Evanston Athletic Club

1723 Benson Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, USA

Address:	1723 Benson Ave, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
Phone:	+1 847-866-6190
Site:	chicagoathleticclubs.com
Rating:	3.7
Working:	7AM–2PM 5AM–11PM 5AM–11PM 5AM–11PM 5AM–10PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM

Location

Photos 45

Reviews 12

Surface Studio

The pool is shalow, barely adequate, used by seniors who walk in their sneakers inside the pool. The staff walk around the pool in their street shoes right of the street to give their classes. Your concerns are not only not addressed but instead there is retribution, a cost associated when you complain about staff or members paying for classes like the little old lady turning on the bubbles without asking. They harass you. They push you out. A swim suit and a compression short were stolen in my rented combination access locker, the door of the locker left open repeatedly for good measure and when I moved to an adjacent locker at their suggestion that one was left open repeatidly, the old one never. The staff has a pass to the lockers.This is a for profit fitness place. This is not a social club. By comparison the YMCA has 2 deep water 30 meters pools with 10 lanes total - wide, accommodating 20 swimmers. Steam and Sauna are better. There are 8 private family rooms each with shower, toilet and sink compared to 2 at the EAC. You dont feel the continous pressure to join some class or get a personal trainer. It is paradise. The staff is exquisitely polite. Like in a social. Membership same. If I could give the EAC zero rating I would. If you are fit just wanting to exercise this is not the place for you. There are much better alternatives. General observation: stay away from commercial, for profit fitness clubs. The staff answer to the ownership, not to the members, and has no consideration for your grievances.

Shelly Davis

First I am giving this gym 4 stars only because it is very pricey but you get a lot of bang for your buck. I had to write a REAL review not one that is nit-picking this place. If you are like me and want to get a lot of bang for your buck this is a great place. The locker rooms are constantly being updated with new features. They keep this place pristine. For those complaining about the pool area I do not agree. For the pool to be used as often as it is they do an awesome job keeping it pristine. What folks have failed to mention you there is a therapy pool right next to the main pool that you can use if you want to relax your muscles. There is a large whirlpool that is also great. I really like this gym because they have everything. Great free weights, great machines, and there equipment always works. You will rarely see any machines not working. The other reason I give this place a 4 out of 5 is the people. They are not the nicest, they are very snobby at times but who cares. You are there for your journey. They offer tons of classes at tons of times. So if you can afford it I definitely recommend this gym.

Anonymous User

Class wise they are by far the best in Evanston. I have been to classes at Northwesterns gym and LA Fitness and both of those are really awful in comparison to EAC. Their cardio equipment is up-to-date but I would like to see espresso bikes. With that being said everything else has the features you would expect including new treadmills with I-Pod docs. The pool isnt as nice as Northwesterns SPAC but its cleaner than the LA Fitness pool and is closed less often. However, it is smaller. They have a climbing wall which no other gym has. The contracts have no hidden fees or strange cancelation policies like LA Fitness so you know what to expect. Pricing wise (expect for students who get SPAC for free) its equivalent to LA Fitness when you take into account the fact that LA Fitness will try and cheat you. Free weight area could use some work at EAC.

Stephanie Wiegel

I love this gym! Im a student at Northwestern, but chose to pay a membership at EAC over using my free uni membership because this gym is really that good. The weight room is well equipped and never too busy, even during peak gym hours. I love that yoga and cycling classes are included in the gym membership. The rock climbing wall and bouldering area is pretty good for the space, too. The student membership rates are very reasonable for everything you get at this gym.

Anonymous User

You cant say enough about how nice this club is. Every class that Ive been to, whether its yoga, pilates or spin, has been fun as well as a good workout. There are cable TVs attached to every piece of cardio equipment- including ellipticals, treadmills, and bikes. Ive been going there for almost 5 years and Ive never waited for a machine. The locker rooms are nice, the staff is friendly, and the members are fun. I highly recommend Ramons spin classes.

Nusrat Sultani

Charged me for a whole month extra, after my one year was up. I called on Jan 3rd and they wouldnt re-reimburse me. I was informed I just had to remember that payment was on a rolling basis and they would just continue to post a fee until I called to cancel. I signed for membership last year so how am I suppose dot remember all the contract terms. They should remind via email about these things. and really bad unfriendly service when you try to cancel.

jake roth

I received a 7 day free pass from EAC, so I decided to try it out. When I arrived at the front desk at 1:30 pm on a regular business day, I was told that the "membership team" is in a meeting and that they wont be done until 4:00pm. The man at the front desk said that he cant help me, and that I should come back at 4:00pm. I explained to him that its a 15 minute drive for me each way, but he didnt really seem to care. Very disappointing service!

Joseph Kern

General good experience but the wifi never works and has been continually reported. Rather then fixing the root of the problem which is the system cant maintain the amount of users and upgrading the equipment they merely reset which only fixes the problem for 5 mins at a time. When reported the individual was very dismissive and clearly had no interest in addressing the issue.

Jennifer White

This place is not kept as clean as the other CAC gyms, I think they lack in cleanliness because they allow children to workout here. I undoubtably contracted ring worm here. THERE IS ALWAYS HAIR IN THE SHOWERS AND SAUNA AND THE MACHINES ARE OLD AND DIRTY. I contacted corporate and they did nothing. I will be changing gyms once my contract is up.

Anonymous User

EAC is the best club in Evanston. They renovated it a few years ago and really improved the place. After being a member of other clubs in the area for a few years, I would highly recommend EAC. Great staff. Best of all is the kids club. If you have kids, this is BY FAR the best option in the area.

Erik Laitos

Though a bit pricey, EAC (along with its sister gyms in the CACs) is a fantastic option for a comprehensive fitness center. Friendly staff, excellent facilities, and a great arrangement in which you can access all gyms in the CACs family at a slightly higher fee.

Dom Perignon

Commercial club with constant solicitation for paying classes. Amateurish higiene around the pool with members paying for lessons given a pass. Bossy, dim, unresponsive and vindictive staff (no men) -if you pay for lessons though they l kiss your ring .