Since returning to Vegas in 2019 I have worked out at multiple Planet Fitness locations throughout town (I have a Black Card membership which allows me to visit any location). Depending on where I work or commute, these various locations have been convenient for me to visit.
I’m not exactly checking off a bucket list of PF locations, but I realize I’ve visited enough of them to provide a useful contrast and comparison of those locations (plus they’re on a nicer side of town and thus may get more outside visitors). As time goes on and I visit more locations in town, I’ll add to this. But here’s a rundown of the locations I have visited and worked out at:
- One of the larger locations I’ve visited, and probably the most popular as well.
- Strength training on Monday through Wednesday nights can be a challenge given the crowds. Even with a lot of space it’s a challenge to find space or a bench to do free weight work.
- Like many locations it’s dead on Saturday and Sunday nights, making those good nights to train here.
- As many crowded PF locations do, you do get a larger share of douchey regulars.
- Though this is the only Vegas location where I’ve heard the Lunk Alarm go off more than once, no staff have ever responded to it.
- That said, the staff are chill and otherwise engaged.
- The parking lot is a pain in the ass to get into and out of (the nearby businesses are also popular and draw a lot of seedy, loitery traffic), and is honestly a big deterrent from my visiting this location more often.
- This location on Sunset and Whitney Ranch is one I used to visit frequently when I worked near it.
- This is a smaller and busy location, but staff are friendly and it doesn’t seem dauntingly crowded.
- For the amount of space they actually have a large amount of strength and cardio machines, even if the layout ends up a bit cramped in the strength or 360 areas.
- That said, there’s a bit less variety in available clip-handles for the cable machines than other locations.
- Generally the air conditioning is a bit cooler for cardio here than other gyms (many tend to keep the A/C hot which is bad for extended cardio).
- Note that the 360 section (which is consistently busy) has no foam rollers, though they do have multiple BOSU balls which many locations don’t have.
- This parking lot is smaller and not difficult to park in, but like Silverado it’s a bit of a pain to get out of unless you’re heading east on Sunset.
PF Pecos McLeod
- With the smallest footprint of the gyms I’ve visited, this layout is understandably cramped.
- The back row of treadmills are almost right up to the front windows, and as many smaller locations do they have a very limited spin bike selection. The treadmill situation could be a problem during summer days when the sun is shining through the windows.
- The 30 Minute station has a neat semi-circle layout working with the storefront’s design.
- The staff are quite nice and easy going.
- Parking is easier than the other locations given the old-school commercial center’s ample parking and extended layout.
- They’re more willing to run the air cool here than other locations, so cardio workouts (aside from the window situation on hotter sunny days) may be more comfortable here.
- But the cramped layout can make strength training a challenge when any number of other people are present.
- This location opened around 2020 and is fairly spacious.
- Note that unlike other locations they do not take American Express for purchases.
- The ceiling has the big fans you see at many locations but the effects are modest and it can get kind of warm in there (this might be a great location to visit during the dead of winter).
- The weight machine and dumbbell areas have a lot of open space, and the mat areas also have plenty of open space.
- The entry/exit area is designed with a bit of a bottleneck, and this is for security reasons. So as spacious as it looks you do need to walk to a particular point to exit.
- Along with the 30 minute workout area, they also have a 12 Minute Abs workout section, which I haven’t seen elsewhere. The 12 Minute Abs workout might actually be a great fit for a lot of people, and make this a good location to visit.
- The locker room has a slightly weird layout where you need to walk right through the middle of the locker area to get to the toilets rather than bypass them. It’s not a huge deal but it may take you by surprise at first look.
- As long as you know to use the signaled shopping center intersection on Lake Mead Pkwy, it shouldn’t be too hard to get in and out of here.
PF Arroyo Crossing:
- While not as small as Pecos McLeod, this is one of the more cramped locations in town.
- The layout is similar to Whitney Ranch, with the weight machines along the left wall (relative to the entrance), the cardio machines throughout the remainder, with the 360 area in the back right corner. The 30 minute station is crammed into the back left corner.
- They have plenty of treadmills and ellipticals. No ARC Trainers. Very few spin and recumbent bikes, and only three rowing machines. All of these are crammed very close together and to the aisles.
- The staff are mostly indifferent. The resident trainer is bit too involved and nosy. Depending on who you are, he may leave you alone or he may bother you.
