For months I’d been hearing mixed reviews about ClassPass and finally gave it a try so I could form my own opinion. I’ll get into the details but I’ll give you an overall statement for those that only sort-of care: I did not like ClassPass. It is definitely not for me but I can see why some people love (and why other people hate it).
The basic idea is that for $99 a month you get access to a ton of studios throughout the city. You can go to an unlimited amount of classes in a month but to each studio a max of 3 times (and this is for all locations, so you can go to any FlyWheel a total of 3 times even if it is different locations). This does not give you full access to studio schedules, you must sign up for classes via ClassPasses website or app (which JUST launched so I didn’t even use it). There are a limited number of spots open to ClassPassers, making it very competitive to get in.
I was unaware of this but it is a huge game to get into popular studios. Classes open up at noon on Sundays and you literally have to be glued to your computer or phone to get a spot. So if you are like me and happened to sign up for a noon class on Sunday, you are out of luck because by the time you get out of class, everything popular is full. I’m not sure how quickly these classes fill up but I had a list of studios I was interested in and literally every single time I checked their schedule, zero spots were available.
The popular studios I wanted to go to but couldn’t get a spot in because I was busy on Sundays at noon are: Barry’s Bootcamp, Uplift, Fhitting Room, CityRow, Physique 57, Tone House and few others. Also, it seems that some studios are hidden on the site/app. For example, if you search Barry’s Bootcamp on the ClassPass site it comes up with nothing but if you google ‘Barrys Bootcamp ClassPass’ it will bring you to some hidden link to sign up for class. What’s the deal with that ClassPass??
So let’s move beyond the classes that fill up at noon on Sundays. There are a TON of studios on ClassPass so I give them credit for that. However, the Upper West Side studios are limited. It’s the dead of winter so the thought of trekking across the city to go workout is undesirable. I work within walking distance from my apartment so I’m not super keen on traveling far from the Upper West/Columbus Circle/Midtown West area. Because of this my options were extremely limited.
Another thing with workouts, sometimes I don’t want to plan days in advance. On a Monday morning if I realize I am free that night I want to browse the available classes and pick one. That system was a fail. The only classes left when doing that were either Bikram Yoga or random yoga studios that didn’t sound great. That was pretty much it. Then, if you wait too long to book, the classes close. So if you realize you’re getting out of work on the early side and can go to a class in an hour, it’s too late and the booking period has passed.
An issue a friend came across was being dropped from a class list. She signed up for a Barry’s class and later got a notification that the class was full and she lost her spot. Not cool ClassPass, not cool. She had made plans around that class (meeting friends for the class and what not) and then could not attend.
If you sign up for a class and cannot make it, it’s a $20 fee. You have to cancel within 24 hours which is unreasonable. I understand they don’t want you to take up spots and be a no-show but I think a 3-5 hour cancellation window is more reasonable. Some days I’m stuck at work and other days I’m not, it’s just impossible to tell 24 hours in advance. Because of this, I didn’t want to sign up for classes for fear I’d miss it and be charged.
Other things I did not like include the website and the map features. The website just kinda sucks. You’d filter all these things like location, time, type of class and then once you click to view a studio, your filters have vanished and you need to start again. Also, the map is inaccurate and missing a bunch of studios. Some studios do not list their locations which makes for a poor user experience.
[here’s a sample list of studios, third column from the right you can see many don’t list locations, requiring more work on your end to find something nearby]
My ClassPass ended about a week ago and now when I go on the site all I see is this:
Not particularly welcoming or informative. I can’t view the participating studios or really anything else.
For all of these reasons I would never do ClassPass again. For my lifestyle it just is not a fit. For some people though, it is! The $99 deal is a great one, and it’s great for people who…
- Don’t mind traveling around the city to workout OR live in Flatiron/Union Square where I felt like most of the studios are located
- You have a flexible schedule and can do mid-day workouts (less competition for spots) and never get stuck at work later than you expected
- You like enough ClassPass studios that are not popular. If you went to three classes at a few of the featured studios that are not in demand you’d still get your money’s worth
- You schedule your workouts on Sunday at noon and don’t stray from your schedule the entire week, meaning you would never be in a situation where you have to cancel a booking within 24 hours of the class
So in conclusion, ClassPass seems great but there are a lot of aspects of it that just do not work for my lifestyle and schedule. Gyms and fancy studios are very expensive so the $99 price tag is absolutely a good competitive price but it didn’t align with what I was looking for. For me, I’d rather belong to a gym where I can drop by any time or sign up for classes and bail if something comes up. With my gym I know exactly what I’m getting; I know my way around, I know what amenities are offered, etc. With ClassPass it takes research to figure out which gyms have locker rooms, showers, towels, water, etc. If you workout directly before heading to the office, these things are key. Some studios have amazing locker rooms and showers while others have no locker room or maybe one shower located in the only bathroom stall (not going to work for the AM rush!).
Oh and for full disclosure, this is a reminder that I teach group fitness at a gym so my feelings towards all of this is totally biased.
While I’ve chatted with anti-ClassPassers, there must be a huge market of people who love it. The company has expanded to 20 cities and according to this article, is doing quite well. Maybe the NYC ClassPass experience is crazier than other cities and in other places it’s not so hard to get into classes. Anyone know?
I don’t mean to be so negative on ClassPass and I hope I presented a fair and balanced review. For some people it is not a match but I can absolutely see how it could work for others.
Have you tried ClassPass? How was your experience?
