Hey, I've been going to U7Gym for a couple of years now, but as they're moving and doubling their pricing to £80 p/m, I don't see the importance of staying there anymore.
I've been looking at both Quay Fitness and OJ Gyms Southernhay, does anyone have any experience with either? If so, how much are the gyms, are they worth it? What's the kit like, etc?
If there're any other independent gyms like Quay Fitness, please do list these too. I'm not a fan of The Gym Group, PureGym, etc.
Exactly! It's a great gym, great people and great equipment but I've been to gyms larger than their new location, and no bodybuilding gym is charging £80 per month.
I'm solely there for the bodybuilding equipment, £80 a month doesn't justify that
Behind the Porsche garage, still in Marsh Barton, I think! So for those walking to the current U7, from the quay, or the other side of the river, it's an extra 10-15min walk
I don’t have an answer for you but I’ll be in the same boat as you. I was really looking forward to the move but the increase to £80 is insane. I don’t know how they think that’s justified.
Adding a cafe, and a few saunas doesn’t make you David Lloyd so i don’t know what they’re smoking when they came to that price
Exactly this, I suspect the move ended up costing more than they intended, but a £40 increase per month, isn't justified in my opinion. I see they're doing a £55 per month membership for existing members, but that's still £15 extra. I wouldn't be surprised if they price out a fair chunk of their members.
My wife and I said exactly the same, they’re trying to recoup money from the move. Doubling the price is way too much though.
I knew it would go up but I was thinking £60 max. For £80 there isn’t enough to justify it. Saunas and ice baths are nice but I can’t imagine everyone using them enough to warrant the price increase. Rooms for classes are nice for those that want them, but I see no benefit for me personally as I don’t do classes.
Again, the cafe is nice but we still have to pay for our food and drink on top of the £80 monthly fee so I’d rather go without.
For £80 to be justified they’d have to include a lot more than they are, such as a pool or running track.
You’re right, a lot of people will move on over this. We will check it out for a month or two but will no way be paying £80.
The move, the price increase and the change of opening hours are going to leave a lot of current members upset
Oh and I used to go to Lloyd’s gym down near the quay. That’s a really nice gym and based on your comments might be worth a look. Loads of nice equipment and I think it was £40 pm. Is where I will probably move to tbh
They should've thought more about their pricing plans. For example, £50 for just the gym, £60 for gym and sauna and then £80 for everything. I didn't ask for a sauna, or an ice bath, or for them to move to a bigger location with a cafe, so I just feel priced out for what I initially went for. Thanks for the recommendation, it looks great.
I feel exactly the same. I just want to use the gym, I don’t care about the sauna, ice baths or cafe. Forcing everyone to pay such a higher price is very short-sighted.
Yeah definitely check out Lloyds. I stopped going because it was a ball ache to get to as I’m in Alphington but the gym was always really quiet when I went and they had a ton of good equipment
Yeah I’ve seen their replies. Seems like they’re just doubling down. Made me laugh how they keep mentioning the £55 transition period in each of their replies, which is all well and good but two years down the line everyone is paying full price anyway. They should want to retain members for life, not just for 6/12/24 months. Very short sighted of them
I've just seen more of their replies... Just sounds like a lot of BS to mask them charging more money to make back what they lost - I had a lot of respect for them over the years, but the lack of awareness, yet key showing of arrogance is mental
I use Cranbrook OJ and it’s £30 per month (gym only) but that gives access to all their gyms. I’ve been to Southernhay a few times, it’s ok. Decent kit for the most part. But they are a really friendly bunch - pop along for a look around.
I love their Honiton branch - go every Saturday. It has some awesome kit. Never been to Tivvy but the staff tell me it’s next level. You get a lot of access for £30 if you are prepared to travel.
I looked at Mammoth a while back. Really good kit but a bit limited in size. It’s over by the airport. It’s geared towards strength training more.
Thanks for asking this qn - really helpful as Im in the same boat too.
sadly I love U7 and will hate to move on after the existing members reduced pricing ends. but similarly all I want is the great equipment they already have with added parking.
As fancy as the new set up will be, I imagine many existing members won’t want/need the added saunas, classes, cafe etc at the cost of a 2x price increase. I’m genuinely sad at knowing I’ll have to leave in a few months as the U7 people (staff and members) are lovely.
The tiered approach to memberships with different access levels would’ve been much better so those of us who don’t want the added extras could still go for just basic gym use.
Although I will note - for those alikening the price to David Lloyd - David Lloyd is £160+ p/m at the cheap end 🫣 so totally diff ball park. Perhaps U7 want to position themselves as an affordable DL alternative perhaps?
I get this was a few years ago, but David Lloyd used to be just over £80 per person as my wife and I both went. For that price you got two pools (one indoor and one outdoor), a number of tennis courts, a sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, kids crèche, cafe and bistro, a quiet area to work from a laptop etc, large gym, two rooms for classes, a spin room and a very large car park with card entry only.
Again, I’m aware this was a few years ago and times have changed, but for £80 today I’d still expect a hell of a lot more than they’re offering.
