FFC Elmhurst

Fantastic experience: Love this location specially because they have a full size Muay Thai heavy bag. Staff is also super friendly and the gym is always well kept

Negative experience: LOL so FFC didn't like my review and reported the account as "going against Google Policies", got Google to take it down but not to worry, even Google realized there was no policy violation for providing a review of experience. FFC would rather question the account of an honest review than apparently take any action. Anyway, I am putting my review back up as it is still very much the on-going situation at this gym and it has even expanded in the number who don't follow their own policy. If you are looking for a gym that does not follow its only policy, look no further. FFC has a "strict" no bag policy, yet several members of this gym continue to do whatever they want without any regard for policy. So, would recommend this place if you are looking to do what you want without any worries about "breaking rules". Another thing to note is there were amenities that were down for several months at a time and rather than offer customers a partial refund, they just kept a "out of order" sign up. Finally, and this is perhaps my favorite part, whatever you sign up for membership cost wise will go up significantly each year and the justification will be "because they had to maintain their equipment or buy new equipment or they wanted a raise". The cost increase isn't $5-$10 bucks, try like $30 plus dollars a month per year. I hope this is actually taken for what it is and FFC takes action to correct these issues and maybe be less greedy.

Fantastic experience: This club is the right size - the staff and programs are wonderful Just feel good coming in the door -even before a workout

Negative experience: I am very upset. Perhaps the owner is unaware of what his employees continue to put me through. I used to be a member right before Covid…the Elmhurst location had a lot of issues with the high schoolers that attended the gym and failed us by doing absolutely nothing. I remember countless times trying to workout on the 3rd floor to only get rocks and eggs thrown at my friend and I from the high schoolers across on the roof of the parking garage. We had gotten injured and the gym’s managers didn’t care. I remember some really inappropriate behavior happening on a number of occasions from the high schoolers entering the pool and in the women’s locker rooms..management did nothing. I remember getting harassed by an employee worker at this gym management did nothing…I ended my membership bc the gym failed me and my friends countless times. Flash forward to 2 years ago..received a text message to give the gym a try again bc it’s been some time, decided what the heck - only to get a phone call saying, “you are not allowed here anymore bc you are not a good fit.?!?” Ahhhhh okay. I told them then to lose my information and not text me, email me or call me about anything..since they are going to treat people like crap.. Flash forward to today, got a text from Connor asking me to come in for a day pass, um how do you have my information??? I asked if he read the notes on my account - he said there are no notes. At this point I am frustrated. I am upset bc of that last person who sent me a nasty email and a nasty phone call. Yeah the gym is nice, the owner is even a nice guy but his workers treat people like garbage and act as though they can get away with anything.

Fantastic experience: I cannot say enough about how wonderful Rachel is at all of her morning classes! She is the reason I have that extra bit of energy in my step every day. Before I started attending her classes, my life felt pretty gloomy and dull, but now—thanks to Rachel—my whole world has been lit up. Her energy is contagious, and she knows how to make fitness fun in a way that I never thought was possible. Her classes aren’t just a workout—they’re an experience. The positive vibes and motivation she brings every morning set the tone for the entire day, and I honestly look forward to waking up early to join her sessions. Rachel has truly made a lasting impact on my fitness journey and my mindset. If you want to feel energized, inspired, and actually enjoy your workout, you have to take one of Rachel's classes. She’s a game-changer!

Fantastic experience: Been seeing Dave DeSalvo for massages for the better part of seven years. He’s the best for deep tissue! Dave is a keeper and the man!

Fantastic experience: Joe is a great trainer

Fantastic experience: If you are looking for the "total" gym this is your place Run in to join asap you won't be disappointed .

