Bears Fit, Vernon Hills IL

I went to bears fit for about 2 years and overall, it's a decent gym. The gym has nice equipment and it is overall pretty clean. The problems I had with it was the lack of maintenance with their equipment and with the sauna and steam room. Whenever a piece of equipment broke, it usually took months for them to fix it. When it came to the steam room, it was usually a 50/50 chance it was running. Monthly pay was also never consistent. I paid $50 a month and I knew people who paid as low as $30 a month and as high as $70 a month and it seemed we all had the same type of membership.which made no sense. Also, for $50 a month, there should be a better guest pass policy. The guest pass policy, for me at least, was that I could only bring a guest in for free if they live in the area and have never been before. That meant if their name was in the system for being a previous member or being someone else's guest at a different time, then they would have to pay for a day pass. I also think the customer service could be better. I had a miscommunication incident with one of the employees there about bringing a guest in and I felt that the employee was at fault. When the manager got involved, instead of apologizing for the incident and allowing me to bring in a guest, they said there was nothing they could do and I was only able to bring in my guest if they paid. Overall, the gym has pretty nice equipment and while they keep it clean, I think there is a lot they can improve on.

Bearsfit is a fine gym. All the bases are covered in terms of equipment and machines. The amenities such as locker rooms, recovery center, sauna, and pro shop are all nice additions. As a Bears fan, it's a cool place to surround yourself with a Chicago Bears atmosphere.

The reason for my 1-star review is that I was approached today in the middle of my workout by the head trainer Laura Carole who accused me of operating as a personal trainer in the gym. She claimed that it had been perceived that I was training another member. This member is actually my best friend from childhood from whom I received zero payment, and with whom I was in the middle of working out when she came up to us to interrupt. While I do in fact have my NASM certification, I am not and have never been a professional trainer. I only possess the certification to fulfill a requirement for my career as a mobility therapist. I was simply working out with a friend who needed some tips and guidance because he hasn't worked out in years. To be fair, the very first day we met at the gym, I didn't work out with him because I had already done so earlier that day and was walking him through our workout. If anything, that should have been the day to pull me aside and address their concerns that I was training him. Every day since, I have worked out alongside him and helped him with a spot or weight choice when he's asked. I've seen numerous couples, groups of friends, etc all doing the same for each other yet never approached as we were. To add to the situation, she chose to hold this conversation on the gym floor in front of other members just feet away. There was no decency in pulling me aside, waiting for my workout to be completed, or to discuss this in private. When I became frustrated, embarrassed, and agitated, she accused me further of being unnecessarily defensive as if to confirm my guilt. I felt I was being profiled and spoken to as though I was stealing business from them in front of other members. I found her approach to be highly inappropriate, offensive, and unprofessional. Had we spoken in private I would have apologized for how things had been perceived and for not working out WITH my friend the first day. It would have been a simple and easy situation. Rather, she chose to try and be authoritative and a bully. On top of this, when Bearsfit offered me complimentary training, I was open with them and let them know that I was certified myself. Why would I share that to then steal business? I wouldn't!

What is so disappointing is that I held a business relationship with one of the managers and was invited to join. She could have approached me at any point to address this but rather it was handled by Laura in a public fashion. I actually went and spoke with this manager immediately and explained all of this. She apologized for how it was handled and really didn't have an explanation herself. Ultimately, my friend and I cancelled our memberships right then and there. The staff assisting with the cancellation also agreed that it was quite unfair. Your members don't deserve that type of treatment. I can understand if someone is actually using the facility to train their clients but I was helping a friend while working out together. I'd still recommend a more professional approach in private.

Do better, Laura and Bearsfit.

I can give only 3.5-4️
A large room, a lot of various equipment, good parking, pleasant and friendly staff, a convenient application and system, the presence of a children's room and an additional area with physical procedures - gorgeous!
Very clean!

Update: Of the minuses:
- The most serious and most terrible minus is the early closing, especially on weekends. They really like not to work on different holidays and weather conditions. This infuriates even more, coupled with the fact that they don’t work very late anyway.
- The second minus is poor-quality service, 3 times I applied for the purchase of additional services and EACH time there were problems with payment later (extra money was withdrawn or the wrong service was performed), later each time I just had to solve these issues for WEEKS, because none of the staff on the reception does not know how to solve it, and apparently they always forgot to pass it on to the manager.
- Despite the large assortment of equipments, many of them are not duplicated at all, some take a very long time to repair. The most annoying thing is that in 3 years, not a single new one has been added.
- In my opinion, the price is too high, provided that you only use the gym (no swimming pool, no at least some free set of procedures - 1 massage per month or 1 body % check (for example, once every 6 months). They even removed the free protein shake that could be exchanged for points in app

Really solid strength training equipment for the price. Cardio machines, however, are a bit dated. It’s an overall clean gym. The main detraction is that Fox News is broadcast on TVs throughout the facility (it’s usually the sole news channel broadcast and I’m sure that this is a managerial preference). This makes the environment feel less inclusive than what it should and politicized in a way that I find to be distasteful. I’d prefer to not be surrounded by divisive politics while working out. It’d be great if they just tuned out all news channels like lots of gyms do.

