Bannatyne Reviews 

Would love to have given this 5 stars.

The spa was great, the hotel was amazing, food was good and the staff were all friendly and helpful.

However, they need to update there list of medical conditions needing doctors notes.

My partner booked this for us for our anniversary and booked us both Swedish back massages as part of this. My partner suffers from FND and this is not listed on the health conditions needing doctors notes, so felt all was good

We were sent a check in and health questionnaire 3 days before we were due to go. My partner then got an email back saying she would need a doctors note to allow her to proceed the massage. Doctors notes take weeks to get! We pointed out the short window and this is not listed on conditions needing one but refused to budge. Then told us all she could have was either manicure or pedicure. These are both half the price of the massage that we paid for!

Obviously we didn’t want to go out of pocket, they did offer a “exfoliate and rejuvenate” which consisted of leg massages…so what’s the issue?

If FND is a concern for bannatyne, maybe update your health condition list and also maybe request health condition information on the booking!

Just a wonderful relaxed day.
Wonderful body scrub.
Clean fresh surroundings.
Staff were soooo nice xxx

Again as a member disappointed visited Tues 4th and nothing working. If I was a day spa visitor I would be incredibly upset and want a refund.
No Sauna working, no Steam Room Working, No Plunge Pool working and no spin dryer in the changing room. No explanation, no complimentary coffee for members. Pretty poor I say.

Was thinking of joining the gym to help me mitigate the side effects of hormone treatment for prostate cancer (muscles loss and bone thinning) but you must enter into a 12 month contract or a more expensive 3 month contract as a minimum. Very clean and well equipped but the pool was cold, crowded with classes as was the rest of the facility. However given they stay open pretty late every day, I guess the crowds may dissipate but is it worth taking a chance? Shame they don't offer one month trial membership.

beware of this gym
beware of this gym, It tries to scam you even when you don't go to the gym, they try charging you, send you massive bills out, even though you email and contact them regarding you going through a illness which you can no longer get to the gym or use there gym facilities.

they harrass you and call you daily, till the point of then passing your details to debt collector, beware! stay away from this gym.See less

I was an active member of Bannatynes in Solihull for over 3 years. I was fully paid up and never missed a payment. In October ‘25 I seriously injured my achilles tendon. I was unable to exercise and discussed my membership with the manager, Michelle. She suggested I ‘froze’ my membership for 3-4 months and assess in the April. Fine, except they then ask me for a further £60, and because I disputed this they now increased it by £25 and place the matter in the hands of debt collectors. The fact is, for a long time Bannatynes Solihull has been in an awful state of repair. The men’s showers and changing rooms have been woefully maintained,
There are now much better, alternative fitness centres available at a fraction of the price of Bannatynes.

I was gifted a spa day at Bannatyne Orpington, which included a spa treatment and cream tea. My partner bought the same package so we could enjoy the day together.

Our original booking had to be cancelled because of a power cut, which was obviously outside the club’s control. However, I’d already taken the day off work and then had to contact the club to rearrange everything. We also received several emails about the booking and what was included, which made the whole process more confusing than it needed to be.

The staff were friendly and welcoming throughout, and the spa treatment was excellent. It was definitely the highlight of the day and redeemed what was otherwise a disappointing experience.

Unfortunately, the facilities didn’t meet the standard I expected. The female changing rooms were not very clean. There was a shower puff left on the floor, a swimming costume hanging up, hair all over the floor where people had been drying their hair, hair caught in one of the hairdryers, shower gel spilt on the floor and dust under the benches. It didn’t feel as though the changing rooms were being checked regularly.

The spa itself was quite small, one of the jacuzzi pools took a long time to come on, and there were very few loungers because people had left towels on them to reserve them while they disappeared. The layout was also quite confusing to navigate.

The cream tea was very underwhelming. We were simply handed two mugs with tea bags still in them and a scone with clotted cream and jam. There were no saucers for the used tea bags, no offer of sugar, and the whole thing was just placed on the table with no presentation at all. It felt more like being served in a basic café than as part of a spa experience.

We decided to stay for lunch, only to discover there was very little available. We were told that, because of the power cut the previous week, they had had to throw a lot of food away. While I appreciate that was unfortunate, I was surprised that the menu had not been restocked. The only hot food available was jacket potatoes or eggs on toast, which felt very limited for a spa and health club.

Overall, the therapists and reception staff were lovely, and the treatment itself was genuinely very good. Unfortunately, the cleanliness, the presentation of the food and drink, and the overall upkeep of the facilities let the experience down. Sadly, I wouldn’t return to this location or recommend it based on my experience.