Fantastic experience: I’ve been an FFC member for years, and it’s the relationships I’ve built with Brent (personal trainer) and David (massage therapist) that keep me coming back, despite rising rates. Brent brings endless energy and positivity to every session. I’ve been in physical therapy my whole life due to spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, but Brent offers something different. His approach is creative, goal-oriented, and consistently motivating. He’s always learning and open to new ideas and feedback. David has adapted his massage technique to meet my specific needs. Regular sessions with him have significantly reduced my chronic tightness and discomfort, genuinely improving my sleep and quality of life. Furthermore, I sometimes feel out of place in massage settings due to my condition, but David creates an environment where I can truly relax. I trust both Brent and David to go above and beyond for me. They’re the main reason I’ve stayed with FFC, and I highly recommend them if you’re looking for personalized care and long-term results.

Fantastic experience: After being a member at a different gym for 13 years. I wanted to make a change to help myself grow. I did my research and found FFC in Elmhurst and after being a member for a few weeks. I love that I decided to become a member here. This gym is really awesome, it might be a little smaller than my last gym but it makes up for it with other things. The staff are super friendly here, everyone is always smiling and courteous, especially Melissa at the front. People are always cleaning here. I saw a worker deep cleaning a row of elliptical machines, it was refreshing! Last, this gym had a member appreciation week, I didn’t really get to participate in it due to work, but thought it was an amazing amenity. I’m happy to be a member!

Positive experience: After coming to ffc elmhurst for over 4 years I can say with confidence that coming in late in the afternoon is the best time to come to the gym with a friendlier staff and clearer gym experience. When ever I came in the morning I’d have to grab and store my towel in my locker due to their being little to no towels available with an addition that the soap dispenser being nearly empty 1in every 3 stalls. Just the attentiveness of gym cleanliness is lacking during the morning. While in the afternoon there are always towels, soap and just in general cleaner lockers and locker rooms. If you plan on joining ffc I highly recommend coming late in the afternoon after 6 to get the best gym experience. Shout out to Brandon, John, missy and the rest of the afternoon crew for making me feel like family.

Fantastic experience: Great place to work out!

Positive experience: I’ve been a member at FFC for a while now and overall, I do enjoy my experience here. I’ve tried several FFC locations, and each one has its own unique vibe, which I appreciate. Some locations definitely deliver a more luxurious experience for the price, while others fall a bit short, especially considering how expensive this club is compared to others in the area. When it comes to classes, I feel like they could be more intense. I’ve been to other clubs like Lifetime and Midtown, both of which are priced similarly or even slightly less, yet their classes tend to be far more challenging. At Lifetime, for example, the instructors really push you, and you leave each class feeling like you truly worked hard and broke a sweat. Even some hot classes at FFC don’t always feel like they live up to that standard. Midtown, on the other hand, provides a fully luxurious experience, and their pricing reflects that. If you’re going to market yourself as a high-end club, the amenities should match. The steam room at my location is often out of service, there’s no sauna (only select FFC locations, like Chicago, have them), and the Jacuzzi often feels like it needs better maintenance and cleaning. Another thing to point out is the pool situation. Both Lifetime and Midtown have significantly larger pools with better spaces, including features like slides, which add to the overall experience and justify their pricing more effectively I currently pay a lot for two people at this location, which feels steep compared to other clubs with similar or better amenities. While the location is very convenient for me, and I do appreciate that it’s not overcrowded, I feel like the overall experience should better reflect the price point when compared to other gyms offering more value and luxury for the cost. I truly believe FFC has potential but could elevate the experience with some key improvements. (I love this club, this is just feedback and advice if you’re comparing clubs! Also my own personal opinion )

Fantastic experience: Had the most amazing massage with Dave today. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and his expertise showed. I left feeling wonderful and can’t wait to book with him again!

Fantastic experience: FFC is by far the best club I have ever been part of.

Negative experience: Things are constantly breaking with no updates on repair ETA. Steam room has been down for a couple of weeks with no ETA to fix. Far from premium service…

Fantastic experience: Great facility and staff. Happy to have them in town!

Fantastic experience: So very personable . My son forgot his wallet-the manager dropped it off at our house! My son lost his keys-they called me as our last name was on the fob. Beautifully located in downtown Elmhurst-excellent service.

