Northwest YMCA

The Executive Director is stunningly unresponsive. I have been trying to get a response to a health issue for FOUR YEARS! I write every year just to see how long they go without responding. Four years has to be a record.

Great location! Ideal to drop in on way to work or back. Fairly good offering of classes. A little bit crowded though for the very same reasons.

This place used to be 3 stars and now I say 5.
I have seen HUGE facility changes and upgrades by the new manager Joseph. He’s attentive, friendly, and gives great customer service when I asked a few questions!!! :)
Great pricing on memberships in our area. Highly recommend to go to this location. Thanks Joseph you work is much appreciated every time I workout and swim!

Packed and the parking is tight.
Tons of kids running around like they own it and checked out parents bumping into walls like zombies!

Came here for ujam class today. Called ahead of time to confirm. After waiting for 10 minutes in a full exercise room, we are told class is canceled because instructor broke his ankle. Other people in the class said the instructor told them last week that he was going to be gone and would find a sub. Complete lack of organization and lying to members makes me give this Y a one star review. Even if there were no ujam instructor subs available, get someone else who does a dance class so at least we get SOMETHING. Terrible waste of time.

This YMCA is awesome. There are many programs /​classes for all! Theres always nice and knowledgeable staff around to help you with the machines and weights. I’ve been to many gyms and the machines here are by far bar none (i.e. option to pick tv channel).
The teachers for the children’s side are friendly and mature. I would definitely recommend this place to families. Child care is available for younger ones — 2 hours max.
Con: 1) They could work on upgrading the lobby area. Furniture is pretty lame. 2) The smell of chlorine is crazy in the pool area. Im surprised no one has passed out yet. 3) Machines are set in increments of 30 minutes. So once you hit the 30m mark, you have to stop, reset and start over. (Which can be frustrating if you run for a longer time.)
All and all– nice.

This Y has really friendly staff. My favorite part is the classes. I’ve taken a yoga and body pump class and wish I had time for more! They’re welcoming and dont require you to attend every single class. (At least the ones I’ve taken so far.)
One issue at this ymca is that there isn’t much equipment around as needed. I always have to wait to use the squat rack. Another complaint, which is by no means attacking anyone or the YMCA, but I’ve noticed that this particular YMCA location has a fowl odor. It seems to be coming from YMCA members and hope the company can promote cleanliness and hygiene at the gym. I get that people will sweat at the gym but can they wear deodorant please?
Once they fix that, this place will be closer to 5 stars!

Gotta love my YMCA! I come here everyday! The staff are friendly, the towels are fresh. The equipment is clean! Just dont come during rush hour, 6~9 pm cause everyone is lifting.

This review is for youth swim lessons only
It’s more of a 3.5 star
The facility is great — clean and organized
We took about 6 consecutive sessions here
I was looking more for fun relaxing exercise
Which it definitely is and fitted our needs
If you are looking for disciplined rigorous skill mastering this isn’t exactly that place
The changing rooms are nice and large
The teachers are mostly great
They offer a lot of slots that are bound to meet anyone’s schedule
Originally it would be a 4 or 5 star place but:
The chlorine smell is heavy and water temperature needs to be raised (my child was was always freezing)
They increased the ratio to 1:5 instead of 1:4
Without adjusting price or time claiming they were matching state standard
Then increased parking and less space for parents to sit and shower space and less attention to the kids. The instructors seemed overwhelmed with this change.
If they have moved it back to 1:4 I would highly recommend but we’ve switched to Sutton down the street and we LoVe iT!

Basic Gym with a courteous staff. Small lounge area to chat. I much prefer to a regular 24 hr fitness. Activities for the kids too.

