The Edgbaston Priory Club

Positives: Great facilities, huge number of courts for both squash and tennis, can almost always book a court even at peak times. Now have 2? Padel courts, they are outdoor so if it rains you are in a pickle, these are more competitive to book. Great social side with some women only times classes for sports too. The gym classes are varied and plentiful. They even have hyrox. They have an outdoor heated pool, not the biggest but still good and an indoor pool again I’d say medium sized. They have sauna and steam which are decently sized and a cold submersion next to the sauna - they look pretty fancy together, really enjoy using them. Changing rooms and shower facilities are always clean and spacious. Everyone is very nice and respectful, good culture around the club. Few negatives: They don’t do monthly free passes for members to bring friends/family, I feel like that’s motivation for the user and they can get a lot of customers that way too. Although, social visits are allowed and free. The gym is small and at peak times can be overwhelming a bit. But if you can go off peak it’s pretty decent. They don’t have daycare or anything like that like some other big places do. They don’t have reformers Pilates machines but they do give you discounts to MKreformers. Overall, have really enjoyed it and would say good value for money.

Although the setting is beautiful and I have enjoyed a lot of time spent at the club, I have made a decision to cancel my membership. I made a complaint about one of the lifeguards, Emilia. She spoke to me in a rude and aggressive tone to ask me to stop using my phone by the jacuzzi. When I asked for her name to make a complaint, she initially refused and then proceeded to argue with me by the pool side. Her attitude and tone were diabolical and wholly unacceptable. The encounter felt like I was speaking to an entitled stroppy teenager. I am astounded at how staff can get away with speaking to members in this way. It is unacceptable, embarrassing, and far from what I would expect from a club such as Edgbaston Priory. I have not received any follow up to my compliant (despite specifically asking on two occasions) which represents an extremely ill-judged response to this issue by the club. Management appear to be inexperienced. Emilia's behaviour in my view amounts to gross misconduct. Being left in the lurch is truly shocking, and for this alone, I cannot continue to with my membership. Having read the Google reviews, it appears my experience with lifeguards is not an isolated incident. Other issues include poor basic maintenance such as multiple lockers not being in working order, consistently. The jacuzzi was broken for a significant amount of time. The air conditioning was broken at the gym during the hottest period of this year. Finally, the club's complete disregard and lack of contingency planning for members parking requirements during the tennis tournament. I received a note on my car asking me to use an overflow car park which didn't actually exist at that point in time. This is despite me being honest about parking on double yellow lines (in the car park club) when I entered the club, due to no other parking being available on the surrounding streets. Utter chaos every year during this tournament. No clubs are perfect, and as a reasonable person I accept that not everything can run smoothly at all times. However, incidents of late have met the threshold of where I cannot continue to pay for a membership (particularly at this premium price bracket). Inexperienced management, overzealous attitudes of pool staff. Entitled young arrogant lifeguards barking orders at members and arguing. I shall take my business elsewhere.

Since joining the club a few months ago, I have been increasingly disappointed with the attitude and professionalism of some members of staff, particularly within the spa and pool areas. On several occasions, lifeguards have appeared disengaged, uninterested, and lacking in basic customer service skills. Their manner has often come across as dismissive rather than welcoming or helpful. In addition, the general supervision of the spa and pool areas does not reflect the standards one would expect from a private members’ club. Staff frequently appear inattentive and not proactive in managing the environment or ensuring members feel comfortable and respected. I am also concerned about what appears to be non-members regularly bringing children to swim, despite the club operating as a members-only facility. This undermines the exclusivity and standards that members pay for and raises questions about how access is being monitored. I joined the club with the expectation of a professional, well-managed environment. Unfortunately, based on my experience so far, I am questioning whether I will remain a member long term unless there is a noticeable improvement in staff engagement and supervision standards. I hope these concerns will be taken seriously and addressed appropriately. I would appreciate a response outlining how the club intends to improve staff conduct and ensure that membership policies are properly enforced.

Very professional tennis courts, comfortable seats for the audience. Toilets, food and drink area, large screens, points and formation... Easy access, parking spaces, cheap tickets. I recommend this place to watch tennis matches with family and friends.

I recently visited Priory Gym as I was interested in joining the leisure facility. The initial tour was great and the facilities looked really nice, so I was quite impressed at first. However, my experience changed once I started using the pool area. Unfortunately, I found the pool area to be unclean, which was disappointing. What stood out even more was the attitude of some of the staff. While the female staff members were friendly and welcoming, the male staff were noticeably rude and came across as lazy. They spoke to customers in an aggressive and unprofessional manner, which made the environment feel uncomfortable. Based on this experience, I would not have considered joining if I had known this is how members are treated. I will now be cancelling my membership.