Equinox Palo Alto

Had an amazing experience joining Equinox! I worked with Stephanie, who made the entire sign-up process seamless, welcoming, and incredibly easy. I've absolutely loved my experience here so far—the facilities are top-notch and the atmosphere is great. Highly recommend!

I've had a great experience at Equinox Palo Alto. The facility is clean, well-equipped, and has a welcoming atmosphere that makes every visit something to look forward to. I especially want to call out Stephanie Lai, who made my sign up process seamless from start to finish. She was incredibly professional, responsive to all my questions, and genuinely went above and beyond to make sure I felt comfortable and set up for success. Her attentiveness made the whole process smooth and easy, and it's the kind of personalized service that sets this location apart. Highly recommend!

How can Equinox charge $300 a month from members and have trashy staff work at a premium gym?

Their instructor physically attacks members for simply mildly chuckling in class as a brand new member for being shocked at his background that was publicly available. Perhaps embarrassed to be found out about fleecing people and therefore retaliating with members?

Members are allowed to ask questions on a trainer’s background - this is tablestakes. Has no respect for members nor has basic manners. Putting your hand on someone is highly unprofessional behavior. On top of that he insults you on social media too on your person! Yet doesn’t get terminated!

The staff pretend to be celebrities on Instagram and expect some kind of special treatment. They manipulate and turn other trainers against you if you don’t feel the need to engage with them beyond a basic thank you after class.

This instructor incorrectly assumes that members want to date him if you simply look up his credentials as a new member and run into his publicly available background. He retaliates by turning other trainers against you if his assumptions are wrong. Super absurd behavior when you are in the wrong.

No one should be above ethics, professionalism, or the law. This is supposed to be a professionally run premium gym and not by a sketchy “gym personality”.

Staff here also violates members’ privacy. They keep track of your new gym and your routine. Super unprofessional.

We didn’t join EQX to become anyone’s groupie. Super lame to have some shitty ego about yourself if you go around fleecing people and members ask why you work there!

The yoga guy Barry is also very rude and disrespectful.

Facilities are old and dingy.

General Managers in Palo Alto

-Highly incompetent, unprofessional and unresponsive

-Alan Ko yells at members for providing feedback for corrective action. The main general manager did not even bother to respond. The instructor totally denied his wrongdoing when the management inquired about the situation - no integrity either. This place is full of delusional gym instructors with massive egos for some reason. All the more reason to not join this gym.

Feels like a low level gym with bottom feeders where basic professional standards are not a requirement.

AVOID at all costs. NOT a premium gym by any standards. Take your money elsewhere!!

Personally, I honestly find the amenities alone worth the admittedly steeper price. I offset the cost a bit by utilizing their summer initiation promo, so that helped (also shoutout Francisco C. for the clean and easy sign-up process and facility tour!). Staff in general give off positive vibes and the lockers, restrooms, steam room, etc. have been clean and well maintained based from what I've seen so far. I recommend considering it if you are interested in elevating the standard gym experience a bit!

Disappointing experience at Equinox Palo Alto — privacy and professionalism issues

As a Destination member who works out every single day, I hold Equinox to a high standard — and I’ve experienced that standard at other locations. Unfortunately, this Palo Alto club has now fallen short twice, in ways I’ve never encountered at any gym, let alone an Equinox.

Here’s what happened. I went to shower at 9:40 PM. Last call for the showers is 9:45, so I was well within the window — anyone already in the shower is meant to finish without issue. But at this location, cleaning staff begin in the shower area as early as 9:15, which I haven’t seen anywhere else and which already makes the space feel rushed and uncomfortable.

The serious problem is what came next. While I was showering, a staff member began knocking and hitting on the glass. The glass switches from frosted to transparent when touched, so this is a genuine privacy violation — not a minor inconvenience. He was also shouting at me in a language I don’t speak, which only added confusion and stress. When I came out, he continued shouting, shaking his head, and giving me attitude — as if I were an employee who’d done something wrong. I’m paying nearly $800 a month for my partner and me. Being treated this way is unacceptable.

This is the second time this has happened. The first time, I reported it, and the concierge treated it as a “who’s right, who’s wrong” dispute. It isn’t complicated: no one should ever touch or bang on my shower door while I’m using it. There was no incident report, no apology, and no follow-up from a manager. This time, I’m asking that a manager call me directly to explain the situation. If I don’t hear back, I’ll escalate to corporate — especially given the privacy concern, which makes this far more serious than a scheduling hiccup.