facility: Clearly there are several tracks of experience available at the Y: the fitness/​recreation, the childcare, family experience tracks. Sounds like a mixed bag for some folks with childcare needs and family stuff, but I fall into the first group, looking for fitness and recreation to keep myself active. I *love* this place. It is bright, big and populated with every shape, size and age. There are tons of machines, tons of classes and a great big pool. I avoid weekends when it’s crazy full of kids and the front desk is very helpful telling me when are quieter times to stop in. I love that I can just go there without a particular plan, hop on a machine for 20 minutes and right afterwards, pop into a class to try out qigong or trx or gentle yoga. There is so much this place offers and I love seeing all range of people there doing their thing. No divas, no show offs. Or at least I don’t notice them. I’m so glad I ignored some of these Unilocal reviews because a) they don’t apply to me b) they seem inaccurate or just about a specific incident c) it’s a great facility and I’m almost bypassed it.
staff: Most of the staff I have met are excellent. Really helpful and enthusiastic, the guy who gave me the tour had the patience of a saint, was very thorough and did such a good job showcasing the space, I signed up with my husband on the spot! And the teachers have been terrific. Maybe I got lucky but I found they were very experienced. Did I care for every class I took? No. But you can’t blame the instructor for that, it’s just personal preference.
I do have one bugaboo to crib about. One guy I met in the fitness room (where all the machines are) was less than helpful and it’s always the sucky ones you remember right? And complain about. Well me too.
Working at the Y requires people skills. If you are shy or awkward or gravitate only to people of your ethnic persuasion or age group, really, this is not the job for you. The first person I met in the fitness room, (not the one who ultimately helped me – he was great), he seemed to have not outgrown his high school tendencies. It’s okay to be shy or quiet but to be dismissive and act like I’m imposing on your time asking about an appointment I have, well jeez, maybe not the job for you. Everyone else was super helpful but not this guy. I’m well into midlife and I don’t have time for high school b.s. If you are in a paid staff position of helping people, help ALL people at all times, not just your hopeful hookup with hello kitty.

I used to really like this YMCA… until today.
I had an appointment to setup my Fitlinxx account because after a year, I never set one up. We setup the account and I communicated with employee X during the session, that I used to race road bikes before I was pregnant/​had a baby several years ago and that my goal was to try to do that again in the future. In a few words, he made condescending remarks to me that he’s never seen someone big like me ride a bike and typically people who ride bikes are thin. He also was very frank and said I needed to lose weight. He also was very discouraging of my fitness goals. I was disappointed he made so many assumptions about my health and physical fitness habits without knowing alot about my background. Isn’t this supposed to be a gym where people are encouraged instead of being judged?! I do know I need to lose weight and become fit, but the manner and way he said it was not encouraging whatsoever, and if anything made me feel bullied.
I’ve done the group exercise classes here and they are fantastic!!! We’ve also had group swim lessons for our daughter as well and enjoyed them. Unfortunately, this has tarnished the whole experience for me and if anything now I’m reconsidering and finding another gym.

I can’t say enough GREAT things about this Y.M.C.A.
Even though I am a little scared to rave on and on about them and let my little secret out…
But, I guess I will share my hidden treasure.
This is my son’s second year at Northwest YMCA. He attends the summer program at Lakewood Elementary School.
The staff is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Not just a couple of them, but ALL of them.
They really care about your child and work hard to make them feel empowered, important, and included.
They take excellent care of your child and make sure they have a great summer.
Included in the tuition: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and a weekly field trip.
This is a very enriching summer experience.
A great place for your child when you are at work.
Ms. Lily, Ms. Selina and Ms. Nikita you guys are amazing. We look forward to seeing you next year!!! THANK YOU FOR TAKING EXCELLENT CARE OF MY CHILD!!!

I would like to report a very bad experience that i had at Northwest YMCA, Saturday ⁰⁹⁄₀₆ at 5:30 PM.
I have a bay area family membership since 2008. My son who is 10 and half year old. He has been using Treadmill and cycling equipments under parents supervision at El camino YMCA, Palo Alto YMCA and Nothwest YMCA since he is 9 year old.
Today at northwest YMCA Jackey, and Jim stopped my son from using treadmill. My son was using treadmill under my supervison. He has been running on treadmill for more than a year at Northwest YMCA. Today the reason given was that they do not have his orientation details in the system. I asked him to teach him if he is doing anything wrong. They didn’t want to help at all. Rather insisted to setup an appointment and didn’t allow him to use treadmill.
I believe YMCA is a good organization but such a behavior and service indeed doesn’t meet YMCA reputation.
Supervisor Lindsey didn’t seem to understand it either and didn’t help at all. We are not a new member. Today experience was really embarrassing and disappointing to my son and i feel the same.
I have to say northwest YMCA branch is the worst YMCA branch and definitely spoiling the reputation of YMCA organization. Their staff is unfriendly and doesn’t want to do any work and just want to sit there and get paid for nothing. However PPL at the receptions are nice. But rest all has no sense of helping guest at all.

I keep trying to be positive about the y and give them another chance and they keep fouling it up. My only experiences have been with camps, and hope they do better as a gym. The first incident was when my daughter was attending camp. While swimming, she put her brand new eyeglasses in her backpack. One of the «leaders» decided he’d just sit in her backpack while they swam, completely bending her glasses out of form. How hard would it have been to just move the backpack out of the way when you sit. When my husband asked him about it, he said «oh you can just bend them back». Took no responsibility for it. Tried calling three times to speak to his supervisor and never got a call back.
Second incident was again with camp — this time billing. Needed to switch credit cards to pay for camp. Idiot at the front desk «helped» and charged the second card. I asked repeatedly if there was anything else needed to make sure the original card didn’t get charged and he assured me there was not. Of course the next week the original card was charged. Spoke to their person who handles the billing, and although she was very nice, she claimed there was no way to get me a refund check that day.
I will certainly be looking for other options for camps next summer. Their follow through and customer service are certainly lacking.