It’s a nice place however they will try and get the most money out of you without any remorse. Very often a lot of the machines are broken which leads to long waiting times to use them.

I used to love this place but ever since they got their new manager (Laura I believe) it’s gone downhill

This place used to be great to visit when I was in the area. It seems there has been new management. From what I have heard from others is management (Laura) has let go of some of the best PT’s who made coming there such a great experience.

Clean the sauna its disgusting! It also smells terrible in both woman's and men's locker rooms. Been a member for years and these past few months have been the worst.

The equipment is amazing, locker rooms are nice and clean, the pool, sauna, steam room, and hot tub are all super nice.

The best group workouts ever. Coach is the best. She is very friendly and never fails to motivate you to hit your goal every single time.

This place is absolutely FANTASTIC! Everything is incredibly well-organized, so you can relax and enjoy your time without any worries. The staff members are like superheroes, experts at keeping kids entertained and happy for "hours on end". Both children and parents had an incredible time here! The facility is spotlessly clean and tidy, and the fact that the party is 100% private is simply wonderful. HGG has easily become our favorite destination, and my 8-year-old son is thrilled to begin his summer camp here. We can't wait to plan an adult party here in the future! Thank you so much for providing us with such an amazing experience.

This would be a perfect gym but the steam rooms, sauna and locker rooms haven't been cleaned in months.especially the Men's steam room. Basic Maintenance and cleanliness should be top priority for the business.

Updated 8/18/23: still has not been clean as there’s dirt and a stench in the steam room. Also probably the only gym that doesn’t have weight straps. They’d rather have weight dropping on someone than keeping $10 straps on the floor. Pretty embarrassing for the Bears organization.

Bathroom constantly stinks due to no dedicated cleaning staff and poor ventilation. Paper towel dispensers and cleaning bottles around gym are usually empty or broken. Half of the machines in the gym are trash hoist machines. No clips for the power racks so enjoy worrying about the weight sliding off when you’re using them. The punching bags are poor quality with the top half being empty since all of the internal material is at the bottom. For $50 a month I really expected more.

Bears Fit was once a great place to work & workout… but ever since the new general manager and his henchmen took over, the place has completely gone down the toilet. On one of his first days there, he asked if I could have some friends “put in a couple five star reviews to kind of wash the bad ones out. ” It didn’t seem very professional at the time and doesn’t at all seem professional now. He fired myself, along w other quality staff members due to him not being able to get over his ego. He has threatened previous staff with physical force, threatened multiple staff members with termination of employment due to hearsay (one of those staff members is still there), never allowed anyone to speak, and when I said I wouldn’t be signing his NDA, which was only put in place due to word about him and his antics getting around the gym, he ignored and didn’t acknowledge me for my last two days. Not a single word. Also, when I tried to contact corporate/HR to speak on certain issues, I was given the wrong email multiple times (even after he and another manager confirmed it was correct) and was also told a phone number didn’t exist to contact them, which I later found out was a FLAT lie from the man himself. Lastly, Coming from a former employee, I’d highly suggest you take your money elsewhere. It’s only going to get worse.

Ps. There’s a reason membership prices are at an “ALL TIME LOW” now.

Worst gym for families with small children. Unlicensed childcare workers who do not supervise the children. Older kids are mixed in with infants and often time harm the smaller children. 1 boy in particular we will call him Tray/Trey physically and verbally is allowed to taunt/hurt/ harm the little ones. It's definitely a "man's man "gym. In the sense that " men/boys can do no wrong. " The gym is also very unsanitary isn't very tidy. It's a small space jammed packed with workout equipment and only has 2 power lifting racks, which are often full. It's a great gym for a HS student but not for a serious gym goer or a fitness family.

Bears. Where they do the BEAR minimum. Sanitizing stations often empty with non working spray bottles: benches covered in hair products (clearly not cleaned overnight) no more towel service available. Rude front desk staff, don’t try ask for a protein shake either you will get a sigh and an eye roll from the kids working there that would rather be on Tik Tok.

The new corporate leadership is all about cost cutting. They fired a great team member who did everything for them with a smile and great talent. BAD MOVE!

More than just a gym. So umpressed with the overall fitness that enhancements that they offer. They care!