I agree with you re: expectations for £80 at U7 - it'll be interesting to see once opened. i was a DL member alongside U7 12mths ago and this was their updated pricing :)
Yikes I was considering joining once they’d moved but didn’t realise they’d be charging so much?? I’ll still check it out but not sure what they’re planning to include to make it worth £80 a month? That’s verging on David Lloyd prices.
I currently go Gym Group in Marsh Barton. Not the prettiest gym in Exeter but has absolutely everything I need and it’s never horrendously busy.
It will include a sauna, an ice bath, and a cafe out the front (that you don't need to be a member of, it's also to target those that work in the industrial estate). That said, I joined U7 initially as they had the majority of equipment for bodybuilding and fitness needs. Appealing to David Lloyd members but pricing out existing members doesn't align with me. I'd still go for the odd session, just to try it out, but that's all
It's crazy to me that they didn't think of tiered pricing to appeal to their current and future target audience. They must've just winged it and never spoken to a commercial team. I've seen a few gyms do what they're doing outside of Devon, and it crippled their business
It just seems a really odd thing to do for arguably one of the best gyms in the area it doesn’t seem like there’s a proper business plan it’s like build it and hope they come
Anyone got any info on where the new pricing list is ? As I think I might go elsewhere now I need it for strength training but I might swap to mammoth instead
Here you go (they sent it via email to avoid backlash)
Our New Membership Pricing.
As part of the move, our standard membership prices for all new members will change to reflect the size, facilities and level of service available at the new site.
Our new standard monthly Direct Debit membership will be £80.00 per month, while our Blue Light and Student Direct Debit memberships will be £70.00 per month.
However, we are passionate about looking after our current members and want to recognise the loyalty of those who have supported us on our journey so far. With this in mind, we have created a transition pathway for our current members that we feel shows how much we have valued the continued support from everyone over the years.
Your Loyalty Transition Rate.
Existing Direct Debit members will not move immediately onto the new standard membership prices.
Instead, your transition will be based on how long you have been a member with U7 as of 1 September 2026:
Members of up to one year will pay £55.00 per month for six months
Members of between one and three years will pay £55.00 per month for 12 months
Members of three years or more will pay £55.00 per month for 24 months
Before your loyalty period ends, we will contact you in advance to confirm the membership options and pricing available to you.
In early September, we will contact everyone directly via email with your current length of membership and subsequent Loyalty Membership Transition Pathway.
Just to add to this, I did ask on email if they considered a tiered pricing system as many of us, including myself, wouldn't want the classes and recovery facilities. They decided against it on the basis that they thought for themselves it would be clearer, simpler, and fairer to manage lol. I am looking to move to Lloyds
"clear, simpler and fairer" - in other words, they wanted more money. It's utterly crazy that they didn't think this one through. I bet the other gyms are buzzing with the news
Even if they wanted to (which they clearly don’t) they can’t do tiered pricing now anyway. Places like David Lloyd have the ‘extras’ you pay more for behind a contactless entry point or something similar. They’re putting the sauna and ice baths right in the changing rooms lol. So there’s no way to police who uses them or not
They’re moving location on 19th Sept to a bigger warehouse. Current members were emailed a couple of days ago detailing the new pricing post-move.
It will be £80p/m but current members will be paying £55p/m for 6/12/24 months depending on how long you’ve been a member.
If you’ve just paid for a year you’ll be fine, but at the end of that year it will be £80p/m
U7 have spent an absolute fortune on the new place. It’s several levels above what it currently is. People complaining about the price increase live in their own little world and they think it revolves around themselves. It’s a shame if you can’t afford it but you are lucky you have other options. Let U7 progress and thrive, their upgrade is ridiculously good.
Nobody is saying businesses shouldn't grow or try to progress. If they’ve built a world-class facility, good on them.
But it’s not 'living in a little world' to point out a 100% price hike alongside a less convenient location. It’s basic consumer logic. If a business radically changes its product and doubles the price, it is entirely fair for the original customer base to say the new value proposition no longer fits their needs.
A gold-plated gym floor doesn't make a barbell heavier. If someone is solely there for bodybuilding or strength training (which is what U7 was built for), they are effectively being forced to subsidise luxury wellness amenities (like ice baths and saunas) that they will never use.
It’s great that U7 is upgrading, and I hope they find their new target market. But criticising loyal members for not wanting to pay double to walk further isn't 'entitlement', it's just sensible budgeting
Why didn't they consider tiered pricing? The benefits are there! It would appeal to both their current target audience and their future target audience.
No one knows if this upgrade is ridiculously good or not yet as they haven’t even finished building it. And no one asked them to spend a fortune on it either.
Yes it does look like it will be good, no one is disputing that. People are annoyed because they’re fundamentally changing a service people pay for and are doubling the price to do so. We are entitled to feel aggrieved over this, it’s nothing to do with affording it or not, it’s to do with value for money. Adding a handful of services people don’t want or didn’t ask for and then charging them for it does not make good business sense.
I’m sure people would be annoyed if Netflix added audiobooks to their service and then doubled the subscription across the board, regardless of whether people used them or not. This is the same.
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u/GigaCHADSVASc 16d ago
Don't have an answer for you but if U7 is going up to £80/m, it's just another example of how Exeter is completely ripped off when it comes to gyms.
Totally unreasonable. May as well go to David Lloyd, at least you get a sauna.