Midtown Le Sporting Club Sanctuaire

This is NOT a kid-friendly club! Beware of false advertising. This is the club that has low-to-zero children tolerance, depending on the hours and on how much administration likes or dislikes you. I was a member of this club for nearly 6 years and couldn't be happier, back then. However, with the change of the management, a lot of things changed for worse.
1) The club charges extra (about 65$ per month) for the children to enter into it, which makes sense if you bring them to the activities/pool, or to the daycare facilities.
2) However, if your child is over 8 years old, he/she is not admissible into the sporting club's daycare. Furthermore, if your schedule does not allow to bring your child to the activities, you are out of luck: you will get stuck paying child entry fees so that you can babysit your child at the club facilities (which I do at home for free), instead of working out.
NB: You are not supposed to take shower or visit the washroom if that means letting your child out of sight.
4) If your child is younger than 8 y.o, try convincing him or her to sit in a small, preemies-toddler oriented stuffy daycare. And be prepared that it closes at 5: 00 in the weekends.
5). The 70+y.o. Complain that the children run around. To fix the problem, Midtown Sanctuaire simply told us that our children should sit still and not move (yet pay the entrance fees!)
In a nutshell, the Midtown sporting club charges parents for bringing in kids, but does not provide adequate babysitting services or enough activities that accomodate the clientèle schedule (instead, Midtown keeps promising to improve their services). That basically means that the parents pay their monthly membership fees (200$+ per person plus another 65$ for the children), so that they can supervise their kids at the sporting club territory.
5) Ohhh.did I mention that the children and I WERE REPEATEDLY HARRASED by a no-class-bully receptionist? On the last occasion, I was interrogated for 15 minutes upon entering the club, as the receptionist was convinced that the kids were not registered as members. The same day, this haughty and arrogant receptionist (the face of the Club!) suddenly stormed out of her desk, just to rudely interrupt and pull me out in the middle of an important conversation, because she wanted a piece of info on my file. Both my husband and I are have humility and high tolerance, but this time, we felt they our limits were pushed. Guess what? When we filed a complaint about the receptionist's behaviour to CEO, not only WE WERE NOT OFFERED AN APOLOGY; WE WERE EXPELLED from the facilities WITH NO FURTHER COMMUNICATION or EXPLANATION.
Welcome to the Midtown Sanctuaire Sporting Club - geriatrics dating club, where parents can't exercise, where the management exist for themselves and protect bullies while insinuating the motto: "some club members are more equal then the others".
Did I mention that I have been treated better in Dollarama?

Meilleur club a Mtl. Tout inclus, super services, terrain de basket génial, salle de musculation complète et cours collectifs très bien. Merci a toute l'équipe!

Scandaleux ne peuvent pas dire le prix annuel avec une impolitesse du jamais vu juste pour une salle de sport

Plus qu'un club de sport! Parfait endroit pour se relaxer après une bonne séance de sport. Les cours collectifs sont top et le personnel est agréable.

Lieu d'exception pour ceux et celles qui souhaitent vivre une vraie expérience personnalisée d'un club de sport. Accueil chaleureux avec une équipe très attentionnée. Les installations sont modernes et les activités sont nombreuses. À découvrir!

I’ve been a member of this club for 5+ years, and go almost every single day to work out, shower and then work from the cafeteria - it’s a nice change from the at-home office.

I’m very disappointed in the decline in value we get with the tennis membership: 5 out of 6 courts are now booked for paying classes/group lessons, it’s physically impossible to book them in the system. The regular players are so fed up, that we agreed on our internal Whatsapp that posting an online review like this one is the only way to put pressure: we’ve spoken with the management and people in charge of tennis, and the response is “we can’t do anything, we need to give groups and payed courses priority”.

Very nice place. We went for a massage, fair prices and the service was nice and super friendly staff! The bistro offers quality food at a very fair price as well. Overall good experience!

La majorité des commentaires sont en français et on nous répond en anglais. Franchement, grand manque de classe.

Update: Diane Saucier the General Manager told me the club ordered new basketballs. Over a month later, nothing. Dozens of request from many members and nothing. You need to do better.

There is 1 usable basketball and it isn't as good as the staff ball held on reserve. The YMHA has better equipment management.

Less opening hours. Cheaper equipment. Poor maintenance.

