Gym in Waterford City.

luvlylady

Anyone have an update as to what the Kingfisher is like now? This thread was started at the end of last year when it had just opened? Just wondering what it's like now, 7 months on?

dermoto

Its become a bit of a joke now. They have no urgency to problems that occur. Regardless of how many complaints they receive. The steam room was out of order for THREE AND A HALF weeks. Thats almost a month. I mainly go to the gym, then go into the steam room for about 10 or 15 mins, and i wasnt able to do this for a month. Now the sauna is regularly out of order. I honestly cant remember when both the sauna or steam room were working at the same time.

They've removed the handle to the water tap outside the sauna and put up a sign saying "This water isnt drinkable, you can get drinking water at reception" What they mean by this is, u have to pay 2 euro for water from one of the vending machines. Thats bullcrap. Why wouldnt the water be drinkable? People have been drinking it for months sure. This isnt spain. The water supply in waterford IS drinkable. When they put up that sign i felt like going to the doctor with stomach pains and sending them the bill, as they have openly admitted its not drinkable, even though people have been drinking it for months.

Every day theres more and more signs up. Dont do this, you cant do that. You still have to stand on the seats in the steam room to get any good out of it, the ceiling is way too high. Be very careful of the showers. they go from about 10degrees up to about 80 or 90 degrees within seconds. ive reported this twice, and i know a lot of other people have too, but they dont care, they have our money and its just a case to them of turning up everyday.

Gym is pretty good though, ill give em that!

AlphaMale 3OO

dermoto wrote: »

THREE AND A HALF weeks. Thats almost a month

It is? :eek::D

paddy1mac

The gym is a bit of a joke at this stage and i will definitely not be rejoining.

The pool rules like most pools states that swimming hats must be worn - this is not enforced

The machines in the gym are the biggest problem - the treadmills are constantly breaking down as are the bikes

The treadmills also wobble badly and this cant be good for the legs or back

The air conditioning is rarely on and it gets really warm and stuffy in there

The gym is also poorly supervised and the instructors are rarely there

Another minor gripe is the music that is played - they seem to have ony a limited amount of cd's and repeat thyem endlessly

I gave this place the benefit of the doubt as it had only opened and thought it would improve but it hasn't

Are Kingfisher on a probation period as the corporation have a stake in the place. Surely someone has to act to bring it into to order or it will be a very empty place soon

If anyone from Kingfisher reads this I would strongly advise you get your act together fast

luvlylady

Thanks for the feedback. It doesn't look likely that I'll go for it now. It's a shame they have let standards slip (if they were ever that high from the beginning?) because we don't have anything else like it. Anyone know what the gym in the Woodlands is like? I want somewhere that opens early so I can use it before work. Although the Woodlands would have me facing the Dunmore Road traffic at 8.30 in the morning. Back to the drawing board I think.

Forgot to add, I was down there last night having a look 'round and while I was there, I heard the receptionist take a phonecall and say "the sauna will be fixed tomorrow" so it seems the problems are ongoing.

jayp

The sauna still wasnt fixed today, its gone beyond a joke

Heathen

wow.. thats mad about Kingfisher.. there was so much hype about it when it opened i was actually thinking of joining... but i'll think again after reading all that.. i like a good 30 mins in the steam room after a work out.. so if its out of order all the time.. NO WAY

Derekoo

thats a bit harsh.i have had a decent enough experience with the lads there and the facilities.at least they have proper opening hours and the gym is very coool!the fact that the fitness programs are included is a big plus for me

AdMMM

I'm seriously considering joining a gym with college starting back up, may as well be doing something instead of study!

I have read some bad reports of the Kingfisher gym, but is it the only viable option? The Tower are really over subscribed and I can't imagine Woodlands would be that much better either.