So sus of Bannetyne's marketing. Signed up 2 weeks ago for a 12 months fixed contract. Today received notification that they're increasing the prices. So they lure you in with a sign up deal and then increase the contract price. Yes I can cancel my contract now, but what I've been told directly contradicts the contract T&Cs. Feels like soft bait and switch for a quick buck. I don't trust that the cancellation is going to be handled correctly. Not sure what to do now as I want to stay, but feel very icky about the process. Not a great experience on top of a very iffy induction.

From start to finish the staff were friendly helpful and always had a smile on their faces.
HD a massage and facial from Jodie- amazing !!

Bannatyne is for people that like luxury n the gym is rubbish not good experiment some of the staff are ok but some aren't good n being a former member I could never reach my full potential but at gym works where I am now for 15 weeks I'm getting better stronger n at gym works there is more experiment to use

After .y last re iew the customer services goes from poor to beyond poor, have sent emails to customer support service and eventually was told the general manageress at leicester bannatynes had sent me an email on the 19th, no such thing in my emails, after going in to the leicester branch this morning was told the general manageress was in at 1pm, requested a call from her, after 2.30pm today called them and was told by the receptionist that the general manageress was not in today, have sent further emails to customer support just now, however this proves the poorly trained staff giving incorrect information yet again , which has caused the issue in the first place

Terrible customer service, from top to bottom. They do not adhere to their own terms and conditions. Every email I’ve received from them has been ignorant. And they have bypassed every question I’ve asked from them. Terrible service do not recommend.

Edit: Ryan, if you’re the same Ryan who I’ve spoken to via my email complaint. I don’t believe for one second you will look into this experience for improving in the future. I have simply asked under your own terms and conditions that you send me proof about the closure of the golf course, to which you told me you are unable to send to because it was sent in a bulk email(lies). And that a golf course is not a big part of the facilities provided. And that the golf course was simply a ‘goodwill gesture’.

This is how you’ve failed to comply with the clauses 7.1.1 and 9.1 in your terms and conditions. When I asked for proof that you had communicated these major changes with me. You either belittled me or flat out refused to give me the confirmation I requested. I Firmly believe this is because you have in fact not emailed me to notify me of these major changes.

All the while still badgering me for a final payment because it’s in the terms and conditions.

So do you just pick and choose which terms and conditions you want to follow at random? Or is it just the ones that suit bannatyne?

1 Star

Very disappointing experience!

I booked the Japanese Head Spa after checking whether it included use of the spa facilities. As this wasn't made clear on the website, I used Bannatyne's own chatbot, which confirmed that access to the facilities was included. This formed part of my decision to book.

Only after payment had been taken did my booking confirmation state that the treatment did not include use of the spa facilities.

When I contacted customer services, rather than addressing the fact that their own chatbot had provided incorrect pre-purchase information, they repeatedly relied on their non-refundable Terms and Conditions. They also changed their explanation during the complaint process, but never identified where, before payment, it was clearly stated that the Japanese Head Spa excluded use of the facilities.

The most frustrating part is that Bannatyne acknowledged my feedback about the chatbot and said it would be reviewed, yet still refused to honour the information their own system provided or offer any goodwill gesture.

Mistakes happen, but it's how a company deals with them that matters. Unfortunately, customer service chose to defend their position rather than take responsibility for misleading pre-contract information. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Bannatyne at all. There are more reputable spas out there

Chester le Street staff are excellent , friendly and professional , and this is particularly so for the catering and front desk staff who always go out of their way to produce a really good experience at the Club .

I have been a member of Bannatynes for over 2 years this time.....for 5+ years before.

First Point - the turnover of staff was shocking....you would get used to someones methods of training then they would leave....not the trainers problem; this is a Bannatynes problem.

Second Point - I complained about 3 specific things within the gym to the head office who forwarded my complaint to the manager.....it had already been raised with the manager, so this was unprofessional in my opinion...head office should have taken action. Out of the 3 complaints 2 were fixed the other is still ongoing and I was told a lot of total bosh about why it could not be resolved. This was just to avoid paying out money to fix the issue.

Third Point - I work full time, so rushing home to do a class at 5 or half 5 is quite a problem.....not as much of a problem when the class gets cancelled without any warning. There is absolutely no thought given to the working members of the club; this is not only my own opinion but various members in the club whom I am friendly with. Trainers paying to take classes are given the main evening time slots as this benefits Bannatynes as they cream money off them as well as off the paying customers. This is a big issue; especially to me....seems they are charging me twice, once for the payment and the other for my time that I cannot get a class in.

