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Hi Margle

I searched high and low for a suitable gym and it is hard!

I know of a very nice one near Octagon.  Not sure if I can mention name and location re advertiseing rules. Can tell you a bit about it then if you are interested you can send me a message.

Pros
Very clean with nice equiptment.  Friendly English speaking staff (including very good trainers). Nice members many of whom are expats and speak English. TV screen on cardio eqpt has a few English channels - not great selection but better than nothing!  Small so never busy. Nice swiming pool, jacuzzi and steam room/sauna.  Can pay monthly so not tied into a contract

Cons
No classes if you like those - though there may be pilates and yoga. There used to be these classes but I haven't asked about them in a while.  A bit expensive

This sounds great!  The biggest pro for me has to be how close it is to home.  God knows I won't make myself go if it's too far a walk in the cold, cold winter.

I have your email now and you have mine, so if you can share the name of it, I'll check it out this evening.

If you are at Octagon it is in a side street and a few minutes walk.  Will send you a message!

Margle wrote:

Hello!

I am new to Budapest, and I have managed to get most things sorted out, except for finding a gym.  Could people recommend a good gym to me?  I am living in the 6th district, near the Oktogon and I am working downtown, so anywhere near those areas would be great. I don't mind it if it (a little bit!) expensive, as long as it is nice and has good cardio/group classes, but I don't want to spend too much of course

I've googled gyms in Budapest, but many of the webpages are in Hungarian.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi there,

depending on your taste when it comes to fitness centers, but I advise you the GILDA MAX centers.
Why ?
Well, there is many of them, and the good news, they are 24 hours open EVERY single day.
They are modern and offers all the equipment a fitness center needs.
You will find all type of people there, but I have to say that they are a kind of bodybuilding oriented...
Also they are cheap compares to other places offering the same quality.
Depending on location it starts for month to month membership from 9.800ft to 14.000ft.
If you need additional info fell free to send me an email to :
albertorey1966@gmail.com
By the way welcome to the jungle ! )

Luis Alberto

Thanks Luis, I'll check it out!  Appreciate your advice!

M.

Hi Margle & others--How is your gymm search going? I've met a few private individuals offering classes (1 Zumba, 1 Pilates), both speak English and are very happy to teach in both languages. Zumba is close to Astoria, Pilates class is in Jokai ter.

Atma Center (few locations in Budapest including close to Clark Adam ter & Ulloi Ut) teach Yoga and have English classes.

Find some links on our blog post listing gyms and other resources in athomenetwork.blogspot.com/2010/11/expat-resources-and-websites-budapest.html- Budapest for expats

Hi,
I guess this is a late post as your question was last year, but I recently moved into the Obuda area and have been a few times to the 'Worldclass gym'(worldclass.hu) in the Sunpalace building. I would certainly reccomend it as it has a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi as well as the usual equipment and classes.

Hope you find somewhere good.

S

Thanks everyone for your replies. 

In case someone else is looking, in the end, I decided to go for Holmes Place.  It's expensive, sure (around 70 euros a month, which is more than I wanted to spend) but I think it's excellent. Great classes, pool, all the bells and whistles.  holmesplace.hu

It was a close call between Holmes and World Class, which is significantly cheaper.  World Class has lovely staff, a beautiful view from the gym over the river, and I think has great classes too, but it's quite a bit smaller and doesn't have a pool.  Still, highly recommended as well.  .worldclass.hu

Hi every one.

I just wanted to react to your post regarding the 2 places you guys are talking about.

I would like to give my opinion about it with a 28 years of experience in the fitness world. I'm actually a bodybuilder and I also have a fitness certification. I also understand that every one has different needs and motivations when deciding to join a fitness center.

Both of the places you guys are talking about are actually looking good at the first sight. Looking Luxury and located in expensive and fancy places in Budapest. But the fitness equipment they offer is a way too weak. Of course it's all depending of how often you go to the gym and what your goals are...

