Village Hotel & Leisure Club, Walsall

I have been a member of the health club for 3 years now, and my review will be primarily about this. The hotel was built just over 3 years ago and is part of the De Vere Group. The leisure club is in the basement of the hotel...I say basement , it is actually on the ground floor, but the entrance to the hotel which you have to go through is on the level above, so you have to go up steps/ramp from the very large roomy carpark and them back down again. It did originally have a cafe copra, but this was shut and replaced by a second exercise studio, the ggod news is as of august 2008 they have opened a Starbucks which members get 20% discount at.The cost of membership is obviously different dependant on peak and off peak , there is not a family discount but you can attach children to membership for £10 a month, (7.50 at the Dudley branch). There are no consesions for pensioners either ( there is a Dudley) It seems each club has the flexibility to have slightly different tariffs and rules. Although become a member of one Village club you can attend any, I often pop over to Dudley to meet up with my Mum who is a member there and visa versa.
The Club on the whole is exceptionally clean and been a member of several clubs in my 40+ years I feel I can comment. I am rarely disapppointed by this, the staff are all very friendly, cheerful and generally accommodating some I would even say go the extra mile the leisure staff managment are always willing to listen to comments/complaints.
The gym is in a windowless room but well equiped with free weights aerobic equipment and other instruments of torture, again rarely am I waiting for a piece of equipment to come free, they have recently had some of the latest vibrating plate machine installed. It has a spin studio ( bizarre class where about 20 of you cycle along to pop music under instruction but very popular ) There are aerobic classes, pilates, salsacise, aquarobics plus lots of other classes in the 2 studios including some for children (karate and new cheerleading) The best part is that the classes are free with the membership. The pool is fanatastic 25 metres 1.2metres deep all over and warmish not too hot but never to cold. I beleive it is about 28 degrees, it was historically hottter , but they apparently turned down the temperature due to heatlh and safety in controlling infections ! Nothing to do with saving power then?
It has a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi ( hot) and a jacuzzi (pool temperature intergrated into the pool. There is also a sitting / recliner seat area on the windowed side of the pool which is very pleasant on a sunny day.
This is probably on of the quitest clubs I have ever been to and I sometimes get the pool to myself , which is great. I attend all different times depending on child care etc the daytime is very quite , the pre work session is also quite particualarly if you get in for 6.30 am, but it only gets busy mid week evenings in particular Monday and Tuesday nights, but not too the detriment of feeling crowded and having to wait. The other members are a real mix but none that I feel uncomfrotable about. The changing rooms are split into male, female and disabled. I am now unable to take my 6 year old boy into the female changing room due to club rules, but am not happy to have him change on his own in the mens, therefore I have to use the disabled ( or family and disabled room) these have showers and bench in the same large room, although this makes it more difficult to dry as the water does not drain very well. The showers are great and extremely effiecient with soap provided and a spinner and bag to wring your costume off in.
The changing rooms in the ladies only have mutilple shower private cubicals, but only 2 private changing cubicals, so not the best environment for the body consious. I beleive the mens have neither of these but I am not 100% sure.
On the whole for the money ( mine is £46 a month full membership 6am - 10 pm all week all year ) it is actually quite luxurious compared to other local gyms my sister membership is 50% more costly than mine , she has come as a guest and been extremely jealous. You can incidently pay for guest £10 for adults £5 for children.
It is probably worth asking for a trial day before you join, they often have special offers to join, ( if they don't offer one ask for one, they also continually have joining incentves as well such as vouchers for meals) (if you know a member it is often worth joining through them, then you both get the incentives). At the moment the top reward is if you get three people to join you get an ipod shuffle... not bad if they where joining anyway. They also do discounts if you work for certain employees, not much... but for public service employees I think you do not pay a joining fee, but always worth asking don't ask dont get.
The bars of the hotel are ok as members of the club we get a 20% discount and various bonus offers, they have renamed them recently the pub is now called "The Victory" This again has no windows, has quite a few discrete seating areas and serves a better than average pub grub, although ever time I have had a meal there there has been little things wrong . (60 mins wait to be served even when pub empty) raw cold chips, melted ice cream, forgotten items. The food is slightly better in the restaurant the Verve, although I have had similar problems about waiting for food and service and odd items forgotten. The Verve restaurant does have windows but the view of Junction 10 M,6 and the car park is hardly a wow,
The hotels food is not what I would call 4 star though, it is just, and I mean just reasonable, but nothing to get excited about. I have attended a carvery at Christmas staff party, this is probably the singular most disappointing meal I have had there, the turkey and salmon wher overcooked and dry, the vegetables, which I think are often cooked very well there where cooked almost beyond recognition, and the fruit salad for pudding looked and tasted just like the melon starter but with a little extra orange, the dance floor for over 100 people was no bigger than 10 foot squre, and at 40 a head we are not going back this year. I have had friends stay there before and they said the room where great, I think they are fairly much standard hotel layout design.
The hotel does seem to specialize in business meetings and most of the first floor is dedicated to these in the week. Next door to the a new Holiday inn express is now open ( and very nice inside too) had a look over christmas, it has its own conference facilities, so this will probably mean that between them they can hold larger events.