Looking for comments about blink fitness
I joined in June. Place is clean. Other patrons are friendly but generally tend to their own exercise routines. No one bothers anyone.
There are sufficient tread mills and free weights.
Other machines are adequate. You may have to wait a couple of minutes for a particular machine during high patronage times.
I don't know what else you would want to know about a gym.
I don't know about tweens in the place. Better ask them about that one.
I like Blink, they have all of the basic equipment I need to lift and do cardio. I tend to go off hours, so I can't speak to what its like at busy times but I haven't experienced waiting more than a few minutes except for the squat racks.
Not sure about teen use, but mid afternoon seem to be Columbia HS athletes, so probably would work. Rest of time is a good mix of young and old.
People do tend to keep to themselves but staff is super friendly and the place is always clean. Hardly ever see equipment down for repair.
can well recommend-- plenty of availability of equipment. Men's locker room clean. I do think the lockers are kind of small, though
I also like Blink. The staff is very nice and the equipment is well-maintained. Most weekdays there are CHS students working out after school.
If you go during "peak" hours (which seem to be roughly 4 to 8pm) there are lots of people working out in small groups, which can make it a little difficult to maneuver. Also, sometimes you have to be pro-active and ask someone who is sitting on a machine chatting to a friend or on their phone if they are finished. But that is not unique to Blink.
I wonder if it will be less crowded once the Irvington Blink opens up. The chain is expanding quickly.
You can't beat the price.
I went to join and was then put off by some of the hidden terms. An annual fee. Tough cancellation rules. Yearly commitments for some levels with other strict conditions. I guess it's still very cheap for a gym, but I couldn't find a plan where I could just pay by the month, no strings attached. THat's making me want to reconsider and find another place. What do you all who have joined think about those terms?
My son, his girlfriend, and her mother go there and they love it. My son pays monthly with no contract.
I am a member there, too. I like it. Locker rooms are very clean and bright and not cramped. I usually use the ellipticals, reclining bike and treadmill since I am concentrating on cardiac conditioning. Usually there's no problem getting one of the ellipicals or reclining bike and there's never an issue when I go with getting a treadmill. They also have rowing machines, stair climbing equipment and lots of weight training machines. I don't use them, though, so I can't comment about them more than to say they are there.
Staff is pleasant, other people working out are all pretty much doing their own thing and everyone seems pretty considerate of each other.
I'm on a month-to-month basis, too, with typical cancellation terms. My husband goes to a different gym and I checked it out, but it seemed much more closed in and dark. Blink is bright and feels spacious - the large windows on the side make it seem more open than other places I've seen.
I'm usually there in the late morning, and it isn't too crowded then. I have seen high-school aged kids there on school holidays, haven't seen kids younger than that when I've been there. All in all, I am happy with this gym.
My son said the only cancellation fee would be having to pay for the next month. So if he wanted to quit he would give notice before the first of the month and finish the next month out. He pays $15 per month.
He goes on Google and enters South Orange Blink and it tells the popular times so you know when not to go.
You should definitely do some research before you commit. The annual fees and cancellation policies are clearly stated on the website.
Before I joined I looked at online reviews and the cancellation policy was the main complaint, even though it seems to be similar to Lifetime and other chains.
I have the lowest level membership. For $16.03 a month (including tax) giving 45 days notice is not excessive, my previous gym required 30 days. If I were at a different stage of life I might want more flexibility.
My kids joined for the summer and really liked it a lot. It's clean and the people who work there seemed very nice. They just put reminders on their phones for 45 days before they needed to give notice to end their memberships before leaving for school. I'm pretty sure they got a discount on the first month and got the last month prorated, so all in all, it was a bargain! The annual fee is charged in September, I believe, and they'd already gone to college, so it wasn't relevant for their memberships.
I like Blink. I was a long-time NYSC member (would go to Springfield and also NYC locations) but I got fed up with the frequency of their price increases juxtaposed with the infrequency of their facility updates, so I switched earlier this year.
Blink is nothing fancy but I like the vibe and I'm always able to get in, do what I have to do, and get out efficiently. However I generally go at off-peak hours, I can't speak to how crowded it is at peak times.
I pay low $40s per month for Blink, which is multiple-club membership plus towel service and includes annual fee. That's a lot more than the $15 advertised monthly rate, but whatever -- unfortunately the gym industry overall seems pretty sleazy in terms of price transparency, hidden fees, contract terms, etc.
I was paying low $70s for NYSC and their broken-down equipment and threadbare towels, so I'm getting more for less at Blink.
Blink is great. I joined when it first opened (was tied into a yearly contract), but now that I'm in year two, my contract is month-to-month. It's clean, you constantly see employee tidying up and it has a water fountain (my last gym did not), and front desk staff pays attention to behavior in the weights area (I watched an employee approach a guy who left a bunch of weights on the leg press). Its a basic gym and you can't beat the $15/month price. I pay $20/month which allows me to bring a guest to work out with me.
When I probed a little -- the $15 basic, month-to-month deal sounded good but I learned that there is a $50 annual "maintenance" fee that they charge you after two months. Those of you who are paying that basic fee might not have realized that they have billed you that. And then a 45-day notice required to stop. The upgraded memberships have those same fees, plus a yearly contract, with a $60 buy-out plus 45-day notice, etc. So, it's still cheap for a gym, but I was disappointed that all of the email deals they send me are not quite as good as they sound. I felt like Blink was going to be different, more straightforward and less sleazy about fees.
When I joined (this past summer), they very clearly went over their fees and mentioned the maintenance fee. It wasn't hidden. It was still less expensive than joining my husband's gym, and is much closer to home so I have absolutely no excuse to not go there, even in bad weather! 
Oh, and I asked today about tweens, and it sounds as if there's a minimum age that is older than that. Not sure if it was 16 or 18 - might have been 16 with parents, 18 to join independently, but if that's important to you, you should probably ask them yourself to get the most accurate info.
Maintenance fees are not unusual. It works out the less than $5 a month, so $15 becomes $20 a month.
Cancellation notices are also not unusual.
Blink is the best new "retail" offering in S Orange other than maybe the doctor's office on Vose.
Looks like we could have an MOL meet-up at Blink! There are enough of us there.
Are we having donuts and cake? 
cody said:
Looks like we could have an MOL meet-up at Blink!
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I am currently a member at another gym in town and am looking for feedback on Blink Fitness. I am not looking for classes, just plentiful basic cardio equipment (treadmills, bikes, ellipticals) in good working order, weight machines and free weights.
I am also looking for a space that allows tweens or has dedicated times/programs for tweens. I am going to take a tour of Blink and get a trial membership, but wanted to get feedback from those who have tried it and like it and those who have tried it and didn't like it (would like to find out why).
Thanks