But I think when living in Hungary, it does not make sense to pay a fitness place a way more expensive than most of the countries in west Europe.
To give 2 examples when I lived few months ago in Dublin Ireland, I joined the Ben Dunnes gym for 180€ for a year (49.500ft/year). The gym was FULL LOADED with all the equipment you can imagine, not to mention the 50m swimming pool.
In California I paid the 24hours fitness membership from Magic Johnson 25USD/month. (5000ft/month)

The GILDAMAX fitness center at the Allee mall center (XI district) offers a modern gym as good or even better than the centers you mentioned and it's open 24h/day for 12.000ft/month with a huge 2 hours free parking.

I personally go to a place not to far from Allee where I pay 7000ft/month. I agree it's not that luxury but it's big with real heavy bodybuilding equipment. Just by taking a look at the people's body girls included you see it's a serious place to workout.

I think the World Class and Holmes place are just good to show off, just take a look at the people there, even the fitness coach look like they never ever did any sport in their lives !
It's definitely not a good place to workout seriously whatever your goals are. But the best place if you want to spent lots of money.

Hi Luis,

Thanks for giving your opinion.  I think if you're a serious body builder, then you're right, probably Holmes or World Class isn't the best place for you.  From your picture, you look really fit!  So I imagine you need a place with serious weights!

It does depend on what you're looking for. For me Holmes (and World Class) are good options.  I want a nice, bright, friendly place, that's close to home and work, and most importantly has good classes and other cardio options.  I do yoga, step, spin, cardio-kickbox and a whole bunch of other group workout classes, which are excellent at Holmes. 

I also agree with you that the price is very high, and more than I expected to pay.  But the gyms ticked all the boxes for me, so I was happy to pay it.  Many people probably wouldn't be, that's totally understandable.

I do take issue with your final paragraph, mate! I don't go there to show off - I look AWFUL during workouts   "The people there" as you say, have always been courteous and friendly with me.  And I've had good experiences with the fitness coaches.  They will tailor a workout plan for you based on what your goals are, and the ones I've dealt with have been knowledgeable and professional.

Also, Luis, so this doesn't turn into a "my gym is better than your gym" debate, I'm sure Gildamax is excellent too, and I appreciated your advice about it.  Just too far away from my home and work to be practical for me. 

Aint it grand to know there's a gym for everyone in this town.

Anyone else have advice on gyms or info on costs so people who are new to Budapest can compare their options?

I have trained at some fab BB gyms in LA and London (I was a pro athlete (not BB) myself many moons ago) and the prob here is there is no cardio eqpt in many BB gyms I have seen and also some have been too dirty too shower in(!).  Also many free weights and machines are often just not geared to the small weight increments girls need and don't adjust well if you are shorter with a small frame.  Maybe I have just been to the wrong gyms

Now I am a middle aged lady I prefer the gyms like World Class.  Being old and fat I am more into hideing than showing off it has to be said!

Well, I go to the gym to workout, not for the shower... :-)
And today's most of the gyms has cardio equipment too.
Of course if you go to a small district gym they may have a small amount of cardio machines. Logical, a cardio machine cost more than 2.000€ each for the cheapest ones. If you have 100-200 members maybe the investment is not worth it !
But I remind you that Hungarians since many years has many female fitness and male bodybuilding champions. And back in the time there was no luxury fitness centers in Budapest. Whatever the showers looked like they were champions...
And when I'm talking about showing off it means that for some Hungarians it sounds good to say that they workout in this or that gym. It's a social level symbol, like saying I drive a Prosche...

I think I have probably been to not so good gyms as I don't know my way around the gyms here yet. Almost every one I saw had no cardio and I 'found' about 8 easily commutable. However, if I train then go to school afterwards then I DO need a shower!!!!!!  I like to train hard so I sweat - particularly in summer. No way am I sitting all day smelly and damp!!!!!!

