Gym: Elevation Fitness
Parking: There’s an underground garage on the visitor level, or you can park at Elm Street Garage. Parking is validated up to two hours.
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sunday, closed
Price: Cost ranges from $49 a month to $169 a month, depending on what you’re looking for. Membership is on a month-to-month basis. There are no contracts.
Who Goes There: People who work in 1700 Pacific and a few downtown residents.
Rush Hour: Between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekdays
Best views: (See “Unique Items” below)
Group classes: Multiple classes (such as spin, Pilates, and group training) are offered from 10:30 or 11 a.m. until about 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Unique items: Mavs dancers (and the ManiAACS) practice there. How do I know this? The first night my husband and I moved into our apartment at the Wilson building, we looked out our window and saw scantily clad women dancing. Then the guy who had been in our apartment before us (whom we had become friends with) sent my husband a text: “Enjoying the view?”
The Lowdown: I went after an event after work one evening. When I got there, there were only a few people in the gym. Most of them were young. All of them were very fit. I felt a bit self-conscious. They seemed to know what they were doing, and I was invading. But then I settled into my workout, and everything was fine. I like the treadmills (it’s always nice to have a fan turn on just when you’re starting to heat up), and most of the cardio equipment was overlooking downtown streets. The gym is small but efficiently organized. There are several group rooms where, if no classes are going on, you can jump in and take over. There’s also a nice bar area to sit and relax in before or after a workout. Since the gym is used primarily by business people from the building, I could see it being an intimate, neighborhood gym for downtown residents. You can pretty much take over the space after-hours (and, for me, the only place more accessible is the gym in my apartment, which doesn’t offer nearly as many amenities). You can also finish your workout with a Thai massage at the spa.
Beware: Go in for your first meeting when someone is available to take you around. They’ll help you get the lay of the land. If you do like I did and just walk in, it might be a bit confusing at first.
