Norfolk Sports & Raquets Club Pool Area
Norfolk health and racquets club, formerly known as Esporta, is now owned and run by Virgin.
The club is located on Drayton High Road, which is just off the outer ring road to the North West of Norwich.
First impression was the size of the club, which is the biggest we have reviewed so far.
Just through the entrance to the club is a large bar and restaurant area with a Costa coffee shop. Here you can buy cold drinks, including alcohol, cakes and cooked meals. This is a nice spacious area and is ideal for meeting up with friends or having a relaxing drink after using the facilities.
There are views from the restaurant into the gym and other areas of the complex.
Moving into the gym area, this is a large gym and it is located on two floors. There are approximately a dozen treadmills and most of the aerobic equipment is Life Fitness, which is a good brand.
During our mid-week visit around 2pm, there were approximately a dozen other users using the gym area, which was nowhere near full.
Access to all equipment was no problem at all. There is also a large selection of free weights and body building equipment.
My only criticism for the gym area was the choice of piped music, which was of the 60 beats per minute boy band blend and sounded like one continuous record – it was an irritating noise, which would cause headaches and nausea after a short period of time.
From the gym we went to the pool area via the changing rooms, which are conveniently placed with entrances into the pool area.
There is a large pool with lanes, suitable for serious swimmers and also a kidney shaped pool adjacent to the large pool with warm water and water jets, which are very relaxing. Well, very relaxing apart from the piped 60 beats music, which is also piped into this area!
We also tried the hot tub, which is located outside. After recovering from the leap of faith from the enclosed pool area to the tub, which is located about 20 yard form the exit, it was very pleasant. It was a cold winters day, so we had to run outside clad in swimming gear though the exit to the tub and remove the cover from the tub. Once in the hot tub, it was a great experience being outside in the fresh air and surprisingly comfortable despite having one’s head exposed to the elements.
There is also a steam room and sauna located in the pool area. We tried both and found the steam room to be very hot – almost unbearable, but probably how it should be. The sauna was also a good size with room for about 10 people.
A large racquet sport area is available for paying members, where you can play badminton, tennis, squash and table tennis.
The shower areas and changing rooms were clean and spacious.
Overall, I would say that if you enjoy swimming, racquet sports or are a more serious gym user, then this could be the club for you. At the time of this review the membership rates were approximately £60 per month but there was a deal on for approximately £50 per month if you paid a year in advance – 12 months for the price of 10.
{ 0 comments… add one now }