How to choose a Pilates studio

Nearly every Pilates studio has a rating between 4.7 and 5.0. Which means the star rating tells you almost nothing, and the thing everyone uses to choose is the thing least worth using.

Here is what to look at instead.

1. Class size

The single most useful number, and usually buried. For reformer, six to twelve is normal. Above twelve, the instructor physically cannot correct everyone, and you are doing a group workout rather than Pilates. Three to six is a small group: noticeably more expensive, noticeably more useful, especially early on.

If the website does not say, email and ask. How they answer tells you something too.

2. How the instructors trained

Pilates is unregulated in the UK. Anyone can teach it after a weekend. Comprehensive training runs to 450 hours or more, through schools like BASI, Polestar, STOTT or the APPI method.

You do not need to memorise those names. You need to notice whether the studio mentions training at all. Studios with well-trained teams say so, because it cost them years. Studios that stay quiet about it are usually quiet for a reason.

3. Whether anyone asks about your body

This is the one that separates a good studio from a nice-looking one.

A good studio asks, before your first class, whether you have injuries, conditions, surgeries or a pregnancy. Some run a short assessment. Others just ask at the door. Either is fine. The absence of any question is the problem, because it means the class is being taught at a room rather than to the people in it.

4. A real beginner pathway

Look for a named entry point: Foundations, Essentials, Beginner, Intro. It signals the studio has thought about what happens to a nervous first-timer.

Studios with one undifferentiated "all levels" timetable can be excellent, but you are relying entirely on the instructor to hold five ability levels in their head at once. Some can. Many cannot.

5. Whether the pricing is honest

If you cannot find a price without creating an account, that is a decision they made about you.

Also check the expiry on class packs, whether the cheap rate is off-peak only, and how much notice cancellation needs. Twelve hours is normal. Twenty-four is annoying. Anything longer is a business model, not a policy.

6. What the written reviews actually say

Ignore the number. Read the words, and look for two things.

• Someone with your body. If you have a bad back, a review saying "I came in with a herniated disc and can now sit through a work day" is worth more than fifty saying "great vibes".
• Instructors named. When reviewers repeatedly name the same teacher, the teaching is the product. That is a good sign. It is also worth knowing which class that person teaches.

(This is more or less what our finder does automatically, if you would rather not read forty reviews yourself.)

7. Whether you can try before committing

Almost every studio has an intro offer. Use two or three of them at different studios before buying any pack. A month of cheap classes and a real comparison beats guessing.

And go at the time you would actually attend. A studio at 7pm on a Tuesday is a different place from the same studio at 11am on a Sunday.

What you can safely ignore

• The interior. Terrazzo and eucalyptus towels are lovely. They will not fix your back.
• The star rating. See above. Everyone is a 4.8.
• Instagram. It shows you who they market to, not who they are good at treating.
• Distance, slightly. Worth 10 minutes more travel to reach someone who understands your specific problem. Not worth 45.