For the most expensive gym in the city it is sad. This place used to be the gold standard.

Voilà 25 ans que je suis membre du Sanctuaire et je suis désolée de constater que, depuis quelque temps déjà, les conditions et le service de ce club n’ont fait que détériorer …!
Il y a eu continuellement des travaux qui semblent ne jamais finir, le stationnement extérieur qui a été fermé durant tout l’été et jusqu’à date, celui de l’intérieur en partie aussi, à cause des travaux qui le rendent difficilement accessible.l
L’eau de la piscine qui est souvent froide et même qu’elle était presque gelée depuis presque 3 semaines déjà. Hier, elle était à 22 degrés et j’ai dû renoncer, une fois de plus, à faire mes exercices, bien que c’est la seule activité que je fais dans ce club,
L’excuse qu’on m’a donnée c’était une pièce de rechange qu’ils attendaient de recevoir afin d’effectuer une réparation.
Sans mentionner la difficulté que j’ai eue souvent à pouvoir rejoindre Diane Saucier à qui j’avais demandé depuis plusieurs mois déjà, d’avoir l’autorisation d’accèder au Club par la porte intérieure du garage comme je le faisais ultérieurement, Ceci me permettrait d’éviter les escaliers, ayant des problèmes aux genoux.
En premier temps elle m’avait expliqué qu’il lui serait impossible de le faire vu que c’était durant la période de VOVID, où les masques et d’autres mesures étaient obligatoires.donc elle m’avait dit que je n’avais pas le choix que de passer absolument par la réception.
Bien sûr, que c’était compréhensible à ce moment là.
Mais, maintenant qu’il n’y a plus toutes ces restrictions, je ne vois vraiment pas une bonne raison valable de ne pas pouvoir y accéder comme je l’avais toujours fait auparavant.
Et pourtant, avec tous ces problèmes, j’ai continué à payer toujours à temps mes tarifs d’abonnement mensuels, (qui, d’ailleurs, ne sont pas négligeables) sans avoir eu aucune compensation de votre part pour tous ces inconvénients.
J’espère que vous allez revoir mon dossier afin de me permettre de pouvoir continuer à faire partie de votre club.
Merci d’avance

Horrible Customer Service, Terrible Management. Arrogant. Expected better for the price you have to pay. I wanted to watch my sister play tennis, and they told me I would have to buy a membership. Do not recommend!

The facilities are quite nice, and are likely with the cost depending on your tastes. I'm giving a two star review for the high pressure sales tactics, the poor customer service, and the dishonesty I was treated with.
I signed up specifically for the classes, and was told that if they weren't to my liking that I could cancel my membership without penalty and I'd have the fees I did pay refunded. I did have questions, and emailed the sales guy as he instructed, but he didn't respond to the emails I sent. I forwarded my emails to summertime ride for a response, but they didn't answer either. The poor customer service really didn't make the place feel inviting at all, especially after I was so clear about my concerns and the sales guy was so clear about how eager he was to help me.
The class I tried was worse than any yoga or pilates class I've taken in years, and so I asked to cancel my membership. But no refund was given. Considering the pricing at this place, that makes the cost of that one class over 10x the cost of a yoga or pilates class elsewhere.
It's too bad, because there's a lot to appreciate here.

Cela fait plus de 10ans que je suis membre et je peux vous dire comment le Club a malheureusement beaucoup changé. La qualité de l'accueil et particulièrement la tenue et la propreté de l'espace extérieur. Les nouveaux membres, je me passe de commentaire. Vous avez beau parler à la direction, rien ne change et je ne vous parle pas de l'arrogance de certains (es) employés (es). De plus, on vous met quasiment à la porte 15 minutes avant la fermeture. Pour 233$ par mois, je pense quitter le Club.

Bonsoir
j’ai vu un charmant jeune homme la bas, d’environ 1m70, avec des lunettes et d’origine arménienne il me semble, si quelqu’un à ses cordonnees

J'ai eu une très mauvaise expérience de cet endroit, en particulier avec la direction du club, qui traite ses membres (et le staff) de manière odieuse, impossible de communiquer avec eux, alors qu'on paye le prix fort! Ils ne me reverront plus, le YMCA est plus accueillant.

