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Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 24th, 2009 7:55 pm
by Paranoidandroid
I'm staying in HK for about two months and need something to do to kill some time. Besides working out I'm also looking for a facility with indoor basketball courts. What are the cheapest monthly rates for gyms there, preferably close to Fortress Hill?

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 25th, 2009 12:49 pm
by Paranoidandroid
:arrowu:

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 25th, 2009 1:19 pm
by hellinar
I was in a similar situation when i was there for 3 months, and what i found to be most annoying is the registration/start up fees they all have. I checked California, Physical, Fitness First and they all had a $800ish start up fee + a $200ish monthly fee. Normally, if you were there long term, say you sign a 1 year contract, they waive that fee, but obviously you dont want to pay $3000-3500 if youre only using the 2 months.

YMCA on the other hand, does not have the start up fee, but the monthly fee is like $700.

As for location, theres tons of California gyms, i think theres a Fitness at Tai Koo, Physical's at Causeway Bay.. all easily accessible via MTR from Fortress Hill. YMCA's the only one with one location at TST.

So there is no real cheap solution for a short term stay, I just sucked it in and used the gym at my apartment complex, which had really good machines but I didnt like it for the lack of barbell/free weights.

As for the basketball courts, check out the sports centres that are inside the municipal buildings. Quarry Bay has one.

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 26th, 2009 9:14 pm
by Paranoidandroid
Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look those up. Are there any more? :arrowu:

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 27th, 2009 6:18 am
by sexyj
Same situation when I gone back to HK last fall.

Stayed roughly 2 1/2 mths, signed up a california doing month-to-month. Which ended up being like 2100 with activation fee and all the other BS fees...... :mad: and then I forgot to cancel the membership before the next payment date... so they forced me to pay another month to cancel the membership.

If you want to stay in shape, then just sign up at physical for a year. It'll end up being cheaper than 2 months of m-t-m at california.

Also you'll hardly find any open bball court in HK, cause of all the abundant amount of outdoor courts available. So I would suggest you to prepare to do outdoor runs.

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 27th, 2009 12:06 pm
by hellinar
Ill add the link for the sports centres i was talking about:
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/leisurelink/en/l ... strict=ALL

Prices seem to be $236/hr for air conditioned and $148 without.
Thats pretty expensive in my opinion, seeing other things like badminton are like 1/4th that price

Edit: It also mentions "Fitness Equipment" for $17/hr which could work out to much cheaper rates granted your training schedule is not like arnie's. I didnt really know of this until now so I might have a look at this option next time im there.

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 27th, 2009 12:51 pm
by gsrce
Do Hotels in HK not have fitness rooms available? If so you could probably look into that.

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 27th, 2009 3:24 pm
by keeter
in hk for 2 months? go to hk expat forums, search it on google

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 27th, 2009 4:28 pm
by Paranoidandroid
gsrce wrote: Do Hotels in HK not have fitness rooms available? If so you could probably look into that.
I'm going to be living at my dad's.

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm gonna check out that link, but those hourly rates are crazy! I'd much prefer paying by the month.

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Mar 27th, 2009 4:36 pm
by gsrce
Paranoidandroid wrote: I'm going to be living at my dad's.

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm gonna check out that link, but those hourly rates are crazy! I'd much prefer paying by the month.
Lots of larger hotels that have large fitness areas allow you to have monthly memberships, you just need to call around. This helps them subsidize the cost of maintaining everything during slow periods of the year.

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Jun 14th, 2009 3:05 pm
by Paranoidandroid
Thanks everyone, I found a decent (so I'm told) gym for around $100 CAD/month... I still haven't found an indoor basketball court though. If anyone knows of a good public court (preferably a non-sketchy one), please recommend it to me :)

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Jun 16th, 2009 10:58 am
by SiuBun
In HK, basketball court are commodities. U can either join community buildings' public league, or follow the public hours., or u can book it there. or else, u can only look for a friend who has a nice club house, and u'd still have to book & pay for it.

but then again, just be a man and bare the heat...local plays outdoor even if its 30+ degrees out.

as for gym, if for just 1 week, you can go to Physical or california and sign up for a trial. and if they offer you a physical assessment, just tell them you have to go asap, and be really firm about it. Do not sign anything except that welcome sheet of paper, and if they ask you to initial beside things, make sure u read them carefully. and they do have all documents in English, ask them for it. Do not let them take ur ID out of sight, coz sometimes they hold that as a bargaining chip so u dont leave.

if for 2 mths, I'd go to hotels and pay the premium; it might turn out to be the most cost efficient, and u'd have a trouble-free experience. Or again, see if a friend has a nice clubhouse. Govt has their gym too, but it takes awhile to get their 'outdoor card' which u need to workout in public gyms, and most of them sucks anyways.

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Jun 16th, 2009 6:35 pm
by jpthornhill
Not sure this promotion is still on as I was there in mid April.

Physical Fitness had a promotion for new members only: HK$500 for 6 months, no initial fee, no towers, free lockers, incl. 15 group class tickets.
Of course no basketball courts but they do have a few locations close to you (1 in Quarry Bay and 2 in Causeway Bay).

Re: Gyms in Hong Kong

Posted: Jun 16th, 2009 6:41 pm
by jpthornhill
SiuBun wrote: as for gym, if for just 1 week, you can go to Physical or california and sign up for a trial. and if they offer you a physical assessment, just tell them you have to go asap, and be really firm about it. Do not sign anything except that welcome sheet of paper, and if they ask you to initial beside things, make sure u read them carefully. and they do have all documents in English, ask them for it. Do not let them take ur ID out of sight, coz sometimes they hold that as a bargaining chip so u dont leave.
Physical only offers 1-Day trial now. (used this trial early April)
California still have 1-week or 2-week trial offers (depends on locations) but I heard they are VERY pushy & bitchy.