Hi guys,

I'm from Los Angeles and will be moving to Budapest this month for some academic work. Can anyone recommend a good gym that is on the same level of quality as the prominent Gym brands in the USA (24 Hour Fitness etc). I'm not a meat head who requires only free weights, but am also not into organized classes. I just need a good balance of modern free weights, machine weights, and good functional cardio equipment. Any help appreciated!

Raoul

Hi there,

well if you want a gym with the same quality or standards like in USA here in Budapest you will pay at least 200USD/month or more!

Thanks for the info. I was a member of 24 Hour Fitness in the States and was hoping to get a membership with a gym with similar standards in Budapest. It sounds like this may be difficult.

As LuisAlberto says - it is not easy unless you have lots of money.  It will also depend where you live as to where you go. Personally as I like to train twice a day I want a gym close to home, but if you only go 2-3 times a week and want a pool and to spend 2-3 hours there then distance may not be so important.

Good luck finding somewhere

I'm guessing I will end up on Andrassy near the Oktagon. The apartment complex I am considering has a small gym but of course that will not be sufficient for me. My apartment salesperson has recommended Holmes, but after visiting the web site, it appears geared towards the upmarket crowd who are more interested in taking organized group classes rather than individual free/machine weight users. I guess I will have to come to Budapest and actually visit a few before deciding.

Hi all,

I reckon I'll be going with Holmes Place as my apartment is just a couple of hundred meters away. Coming from the US, i find HP to be rather unamusingly overpriced - probably twice the price of a good gym in the US, with half the equipment, space, and functionality. But alas, it seems the best option given.

I guess you must pay the specialty premium for something "almost like in the US of A!" :-)

When we lived in the US, my wife bought some imported Hungarian specialty ingredients from a weird little store at similar price/performance ratios.

Did you know when the first McDonalds opened in Hungary, it was positioned as "a fancy, American restaurant" and priced accordingly?
Check out the pictures:

Yep, Holmes is awfully expensive. And I hate how they try to confuse you with varying pricing schemes and hide little fees in there.

I thought it might help people negotiate for a better price if they know how much other people pay. I pay 20,250ft per month. Anyone get a better deal?

I miss Planet Fitness!  $10 a month.  No one cared who you are, there were fat people, old people using walkers, pretty hot people, annoying mouthy people, who cares?  They kept the showers and equipment clean.  You chose your machine, plugged in your ear buds, and let everyone else disappear while you got healthy and fit for TEN DOLLARS A MONTH.  After having a price like that, there's no way I'm paying for a gym in Budapest.  I lost almost 10 pounds just being here for 2 months!

I do miss going to the gym and putting exercise in my routine, but being creative is what gets you through a tough economy.  Bundle up, and run in the park.

I know the topic here is gyms, but I also would be interested to know if there's any dance class in English around Budapest. Zumba or Step class could also work. Anyone knows any info about this? Thanks.

Hi Wanna.38. There's definitely Zumba around - I've done a few classes at Holmes Place (in English) and I got the impression there's a real Zumba movement here. Have you had any luck with just googling it?

Also, there's step at most gyms here. I don't know if you want to join a gym or are just looking for drop-in dance/step classes, but both Holmes and World Class have packed class schedules including step. A new gym has opened up at Bank Place, which looks to have many classes as well.

Here's some links to class schedules to give you an idea of what's on offer:



Let us know what you find about the dance classes, I'd be interested to hear about what's out there. There should be samba around too - I keep seeing signs for samba claseses.

a drop in dance class would be good, but I don't mind joining a gym although I can tell both worldclass and holmes is a little bit expensive. Is it possible to sign up just for the classes? would it be cheaper?

I also found this place called familia fitness
I see the prices aren't that expensive.

I'm very very hesitant about living in Budapest, a possibility in the future. But this is good info and enlightening to know there's fitness/gym where English is spoken. I've been to Budapest a few times but only short stays.

