Reformcore camden opens to mixed reviews
Reformcore, part of the United Fitness Empire (aka the people behind Kobox, Barrecore, Boomcycle, and Triyoga), has just taken over a space within Triyoga Camden. While I’m all for new fitness options in North London, this particular opening has stirred up a bit of drama in the boutique fitness world.
Reformcore’s London Shuffle – What’s Going On?
Reformcore recently shut down its Mayfair and Islington studios, despite both locations having a solid following of dedicated Reformer Pilates lovers. It’s not the only studio struggling—there have been rumours this week of Blok Leyton closing, which seems to be part of a bigger shake-up in London’s fitness scene.
The decision to relocate to Camden might make sense for Reformcore’s business strategy, but it’s left potential Triyoga members in a bit of a lurch.
Bad News for new Triyoga Members (and Their Wallets)
Before the switch, Triyoga members could add Reformer Pilates to their existing membership at a reasonable price. Now, if they want to keep doing Reformer, they need a separate (read: more expensive) membership with Reformcore. Not exactly a budget-friendly move.
On top of that, Reformcore’s signature dark rooms, LED lighting, and trendy plant décor have replaced Triyoga’s beautifully bright and airy Reformer studio, which previously complemented its ceiling windows.
Shaky Start: ClassPass Reviews & First Impressions
When Reformcore Camden first opened, it got some pretty scathing reviews on ClassPass. Things seem to have improved slightly, which we hope is due to genuine improvement in the classes and their management.
To be fair, some of the complaints weren’t really the studio’s fault—clients turning up late and making a scene, for example. And of course, not every instructor will be everyone’s cup of tea. That’s just the nature of boutique fitness. However some of the intitial feedback was genuinely concerning and not typical of Reformcore.
Among the top complaints:
Instructors being straight-up rude, calling people out mid-class
Lack of corrections, leaving people to attempt movements incorrectly. One user even referred to things ‘hurting’.
Vague instructions and little to no demonstrations, making it hard to follow along. Since there are many beds, this is a practical issue which should have been considered.
A leaky ceiling dripping dirty water onto clients mid-class. Lovely.
My Experience at Reformcore Camden
I’ve been to Reformcore many times, so was hoping the negative reviews were just early teething problems and clients not understanding the rules set out by the studio, but my own class experience wasn’t great. The instructor didn’t offer hands on corrections for anyone during the class, didnt’ seem like she wanted to be there, and the class didn’t feel very cohesive - plus most of it was far easier than your average Reformcore class despite being the standard ‘Burn’ version.
That being said, the recent uptick in positive reviews could mean that they’ve started to iron out some of these issues. Fingers crossed.