Editor's Review
What it is for:
Better operates a large share of the UK's public leisure centres on behalf of local councils, and this app is the front desk. Members use it to book a fitness class, reserve a lane swim, take a badminton or squash court, read the timetable for their nearest centre and show a digital membership card at the barrier. Pay-as-you-go users can book and pay for single sessions the same way.
Where it falls down:
A 2.6 rating is not an accident, and it is the most important fact on this listing. Store reviews describe being logged out repeatedly, bookings that fail at the payment step, timetables that disagree with the ones posted inside the centre, and slow loading exactly when popular classes open for booking. The underlying platform comes from Innovatise and is skinned for many operators, which tends to leave gaps between what the app believes a centre offers and what it actually runs.
Who should install it anyway:
Anyone holding a Better membership does not really have a choice, because sought-after classes fill through the app and nowhere else. Go in expecting to keep the website open as a fallback, and book the moment slots are released rather than the night before.
Features
Booking for classes, lane swims and racquet courts at Better centres
Digital membership card shown at the entry barrier
Centre timetables with slots released at a set time each day
Single-session booking and payment for non-members
Booking history with cancellation from inside the app
Pros
The only practical route to a place in a popular class at a Better centre
Carrying the membership card on the phone removes one more piece of plastic
Cons
A 2.6 rating across 1M+ installs reflects persistent reliability complaints
Sessions drop often enough that being signed out mid-booking is a common report
Timetable data can disagree with what the centre is actually running
Nothing here is useful without a Better centre nearby
Questions people ask
Do I need a membership?
Not strictly. Pay-as-you-go users can book and pay for individual sessions. Most of the app assumes a membership, though, and members get earlier access when class slots are released.
Why does it keep signing me out?
This is among the most common complaints in the store reviews and there is no setting that fixes it. Keeping the app updated helps; otherwise the centre's website accepts the same login as a fallback.
