Claudia C.
Yelp
I came here for a networking event (I know right!!!) with some of my coworkers on a Thursday evening. It was my first time at SoulCycle. I had done other spin classes previously.
The staff in the front are hit and miss. They more or less got me the basic info when I came in: initialing next to my name, waiver, station number, shoes. I had to separately ask for water. My friend signed in and they didn't give her anything after she signed the waiver--she had to go back and ask for shoes, water, etc.
The facilities are nice, but really small. Huge pour-in of people right before the class starts, and can get overwhelming as it's difficult just to walk through the hallways. Showers are nice, but again, really crowded. There's face cleanser, Q-tips, spray deodorant, hair ties, razors, body lotion, shaving cream, hair dryers... But no makeup wipes!
You can't just wear your regular sneakers. The SoulCycle bikes have special shoes that you need to be latched onto to ride, so you need to rent cycling shoes from them.
The shoes I had to get from SoulCycle SMELLED. Awful. Definitely a lot of foot odor. I know they spray down the shoes with disinfectant after or whatever, but I got a giant whiff just from touching the velcros with my hands. Bring the crappiest socks you have and aren't afraid to toss, because you'll probably not want to rewear or even wash them after the class. If you have some time to kill before the class, I'd walk through the Promenade and buy some socks at H&M or Forever 21, because the SoulCycle socks are $14. I asked the staff, they aren't even special socks. They're just socks.
Also make sure someone gets you set up on the bike and latched in. Two of my friends had issues with the bike not continuing to spin, and not getting completely latched onto the bike (so one foot was hanging because it's not strapped in). This makes your entire workout miserable because the instructor is in the front, doesn't walk around because the room is so cramped, and it's also dark and damp, so not like you can see anything when you try to fix your station anyway.