- They either have one of the poorer HVACs among PFs in town, or they’re tight with the thermostat. It does get hot in here.
- Being cramped, it does get crowded during afternoon rush hour and weekends. Cardio machines are typically available but the weight section becomes an obstacle course of bodies.
- Parking is abundant, as the gym’s on the far west end of the large Arroyo Crossing shopping complex. However, reportedly they’ve had substantial problems with break-ins in the lot, so be warned and make sure to avoid leaving anything valuable in sight in your vehicle.
PF Mountains Edge:
- One of the newer locations, and very spacious. Even with a crowd, it typically never feels crowded. They did a good job spreading out the weight machines and benches.
- Staff are friendly and/or helpful here. I’ve found them to be among the better PF staff in town.
- No ARCs here either but there are a ton of every other cardio machine (treadmill, elliptical, spin/recumbent bike, rowing machines, stairmaster). You probably shouldn’t ever need to wait for anything.
- The 360 section is a bit tiny, the 30 minute section not as much, and there’s more mat space than usual in the ab section.
- This PF has probably the best summer air conditioning in Vegas. It actually feels cool during the summer. However, in winter they like to blast the heater, which actually makes it rather hot for cardio and treadmill workouts.
- The parking lot is a bit cumbersome to get into and out of but there’s plenty of parking, and there’s quite a few restaurants in this complex plus an Albertson’s.
PF West Charleston:
- I used to come here a lot when it opened, but not nowadays.
- This gym opened in 2021, and now gets consistent traffic, especially in summer when school’s out and the HS kids are allowed to come in free.
- It’s a deceptively crowded location. Though it has a sizable footprint, the cardio machines take up quite a bit of space and the weight/rack/bench areas are somewhat cramped once there’s a good crowd. The 360 area in the back corner is particularly cramped and popular.
- As you’d expect in Summerlin, it’s a bit of a douchier, obnoxious crowd during rush hour.
- They don’t really care for running the A/C too much in summer, so it always does feel a bit warm. It’s not a great gym for running, as the crowds also fill the air with CO2 and the difficult breathing complicates things further.
- Staff already seems a bit burned out and detached. They also have a thing for sending any rookie employees to go and buff the floor with the big machine during afternoon rush hour, which is basically the worst time to do it because of the crowds.
- The parking lot is profoundly horrible: Cramped, busy, crowded, people sleeping/loitering in their cars, hard to see when turning or pulling out. It’s a popular shopping center corner, and ultimately might not have been the best location for a gym. Plus, entry/exit access is limited because of the layout of Fort Apache and Charleston and how busy those two streets are.
PF Deer Springs
- This gym also opened around 2021, on the NW edge of town in Centennial Hills.
- They get a consistently sizable crowd, exacerbated by the relatively small footprint of the gym. The benches/racks in particular can be very difficult to use during rush hour with the crowds and groups. Yes, they get a lot of groups and families. This is not the best gym for a quick 5pm strength workout.
- The 360 area however is quite spacious and never seems that crowded.
- The A/C is kept very cool, which helps a lot with cardio workouts. This is also helped by the building windows/door facing east, meaning the summer sun isn’t shining in during the afternoon.
- The treadmills however are dial-only, meaning there’s no keypad to type in your desired speed. You have to manually press the up or down buttons to change speeds. This could be a problem depending on what workouts you want to do, and the only way to quickly stop the treadmill is to emergency-stop the machine.
- The gym is actually behind the center’s main tenant Albertson’s and thus basically has its own relatively spacious parking lot. The driveway is a bit weird to get in and out of, but once you’re in the lot there’s plenty of space to park.
- This brand new location just opened in late 2022.
- This location is probably the biggest by footprint of the locations in town. It can take a minute or two to walk from one end to the other. Everything is reasonably spread out and they have a ton of equipment. Even with a lot of people there it doesn’t seem at all crowded.
- In the 360 area they have these neat half-mats if you don’t need a full floor mat.
- Like Old Henderson the locker room makes you walk through the locker area to get to the toilets.
- Unlike other locations there’s so many exercise bikes and rowing machines there’s probably no way they’ll all be taken.
- I need to see how it feels in summer, but the air in the gym does feel noticeably cooler than most other PF gyms. So this indicates they aren’t running their heater too much, and I have faith they’ll run their A/C cool in the summer.
- The parking lot has a lot of parking but does seem a bit sketchy. You get randos loitering in their cars a lot.