Life Time, Irvine CA

While the parking is complicated and the layout is not intuitive… this place is beautiful and inspiring to workout in.

Avoid at all cost. Plunged by a toxic corporate culture. This location had so much potential and I’m amazed to see how they managed to ruin it. I feel compelled to share my horrendous experience at this gym. From the moment I stepped through the doors, I was met with an overwhelming sense of discomfort and hostility from the managerial staff. First and foremost, the blank exclusion culture exhibited by some of the staff members was nothing short of appealing. If you don’t look like the typical south Orange County crowed, the managerial staff proudly display the arrogant attitude towards you. To people that look like me, stay away from here.

Best gym ever made. Absolutely love it here! The staff and machines are completely worth the money.

Terrible experience all around, rude employees that are unwelcoming would be the biggest issue. When parking you have to park a quarter mile away, which isn't too big of an issue but the issue is 9/10 the parking passes do not work due to getting wet, going near your phone, or being bent, so when you try to get a replacement you are lectured by a rude employee every single time, instead of just replacing the pass. If you attend the gym for over two hours the employees state that they expect you to walk all the way back to your car and leave the gym and return to get another pass instead of giving you a replacement. Steam rooms/saunas are absolutely under-maintained and disgusting, I've attended over five different lifetime locations all others are 10/10 best gym I ever been to no competition. This location specifically is a disgrace to the lifetime name and should be shut down.

This place is upside down in how they cater to you. They make you think that you pay for a high end gym experience, but really you don’t get everything you pay for. Nothing works. The woman’s restroom is constantly smelling disgusting- with claims that the steam room doesn’t work (it is adjacent to the bathroom/lockers) but there are no signs. They took a pool noodle, cut it, and taped it to the handle on the sauna because the metal handle kept burning people. For real…come on!
They charge you before telling you that you can or can’t add people under your account. They have poor service, their employees treat your questions as if they are dumb- but they never give you a tour or explain where things are. They are always short staffed as well. It’s odd.
I went to a couple classes, and they were all over the place. People left in the middle of them twice. I felt so bad after talking to numerous people, because a lot of older people did not feel as though this gym kept them in mind. There isn’t the proper equipment or classes, and everything is up flights of stairs. And the basketball quart takes up most of the gym. It’s upstairs. But above that is the smallest area for weights (the gym really is just for basketball lol). There is no pool- who knows when it will open. The list goes on.
Beware.

Shady membership terms for a beyond basic of a gym. We are only allowed to have 2 people per membership. For two people it is about 300 dollars which is an absolute ripoff. The gym is small and not any more special than a new LA Fitness. Staff are rude and unwelcoming and sound robotic and fake when welcoming us or assisting with an issue. Their website is broken and poorly designed which makes viewing and editing our membership a hassle. Overall a overpriced gym I would not recommend anyone.

This is 3 stars at best for a few reasons. The price at around $200-300 per month is no joke. I pay around $24 per month at Chuze Fitness where included in the price I get free massage bed and free tanning booth which are not available here. Also at Chuze Fitness you can bring in guests for free every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Here you get 2 free guest passes where if I am not mistaken can only come once every 60 days. One pays 10-12 times more here with a 10-12 times worse guest feature. Mind you paying 10 to 12 more you would figure you would get 10-12 times more the facilities and features but you don’t. With all that space they could have easily had one little room with a few stand up tanning booths and those water massage beds but they didn’t. I live in Irvine and in my community we have free tennis courts, basketball court and pool (all of which are nice). When people go to the gym they are looking for special fitness equipment that they don’t have at home. I didn’t see premium fitness equipment here like I have seen used in Asia. One of the worst things is to walk into a gym and see like a 100 treadmill running machines and like 2 special bench press sets which are always occupied. Those that want to run can run outside in the park or in their community. Others can buy a treadmill running machine and throw one in their garage. What people want is special workout equipment which they don’t have at home. Not 200-300 barbell sets which many people have at home. Parking there is not so user friendly either. This is more of a very nice hang out center for the rich people who don’t mind spending $200-300 per month on monthly fees to workout at a nice looking and clean place. It’s big, nice and clean but some of their equipment are the cheaper ones found at LA Fitness. It is though probably the best looking fitness center in Irvine if you care about looks, cleanest gym, and biggest in size if these are the three that matter to you.

Nice looking gym aesthetically. But, the plans is not right. The way they have everything set up is not congruent with much harmony, and the pilate instructor Preston is very unprofessional and very rude & obnoxious & pushy.
It's very clear that they're not in it to help you, except how to make more money out of extra classes with extra fees. The parking is a disaster and shared with several other restaurants & businesses & it only offers 2 hrs free parking.
The pool isn't open yet paying the full price. No indoor poo, either.
The cafe food is very bland & too much space is given to the cafe & the bar area. With all the nice places to eat nearby, why would anybody come here to eat. Perhaps good for kids.
The basketball area is way too big & there was no need for a 2nd basketball court. Why couldn't you do a pickle ball or racquetball instead.
The manager, Brad, who came from Nordstrom, is a bad match & doesn't have proper training despite the fact he's been there several months already. He keeps asking other personnel for directions. The front desk ppl wear suites & and dresses, which is not appropriate for a health club. For the money, it's not worth it. There's no social stuff planned yet or in the works. Clubs in LA offer all of that plus.