Fantastic experience: Nicole was amazing

Fantastic experience: First time trying massage in the gym. I chose David D. because a lot of people recommended him and now I understand why. He was so knowledgeable, absolutely amazing. attention to detail in customizing my massage is outstanding! targeting all the problems areas. It was definitely the best massage I ever had next day I woke up like new. Thank you David!

Negative experience: Used to love this gym, however, the dishonesty of pricing and hidden fees specifically by Kimberly makes this gym a 0 stars. Transparency and honesty from the beginning would’ve been appreciated.

Fantastic experience: Excellent facilities with new equipment and upgrades happening constantly. The staff is friendly. The 3rd floor is my favorite section: a recovery lounge with massage chairs, swimming pools, a jacuzzi, and a steamer.

Fantastic experience: Friendly staff! Brent is amazing! Everything you need and then some. Love it here.

Negative experience: Used to love it here, but prices have gone up while the hours have been cut back. 8pm is WAY too early to close. Used to be open until midnight

Negative experience: They keep catering to little kids. This the York High School gym and it costs nearly $200 bucks per month.

Negative experience: Rising prices with no included amenities. Extremely small weight lifting area with certain adults that hog specific machines and think they’re entitled because they’re there everyday. Add that to the day care the club runs after school where York kids come to hang out, rough house, and make TikTok’s.

Fantastic experience: Extremely friendly and professional staff. If you're looking for a great personal trainer look for Chris and if you need help signing up talk to Hennessy :)

Negative experience: I went here to grab a healthy lunch. The middle aged lady behind the front desk wouldn’t let me use the restroom to wash my hands before I ate. There are plenty of places to go in elmhurst where you won’t find rude staff like here.

Fantastic experience: Julie at Elmhurst Illinois took care of me very well! I had to reinstate my membership and the process was too easy! Thank you again!

Negative experience: I usually work out at one of the locations in the city - I sometimes work out at this location when I’m in the suburbs. I cannot believe the difference in enforcing the mask mandate (compared to others in the city) At this location easily 70-80% of the people DO NOT wear masks (employees of FFC do wear them at least) and it’s very clear that management and employees turn a blind eye to it here. Feels uncomfortable to workout at this location. Please do something about this!

Negative experience: I’d sign up again if they were open later hours. Ten pm is way to early to close for those that work long days and want to come home to spend time with family. I like hitting the gym at 10 pm for us late night kinda of person we are.

Fantastic experience: I love FFC! It's always clean, so many options for working out, and the staff are friendly and helpful. I mostly use the pool, which is clean and kept at the perfect temp for swimming laps - right around 80 degrees.

Fantastic experience: The folks at this gym are first class individuals. The staff takes their job seriously and treat everybody with respect.

Fantastic experience: The trainers and staff are top notch. Super experience.

Positive experience: Absolutely love this gym!! I have everything I need and more. I feel comfortable here and really met my goals! Only thing that’s difficult is how early they close. With my schedule I haven’t been able to make it to the gym due to it closing so early. I really wish they would be open later.

Fantastic experience: I love FFC. I love how clean and ample the physical environment is, while Management is sensitive to hear and take into action any concerns and/or recommendations. Not to mention, Jamie and Scott; always going out of their way, to make my husband and I feel welcome. I highly recommend FFC!!!!

Fantastic experience: Incredible gym. Brand new equipment, motivating staff, spotless facility, indoor pool, outdoor pool, smoothie bar, alcohol bar, spa, they really thought of it all! Stop by Friday nights and you may catch some live music too.

Fantastic experience: Best Health Club in the Midwest! Been an active member for the last ten months and my wife and I love FFC. The trainers and staff are top notch. Two pools and state of the equipment, means a great workout for you. Super experience.

Positive experience: Edited: The club management has really taken the review and started to implement changes. You can clearly see the difference and their staff is working on reminding members to wear their masks. While there is still more work to be done, I did want to update to recognize the changes. This club is a nice club, however they have completely stopped any masking requirements. This has been happening over the past several weeks and complaints to management are not being properly addressed. In other reviews, the management claims that they don't tell members to wear masks due to employee safety, however they don't say anything even when someone walks in without a mask. It is clear that the management either doesn't believe in following the Illinois mandate or they are just afraid to address safety issues.

