I've been a member of 4 gyms since 2004. The first was a local, women-only gym that closed two years after my membership ended (was bought by a competitor....what a loss; such a great gym. It was pretty awesome: steam room, swedish sauna, weights and strength training, cardio room, classes (including spinning)....there was even child care for people who had kids, and an area where the staff could whip up health smoothies. This is where I fell in love with the Precor Elliptical (One of the first ellipticals ever on the market, so it's pretty old school. Love that thing.).It was around 40 dollars a month. At the time I thought that was expensive. I ended up not renewing it when it expired. Didn't know what I had.
The second gym was the YMCA, my first coed experience. Freaked me out at first. It was nice, but more expensive than my first gym, around 45-50 dollars a month. This is where I really got into Spinning, to the point where all I really went there for was to Spin. But then I got bored and stopped going.
The third gym was Anytime Fitness, also coed. It was open 24 hours per day and directly in the path between my work and my apartment. No classes, and 60 dollars monthly. Cardio, and all the weight machines and free weights and barbells you ever wanted. I went often, but not as often as I should have. And it was kind of boring....staff were hardly ever around, and it was often filled with grunting, weight lifting men. Anytime Fitness prided itself on having the newest equipment. And it did. It was just boring in there,
My fourth (and current) gym is Planet Fitness, by far the least expensive gym I've ever had the pleasure of being a member. Staff around regularly, although I still haven't been able to get an intro class from them. I was told you have to call a day or so in advance to schedule attendance of one which is kind of ridiculous. But! It was only like 30 dollars to join and I pay a little over 10 dollars monthly. That is crazy, INSANE for a gym. The price alone was motivation enough to join. They also have tanning, but I don't need a tan.
Tanning costs more per month. They have the most cardio equipment of any gym I've ever attended. They have policies against all that grunting and clanging of weights around. They have a circuit training room (kind of like Curves.....I haven't taken advantage of this yet, but I'm itching to). They have weights (machines, free, barbells). No classes or pool, and it's pretty out of the way for me, the largest negatives. It's coed, which I've grown to be ok with. The contract must be bought out if I break it, but we're talking like less than 70 dollars at this point, so no biggie). I'm happy with my choice.
The most important criteria for me when choosing a gym are:
1. Cost/price (including any joining/initiation fees).
2. Location.
3. Essentials (cardio and weight/strength training).
4. Amenities (classes, pools, saunas, ball courts, spas, towel service, etc.).
5. Rules and regulations (dress codes, security, variety in patronage, etc.).
6. Staff (are they nice, basically).
Good luck on the gym search!