Movement Gowanus (Formerly The Cliffs at Gowanus) Reviews Summary

Facilities

Pros:

• "Great amenities (towels, sauna, plenty of showers)."
• "Roof terrace with hammocks is awesome and something I haven't seen at a gym before."
• "The Cliffs at Gowanus is a huge space with a variety of walls, including bouldering, top rope, and lead climbing."
• "The gym is clean, modern, and over above many of the gyms I pop into while traveling."
• "This place is huge, 4 levels. Good place for kids and adults. Facilities are clean and well maintained."
• "The facilities are pristine - always very clean with so many amenities (showers, towels, sauna, lockers) and an awesome rooftop to watch the sunset."
• "The locker rooms are huge and very clean, and they feature a sauna and nice showers."

Cons:

• "The showers here have clearly received no attention."
• "Most of the showers only have shampoo and conditioner with no soap."
• "The weight room is anything but. The terrace is disappointing."
• "Kids are underserved. No shoes below size 3, no small sized harnesses (only toddler and adult)."
• "The mats look and feel kinda dirty."
• "Super clean bathrooms and shower area (with free towel service for members!)."
• "Can get kind of crowded during peak hours."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Amazing staff (like all other Cliffs locations)."
• "The staff is knowledgeable about everything I asked about. Very friendly and accommodating!"
• "We were given a thorough orientation by Monroe who served as a remarkable and knowledgeable young man."
• "Staff here are friendly and kind."
• "The staff is super nice. We had a blast on three floors of beautiful climbing area."
• "Staff was friendly af."
• "They’re helpful and friendly and very patient."

Cons:

• "I reached out to Movement about these issues and have received no response two weeks later."
• "Staff is young and a bit too excited by themselves."
• "As their membership prices climb(hah), they also decided to move everyone off their grandfathered membership pricing."
• "How is it the first day of opening and the staff already has terrible attitude??"
• "Staff honestly is so unwelcoming."
• "The staff insisted that we LEAVE THE BUILDING because the door was 'only open to staff at this point.' Pretty rude customer service."
• "After paying for everything, staff would not let me climb due to expired belay pass and would not allow me to take the test. No refund was given, no managers available."

Climbing Experience

Pros:

• "Fun lead routes. Nice training boards."
• "The routes are really interesting and they have a good selection for all skill levels."
• "Overall amazing facility for beginners, intermediate, advanced climbers alike."
• "Love the Cliffs at Gowanus. Tons of well-set bouldering problems (2 floors), very tall walls for top rope (1 floor), and clean locker rooms."
• "Great, fun, and creative route setting."
• "Lots of fun routes at all levels!"
• "Climbs were well thought out and fun."

Cons:

• "I hate the setting at this gym (ropes). It's so uninteresting."
• "The gym is always packed, making it difficult to find an open route to climb."
• "Hangboard area is cramped — at times unusable."
• "The top rope routes are boring - feels like a workout rather than a climbing challenge."
• "The auto belay situation just isn’t good. Seems either too few auto belay stations or too many kids just permanently strapped in without supervision on them?"
• "Feels quite dangerous to boulder here sometimes, both for climbers and for the kids who will definitely get hurt."
• "The grades are the most inconsistent of any gym I've been to and the style and moves are sometimes obnoxious or dangerous rather than enjoyably challenging."

Value and Pricing

Pros:

• "Definitely worth visiting or becoming a member (even if it feels pricey but it is definitely worth it!)."
• "For a $32 day pass, this place is well worth it and I highly recommend checking it out."
• "This place is a lot fun. Affordable, with a friendly staff."
• "Very spacious with three floors of climbing. Definitely an affordable way to spend the day."
• "Such an amazing climbing gym. Tons of bouldering, top rope, lead climbing - and a speed wall, too!"
• "It's definitely worth the price if you are looking for a way to physically challenge yourself and enjoy problem solving!"
• "In addition to climbing, there's also a fully equipped gym for your regular workouts, yoga classes and a sauna!!!! Well worth the price."

Cons:

• "No elevator unless access you are an employee or disabled."
• "High prices and water fountain shuts off intermittently for whole day with tape, no advance warning or notice."
• "Unless you’re ready to shell out money for gear right off the bat, if you go often you’ll be left with a lot of additional charges that add up pretty quickly."
• "The only unfortunate thing is they do not offer basic gear like chalk, climbing shoes, and harness for free to rent to members."
• "It costs way too much for some of the inconveniences."
• "Towels have recently become scarce or unavailable for some reason."
• "Quite disappointed in the decline in amenities & have emailed the gym so hoping they are able to bring some back :("

Community and Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Overall good vibes."
• "And lastly the vibe is wonderful with social and friendly people."
• "Community was on point."
• "Great community, great staff, great vibes."
• "There is a really good vibe here."
• "Do I need to write about this location!? The place is full of fun and excitement."
• "My 2nd home 🏡 not only do I love climbing there, it's a plus I live around the corner 🤗 great climbs and community."