For a gym, I guess the obvious factors are price, clientele, variety of weights/machines/cardio eqpt/classes, cleanliness & safety. For a trainer, it all depends on what your goals are. If you are serious about training, then find someone who will do more than just show u how to do the little Nautilus circuit. Tell them u have x experience and want to lift seriously. I personally don't trust trainers who are not open on their training methods -- if they will only do it a certain way, that means they prob wont' adjust your training to fit your goals -- u will just get "their" routine. They can give u something to start w/, but if it isn't getting results, doesn't work for you, or whatever, then they should be willing and able to adjust to your needs. For ex, I developed screaming tendonitis from a certain way of training, but it came down to my trainer telling me i had to just suck it up and muscle thru it. Like "You won't get the results you need if you dont' do it this way".. . So now I have more screaming tendonitis. Good trainer huh? There are always ways around things. If the trainer can't do that for you,... NEXT!
Another factor, esp for women, is diet. Are u looking for someone to help u with nutrition? Most guys don't seem to know what they are doing when it comes to women's diets. So see if they have qualifications in that area if that's what u need from them. A physical trainer cert doesn't necessarily mean they understand nutrition. If they tell u to not lift heavy or whatever, ask why. If they can't give u a satisfactory answer... NEXT!
If you are going for competition training, find someone based on recommmendations & also on results. Their previous clients should be finishing top / overall consistently. Else... NEXT!
If you just need a "trainer" in general -- then maybe all you really need is someone who will give you some new routines every 6-8 weeks. Make sure they record what you do for your workouts. If they dont' or tell u "its limiting" or some shit like that...that means they are just protecting their job & making you more dependent on them for training -- then they become just an expensive spotter.
Hope that helps some. I've used 5-6 diff trainers over the years. Had some good, some bad. At this point, I prefer to do my own training because I've dealt w/ people who want to tie me to regular training sessions according to their "way" of training. Now I'm out about $4K and have some wonderful tendonitis problems that have plagued me for over a year. At the end of the day, YOU should know more -- don't let yourself just rely on them to take care of u. Knowledge is POWER!
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