VIDA - U Street - Washington, District of Columbia

Andrew Sullivan

Gym is great except the locker room. It’s designed so you cannot avoid bumping into people and cannot access the lockers easily. The huge benches take up all the space. Peak times are hellish.

The showers are terrible. I’ve never ever had one with stable temperature. You’ll be scalded and frozen in turn. I’ve pointed this out for six years now and they truly don’t give a damn.

I’ve been there for years and have made these points many times. They won’t listen, won’t fix the showers and won’t remove or replace the benches.

I have great training and like the place. But its management is completely unresponsive and resistant to any change or constructive criticism.

Alex

I've been a member for about a year, and I've been loving their yoga, barre, and strength classes. Programming is great and I rarely have an issue finding a class time that works for me. Shoutout to my favorite instructors Joaquin, Carl, and Tami.

The only reason I wouldn't give it five stars is because the women's locker room is continually dirty.

The "carpeted" area where the lockers are is rarely cleaned. I have been pieces of trash on the floor that remain there for days on end. It also has a perpetual sticky feel - not a good feeling. I bring flip flops most of the time, but given the membership cost, this shouldn't even be an issue.

I have mentioned the locker room cleanliness issue twice to front desk staff, but I have yet to see any improvement.

I did not have an issue using my sign up credits. I was able to book a massage seamlessly and had a great experience.

The outdoor pool is great - highly recommend. Their food and bev program is also a big hit.

Nolan Sisk

I visited this gym and spoke with Paul, he took me on a tour around the facility and showed me how the gym is organized and all of the amenities. I ultimately decided that vida fitness was not the gym for me, however I still had a very positive experience with Paul and the gym is very nice, all of the employees are professional.

Sydney Davis

Cool gym and centrally located. They’ve got a good variety of weight machines, and a floor dedicated to cardio. I am a fan of their yoga classes as their instructors are pretty good. I recommend checking it out

Ilson Souza Jr

UPDATE 1:

My complaint, filled with facts, was not vague; I approached the instructor and then management about feeling disrespected and harassed. Instead of support, I faced weeks of silence, only to be blamed for the employee’s unprofessionalism. Every attempt to communicate was ignored—even when raising a serious matter like video cameras installed in the locker room, which could lead to legal consequences for the company as it violates both district and federal laws. At every level, I faced denial, blame-shifting, and zero acknowledgment of my experience. An apology? Not even a classic, “We’re sorry if you felt that way.”

Best regards,
Ilson
_________________________________________________________

Serious Customer Service Failures and Privacy Violations at VIDA Fitness

I have been a customer of VIDA Fitness for over a year, and after numerous serious incidents, it’s clear that VIDA Fitness is not concerned with addressing customer complaints or even serious legal concerns. Here’s what happened:

Harassment during a Zumba class: The incident involved the instructor and another employee, and despite my report to management, I was ignored for weeks. When I finally got a response, the manager protected the employees and blamed me for the harassment.

Mistreated at the rooftop pool: A group of friends and I were mistreated by staff. All attempts to communicate with management were completely ignored.

Poor responses to inquiries: From questions about locker rentals to complaints about broken equipment, I’ve been repeatedly dismissed or outright ignored.

Cameras in the changing rooms: VIDA Fitness installed cameras inside the changing room without explaining why. I emailed management, citing both DC and federal laws that prohibit this, and was ignored once again.

VIDA Fitness’s lack of accountability and their refusal to address these serious issues sends a clear message: they do not prioritize their customers. This pattern of ignoring legitimate concerns is unacceptable, and ignoring me will not silence the truth. People deserve to know what’s happening.

Alexander Ellis

Vida U st is an adequate gym under the right circumstances. They have a plethora of equipment and plenty of floor space. If you avoid the post-work rush-hour, this gym is quite good.

I admit that I go to the gym to lift weights, do cardio and leave. If that is what you're looking for, this gym may not be for you. Reasons: Price, many "amenities" unrelated to weight training, a social environment which leads to folks chatting while occupying machines (or worse yet staring at their phones), poor training staff.

The top floor, which is ostensibly equipped with many squat racks and free weights, is largely dominated by their rather aggressive personal trainers who monopolize this space. This became rather frustrating after over a year.

However, if you're looking for a fairly manicured workout experience that also offers some social opportunity, it's a great find.

Joe Kawly

The most decent gym in DC. But lately, they have been faking short especially when it comes
To maintenance. It feels like each day there is something not working.

Robert Mckernan

Pros:

They have an entire floor dedicated to power lifting that has squat racks and platforms so you don’t have to wait! One always opens up within 3-5 minutes even at peak hours.

The roof top pool is great and so is the food as well. I love those friggin’ wings and drinks!

They also never run out of sanitizer, sprays, wipes and towels.

Great hours is also a plus. I have a second membership at a competitor for later hours when my schedule entails but vida is definitely my preferred location.

The members are super friendly and great and I never see anyone not masked or sassy when they’re required; I’ve made many friends at the pool so keep that in mind.

Value is a plus; I’m used to spending ~150-300/mo for other premium/lux gyms and I feel what they charge is very fair.

Also a barber in the gym is great and they have quality cuts.

Cons:

Their billing department is deficient, I’ve never had a issue with a gym not being able to schedule recurring charges, and it seems they have been unable to properly due so.

The $150 sign up fee that gets rolled over into credit to use at the gym, it took two months for it to get added into the barber account. I had to follow up about it several times to make that happen. Very frustrating and not a very luxurious feeling to have to deal with that as a new member.

Each month billing cycle roles around and i ask them (FD) if everything is squared away and they say yup/yes you're all good. Yet for the past two months in a row they contact me weeks after it’s due saying I have late fees and haven’t paid. Even when I’ve called and spoke to them each time on the phone after the first warning they still don’t properly process it and it ends up back after 10 days in a email; you have late fees, it’s very disappointing.

I know they’re able to process my card; they’ve charged that same card “no show fees” when I’ve booked for the pool and it’s canceled due to rain. So it seems sus.

It took about 3 weeks of my effort of calling, emailing and talking to the front desk to get that squared away to refund the “no show fee” when they closed the pool due to weather. In that process many emails were not answered.

They did however eventually reverse the charges but it wasn’t easy and the communication was absent until finally getting ahold of the billing manager in person as she was taking out trash one day. She was very kind and apologizes and seemed to be the person who gets things done. If I were the owners I’d give her more tools or people to work in her department to make their billing staff efficient, or let someone else take out trash so she can better allocate her skills to where they’re most needed.

The rude front desk manager in other posts is most likely John/Jon, he doesn’t listen to guests and always responds with attitude. I tried to review my account today and was met with “well maybe you should try paying your card so it doesn’t decline”, like dude I’ve never carried a balance, and when I paid it with the same card today in person there was no issue. I definitely did not appreciate his less than helpful personality. I would like this late fee reversed but I would happily pay $10 to not have to talk to John/Jon again.

Communication Forget about trying to leave a message anywhere, inboxes are full at their billing specialists, pool inbox, everywhere on their phone tree. Emails aren’t answered, so your only chance to have them resolve any issue is in person, provided you find someone willing.

Penthouse reservations; weekend slots for premium seating are booked quickly and often occupied primarily by their employees; seems sus. If you want a spot; set a alarm for 167.9 hours before you want it and immediately book when it changes to 168 hours, else lose your chance to vibe on a daybed or cabana on the weekend.

In summary: it’s a good place and I’m sure they're doing the best they can during this pandemic, but boy it can be frustrating. If it gets better I’ll be sure to update this review.

Best
Rob