Elite Fitness Studio

Warnings from a Stupidly Loyal Member. This gym has the advantage of usually being fairly empty. I belong for this reason, and because they happen to have machines that work particularly well with some joint issues I have. HOWEVER, I wouldn't recommend this place to most sane people. They no longer provide towels, apparently because they don't trust us not to steal them. The people who work here have no interest in the comfort of the guests. Upstairs, where there are some machines and all the weight equipment (plus all the windows!), the people at the front desk now spend their time watching very loud movies on a giant screen over the front desk. If you happen to want to listen to music on headphones while you work out, forget it. You can't escape the gunshots, etc. from the huge TV, and they refuse to turn it down, even if you're alone there with just the person behind the desk.

Downstairs, where most of the exercise machines lurk in a windowless room, there are some TVs on the walls and TVs on the individual machines as well. However, the options on the machines are very limited. For example, for a long time they only had FOX news as an option, along with the E station and ESPN. But since the guy who runs the gym lives for football, he has ESPN tuned to some kind of football-only station most of the year. Don't expect to watch a baseball game you were watching at home. Even if it's the final game of the Word Series, you won't be able to watch it in that gym, and they won't change the channels to accomodate you. If you like tennis, forget that too. The finals of Wimbledom? Better stay home to watch.

The general idea is that this place is all about the people who run it. The women are neighborhood women who will bit your head off if you even think to complain.

There's also the issue of membership. They make it very hard to leave the gym, even if you've been a loyal member for many years. I've heard some horror stories from people who've tried to leave and found themselves charged and then subjected to claims from collection agencies.

So be careful. This place is not about you. It's about them.…

Living in CG for years, Hands down the Best of the Best. I find Elite Fitness Studio to be clean, the staff to be kind, courteous and helpful. The location allows the studio to be a little hideaway in Carroll Gardens/Red Hook. I also think the cardio machines are a good quality and well suited for people with injuries and special needs. I have knee and back injuries from running outside on the pavement for some years. My children love the karate and yoga classes and the childcare is helpful and free with a family membership. The prices are economical and the staff and fellow members make this fitness center a great experience. So do your home work and get all your info from other gyms around and then make Elite Fitness Studio your last stop because you won’t be disappointed…

Liars and Frauds. If I could give Elite 0 stars I would. When my wife first inquired about this gym, she was told that new equipment was being installed and that a sauna would be part of that upgrade. It was not. Despite the fact that all of the cardio equipment is located in a windowless, unventilated basement, we joined anyway because the location is very convenient for us. A few months into our memberships, the management ceased providing towel service. Instead they gave all the members one small towel with the name of the gym printed on it and told us it was our responsibility to bring the towel for workouts and launder it ourselves. The first time we laundered one of these towels, the ink used to print the name of the gym on the towel bled into all of our whites, turning our t-shirts and towels permanently pink. When we complained, the staff member we spoke with did not apologize and only said, "That didn't happen when I washed mine." When our one-year contract ran out, we informed the gym that we did not wish to renew. Despite verbally telling them this and sending email telling them this, they demanded that we come in and sign a "non-renewal" form. When I told them that legally we were not required to do anything special in order to NOT enter a new contract with them, they told us that if we did not come in, they would continue to charge us! True to their word this one time, they did continue to charge us and we asked our credit card provider to stop payment. The gym then reported us to a collection agency called ABC that has continued to harass us for months despite the fact that we have repeatedly complained to Elite and have signed their unnecessary "non-renewal form." We will be contacting the state AG's office if this harassment does not cease soon. AVOID THIS GYM. They are liars and frauds.…

Great place to Workout!. Staff is wonderful. Pilates reformer workouts are amazing - Ann is the best! David will kick your butt into shape with a smile and you will love every minute! Linda always has a smile and is always there to answer any question you have about the machines.…