergey M. · ★☆☆☆☆

“EAC (one of the Chicago Athletic Clubs) is especially strong in exercise equipment and classes. Also it has a pool area.”

— Robert F. · ★★★★★

“Nice little gym! I really only joined to swim, so I can say with confidence that the pool and the women's locker room are well-maintained and comfortable, but I can't comment on much else. I'll agree with the general consensus that the folks working there can be weirdly grouchy and don't seem super interested in providing good customer service. Maybe it's a terrible place to work, who knows? My biggest issue is that ”

— Alana H. · ★★★★☆