Fantastic experience: Julie at Elmhurst Illinois took care of me very well! I had to reinstate my membership and the process was too easy! Thank you again!

Positive experience: Nice club but wish they cared about going back to the club hours that people bought when they joined as much as they care about making people wear masks.

Fantastic experience: I’ve been a member here since day one and have very few complaints. The place is kept super clean ,the staff is very friendly.. during Covid theClub was very accommodating , dues we’re curtailed to $10/ month. Friday evening there is a guy who sings and plays the guitar on the third floor bar area, it’s a very nice community. My wife does complain a little that after Covid Some of the classes have been cut. But I think they are starting to get them back online.. My only complaint is they don’t have enough jump ropes but I am picky about that

Positive experience: Well, I certainly think this gym has a lot to offer. Beautiful facilities. However, I have been super disappointed with their Covid protocols. I thought gyms were supposed to require masks…. I think about 50 percent of those working out wear them with the worst violators being teens. No one seems to care. All these kids are heading back to schools, sports and then to see grandma for Thanksgiving. You can do better, FFC. Check you numbers!

Fantastic experience: Leslie is the best at RUSH Physical therapy! She is my favorite! She is so kind and compassionate! She deserves a raise!!!

Fantastic experience: This gym is spectacular! I’m an avid gym goer and I’ve had a difficult time finding a clean gym where I feel comfortable working out. FFC (especially the Elmhurst location) has done just that. I recently had a training session with a new trainer Mark and he kicked my butt! I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable in the gym but I’ve been very comfortable with my workouts and Mark gave me the extra push that I needed! Highly recommend the gym and Mark as a trainer!

Fantastic experience: Excellent service. Thank you John for helping me. I know I will be happy.

Negative experience: Weightlifting area is always packed. Will go to lifetime fitness oakbrook once open.

Negative experience: Complete joke of a gym. Ran extremely poorly. Basically an oversized daycare.

Negative experience: Strictly a boring family gym. If you are 45 and hopeless join ffc. Everyone has left at this point it’s eerily quiet. Really hard to book kids club or get any support to workout as a single parent. Staff are more like security no one has ever approached me with a smile or a sincere greeting but that also might be because I’m not a white woman which is definitely their preference here.

Fantastic experience: Felt very safe. Easy to get a great workout and socially distance at the same time.

Fantastic experience: I’ve been a member at this gym for nearly 3 months and I love it. I am there 5 days a week even though I have never been a gym person in my entire life. But, I really needed to improve my personal health. From the moment I walked in the door I felt welcomed. Thanks Mike!! I highly recommend working with personal trainer, Steven Mojden!! He combines regular training methods AND an electrical muscle stimulation device called a NEUBIE. The combination of the two methods have rapidly increased my strength and endurance. Plus, Steve is hilarious and makes our workouts so much fun. I highly recommend both FFC and Steve!!

Fantastic experience: Clean, friendly staff and members. Plenty of free parking.

Fantastic experience: Such a professional and clean place! Mike and Melissa were so helpful and friendly! Will come back!

Fantastic experience: The BEST gym!! The staff is amazing! Mike and Melissa are always a great time to talk to!!

Fantastic experience: Great gym! They are very cautious and follow protocol for cleanliness. I felt very safe. Worth every cent of the membership!

Negative experience: After reserving a spot for my child at kids club AND receiving 2 emails confirming my reservation I show up next day (July 4th) just to be turned away at the door with an explanation of not having enough staff. What is the point of making a reservation?

Negative experience: Tonight more than a dozen teenagers were in the whirlpool and steam room. They told other adults it was their pool party. No adult supervision. Cell phones in the whirlpool (and plugged in to a wall outlet). This has happened at about 7:45pm the last several weeks. This week I went and found the Manager on Duty. She said there is nothing they can do because their parents pay for them to be members. Time to find another place to workout.