A few straightforward fixes:

1. Adjust cleaning hours. Pay the cleaning staff (both locker rooms) for an additional half hour so they start and finish later. This single change would prevent the entire encounter.
2. Document incidents. Train front-desk and floor staff to write up anything that happens so it’s recorded and actually resolved, rather than dismissed.
3. Service training. Beyond this incident, the general atmosphere here is not what a high-end club should feel like — from the entrance to the locker room, the staff are not welcoming. Other Equinox locations greet me by name with a genuine smile. This one feels worse than a budget gym. Management needs to remind the team what kind of club this is supposed to be.

I’m writing this because I want this club to improve, not to vent. I’d genuinely like to keep coming here without worrying about my privacy or being treated poorly. I hope management takes this seriously so neither I nor anyone else has this experience again.

***** You know what's even sadder?! It's been a year since this post, and we still have the same problem. I'm exhausted from paying so much and nothing being done at this gym. Even sadder is that they added extra sound equipment because they haven't been able to fix the existing sound system yet, and summer hasn't even started yet! It looks like we're going to go through the same frustration as in previous years. I've been here for three years and nothing has been done. It's very sad and disappointing..*****

Equinox is a good gym, with good equipment and everything in excellent condition. I take almost all of the dance classes, because it is something I love very much. My favorite teacher, Soo Kim, are without a doubt the best endorphins you can find at Equinox. However, yesterday we had a problem that has been with us for a few months and even since last summer. The sound equipment and air conditioning were malfunctioning again. I am incredulous that even paying over $300 per month, this problem has not been resolved. We have at least 30 people in each dance class. I believe that the amount you receive from all of us could pay for a new air conditioning system and adequate sound for the teachers to work and for us to have a decent class without getting sick from the heat.

Today, as per the email I received, I arrived on time for the class, with a 5-minute delay because I needed to use the restroom. However, a staff member Desiree, prevented me from entering the class. I completely understand the gym's rules, which is why I did not insist on entering.

I would like to suggest that, just as you were diligent in preventing me from entering the class, the same diligence be applied to resolving the issues with the air conditioning and sound system.

With more than 30 clients in the room, and the air conditioning at this temperature, they will only change it when someone faints from the heat, that's all, so far nothing has changed, just a small fan in front of the sound system, what a lack of empathy for a gym that I pay $315 a month for, and a room that has 30 students, how long will this continue?

I would like to thank you in advance for your attention and understanding in understanding my disappointment with Equinox.

I’m very disappointed with my experience. I’m coming from Life Time in Orange County, and the level of customer service there was completely different.
Before I signed up for the membership, Chloe Richards was texting me constantly and was very responsive when it came to selling the membership. However, after I signed up and had questions, she stopped responding, and I had to call and speak with someone else to get help.
This felt very unprofessional and made it seem like the focus was only on making the sale, not actually supporting members afterward. Customer service should not disappear once someone signs up. I hope management takes this seriously because this kind of experience leaves a very bad impression.

The gym is spacious and the machines are great. I’m also enjoying the new Le Labo toiletries, though the bottles are a little hard to pump, so a different dispenser design would make them even better.
One small suggestion for the women’s changing room: right now the amenities are spread out, with Q-tips at one station, tissues at another, and face lotion somewhere else, so you often have to move between counters to find what you need. It would be so convenient if each counter had a full set. Stocking a few more of the small items would make a big difference.

I joined Equinox through work about two months ago and already had a strong Pilates background from classical private and group sessions, plus I do Solidcore pretty regularly around 10 classes a month. I booked the complimentary 1:1 Pilates intro just thinking it would be a nice add on and even told a friend I wasn’t planning to continue after.
That completely changed after my session with Joan McCarthy. I’m so glad I happened to be paired with her for that complimentary session.

She is truly exceptional. I ended up buying a large pack of sessions right after and now see her twice a week. We’ve even done a few double sessions which have been amazing. I’m already seeing real progress in my strength, flexibility, and overall toning, and the principles she teaches have helped me get so much more out of my Solidcore and other group workouts.

What really stands out is her energy and approach. She has such a positive and motivating attitude, and she really pushes me to challenge myself, find my limits, and get the most out of every session. I’ve also learned so much more about fitness and overall health from working with her.

She combines deep Pilates expertise with a dance background, and her hands on adjustments are amazing. She also sends an in depth breakdown after each session of what we worked on and is very responsive, which makes everything feel thoughtful and personalized.

I’ll be honest I waited to write this because I wanted to lock in my recurring time slots first, which probably says everything. I’m fully obsessed.

Thank you Joan!

Gym gets overcrowded during late afternoons/evenings but nothing to do about it; its okay when it happens only when you do cardio
Having a trainer makes it all different and worth it, though.
I cannot thank coach Ryan enough for the attention to my fitness goals and the creativity involved during your customized training program!