David Lloyd Royal Berkshire - (Near , UK)

5 /5 Sam Taylor: David Lloyd Bracknell is genuinely an outstanding facility. The gym is spacious with everything laid out in a way that makes training easy and enjoyable. There are more than enough courts, the spa is consistently excellent, and the pool is almost always quiet which is rare for a club of this size. The food is reliably good and the staff are consistently fantastic, friendly, and switched on. Everyone’s experience is their own but I honestly can’t understand how anyone could rate this place one star. It doesn’t reflect the reality of what the club offers. I feel very lucky to be able to come here and grateful to have a club of this standard so close. Credit to the whole team for keeping it running at such a high level.

1 /5 Nick Abbott: IF YOURE JOINING DAVID LLOYD FOR TENNIS HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The coaches at David Lloyd are self-employed on contracts. They dont get sick leave, paid holiday or pensions from David Lloyd. This means theyll act in their own self-interest. For some, that means being professional and friendly in the hopes that some private work will come their way. Others play a different game. HERES WHAT THEY DO The social tennis sessions are split up by ability level. Each session has a coach who runs it and that coach has the authority to ban members from the session if they are not the correct standard. Some of the coaches use this to their advantage and will ban a member unless they take private lessons; the member then gets miraculously let back on the session. Currently for example JUAN LOPEZ is clearly lining his pockets at Royal Berkshire by doing this (and charging a fortune for the lessons by the sounds of it) but he is not the first and will not be the last. Its always going to happen if the coaches are self-employed. WHY RACKETS MANAGEMENT DOES NOTHING All the tennis activities are organised by the Rackets Manager. He is employed by David Lloyd BUT his allegiance lies with the coaches NOT with management. Hell be a coach himself. Hes responsible for finding and contracting new coaches when needed and thats a job he doesnt want when he has a whole pile of others, like court maintenance, tournament organisation etc. He also specifically needs coaches who are capable of mixing in on the Advanced sessions so he doesnt want to lose any of that standard (not all are). So, when customers complain to him about corrupt coaching staff, they are smiled at and listened to but ultimately nothing happens. WHY SENIOR MANAGEMENT DOES NOTHING 1) It is true that SOME (not all) David Lloyd tennis members cannot assess their ability level and get upset when asked not to attend a session they feel they should be allowed on. If anyone complains to Senior management about this topic, the senior management are fed the line by the rackets staff that ALL complaints fall into this category. In other words, all tennis members are branded "spoilt brats" when the truth is only a handful are. The rest can assess their ability and can clearly recognise unfair treatment when they see it. It doesnt necessarily dawn on them all that its blackmail (I call a spade a spade Im afraid). They just get understandably upset, confused and angry. 2) Senior management really isnt that fussed. As long as Becky from Sales is busy recruiting new club members faster than they leave, theyre happy. (Becky is particularly good at getting people who have only been on an introductory tour, and set foot in the club for just 1 hour, to leave glowing google reviews - shes so good her name even gets picked up by the AI sometimes!) IN SHORT If youre thinking of joining David Lloyd Royal Berkshire to play tennis with friends, its good. But if youre thinking of doing it for social sessions then go in with your eyes open. Its ALOT of money; think very carefully before you spend it. Its not the utopia you may think its going to be, especially if youre an intermediate or advanced player who will come across Juan Lopez. He is NOT the luxury tennis club experience you may be hoping for. Far from it. Good luck, and enjoy your tennis wherever you end up playing it. Nick

1 /5 Mark King: Wife had lessons with Juan Lopez at this David Lloyd. His fee started at £50/hr but rapidly rose to £70/hr. He told her he was raising his prices for everyone, but the from £50 on the noticeboard didnt change. Long story short, people talk! It transpired that he was still charging most other clients £60 or £55. So, basically he treated her as nothing but a cash-cow, aiming to extract as much money as he thought he could get. Theres an expression Where-Theres-Muck-Theres-Money. Well at Royal Berkshire, its Where-Theres-Money-Theres-Muck. There are lots of wealthy people at this David Lloyd, and wherever theres wealth, there are always vile crooks hanging around too. David Lloyd should vet their coaches far more carefully AND HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO BE HONEST ABOUT PRICING ON THEIR NOTICEBOARDS. I see Juan is the same level coach as most of the others, who I am reliably informed all charge around the "from" £50 mark that they indicate in their bios.

5 /5 Jayne handley: I recently joined the club and so far, I have had a great experience from the moment I walked in. There is a positive atmosphere, and the people are friendly with no egos in sight. Libby in sales has been incredibly helpful; she quickly understood my needs and helped me explore my options. She also introduced me to the club and suggested sessions that would be great for me to get involved in. Libby continues to be my onboarding buddy, so whenever Ive struggled or needed assistance, she has always been available. I often bump into her, and she makes a point to check in on how Im doing, which is wonderful. I am really impressed with the club, the classes, and the instructors. They are very professional, friendly, and attentive to everyones abilities, ensuring that we get the most out of each session. When I joined, I received a couple of personal training sessions, which made me a bit nervous. Thats when I met Nathan Jenkins, a fantastic personal trainer. He instills confidence in you, is motivational, and is genuinely a nice person to work with. He helps me push myself that little bit further. Thank you It’s been a great experience so far.

5 /5 Sylwia S: I toured the club with Chante, who was informative, welcoming and took time to understand my goals. The spa facilities really impressed me and made me consider signing up on the day. Some gym equipment could use an upgrade, but overall a very positive first experience