This place has top-notch facilities and good coaches, but the organization and communication effectiveness is at times outrageously subpar. I was a member for a month until I could no longer stand the inconsistent service.

Je suis très contente de mon inscription à ce club. Je suis un peu décue que le bain à vapeur au vestiaire des femme ne fonctionne toujours pas et cela depuis la fin de l'été dernier.

Je me suis réabonné après plusieurs années et le club est toujours à son meilleur. Toujours propre, personnel courtois. Le meilleur club en ville selon moi!

Je suis membre depuis 4 ans et malheureusement depuis le Covid l'ambiance s'est détérioré et je ne m'y sens plus le bienvenue malgré que j'ai développé de bonnes relations avec plusieurs instructeurs et d'autres membres. Depuis plusieurs mois, le personnel est menaçant et intransigeant nous empêchant après une session de tennis de 18 à 19h de prendre une douche et de quitter de façon respectable. Certains membre du personnel nous surveillent comme de véritable prisonnier durant la partie de tennis debout sur le côté du terrain alors qu'il reste 10 minutes et nous suivent jusqu'au vestiaire pour nous forcer à quitter rapidement en nous intimidant. Jamais vu ça nul part un tel comportement est inadmissible.

This gym is THE ONE thing I miss the most from living in Montreal. The Spin classes I attended religiously - Bahman's class & Vincent's class - were top notch. Bahman's music is fun and uplifting and masterfully mixed. His uplifting energy is contagious and makes you forget how hard your body is working to make it through the rigorous training. So much FUN. Vincent's video imagery that plays on the large screens takes you away to another world. Such a unique experience! I made so many friends at this club. It always felt like coming H O M E. And Bernie. More than a top performing trainer - she is a powerful presence. You can't miss her with her long braids and her big smile that never failed to brighten up my days. This club is the best investment you can make in you physical & mental health. <3 xX - Andie Alexa

Super très beau gym mais tout leur cours de spinning sont toujours pleins. À 200$ par mois, c'est inadmissible. Moi je compte me désinscrire si je ne vois pas d'amélioration rapide. Dommage!

Magnifique centre de conditionnement physique. L’éventail des services offerts est impressionnant et on y trouve tout ce dont on a besoin (et même plus!). Le personnel est courtois et professionnel et les locaux et équipements sont entretenus de manière impeccable. Compte tenu tout ce qu’on peut y faire, le prix en vaut amplement la peine.

Malgré l’apparence et le prix apportez vos cadenas. J’y suis allé une seule fois et je me suis fais volé des affaires. Il restait juste moi et les membres du staff…

This review is based off the AWFUL spin classes at the Sanctuaire. I'm incredibly disappointed by the quality of the classes & instructors. For the following reasons;

1. The music is incredibly cringeworthy and dated, songs like "eye of the tiger", "La Vida Loca" are intertwined with random EDM music for 50 minutes - the music has no flow, stops and plays in-between, and does not resonate with younger members, who are becoming a large part of your membership base.

2. The instructors are unmotivating & awful. Instructors consistently get on and off the bike in the middle of class and yell annoying commands like "push! Push! Push! ", "Faster! ", "Go go go! ". The current instructors are unaware of how spin evolved, take for example Peloton & Soul Cycle classes. Spin should be a motivational experience that the instructor takes with their class. What I see is a drill sergeant who is not biking and simply yelling random commands.

Advice to management: Please explore finding new instructors who are experienced, passionate and understand what people expect when they go to a spin class in 2021. The younger people who attend would love to hear newer music and receive high-quality motivational commands in classes. Peloton & Soul Cycle classes should be a benchmark of what members would like to see when attending your classes.

Amazing facilities and good trainers but unfortunately the service is consistently subpar. I was a member for 7 years but service and experience are important to me and, alas, I have cancelled my membership. Want to be at a place that values its customers.

Le Midtown Sanctuaire est un club à la fine pointe de la technologie, autant pour l'équipement que pour le côté sanitaire. Le personnel est très aimable et toujours à l'écoute de ses membres. Nous sommes comme une petite famille, c'est très convivail.
Bref, le Midtown Sanctuaire est un petit secret bien gardé!

Extrêmement propre, sécuritaire. Beaucoup d'espace et de lumière. Personnel professionnel, courtois et aimable

Being a 21-year member, I love all the high-tech exercise equipment, workout classes, spinning and tennis that Midtown offers.

