YMCA of Greater Seattle – Sammamish

If you are looking for a great quality swim lessons for your child, that’s the right place. I had three children various ages and skill enrolled for swim lessons for a year here. My 7 year old twin boys were coached by Javier and Dante — both instructors were very good with kids, very involved, highly skilled and professional. My 5 year old daughter had Maggie — also very focused and professional. It is true that at the Y they keep switching instructors from session to session, but once I learned that parents can request a particular instructor, I had to make sure I remember to do it at the end of every session.

After working in Issaquah for the past 8 months, I decided to finally go find the YMCA. I live in West Seattle and frequent our two Y’s in that neighborhood. After reading the past reviews, I was a bit worried… until I found it. Not realizing the address was a place I had been to many times over the years… until I drove in.
While this is by no means a full amenity YMCA or even near up to date, I am SO happy an organization saw fit to use the facility it is housed in. The buildings are circa-​1960 and had housed two different religious organizations, the last one being a Lutheran college that attracted (and housed) students from all over the world. I had been invited to holiday choir programs on many occasions in the past. That bit of background should help put your expectations in line with what you will find.
What you will find: Small, several floors, but clean and very friendly staff. Locks are provided for half lockers. The shower/​water system is such that the water should run a bit — there are signs about this all over the locker room. Shower water was hot and several showers provided a changing room right outside. No towel service. There is a pool which I have yet to see (closed on Sundays). The exercise machines they had were all working and I felt current technology.
This is a YMCA where you’ll want to go in, use the machines, and then go about your business. Will I be back? Yes.

No way am I putting my kids here
I don’t mind how a building looks on its outside and even inside I can understand its an old school but this is a no go. Went on a Sunday and we were not received all too friendly, which is weird considering so far everyone has been really friendly.
The guard mentioned the pool was closed but forgot to add that it is also not visible since there is no window so after 5 minutes we returned unsuccessfully. This is not an area to walk thru in swim clothing, I think the other 1 star review was mild regarding the pipes in the hallway. I worked at factories more esthetic.
Simply, in one word: no

I really like what the YMCA is all about and how family friendly they strive to be but this location is beyond tired and depressed. The previous post was absolutely correct, it is located in an old building, like crammed in the back of a church. I am not which came first, the church or the YMCA but either way, its a very strange set up. It feels like this ymca was adapted to fit into a building that wasn’t intended to be a gym, I don’t know.
Let me first start out with what I liked about this location. The staff here and front desk receptionist was very nice, helpful and welcoming. She answered all my questions and made me feel very comfortable. She offered me a 3 day trial pass to decide if I wanted to join. Having 2 small boys, I tried the childcare set up and felt very comfortable and secure leaving my kids in the care of the women in charge. Being new to the area and never leaving my children with anyone but family before, this IS HUGE to me. They have pagers they assign to you to notify you if you need to come back to the childcare room. Another option that I liked the idea of is having location based membership option. Instead of having access to all the area YMCAs, you can join this branch only for a much lower monthly fee. They also just run month to month memberships which is different and nicer than how they run the YMCAs in the Midwest. They also offer a decent class schedule with many options. The gym area was never too busy here which I liked. Its very frustrating not being able to get on a machine or having to wait. The receptionist informed me that was accurate at this location.
THe DEAL BREAKERS
I can get past the old facility and the weird set up of this location, there are things that I can’t get past and it mainly has to do with the locker rooms. As a busy mom, I was looking forward to joining a gym so I could work out often and shower in peace and quiet while my kids are being watched in the childcare area. I really wanted this place to work just because I felt so comfortable with the childcare ladies but the locker room situation here is ridiculous. There are locker rooms on the top floor, ok, yeah, no big deal but there is not a single outlet up there to plug in a hairdryer, not even ONE. The locker room is old, like from 1960 and sauna like inside. Even if there was a plug, not sure you could run a blow dryer in here because you would be drenched in sweat. The bathrooms are located on the floor below and there a single outlet on the wall, far from the mirror. The bathroom is nothing more than a couple stalls and couple sinks. Even if you did run downstairs to dry your hair and apply makeup, there isin’t even a ledge and you are very far from the mirror if you need to blow dry.
Childcare is only offered from 9−11AM daily. Ok, not a deal breaker in itself but combined with everything else, it is something that kinda stinks. Childcare is only one room. Again, this is not a deal breaker in itself but all these things add up. I was a little concerned about my one year old playing along side of older kids where he could get hurt unintentionally. Again, not enough to break the deal but concerning.
The equipment all was in working order and there seemed to be enough, there were a few strength type machines I didn’t see available that I’m used to seeing. I am sure there are other way to work these areas out but strange certain machines were not there. I am guessing it is a space issue. Some of the machines were a bit dusty.
The facility is set up so weird. When you try to get to the gymnasium or the pool, you feel like you’re in an abandoned old building with exposed piping like you’re in the basement of an old factory. Long halls that you would never guess that you’re in the middle of a YMCA.
As I really tried hard to be able to make this location work as it is closest to my house and offers very good rates, I just can’t and I’m so disappointed. I have never seen a YMCA like this as far as outdated and weird facility. I am just surprised that given the amount of growth in Sammamish and Issaquah areas, the YMCA hasn’t already invested some time and money into a better branch. The receptionist told me that in a year or two they will be getting a new facility. They are beyond ready for an upgrade. It looks like this should have happened at least 20 years ago.
I hate to bash the YMCA but I really can’t believe they run a facility so old. Its more than just appearances, the whole place makes no sense and I just can’t see it working for me as much as I would like to.

I’ll be the first person to admit that the first time I drove by here I didn’t want to come in. From the outside the YMCA is located in a large, fairly old building — a building where you drive by what looks like some abandoned dorms to get to. I probably came around 5 in the winter, so it was, as one can imagine getting really dark and this place just isn’t the lighthouse in the dark — at least not from the outside. Truth be told, just driving by during dusk, I was rather surprised (and put off) by the appearance.
Once you actually get out of the car and enter the warehouse style doors though, they inside is well lit and welcoming. My office started offering a monthly reimbursement for gym membership, so I figured why not check it out and join during one of the free joining periods (where they waived the $ 100 joining fee). I figured that as long as I was coming during the day, it wasn’t going to be «scary» and they have a pool — which I’ve been hunting high and low for (at the cheapest rate I could find) and it’s really just a few minute drive from my house. I can overlook a lot of things for easy access I’m not going to lie.
The membership fees are not cheap by any means. I got a single facility membership for just myself — $ 47/​month. It comes with 12 guest passes as well as 12 passes to use the other Seattle facilities (the Newcastle one is new and fairly close). The classes are free, but since I’m not able to go during the day, most aren’t an option. I am however, taking the early morning yoga classes they offer — I can get a short warm up, yoga, and still go home and take a shower before having to catch the bus downtown.
This place is also not at all like 24 Hour Fitness, so don’t expect late hours (they cater to the families in the area, not the overworked professional who doesn’t have time to pop in until 10 pm). However — with that said, the inside is well maintained, clean, and the staff — friendly. If you can schedule your work out around the facilities hours, it’s worth checking out. I’ve been on weekend afternoons and they always have the equipment availability I’m looking for.
Programs for kids are extensive, and they do have tons of options in the summer. I’ve also seen some family programs being advertised. I signed up for a swim lesson — priced at $ 11 per class. Overall, I’ve been happy with my membership here.