I loved the locker room, however, the gym floor set up is SUCH a let down. Super cramped, poor utilization of space. Open basketball court, sooooo obnoxious. Personal training area is far too big, it's clear this gym is focused on making money from it's members rather than providing the best gym floor environment. The lifecafe is also aesthetically pleasing but don't have their macros listed on any of their menu items or togo items. As a whole, it's not worth the money. Also, parking is charged after 3 hours and you have to share the parking garage with Bosscat restaurant and Il Fornaio which is cramped and chaotic. The studios for classes and tiny and cramped as well. Just so not impressed.real let down, other Lifetime locations are WAY better. This building they took over used to be a 24hr fitness and they really should've taken more time to change the orientation of the setup because it's cramped and spacing wise utilized sooooo poorly. Big disappointment. Will be going to other locations instead of this one.

Life Time Irvine is fantastic! The layout is ideal, the facility is top notch, the service is great, and simply, every angle was well thought of. I've been a member of many of the other excellent gyms in the area and Life Time comes out on top.

Also, my vote for best Life Time in OC is definitely Irvine. Great gym/club!

I was excited to workout here on grand opening day. I did not take photos as a courtesy of patrons in the way. I am also a member of all three in OC and I have to say the Laguna Niguel set up tops all of them followed by San Clemente and finally, Irvine. This is going to be a very thorough review and I apologize on the length.
The parking is a nightmare. It's a structure adjacent to the gym, but hosts to restaurants and businesses. Parking is best and tight on the 2nd or 3rd floor at the Southeast corner of the structure. Hold on to the parking ticket and take it with you. Don't forget to scan it on the way out for validation. Everyone will screw this up for sure!
The women's showers are huge! I don't find this necessary unless they want all of them ADA compliant. The water was cold too and the drains already had rust in them.
Now up to the floor.
Free weight space. Small and cramped. They should have put the free weights next to the basketball courts. There's a lot of unnecessary space there where the training people hang out. They also could have expanded the 3rd floor free weight section a little more to give more room. Laguna Niguel set up definitely tops this one. The GTX and alpha spaces are really cool except the treadmills could have been faced out towards the 405 instead. The spin room is cramped and small. Love the spin room at Laguna compared to here. There's a really weird area next to the spin class room with a basketball hoop and beige bumper mats on the walls. It reminds me of a psychiatric hospital there. The beams up at the ceiling look unfinished and half arsed. Very bizarre. The layout of this place is almost like a prison. I think the design is somewhat flawed and the client will be a mixed bag of corporates to the Irvine demographics. I will continue to go here, but will make more of an effort for Laguna Niguel.

Wasting a lot of your time from the parking structure to the entrance. Also, you need to waste your time inside again because of the bad layout.this location is not as good as other Lifetime locations.

I’ll break this review up into two parts and will try to be brief.
If you are from out of town and are familiar with Life Time or just looking for a high-end gym that will have everything you need and more. This is your jam.

If you are a Life Time member in Southern California, here’s a quick insight into the differences between the three clubs.

Irvine Pros:
Newest

Nicest Lockerroom

Individual sauna steam, and spa in each locker room (Laguna still has the only mixed sauna experience in the fishbowl)

Squash courts

Very quiet in the am and early afternoon hours

You have the café, three other restaurants plus a gigantic open-air space at your disposal.

Cons:
As clearly stated in many of these reviews, parking is a legitimate nightmare. Besides being a good football field away from the entrance, the whole ticketing and validation system that has always plagued that parking lot has not been figured out. Remembering to validate your ticket as you leave will become second nature over time, but the machines themselves seem to malfunction at an alarming rate. I have been stuck behind three cars every time I’ve exited the structure.

The pool is not open yet, but it appears it will be a mixed-used space similar to San Clemente. Laguna has the only dedicated pool situation that kids/parents and adults without kids will enjoy.

One basketball court, a lot of wasted space, a smaller spin room, and everything else is the same. Outside of those courts, there’s nothing special or superior about this location.

San Clemente reminds me of a nice mega Vegas resort workout facility. Nice rooms but tight weight/ machine area inside. They do offer an incredible outdoor fitness area with an ocean view.

Tennis and pickleball rule here although parking can be as frustrating as Irvine depending upon timing.

Laguna still has the best overall facility from a layout perspective.the best parking, the better kids club, the better pool, the best classes, etc.

As a fitness enthusiast and experienced gym-goer, I can confidently say that Lifetime Fitness is one of the best gym chains I have ever encountered. When you walk into this facility, you are greeted with a warm and welcoming atmosphere that instantly makes you feel comfortable and motivated to work out.

The equipment at Lifetime Fitness is top-notch, with a wide variety of machines and free weights available to suit every fitness level and goal. The gym is always clean and well-maintained, and the staff members are friendly, knowledgeable, and always willing to help.

Another significant aspect of Lifetime Fitness is its spa and relaxation facilities, which include saunas, steam rooms, and hot tubs. After a challenging workout, there's nothing better than relaxing in the spa area and rejuvenating your body.

Overall, I would highly recommend Lifetime Fitness to anyone looking for a positive and welcoming fitness environment. The facilities are top-notch, the staff is knowledgeable and supportive, and the range of classes and programs is unmatched. If you want to take your fitness journey to the next level, Lifetime Fitness is the place to be.