Incredible, top of its category, primarily indoor multi sport facility Including tennis, squash & racket ball courts and a swimming pool and SPA

Need To Say, Great Gym and Amenities!
A Sporting Club To The Highest Level! Staff and Coaches are extremely Kind and helpful!
Taking COVID Precautions Very seriously!
I recommend This Sporting Club To All!
Thanks Chris!

Le Midtown c'est un style de vie. Je n'ai pas besoin de motivation pour y aller, c'est tout simplement un réel plaisir pour le corps et l'esprit. Que ce soit pour les cours en groupe, pour relaxer au bord de la piscine ou pour un massage au M Spa, mon expérience est toujours à la hauteur de mes attentes. Merci à toute l'équipe)

Top class sports club ; one of the biggest selling points on why I decided to join is their commitment to its members safety during COVID. The measures they have in place are second to none and some of the equipment installed is top notch hospital grade. The price is steep but you more than get what you pay for

Beware! They ask you to sign one year contract while changing the terms of services after. Before I signed the contract, the sales named Mathieu told me that I could practise serve alone. He also told me that I could have 4 tennis group lessons for free but they never provided tennis group lessons for those at level 1.5-2.0. I regret paying for the tennis membership for the whole year. They allow their employees who are not even tennis members to play on the court while I paid for the membership $361.02 per month but cannot practise my serve. It is not worth it and I can't wait to cancel the contract this coming August. I would give a zero rating if possible.

Bonjour Mme Saucier,
Merci d’avoir changé le sauna des femmes. C’est un vrai sauna maintenant et la température est parfaite. Aussi les fontaines d’eau c’est très bien.

I had the privilege of being employed by this club (moved on an offer more adapted to current circumstances). Privilege is the apt term, and no undue flattery, as the mere exposure to the perspectives and behaviors of management, employees and clientele is eye opening. The reigning mentality is a winner's. Business is valued, and those who transact with this facility will be catered to. I've witnessed it at all levels.

Great fitness facility. The low rating is for the direct experience with Stephane Boivin. I went into his office to ask about two personal trainers I saw on the floor bc it goes with my schedule. Started off describing issue and then went into naming the trainer Liam and a shorter guy next to him but was cut off half way through speaking to tell me that they are busy and do I think they would drop what they are doing to come to me? ! But interrupting me and making an assumption and what I was saying he was completely incorrect as he didn’t let me finish speaking I was going to ask about them and their back ground and if they are open not that I assumed they would drop what they were doing. To compound the rudeness he did this in front of my business partner who was also taken aback and staid in the room and described to me how he told him he would forgive me and that he has worked there 30 years and that it is a small family atmosphere and they he will pick out someone for him in next 3 days. As a person from the US it is shocking to pay what I do here and to have anyone interrupt me while speaking and furthermore to not apologize and rather spin it on me. One of worst customer experiences I have had in years bc it left me angry when I was trying to book and pay a lot of money instead of letting me finish one sentence he cut me off. I think it is discrimination against English I have found in Montreal if you don’t attempt French then French people ignore you or act like they don’t understand you but this isn’t Starbucks it is suppose to be a high caliber sports club.

Jean-Philippe est un super entraîneur! Le gym est super! La salle de yoga et le spa sont très agréable. La piscine et la terrasse durant l'été est un must!

Je suis resté membre pendant deux ans au Midtown. Satisfait au début, je me suis vite rendu compte que de très nombreuses personnes (6/7 personnes chaque soir) entrent sans payer dans le club parce qu’ils sont amis avec des membres du personnel de l’accueil. A 210$ par mois le membership, je ne trouve juste pas normal qu’il suffise d’avoir son chum à l’accueil pour ne rien payer.

Les installations sont complètes mais particulièrement vieillissantes, sans investissement de la part de l’administration. Vraiment dommage.

I’ve been to a lot of gyms in my life and one thing that this place is not is a gym. It’s a lot more than that. It’s like being part of a country club. Job well done. From a perspective of a client it’s enjoyable to use the gym or tennis facilities and my favourite the outdoor pool in the summer. To have something to eat while lounging and enjoying the sunny weather. Can’t wait for summer 2020

Excellent gym / espace de vie. Bon personnel et clientèle agréable. Je ne connais d'autre endroit comparable à Montréal. Membre depuis + de 7 ans, je ne peux me voir aller ailleurs.

