Fitness center test – day 4 – Fitness Factory

Fitness Factory was opened in September 2008 on the 5th floor of Material Design Center in Róbert Károly körút. The fitness room was enlarged in late December, so it grew in size to 700 squaremeters, while the whole of the club takes up 2000 squaremeters. You can find two aerobic rooms, a spinning room and a cardio section. The specialty of the place is that thanks to the 5th-floor location the fitness room and the aerobic rooms are all filled with natural light. The greatest appeal is in the form of a roof terrace, where you can take part in an outdoor training. Several sessions are held up here, for example, the torch-lit spinning, but there’s a 400-meter tartan running track and a Jacuzzi under the sky, just to name the most special services.
The location of Material Center is very fortunate being accessible by both tram no. 1 and metro 3, so not only those in the vicinity can enjoy its services.1. Fitness: 10/9

As mentioned above the fitness room has recently been renovated and enlarged, so this is one of the most spacious and, thanks to the huge windows, well-lit in the city. Life Fitness equipments are lined up in the room. Among the cardio equipments there are running machines, step machines, cardio wave machines, elliptical trainers, bikes and arm ergometers. In the room where the weights are, you can get fitter by using the special Hammer equipments. If you’re not sure about how to use any one of the machines, don’t worry, just ask one of the trainers, as they’re in the room at all times, even for putting together your training schedule, should you need that.2. Group sessions: 10/9There’s an astounding variety of group sessions. Surely, you can find the popular ones, such as spinning, toning, box and dance, to mention but a few. At Fitness Factory special attention is paid to sessions of Body&Mind, for instance, bodyArt, which makes use of some yoga elements, or spinal training, which is especially useful for those who work in a sitting position. The two rooms are excellently equipped, there are ropes, flexi bar, fit ball, and a multitude of other equipments to train with. The novelty last year was TRX, that aims to develop stamina and coordination. The first session was held here, and the center has been acting as a reference center ever since. You need to buy an extra ticket for this even if you have a regular membership. If you want to make sure, you might want to try it, because calories keep burning 24 to 28 hours after training. Then there’s kettlebell, on the peak of its popularity, which increases muscle weight, develops endurance and rids you of fat. The timetable of sessions is compiled flexibly so that guests can choose all types of trainings in the morning and in the evening too. Almost uniquely in the city there’s the opportunity to train, stretch, run or take part in sessions outdoors, which could be a really good feeling either in the rays of the spring sun, during the beautiful sunset in summer or at night lit by torches.3. Wellness: 10/8The wellness section is small but very effective. There’s Finnish sauna, infrared sauna, aroma room, cold water sinking pool and a tepidarium, that is a warm stone seat, for your convenience. The biggest attraction of the section is the direct pathway to the terrace, so one can cool down outside even in the winter snowfall or lounge in the 35-38 degrees of the outdoor jacuzzi. And in summer you can lie in the beds to soak up the warmth of the sun.4. Services: 10/9

Fitness Factory offers a variety of services – hairdresser’s, cosmetics salon, massage, solarium, manicure and pedicure. The buffet serves excellent hot sandwiches and coffee, which is priceless after a training early in the morning. Also, there are fresh fruits, which are made into shakes at once upon request. Fortunately, you don’t have to squeeze cash in your pockets as the amount of money to be paid can be uploaded to the magnetic key. It’s important to note that the prices are not at all outrageous, they are more like normal prices you can see in cafés (a hot sandwich costs 350 HUF). There’s a children’s room to cater for family needs, where the professional nurse awaits children between 6 months and 10 years of age. Two and a half hours are free of charge, after which every half an hour started costs 500 HUF.5. Locker rooms/Cleanness: 10/7There could possibly be no complaint about the cleanness of Fitness Factory, its changing rooms, showers and wellness section are all very well-kept. What catches the eye, though, are the dated showers and the lack of esthetics. The showers are totally open, there’s no trace of curtains or doors to separate them. Additionally, at times guests have to wait for too long for the refilling of the shower gel bottles. Luckily, you don’t have to carry around a towel, you get two of them at the reception, for 1000 HUF guarantee, though. The lockers, for which keys are provided at the reception, reminded me of the metal lockers seen in high schools. The hairdryers are no better than the usual ones you see in swimming pools, so long-haired people had better take theirs.

6. Atmosphere: 10/8The atmosphere at Fitness Factory is very pleasant and friendly, partly due to the first impression that you have after meeting the receptionist or the assistants at the buffet, and in another part due to the community that comes here. As there’s a possibility to buy daily passes, as well, there are always new faces to see.

7. Prices: 10/9The prices and the choice of tickets and passes reflect real flexibility ensuring one for everybody. There’s the one-time ticket for fitness or aerobic, combined ticket, morning pass, 10-time ticket, passes for 3 and 6 months, and you can buy them in installments. Just to get you started: a combined fitness and aerobic daily pass is 2750 HUF and a 12-month combined pass costs 129000 HUF.
Fitness Factory
Address:

1134, Budapest, 54-58 Róbert Károly Boulveard
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