Does LA Fitness Have Towel Service?
Signature and select flagship LA Fitness clubs include towel service with membership. Standard clubs do not; members bring their own towels or rent one for...
Quick Answer
Yes, but only at Signature and flagship LA Fitness clubs. Standard clubs do not include towel service. You bring your own towel or rent one for $2 to $3 per visit.
Towel service means fresh towels are handed out at the entry to the locker rooms and dropped in a bin after use. No laundering on your part.
Where Towel Service Is Standard
Signature Miracle Mile (Chicago), Bryant Park (New York), Signature Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach and about 30 other flagship clubs include towel service with any Signature membership.
Some new-build suburban Signature clubs also include towel service. Check the amenity list on the club's Find a Club page.
Standard Clubs and BYO Towel
- Bring one gym towel for wiping down equipment.
- Bring a second larger towel for showering afterwards.
- Or rent a towel for $2 to $3 at the front desk.
- Some clubs sell branded LA Fitness towels for around $15.
How Signature Towel Service Works
Walk into the locker room. Grab a fresh towel from the shelf inside the entry. Use it. Drop it in the linen hamper on your way out. Housekeeping restocks throughout the day.
Towels are typically standard cotton, not premium. Signature Miracle Mile and other flagships upgrade to slightly larger heavier towels.
Renting a Towel at a Standard Club
Walk up to the front desk. Ask for a towel rental. Pay $2 to $3. Return the used towel to the desk after your workout. Some clubs use a punch card ($20 for 10 rentals).
Renting adds up. Two rentals a week for a year is $260. If you go regularly, bringing your own or upgrading to Signature is cheaper.
Why Standard Clubs Skip Towel Service
Laundry cost. Full towel service at a large club runs $30,000 to $100,000 per year in linen leasing and laundering. Standard clubs use that budget on equipment or class programming instead.
Members overwhelmingly bring their own towels because they are cheaper than the rental fee over time.
Towel Alternatives
Compact microfiber towels sold at outdoor stores work well for gym use. They pack small, dry fast and last for years. About $10 to $15 upfront replaces years of rental fees.
Old bath towels from home work fine too. LA Fitness does not require branded towels.
Where Towel Service Sits In The Membership Tiers
Towel service is a tier feature rather than a universal one. Higher priced memberships at signature locations typically include it, standard memberships at most clubs do not, and some clubs offer it as a small per visit or monthly charge on top of the base rate.
There is a second, separate thing also called towel service: the small sanitising towels on the gym floor for wiping equipment. Those are provided almost everywhere and have nothing to do with the shower towel question.
Because this varies club by club, ask specifically whether a bath towel for the shower is included, using those words. Staff hear the question often and answer it precisely when it is phrased that way.
The Cost Comparison
If your club charges a monthly fee for towels, run the numbers before agreeing. A stack of four quick dry microfibre towels is a one off purchase that usually costs less than two or three months of the service, lasts for years and packs smaller than a single cotton towel.
- Microfibre dries roughly twice as fast as cotton, which matters when the towel lives in a bag
- Four towels covers a daily training week with laundry once
- A separate small towel for the gym floor keeps sweat off the one you shower with
- A mesh or vented bag stops a damp towel turning the whole bag sour
Hygiene Notes On Club Towels
Where towel service is provided, towels are laundered commercially at high temperature, which is generally more thorough than a domestic wash. The weak point is not the laundry, it is the return bin, so drop used towels in the bin rather than leaving them on a bench.
Do not take club towels home even accidentally, since most clubs track stock and repeated losses are how the service gets cancelled for everyone.
What To Do When There Is No Service At All
Pack two towels: a full size one for the shower and a small one for the equipment. Keep a spare set permanently in the car or in a locker at work so a forgotten towel never turns into a skipped session.
Hang the used towel as soon as you get home rather than leaving it rolled in the bag. A damp towel sealed in a gym bag for eight hours is how bags start smelling, and no amount of washing the clothes fixes the bag itself once that happens.
Pro Tips Before You Commit
- Tour on a weekday evening between 5pm and 7pm. That is the busiest window. If the equipment is still accessible then, it will be fine any other time.
- Ask for the promotional rate, do not accept the rack rate. LA Fitness runs quiet in-club promos almost every month; sales counselors have discretion to waive the initiation fee if you ask.
- Get every quote in writing. Verbal promises about future price locks are worth nothing once the sales rep leaves the club.
- Read the exact clause on annual fees. Most members are surprised in month 8 by a $59 annual fee they were never verbally told about.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is towel service included with any LA Fitness membership? Only at Signature and flagship clubs. Standard clubs charge or expect BYO.
How much does a towel rental cost? $2 to $3 per visit at most standard clubs.
Can I take a used towel home to wash it? No, towel service linens must be returned to the club.
Are gym towels different from shower towels? Gym towels are smaller. Bring both or use one larger towel for both purposes.
Bottom Line
Signature clubs include towel service. Standard clubs do not. If you want it and your club does not offer it, upgrade to a Signature membership or bring your own microfiber towel.