25 replies to this topic

[Steve Heard]

I think we pay about $115 a month for a family of 4. I think the crowds will die down as the weather gets better, and as people discover that working out is work.

[Cinnadog]

My kids absolutely love the child care. They beg me to go to the gym (which I need ). My kids are playing dodge ball, basketball, musical chairs and parachute games. They are always entertained and kept busy plus they see kids from school.

What time do you usually take the kids?

I went once after 5 p.m., and the kids' club had about a hundred kids in it -- I wasn't comfortable leaving my kids in such a crowded and chaotic environment.

Before 5:00, the kids' club seems much less crowded. However, unfortunately they don't offer any activities for the kids. (The rock wall, gymnastics area, and kids' classes all seem to come available around 5). It seems to me the club is blatantly catering to working parents. I'd like to encourage them to offer something for moms and kids who come earlier in the day (say, between 3 pm and 5 pm).

We did try the pools yesterday. They are wonderful and plenty warm!!

[tgianco]

We love the new CFF. I once belonged to 24 hr, but they lost me years ago for so many reasons. My kids absolutely love the child care. They beg me to go to the gym (which I need ). My kids are playing dodge ball, basketball, musical chairs and parachute games. They are always entertained and kept busy plus they see kids from school.
I have seen staff cleaning seats/equipment on several occasions. I'm sure the staff is busy getting everyone familar with the equipment and maybe they will be more accessable later.

My daughter begs to go, too. The childcare folks are really nice.

For our family, the rate is $118 a month, including the daycare while we work out. We were getting calls (and still do) from Broadstone, and their family rate (w/o the tennis) has been lowered to $129.

Likes at CFF:
The equipment is great.
Environment is great.
Huge facility where I've never had a problem getting on any cardio.
Nice, friendly staff (seemingly high school kids, but they are really good kids...seemingly).
Great location.
It seems like a great place for teens to hang out, work out and meet their friends (better than other things they could be doing...haven't seen any acting out)

Dislikes:
Free weight area tends to be overrun by teens w/ bodies more reminiscent of Bonds (that's another discussion...a couple of those teens, again a couple, look like there's more going into them than protein shakes)
Need more classes, especially on the weekends for working folks (that X-bike class sounds cool)
TV channels can be funky (how about another music channel that plays more than Ashlee Simpson?)
It's hard to hear the announcements on the PA while you're working out as they're calling someone's parents to childcare

We love it, though. We last belonged to 24 Hour, and this is 10 times nicer.

[Brett911]

$2 per child, per visit. $4 per visit, 4 times per week, 52 weeks each year, divided by 12 months and it adds $70 per month to the cost of the membership. And that's not when my husband goes and takes the kids. The childcare the club provides is my only childcare, so I really notice the cost.

Unlimited childcare is included with our Broadstone membership. It's expensive ($154 for a family membership), but my husband uses the courts multiple times per week when the weather is nice and meets friends at other Sparetime clubs, too. Their childcare center is awesome, the pools rock and the club is really, really nice. It's the thing we splurge on and is a good value.

As the poster above mentions, it can be cheaper than what we pay. You can get a non-court membership cheaper.

Family Fitness Membership at BStone is $129 (no tennis). It's a great value for the level of service and amenaties offered.

BStone is also less crowded now that CFF is open. We like it even more now and our kids love the kids programs and the daycare for <6 is great and the Kids Club for 7> is also great.

[Al Waysrite]

Family Fitness Membership at BStone is $129 (no tennis). It's a great value for the level of service and amenaties offered.

BStone is also less crowded now that CFF is open. We like it even more now and our kids love the kids programs and the daycare for <6 is great and the Kids Club for 7> is also great.

I like Broadstone too, especially since they lowered the dues. One point alluded to earlier: Broadstone attracts a different clientele (snooty). I like that.

[Brett911]

I like Broadstone too, especially since they lowered the dues. One point alluded to earlier: Broadstone attracts a different clientele (snooty). I like that.

i disagree on the snooty comment. i do business wtih many people from BStone and that is also a reason for my membership. It's a club as in the name says. There's nothing wrong with having friends where you work out/excerise/play sports. I am unsure if other places have the same opportunities.

[cw68]

i disagree on the snooty comment. i do business wtih many people from BStone and that is also a reason for my membership. It's a club as in the name says. There's nothing wrong with having friends where you work out/excerise/play sports. I am unsure if other places have the same opportunities.

Broadstone is the third Sparetime club we've had as our main club. I really like it. One thing that really pleases me is that in the afternoon there's a lot of older kids (late elementary, middle school probably) hanging out. It just reinforces the warm, family-feel the Sparetime clubs have. When we regularly went to Gold River, the same people would be there at the same time everyday. It was really a friendly place. Whole families would be active in the tennis tournaments. I'm hoping Broadstone will be the same. I think it's great when kids and parents make activity and exercise part of their routine. That said, better head to the gym before lunch... maybe I'll even earn another trip to Carvel...

[rlsliger]

Family Fitness Membership at BStone is $129 (no tennis). It's a great value for the level of service and amenaties offered.

BStone is also less crowded now that CFF is open. We like it even more now and our kids love the kids programs and the daycare for <6 is great and the Kids Club for 7> is also great.

We just joined Broadstone in March. We have a 3 and 6 year old and they beg us to take them with us! So far, we're very happy.

[SacKen]

... It seems like a great place for teens to hang out, work out and meet their friends (better than other things they could be doing...haven't seen any acting out) ...

Overall, I love CFF... 100-times better than the Folsom 24-hour Fitness facility. However, the quote above is one of my biggest complaints! I don't mind teens being there to workout. That's great and I encourage it. But it gets a little annoying when they are all huddled around a machine on their cell phones yappin' away like they're at the mall. It's a gym! If you aren't going to workout, then shut your trap and get the he!! out of my way!

My wife complains that they are doing the same thing in the locker room... where cell phones aren't even allowed! So far, the staff doesn't seem to be enforcing the no cell in the locker room rule.

I agree with the TV issue. Odd that they only make a half-dozen channels available to us. My guess is that it is an equipment limitation. It looks like they feed the cable signal into other equipment for distribution (which is why KCRA Channel 3 is on channel 14??). Maybe that equipment only supports x number of channels.

[sat]

We (my family) love Broadstone. We used to live closer to it, and watched it being built. We were there for the opening, and have been members since. They have a nice family atmosphere. During the years, our family has grown with three children. My kids love to go there. Our kids are on the swim team, and it is nice to go as a family to work out. Plus, once a month, they have a Kid's Night Out, which is like a themed party for the kids. My kids absolutely like to go! It's a nice 4 hour break for the parents...my husband and I always go to a nice, leisurely dinner. The Kid's Night Out costs, I think, around $12 a child...a real bargain because they include dinner for the kids.

[jimv960]

Having been both at Broadstone(Spare time) and CFF (Orangevale and Folsom),
my family and I definitely prefer the latter, although I can surely see why Broadstone
'fits' other families better.
I have to say I've never seen a large enterprise like CFF Folsom brought 'online'
smoother, their execution was flawless.A few unavoidable exercise class conflicts to 'tune'
the system were all I noticed.An earlier poster alluded to very little horizontal surface
to 'hang out' on.I think that is part of their business model to cater to the GIGO (get in
get out) model to maximize membership to space/equipment ratio (hence $$$).
In summary,Broadstone is more of a 'club' while CFFF is slanted toward the GIGO
crowd.My daughter 'hangs out' more at CFFF than BRC....go figure?