Negative experience: I am a teenager and I frequently go to this gym to play basketball, work out, or relax in the hot tub/steam room after my swim team practice. However it seems as if the past 2 times I have attended the hot tub, I have been told to get out because of rules that are posted by the hot tub (15 minutes time limit) (no more than 6 people in the hot tub) , rules that are frequently broken by adults almost daily. However they have now quite obviously been abused to remove teenagers from the premises. I understand that there are often very annoying and loud teenagers at the pool or hot tub but that doesn’t mean we all deserve to be hassled all the time. I wish these younger teens didn’t behave so poorly or disrespect the staff and other members because it has created an obvious unwarranted anti-teen sentiment that is s evident with the staff and also people who write these reviews and influence the management with these reviews. I must conceal my name because i am legitimately afraid of getting in further trouble with the management for writing this, if this type of anti-youth discrimination continues I will have no choice but to take it up with the ACLU, I love this gym and I think we should be working together to make it a better place, not creating friction between the biggest client demographic and the management.

Negative experience: UPDATE: just emailed GM per the reply below. I will follow up with any further updates. Just joined today. Would’ve been nice to know that there would be 20-30 teens/pre-teens on the basketball court every weekday from 5:00-8:00. Also, half the court is closed off for private workout sessions for kids. This means half a court for 30 kids! I joined primarily to play basketball, which I made sure to mention to the employee I signed up with. If you plan on even walking around the basketball court, don’t join! There are 20 basketballs flying around an already small court. I’m going to stay here for a few months and see if anything changes. If not, I’m taking my business elsewhere.

Positive experience: I've been using FFC gym for approximately a year now. I chose FFC because I wanted a clean facility with extra amenities and conveniences. I did not choose the slightly more expensive all-location package, because I do not commute along the "FFC highway" of locations. There are 3 big reasons why you would want FFC. 1. Amenities, conveniences and cleanliness. The place is clean as heck. It has a bar, a small restaurant for smoothies and stuff, a second convenience store on the third floor, a warm yoga room, It looks great, it doesn't smell, the equipment is beautiful and brand new, and you're paying for it... Perhaps too much. that leads to the second reason... 2. classes. I think that the main reason why you would want to use this gym is because there are several classes included in the price. There are also really simple subscription-based personal training and more rigorous classes that are available to you. 3. If you are a suburb-to-chicago commuter, FFC lines the metro all the way downtown. So, even if you accidentally get off at the wrong stop on the way back from the office, you won't miss your workout... They're right there at the station. The things I really love about this place are the rooftop pool, the clean coed steamroom, the whirlpool, the indoor lap pool, the decent variety of machines and racks, the brand new and clean equipment, etc. The thing I really hate about this place are the teenagers. Rare is the day I do not see a soccer mom whipping up onto the curb in her late model Infiniti SUV land yacht with her son and all his friends and dropping them off for a luxurious spa experience of loitering all the nicest areas in the gym after school like an adolescent daycare for well-off folks. These loud, drippy, spotted wobbling squids dominate the relaxation areas of the gym when they're not wandering aimlessly through the pedestrian paths like they have no depth perception nor purpose in life. My lady friend has made complaints of teenagers in the women's locker room taking pictures where people are changing, and I just find that completely intolerable. With a monthly of nearly $200 for a one-couple household, I think I should be able to expect some pointed attitude toward these kids. Non-paying children is a problem, but I realize that it's a difficult thing to solve. Many of these folks were marketed to by calling this place "family friendly". Well, X-sport express is technically family friendly. It's just nobody wants to be there unless they have some real personal impetus to improve themselves or maintain some level of fitness. Who WANTS to go to a gym that smells like carrion covered in Lysol, where the AC may or may not be working, and the squat rack is occupied for the foreseeable future unless you're there for fitness? Still, I do feel like i should be able to spend more to get more, and part of that being not sharing that space with non-consumers of the gym.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful new club with great classes. Love to have found Lila again! She is a wonderful group fitness instructor who plays fun music at just the right volume to keep you moving and smiling :-)

Fantastic experience: I love it

Fantastic experience: this place is great. i see comments that say they don’t like the young kids working out. that is absurd. do we not want these young kids to grow strong and be fit? or do we want them to be obese and unhealthy? it’s a good thing that young children are working out. if people have a problem they should really think about it more.

