Olympic Athletic Club | King County, WA

I hate to leave a bad review, but I just feel like this place boasts an aesthetic that gives a rich people vibe but doesn't actually offer the convenience of being a part of an expensive gym. I came in on a guest pass to try out the facility and it honestly was quite sub par. I'm from the UK, and have experienced a gym called Third Space which actually solves all of the problems this place seems to have. If I am to pay a high price for a nice gym, I expect it to have a frictionless experience so that I can focus on my health and wellness. When I came in, I found it strange that all the towels are at the front desk. It makes me feel as though I am being policed on how many towels I can take. That makes it hard to change towels when I'm taking a shower, then using the sauna steam room, then to take a shower again afterwards, all with the same towel. Why not have all the towels at the locker room at my disposal? And the size of the towels are laughable as well. I'm a size XS and 5"4' but they barely covered my bum. The sauna and steam room was the main reason I wanted to join this gym, but it was barely hot and I didn't break a sweat. It was frustrating and I left soon after. I showed up to a class I signed up for only to find that the instructor didn't show, and didn't notify anyone beforehand. We all found out 15 mins of waiting in class. There aren't any toiletries such as cotton buds or tampons/pads. The hair tools they have is just a regular hair dryer, no high quality appliances or straighteners. There are no seats to sit at the counters with mirrors, you must stand the whole time getting ready. But again I'm still comparing it to a similarly priced gym in London which is in a different country. The thing is, I'm expecting this gym to make it easier to be there based on the price and location. I expect it to have recovery rooms such as cryotherapy, red light therapy, and cold waterfall shower. There a lot of tech workers in the area, spending quite a bit to be a part of this membership and I was shocked to see how little it offers. I just assume what people are paying for is the proximity to being in Ballard, and that it looks pretty bougie. I was really disappointed because I wanted to really like this place and wanted it to be my third space. I will say it is a beautiful space and has good equipment.

Posted on: March 06, 2026

Olympic Athletic Club is truly one of the best gyms in all of Seattle. The entire facility is incredibly clean, the equipment is always well-maintained, and the atmosphere makes working out something I genuinely look forward to. The staff is consistently friendly, welcoming, and helpful — you can really feel the sense of community here. Every visit has been a wonderful experience, and it’s rare to find a gym that combines great energy, cleanliness, and high-quality equipment all in one place. I’m so grateful for my time here and can’t recommend OAC enough!

Posted on: December 11, 2025

So a former member at this gym. Boy do I have a lot to say. When I first did a tour in July. The Sales consultant she showed me around. But didn’t answer any of my questions. And knew very little about fitness. When I did sign up the guy in a suit. Told me different promotions than what the lady had said the day before. So it was a bait and switch. Anyway I still signed up for benefit of the doubt. Honestly been to many gyms. And Olympic isn’t that great. Machines are all the same all three floors. They don’t welcome powerlifters or bodybuilders. It’s like a country club with no diversity. I scanned in one day and this blonde girl came over to me and grabbed my shoulder and said I needed to scanned in. And when I did. They were super condescending because of it. So I started to watch how the front desk ppl treated their members. It’s not great. They act like they are in high school. Anyway I moved back home. And the only two ways to cancel a membership is 1: be dead. 2: move further than a 60 miles radius. Which is ridiculous. Well that’s my two cents. Would I recommend going to Olympic in Ballard. No not really. Also 125 dollars a month for a subpar gym. I don’t support PF but 10 dollars a month on Market Street is a wayy better deal. Just if your looking for options

Posted on: January 28, 2026

I’m moving to Seattle in November, but no permanent address yet. In town checking things out including gyms. Was very excited to try Olympic. My issue is not that they don’t offer day or week passes or have a way to let me try the gym unless I have a permanent Seattle addy. My issue is the attitude from the manager was clearly: GET OUT. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE. “We are a members only club.” Instead, this convo could easily have been: “we can’t help you now, but when you actually move here, come on back in. We’d love to have you.” Nope. The directive and attitude was “get out”. So I will never be coming back.

Posted on: February 11, 2026

The women's gym is actually pretty cool. It's in an auxiliary location and it's nice to have a weight lifting area that's free of big strong dudes. Call it insecurity but as a female using rather low weighted lifting equipment, it feels less intimidating. The renovation (Aug -sept 2025) was not an improvement unfortunately. The renovation was for the locker room. It's meh. The fixtures are not as good and already getting loose. And the loss of the private in-locker-room hot tub is a real loss. But there's a whole section quartered off that used to be a little private gym. Maybe they'll turn it into a cryotherapy area? That would be cool and modern. Anyway. A suggestion. It's just as well if it's used for the cleaning staff to have more space. Storage and cleaning staff often get cramped into small spaces so hopefully they've been able to get more room with the renovation.

Posted on: November 25, 2025