Windy Hill Fitness Centre - Essendon (VIC)

1 /5 Jhonie Rojas: Extremely Disappointed — Would Not Recommend This Sports Centre I’ve never felt so frustrated with a swimming facility. The pool is constantly overcrowded — today I waited over an hour just to access one of the only two lanes available, which were shared by eight people. It’s simply impossible to swim properly under these conditions. The water is consistently murky and unclear, raising serious concerns about hygiene. This is, without exaggeration, the dirtiest pool in the area. The service is poor, and the staff seem indifferent to customer experience. What’s worse, the centre only sells sugary drinks — no healthy options, no consideration for wellness. It feels like they only care about collecting their $50 membership fee. To be fair, I have no complaints about the gym facilities — they’re decent and functional. But the pool and overall service are unacceptable. If you’re looking for a clean, functional, and health-conscious sports centre, this is not the place. I do not recommend subscribing to this facility.

5 /5 Dee: I cannot recommend Windy Hill Fitness Centre enough! The staff are always so helpful, friendly and efficient. They always make my day :). Thank you Petria, Vanessa, Chris and everyone there. It’s very rare these days to receive such lovely consistently great service. The staff always have a smile on their face and are only too happy to answer any queries about the gym and generally care about their members. I love all the classes on offer and I find that this gym in particular accommodates for all walks of life. I also really love that it supports the community in such a great way. The gym is always clean & the equipment is great including the pool & sauna ☺️

1 /5 Niccolò Simoncello: I regularly attended this place (4 times a week, 2–3 hours per session, for a couple of months). The free weights area, isokinetic machines, and cardio section are almost always COMPLETELY unattended. Often in the late morning the gym is used by 40–60 people at the same time, many of whom are elderly and therefore at higher risk, yet they are all left to fend for themselves, in violation of any safety, injury-prevention, and professional-ethics standards. On the rare occasions when a staff member is visible, they are usually teenagers who are completely unqualified and unprepared to offer assistance, spending most of their time engaging in casual conversations with whoever they prefer. Today, after waiting for half an hour—once again—without seeing a single staff member, I approached the front desk and was told that to receive assistance for the duration of a single set, so roughly 30 seconds, I would need to book an appointment. They also said that the person responsible for supervising the gym floor was currently conducting a private lesson, which is quite unusual, as it involves an overlap of duties during the same shift, something I doubt is legally permitted. I don’t know whether this poor service stems from an attempt to cut staffing costs or from a genuine inability to manage a facility, but in 10 years working in the same industry I have never seen a gym provide worse customer service. Unfortunately, they show no regard for the individual, as they focus solely on volume of subscriptions, and although it may be convenient for the surrounding community, if you are considering signing up I strongly advise against it. There is a total lack of support, care and assistance. Even for completely autonomous athletes member safety and overall wellbeing experience is extremely poor, if not nonexistent.

5 /5 James Fahey: I use the pool here and have had a good time of it. It is clean and warm. Some may say too warm, but I am ok with that on a cold winter day. The water is clean and the change rooms modern. The pool is fully tiled; they don’t build them like this. I was able to find plenty of 1P and 2P parking nearby. I walked away feeling very positive about my experience. I got a very good deal with 20 swims and 5 free swims for around $150.