Fantastic experience: Great gym

Fantastic experience: So far have taken a Pilates with Jamie, Zumba and Chisal with Lila, and My Zone with Tania. All the classes have been awesome. So far, FFC has picked great instructors! So happy I joined. Keep up the good work.

Positive experience: POOL FAIL! This is a nice, upscale club with pretty much everything you need to train. However, if you are a minimally competent swimmer and intend to use this facility to do swim training... DO NOT JOIN. For 7 months now the management has demonstrated no competency in managing water temperature to a level that is safe for training. They make excuses and provide lip service when you point out the problem. They claim that the goal is to keep it at 84 degrees which they don't do and is too hot to comfortably or safely swim anyway. Courts Plus does a fine job maintaining water temperature in their lap pool for training and you can get a membership for half the price. When FFC actually manages their lap pool as a proper training pool I may rejoin. Until then, steer clear. UPDATE: Leaving my original review intact, but changing my score to 4 because management seems to have figured out the pool. For most of the summer it was around 82 degrees which is at the upper end of acceptable water temperature for a lap pool intended for proper swim training. If they made it 78 degrees, I'd give them 5 stars. For now though, they continue to cater to the whiners who have no concept of what working hard in hot pool feels like.

Fantastic experience: Great value! Modern gym! Rooftop pool!

Fantastic experience: Great gym Edit: Still five stars but if you wanna go on Friday and Saturday nights to play basketball think again because there is always a plethora of 8th graders throwing balls and being obnoxious. Also it be nice really nice if they were open till at least 11 on weekends.

Fantastic experience: I’ve been a member at FFC since March 2019. Zach (personal trainer) found me shortly after I signed. We scheduled 3 sessions per week, and since March, my life has changed dramatically. I’m down 50 + pounds since I began training. I look and feel great. But enough about me, I’m here to rave about Zach. Zach has taught me patience, perseverance, and most of all self discipline. His knowledge when he introduces new techniques, equipment and exercises, reflects a strong, holistic foundation of knowledge. When he encourages to go that extra minute, or that extra 500 meters on the rower, you just naturally trust it, and know you can do it, because Zach believes in you, and knows you can actually do it. He constantly reminds me, it’s not a race, it’ll take time to get where you’re going, and I have to say at the end of each session, I’m not only getting a killer workout, but I leave feeling so great about myself. I can only imagine his clients, both new and existing will feel the exact same way. My fears prior to working out- were apparent. I didn’t know what I was doing. Now when I’m not physically with Zach, I can take the knowledge he’s taught me, to places when I travel. I just didn’t have the confidence before, and now thanks to Zach, I do. Zach, you are amazing at what you do. I am forever grateful for all your help. Thank you.

Fantastic experience: I think I'm in love. From the front desk to the cleaning staff, everyone is super friendly. Within a couple weeks, everyone knows your name (if you go with some frequency). I'm obsessed with the Performance Training Center classes that take place on the turf field. The personal trainers are also super motivating. I've been lucky to work with Michael who is super enthusiastic about helping you reach your goals. It is on the pricy side, but I find that forces me to actually go. #ffc #elmhurst #personaltraining

Fantastic experience: Great

Fantastic experience: The coaches are awesome and the whole staff is friendly, non-judgmental, and encouraging.

Fantastic experience: I love it

Negative experience: I love FFC and this is brand new gym with brand new equipment, for me there are 2 huge downsides: 1) basketball court has only 2 rims and it’s so tight there is no space on a sideline. 2) a lot of teenagers running around pretty much everyday of the week. I don’t think people like to share the gym with bunch of kids for the price of a health club

Positive experience: I have been going to this Elmhurst location since it has opened. I have loved every second. The classes are so fun and different from anything that I have done previously. The people already no my name. The only reason I am giving 4 stars is because there are always classes on the turf area when I am trying to do a workout there. The area is a little small, but it is still great. Great experience!!