King's Sport & Wellness - Strand Gym

I had really high expectations, as this gym is highly rated at the time of attendance (4.4), and I had bought a gym pass for the day online which seemed to be incredible value for £8. The gym was oversubscribed at lunch time which is pretty normal in central London gyms. I was told that I could use the gym lockers "on the gym floor" and buzzed in, I was asked questions about my student ID even though I had bought an external user pass. I wasn't directed to the lockers however they were easy to find on my own as the gym is not large at all. I wasted 5 minutes opening each locker with no lock, only to find someone else's belongings inside. I had no choice but to carry my small back pack onto the gym floor so I could finish my workout in my lunch hour, as the changing rooms are not easily accessible unless you have a permanent pass and I had belongings I didn't want to leave unattended and unlocked. There are 6 squat racks, but no dedicated bench equipment, so you will have to find a spare bench to move in place (or remove it) and set up as required. There is minimal space between the racks which makes it awkward to load and unload the weights from the bar. They have 3 unisex self contained toilet, and one disabled toilet. The one I used had no paper towels, I had to dry my hands on my shorts. The crowd is logically young as it primarily caters to KCL students and staff, one member, visibly unwell, spent their entire session projectile coughing into the small poorly ventilated space. Another, interrupted my bench press to ask me if I knew how to squat. I was then interrupted by someone else and asked to remove my bag from the gym floor, when I stated there were no lockers they offered to take my bag. However, I had to decline as there is no way to identify the gym staff and it wasn't the same person who I talked to initially, and felt quite uncomfortable that someone wanted to take my belongings. I finished that set and left. Not a great experience unfortunately. Unless budget is your only concern I would avoid.

I had really high expectations, as this gym is highly rated at the time of attendance (4.4), and I had bought a gym pass for the day online which seemed to be incredible value for £8. The gym was oversubscribed at lunch time which is pretty normal in central London gyms. I was told that I could use the gym lockers "on the gym floor" and buzzed in, I was asked questions about my student ID even though I had bought an external user pass. I wasn't directed to the lockers however they were easy to find on my own as the gym is not large at all. I wasted 5 minutes opening each locker with no lock, only to find someone else's belongings inside. I had no choice but to carry my small back pack onto the gym floor so I could finish my workout in my lunch hour, as the changing rooms are not easily accessible unless you have a permanent pass and I had belongings I didn't want to leave unattended and unlocked. There are 6 squat racks, but no dedicated bench equipment, so you will have to find a spare bench to move in place (or remove it) and set up as required. There is minimal space between the racks which makes it awkward to load and unload the weights from the bar. They have 3 unisex self contained toilet, and one disabled toilet. The one I used had no paper towels, I had to dry my hands on my shorts. The crowd is logically young as it primarily caters to KCL students and staff, one member, visibly unwell, spent their entire session projectile coughing into the small poorly ventilated space. Another, interrupted my bench press to ask me if I knew how to squat. I was then interrupted by someone else and asked to remove my bag from the gym floor, when I stated there were no lockers they offered to take my bag. However, I had to decline as there is no way to identify the gym staff and it wasn't the same person who I talked to initially, and felt quite uncomfortable that someone wanted to take my belongings. I finished that set and left. Not a great experience unfortunately. Unless budget is your only concern I would avoid.

The changing room is always smelly because there’s no ventilator. But the staffs are quite friendly and the gym is quite cheap with a lot of facilities and it never gets over crowded.