Luxueux, complet, staff gentil. Installations magnifiques, vestiaires propres. Coûteux, mais c’est un investissement pour la santé! Je recommande fortement

This place derserves zero stars. No consideration for others, any point in time. Make every interaction count even the small one they are all relevant satisfaction is a rating loyalty is a brand. Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it, is what the customer gets out of it. Be stubborn about your goals, and flexible about your methods. Leaders goes above and beyond. Show value create a experience and always strive to exceed customers expectations. If you have the goal to deliver an experience so great that the customer will return and will recommend you then you’re on the path to success.

For those applying for a job here, beware that the job description does not match the actual position they are looking to fill. The hiring manager asks illegal questions such as your age and origin, and some posts are discriminating against gender where males are not accepted for the jobs which are not reasonably presupposed to be carried out by a person of specific gender.

Clients très hautains, riche et donc regardent les gens de hauts alors que certains sont bêtes comme leurs pieds. C'est un nid à riche et vieux qui s'emmerdent, crachent sur les employés avec leurs airs supérieur. Les tarifs sont également très chers, autant aller au cepsum à 5min d'ici, mais on dirait que rester dans un cercle fermé et avoir quelques accessoires en plus à un prix.

The Oxford dictionary defines a sanctuary as being a place of refuge and rest, especially for endangered, rare and exotic animals. There, they are cared for, treated with the love, equality and dignity they were intended to deserve.

Midtown Sanctuary is exactly that for me. It is not only a wellness haven for humanity, but a community of unified individuals who have all chosen to live Life instead of merely existing.

I have been going to this gym for 8 years now, and the staff and trainers are amazing! Nothing bad to say. They always find new ways to keep improving and offer a better service any which way they can!

Quite pricey but the facilities are good.

Some negatives are the piped in musak almost everywhere can be disturbing and especially loud in the very early mornings.

Also there are tv screens everywhere as if we needed them for lack having tvs at home. Very distracting.

Dining area can also be noisy and although the food is ok, the prices are double those from the average restaurant.

The pool is relatively small with no deep end.

There are few lanes and given the aqua fitness classes and private lessons, even those are limited for free swims.

Nice dry sauna and steam room. Very good hot tub.

I called in to the Club to inquire about membership and to visit as well as try out the gym. I was to meet Jonathan, who greeted me largely unprepared for the meeting. We had a quick tour after which we sat down. He proceeded to explaining the about the courses offered and presenting the different price packages for the membership. He would have had me understand tennis lessons were included year-round in the price of the membership had I not inquired with multiple more questions to find out the real deal. Jonathan spoke extremely fast and did not seem in tune with me at all. At the end of the conversation he abrasively said: “Now it’s time for you to give me your credit card”. His tone was so aggressive but I tried to end this malaise by pretending it was a joke. He made me understand it was not. Jonathan proceeded to back out of his initial offer of having me try out the gym facility by saying he would charge me 26$ for it. I told him I thought our understanding was different. He suddenly had no recollection of what we had spoken about on the phone. This Club prides itself in being the best in Montreal but I for one will never step foot in this place again. It was a waste of my time to go there, the meeting with Jonathan was borderline disturbing, and the Club is actually quite busy and loud. VERY poor new membership sales program, as evidenced by Jonathan’s meeting with me ending in one hour of my time lost and this poor review for the Club (in hopes that other people will think twice about joining this establishment or taking a meeting with Jonathan).

To make a long and sickening story short, Midtown and a fitness coach have lured me in and manipulated me to become a member in April 2018. Since then, I have had unauthorized personal training sessions charged to my account which payment is still pending. The sessions never took place. The trainer and I were personal friends and did workouts together, but the trainer is a boot camp coach, I'm a physique athlete. Why would I hire a boot camp coach?

I contacted administration and requested that my membership be cancelled, I was asked why I wish to cancel. I provided them with information about the trainer scamming me and they have yet to reply, however, the trainer is still employed there and I have not returned since June 19.

The trainer has now contacted me and harassed me with a fake Facebook account.

Thanks Midtown