I did a trial membership at this Y. The reasons I did not join included:
— inexperienced staff who gave incorrect and inconsistent information and who had no knowledge of some gym amenities
— insufficient parking
— inadequate childcare (small room, staff was not able to comfort daughter, many babies in containment devices)
— lots of money for a fairly dark gym
— pretty awful class (gym ventures) – this is a ‘new’ class but I don’t see it taking off. There were numerous objects used during the class (ducks, balls, etc). But each was only taken out for a couple of minutes. At one point, balls were taken out for two minutes and then put away… only to be taken out again. Very disorganized. The instructor seemed to have minimal understanding of childhood development and what was appropriate for children at this level
The one thing I really liked about this gym was the variety of ages and body types represented.

I’m reviewing the Y after being a member here for many years. I left the area for a couple of years, traveling for work, and using YMCA branches in other places. Now I see things different and suddenly aware of the fact that YMCA members in other places get more for their money and time.
Its been a while and I’ve been too lazy to do something about it. I was just complaining to myself. But no more. I think the Northwest branch is greedy and the management care only about collecting as much money as they can with the smallest possible effort. They do not in think about promoting health in the community or promoting people’s growth like they claim to do. It is okay if it’s a business that does not claim to «move people and communities forward»…
This place is all in all a huge daycare. They cater for families/​mothers who are in need of a childcare in order to be available doing something for themselves. They count on these moms with their need for childcare to take anything as long as they have the childcare. That is why the place is always full with kids. That is why mothers ignore the hot gym with small variety of machines in such a little space. What do these mothers do once their kids grow up a little? They get out of the Y and signup in a better gym.
I now understand why I hared women in the past saying my kids grew up it’s time to leave the YMCA.
This place went through many remodeling phases without changing anything that actually benefits the members. Unless they honestly think that changing wall colors every now and than is for the best interest of the members. It does not matter if they move the gyms walls around — its still the same small space divided differently. The place is always hot and too crowded, the lockers/​showers/​restrooms are ugly and unfriendly, finding clean towel is an issue every time, and their classes/​instructors are the same as in any other area gym. Nothing changes for years but the membership dues which go up.
After visiting many other YMCA facilities, and experiencing places that truly serve their communities with warm and care — seeing the way a YMCA should be, I now understand better.
I must add that this review is regarding the gym not the swim classes which are truly good and recommended, but you don’t have to be a facility member in order to register to swim class.

This Ymca is great for me… I am a full time mother. This Ymca has many group class schedule during the daytime, what I mean I can join the group classes when my kids are at school… zumba, yoga, trx, etc…
As a mother with 2 energetic boys… I can’t exercise after 5pm. helping the kids with homework, fixing dinner, fold the laundry and 100 more things to do. So I love this place so muchhh :))

The swim classes for kids is what this review covers, since I’m not a member (considering it though).
Really great. Our daughter loves swimming and prefers this location. I like it too. Mostly because it’s close to home.
She loves the pool. Swim lessons go for 40 min, twice a week. She’s learned a lot and is doing well. Is not afraid of the water and the instructor is great. Class sizes are small, like 3 – 5 kids. I feel that it’s money well spent. And it’s expensive. It’s $ 25 for a kids’ membership and then $ 295 for lessons 2x/​wk. for 1 ½ months.
The pool area is so hot, though. I’d love to watch her poolside, but I can’t stand jungle-​hot for long. Luckily, there’s seating outside of the pool where parents can escape the humidity to watch the pool area on an LCD TV.
It’s good to escape for a few minutes to the walking-​distance Target or take a walk around the block if I want to.
Staff is totally friendly. I’ve never had a problem with them and they greet me when I come in every time. Good sense of camaraderie here.

Although a lot of people think Y’s are cheap, they’re not. It’s definitely up there with any gym in the area as far as price goes. As for the machines, they are new and kept in good shape. Almost every cardio machine has it’s own tv monitor (bring your headphones) and all the weight machines are connected to FitLinx.
I usually work out before rush hour, so I have no idea how crowded it is after 5pm. Weekends are rarely packed. The pool seems to be very crowded, but I don’t use it. Staff are very friendly and very knowledgeable.