As a student, price would also have to be taken into consideration and I know I can't have the best of both worlds

luvlylady

Just a quick update, I went ahead and joined the Kingfisher anyway and I have to say I have no real complaints (yet!). I use the gym mostly and it's always really cool, not a bit stuffy. I've yet to see any machines out of order. I agree with one of the other posters about the showers being a bit dodgy, they can go from cold to really hot in seconds. My one gripe is the volume at which they play the rubbish music in the gym. I can't watch tv on the machines because the volume never goes high enough to drown out the loud music they play. I bring my iPod instead and turn it way up. I can still hear the boom, boom of the music but it's not as bad.

There's a new set of classes starting September 15th so I'll be interested to see what the introduce. I won't be happy if they have 'pay for a course' classes, I paid enough to join without having to pay for classes on top of that.

Quigs Snr

how much did it cost to join ?

luvlylady

Joined with a family member and got the couples rate. Paid something like €120 upfront each and €49 per month. Can't quite remember.

luvlylady

Joined with a family member and got the couples rate. Paid something like €120 upfront each and €49 per month. Can't quite remember.

Dan133269

I went to Kingfisher last week to see what it was like and the fella at reception was not very helpful. I heard you could pay as you go so I asked for a single gym visit, he asked was I a member, I said no, then he said public access hours are from 8-10. When I asked for a leaflet giving the details of membership he just stared at me blankly, then I picked up a leaflet on the counter which was about the pool or something, I asked again for a leaflet detailing what membership entails, prices etc, and he gave me a sheet with just a list of prices on it. Quality service :rolleyes:

Serious question though, does Kingfisher have a squat rack, not a smith machine but squat rack, don't know any public gym in waterford that has one. And is there an area for deadlifting? any help appreciated

Typhoon.

Dan ..sounds like the Gym up next to the Postal centre would suit you best. its called waterford weightlifting club. call in and ask for one of the committee members about joining

Quigs Snr

Hi Typhoon,

What are the prices for the Weight Training Club ? (Cyclist here, just need a few months of leg weights in the off season to help develop my sprint a bit before next season).

Its next to the Postal center now ? I remember it used to be down near the Glen.

DQ

Typhoon.

its 250 a year and 120 joining fee.....i think the gym year is from july to june... its in the last set of units on the left before the postal centre...ya cant miss it...the unit door is always open and ya can see the lads training away in there

hope this helps

Sully

Just to let people know, Kingsfisher sent out a leaflet in the post (I assume most people got it?)..

Open day is September 18th (12noon - 10pm). Membership is now available, and if you join you get €100 off.

-25m Swimming Pool
- 100 hours weekly access
- Free Parking
- Free classes available to members
- Free personalised fitness porgrammes
- Thermal suite incorporating steam room, sauna & jacuzzi
- State of the art gymnasium equipped with inegrated TV's with satellite channels and iPod connections.

Opening Hours:: Mon-Fri 6am to 10pm
Sat & Sun 9am - 6pm

051850300 / www.kingsfisherclub.com

Quigs Snr

Thanks Typhoon trying to decide between the WWTC and Kingfisher. I take it there are showers and a little bit of cardio equipment there (not too worried about cardio, will be training twice a day most days, just as long as there is enough to get me warmed up, will only be using the gym for weights - learning to swim in the kingfisher pool would be a bonus, but not worth double the money to me).

I used to know a couple of lads in WWTC, wonder what they will make of a 10.5 stone cyclist who actually wants to get smaller !

Typhoon.

yeah the WWTC is deffo for you so...yeah theres showers and cardio equipment.

No one will even look sideways at ya to be honest...everyone does their own thing for their own goals so in no way will you be embarrassed...theres lots of runners up there that would be doimg the same type of training as you wil be

i heard its one of the best gyms in he country actually

Green Hornet

paddy1mac wrote: »

I gave this place the benefit of the doubt as it had only opened and thought it would improve but it hasn't

Are Kingfisher on a probation period as the corporation have a stake in the place. Surely someone has to act to bring it into to order or it will be a very empty place soon

If anyone from Kingfisher reads this I would strongly advise you get your act together fast

Must say that I also find it a bit weak with regards to the pool, sauna and steamroom.
Sometimes kids jump in over your head when you are swimming and they are rarely told to cop on. Very dangerous, particularly if there are other kids in the pool. The Crystal is much better supervised.
The sauna is usually broken and you have to stand up on the benches in the steamroom to get any steam.
Worst of all though I noticed white material floating in the pool, looked like tissue of some kind! It was in the pool in little shreds for ages.

deiseff

How ye

Have to say im with the woodlans now two years and find it fantastic. open from 7am to 10pm. Never any problems with the machines and on the rare occasion they are , they be fixed within in a few days.