Has anyone tried Astoria Fitness ? Its not very far from the Synagogue area and Astoria Metro. I hear its small but conveniently located.

Yardiebarbie, I've been here a year and I get by fine, despite only speaking a handful of words in Hungarian. Many people in Budapest speak English, and for those who don't, I find you can get by with a big smile and a lot of mime. At Holmes Place, the exercise classes are run by bilingual people, so you get both Hungarian and English.

Raoul9, I haven't tried Astoria Fitness, but would also like to here from anyone who has. Under the "special offers" section of their website: astoriafitness.hu/ there's an invitation to try the gym for free. And monthly/season passes look significantly cheaper than Holmes - about half the price.

Thanks Margle, glad to know...

This is a bit more than gym but very nice indeed

A bit cheaper version



Both are definitely worth checking.

Forgot this none 

Hi all,

just sharing a nice fitness center i found after A LONG time of searching for one...

its a branch of worldclass, and it is located in the Marriott hotel (V. district). the thing about this place is that since it is part of a hotel, the equipment is in high standard, the staff is fluent in English, and the prices are quite low (i pay less than 9,000ft per month, and there is another 20% discount from RoomMatesBudapest.com on top of that, so it comes down to a pretty low amount).  the downside is that there's no swimming pool (unlike Holmes), but it still offers a a decent value for money as a whole.

Davewo, this is fantastic!  That gym is great and the view is beeeeautiful. Plus, I never use the pool at Holmes anyway, so that's no loss.

It's this one, right? worldclass.hu/health-academy-marriott/

My only concern with it is that it's fairly small and it might get really busy/full in peak hours (5pm-8pm) - can you let us know? Also, have you done any of the group fitness classes and can review for us?

Can anyone get that discount on the roommates website, or do you have to be a member/get a card?

Hey there,
Does anyone know how can I get rid of my 2-year contract at Holmes Place? I signed it in April 2011, but I really do not like it anymore. Im basically fed up with them...they charge too much money and offer very little compared to what I'm used to in other countries. Any experiences with them? I know they are very pushy when it comes to persuading people...
All your ideas are highly appreciated!!

I'm a Holmes member and bought my entire year upfront, although apparently for not much less than I would have had to pay if I paid monthly.

After a few months of sporadic workouts there, I feel that it all comes down to when you go. My schedule occasionally allows me to go between 0800 and 1100 on weekdays, when there is almost no one there. Unfortunately, early morning seems quite brisk and the gym is apparently packed between the usual 1700-2000 post work rush.

I'm basically resigned to the fact that gyms in Hungary are never going to live up to standards I'm accustomed to in the U.S., but as Hungarian gyms go, Holmes is not too bad. Its not really a gym for people who are into resistance training. The free weight section is quite small and the machine weights section is significantly smaller than other gyms I've been a member of outside Hungary.

The cardio section however, is quite impressive. There are a lot of good, clean, and functional cardio machines. I feel like they squandered a chance to have a better gym by including a pool area which may have been better utilized for free and machine weights, at which point the current weight section could have been used as a personal training only area. I'm going to pick up a short term month to month membership at Astoria fitness since its virtually 10 seconds from my front door, just for cardio in the mornings. I haven't checked out Worlds but a friend tells me its quite nice there.

I can recommend WorldClass Fitness, high quality fitness club, centrally located, with extras, and I think they don't have to high prices!

Just to throw into the mix for poeple still looking - I've just joined Broadway Fitness on O Utca in VI. It has everything, classes, pool, steam etc for I think good value prices. I got my 6 month membership for 75k.

I'm not wild about these gym pools to be honest, never big enough for real exercise and I always feel like I'm swimming in a bath.

I am a frequesnt visitor to Budapest, I am am looking for a gym when i am there, I would prefer 24 hours but I am not fussed, I am not looking for anything fancy i need free weights and a matted area and a shower, any ideas guys