Now I have saw various feedbacks on here and I see Bannatynes are leaving messages saying something like, 'thank you for telling us of all the issues or for a detailed report'.

This is fraudulent as they are getting a feedback based on my personal experiences....it is nothing to do with informing them as they have had many chances and over 2 years to fix the issues. They are trying to use peoples complaints to their own benefit....people might actually think they cared.

If by any chance they comment on this feedback with anything along the said lines or trying to make themselves look like they are interested then I will take action against them as I have not had the service I paid for.

One last point....the facilities are well worn and this is a recurring issue on comments even on some of their 4 and 5 star comments....this is just ridiculous as everyone is paying to get fit on the equipment and not on the personality of the trainers....deteriorating equipment has a negative impact of training, especially when not properly maintained or serviced by the trainers who are not qualified to maintain the equipment.

I was a member of Bannatyne’s Chingford for 16 years. It used to be a good gym but every year the quality of the facilities and what was offered worsened (which began when they added a ‘spa’) and the final straw was a swim school called ‘swim now’ hiring the pool every day from supposedly 12-7 but actually there were swim teachers in during the mornings and well after 7pm (sometimes 9pm). A few of the teachers were not friendly. One told me this was a spa not a gym so the pool wasn’t for swimming anyway (I joined originally as it advertises having a great pool). The swimming lessons only made it possible to use the only other lane but that was usually full of spa guests standing or walking. One particular teacher who was teaching in the morning (out of official hours) was very argumentative so I complained but was told nothing would be done about the swimming lessons. I finally spoke to the manager to tell him I was thinking of leaving after 16 years of membership and his response was ‘Bannatyne’s is a business we don’t care about one customer leaving’. Thanks for that! I left and have found so many gyms nearby that are great, have no contract tying you in, plus pools, gyms and classes with lots of space and have been recently refurbished - the money goes back into refurbishing the facilities and making sure they’re clean. The corporate outlook of Bannatyne’s means the facilities are not updated and the building is unclean (I noticed lots of insects at the doorway to the steam room so stopped using it and my partner told me there were buckets of water in the gents from the air con units). From this and what the manager said to me, I can only surmise that they really don’t care about their customers. They’re trying to bring in money from a spa on the side and hiring out the pool but none of this is for their loyal customers. It feels greedy. One positive I will say is that the staff who work on reception are absolutely lovely as are some of the teachers of group classes. It’s only because of them I stayed so long. My advice is look around for a gym that doesn’t tie you in to a contract as there are so many alternatives nowadays to this model and if you think regular access to the pool is part of the deal at Bannatyne’s you’re not being told the truth.

Went to the spa today with my bestie and we got 3 treatments done today by Kirsty and Shannon. They were very welcoming, friendly, chatty and helpful with all of our questions 😀 we are definitely going back to get more treatments done and I would very highly recommend Kirsty and Shannon.

I have been a member of Bannatyne Health Club & Spa Banbury for 19 years, and I can honestly say that one of the main reasons I've stayed with the gym for so long is because of the incredible instructors.

As members, I think we sometimes forget just how much work, dedication, training and preparation goes into teaching the classes we enjoy each week. The instructors consistently bring energy, professionalism, encouragement and expertise to every session, making each class both enjoyable and motivating.

Over the years, I have attended countless classes and have always been impressed by the commitment they show, not only in delivering excellent workouts but also in creating a friendly and welcoming environment for everyone. We truly have the best instructors, and their passion for what they do shines through every day.

I simply wanted to take the opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to all of the instructors for your hard work, dedication and enthusiasm. Your efforts do not go unnoticed, and you are genuinely appreciated by so many of us.

Thank you for helping to make Bannatyne Banbury such a fantastic place to be for the last 19 years!

A very grateful member. 😊 Jenet Jackson

I came in for a treatment last week to the Mansfield spa as I wanted a change. Me and my partner had two lovely women called libbie and Katie. From the first seconds of the treatment we felt comfortable and relaxed. The way they spoke to us was very welcoming and we felt like this was a Luxury experience already. I had libbie and my partner had Katie. Libbie’s pressure during the massage was very very good and just how I wanted it. My partner had said the same about Katie. They kept asking both of us how the pressure was and if they needed anywhere focusing on which I thought was very thoughtful and we appreciated it. Honestly, this was probably the best massage and massage experience we have ever had and we will 100% be coming back to Libbie and Katie, as I feel they made the experience feel like I didn’t pay enough!

If management see this please let them know how polite and caring they made us feel, I don’t believe it should go unnoticed.

Thank you ladies, and thank you bannatyne.