I’m really pissed off … Meridian Sports Club of California, operator of the Honolulu Club for the past few years, suddenly announced on Wednesday that they were closing the club. These guys took a decent athletic club and turned it into a low-budget dump. I heard that instead of reinvesting the profits here, they were sending the money to the mainland to help subsidize some of their other clubs there. And oh … did I mention that these guys are now in bankruptcy?!
Earlier this year, the building’s owners wisely decided not to renew Meridian’s management contract and as a result, Meridian announced that the club’s last day would be May 14th. Naturally, they handled their exit like the “class outfit” that they are … intimidating staff, cutting back on services, removing exercise equipment, and finally closing the facility before the official closing date. Real nice guys …
And here’s the real joke .. Meridian then announced the opening of their new club in the Ko’olani condominium called the ISLAND SPA & HEALTH CLUB.  They can’t figure out, however, why they’re having such a hard time recruiting members to support their new club … HELLO!! What’s wrong with this picture?! Nothing like paying dues to a bankrupt mainland outfit that could give a rip about it’s members and will most likely be out of business in a year or two. Remember the old cliche, “Fool me once, shame on you – fool me twice, shame on me!”
But there is a happy ending … the Honolulu Club building owners have hired a new management team and a newly renovated Honolulu Club will open on or before June 1st! Yeah!!!
Mahalo for allowing to rant …
Aloha, “D”