Staff are extremly friendly and helpfull with any quiers and overall the membership is very friendly.

Excellent range of gym equipment, pool, steam room, sauna and gecussi(or however you spell that)

Really i wouldnt go past them. Think it was 600euro for the year and well worth it.

Gael23

Definately agree with the last post,Been in woodlands for just over a year now. The staff are very friendly and helpful. it is 600 for the year

DefenseSoapEire

plus in the woodlands the pool is never very crowded

Gael23

Well I was down this morning and for a good while I was the only one in the pool. If the OP is more interested in the gym then just book an appointment with one of the guys and they will show u around

177222

Having joined the kingfisher gym at the start of the year with family membership, I can't bring my daughters for a swim as their are no shared changing rooms, I'm not going to bring my girls into the mens changing room. When entering the pool area you enter at just before the deeper end of the pool, no barrier to stop excited children from falling or slipping in to the pool. We will not be renewing our membership. Kingfisher is not a family friendly leisure centre. My advice is good equipment available in the gym, poor instruction on usage, treadmills wobble so be careful. If your into just weighs go to the Waterford Weigh Lifting Club.

Dan133269 wrote: »

I went to Kingfisher last week to see what it was like and the fella at reception was not very helpful. I heard you could pay as you go so I asked for a single gym visit, he asked was I a member, I said no, then he said public access hours are from 8-10. When I asked for a leaflet giving the details of membership he just stared at me blankly, then I picked up a leaflet on the counter which was about the pool or something, I asked again for a leaflet detailing what membership entails, prices etc, and he gave me a sheet with just a list of prices on it. Quality service :rolleyes:

Serious question though, does Kingfisher have a squat rack, not a smith machine but squat rack, don't know any public gym in waterford that has one. And is there an area for deadlifting? any help appreciated

Green Hornet

177222 wrote: »

Having joined the kingfisher gym at the start of the year with family membership, I can't bring my daughters for a swim as their are no shared changing rooms, I'm not going to bring my girls into the mens changing room.

I started a thread about this a while back. I agree with you about the shared changing rooms. I find it very, very uncomfortable when changing and a little girl is standing beside me. I do my best to be discrete but some dont. No way I'd bring my daughter into a room full of naked men.

I got bashed by some (not all) in the swimming forum for finding it uncomfortable but I do and there should be family changing rooms.

Cabaal

Green Hornet wrote: »

I started a thread about this a while back. I agree with you about the shared changing rooms. I find it very, very uncomfortable when changing and a little girl is standing beside me. I do my best to be discrete but some dont. No way I'd bring my daughter into a room full of naked men.

I got bashed by some (not all) in the swimming forum for finding it uncomfortable but I do and there should be family changing rooms.

Very valid points to be honest, I'd have to agree kingfisher is not suitable for young children when it comes to the dressing rooms and is not family friendly due to pool design as already noted.

crazyfork

quick update on the steam room situation, whole thermal suite was replaced last week so ive been told there wont be any more problems with it and that showers are next on the agenda.
There is a shared changing room between the male and female changing rooms that I use with my son, its only small but it keeps the kids out of the wrong changing room .
Place is under new management so hopefully now things will start to get done. Better late than never!
have to say I love it!:D

Dan133269

New gym open on O' Connell street, part of Days Hotel. Got a look around, seems ok, they've done the best with the space they have. Good to have more competition anyway, for years there was nothing in waterford