YMCA of Greater Seattle – West Seattle

A YMCA member of 16 years at home and while traveling… this is the smallest, not updated, least friendly YMCA I have ever been to (recently moved to Seattle).
The Pool? Archaic.
The Cardio Room? Claustrophobia inducing. Machines touching. Small number of machines.
The Staff? An aquatics instructor rudely refused to share the pool (her class took up 10% of the pool), another couldn’t answer my question or direct me to anyone that could, and finally the lifeguard used inappropriate language when calling an aquatics instructor «super anal», and apologizing that I couldn’t swim laps against the wall 15 feet from a class.
There is an obvious lack of respect towards members, as I watched the aquatics instructor scold elderly people sitting in the water by the stairs. Not allowed while her class is in the water! They were just sitting there talking, sitting directly next to the stairs, harming no one, and intruding upon no one’s space (the class was on the opposite side of the pool).
This YMCA is unwelcoming, and the opposite of the YMCA core values, and gyms I have loved for years. This YMCA was subpar on every level.

I am not currently a member have been in the past. I have been considering going back but all their group fitness classes seem to be geared to whoever does not work during the day. Also they seem to consider some diseases are related to old age & not the general public therefore again gearing classes to daytime. I lived in Oregon & was a member at the portland ymca & have nothing but good things to say.

I find the «commentary» from «Customer Service» less than genuine. The youth I was casually referring to (as anyone who has tried to enter a pickup game knows) are 18 – 25 year old men who dominate the courts, bicker constantly, and do not allow others to sub in when the game is finished. I doubt that the YMCA is «discussing this with the youth’s parents». I drive to Downtown YMCA which is out of my way and where I pay a large parking fee but I don’t have to deal with this issue…

The weight room is small and old, the pool is almost always filled with classes and lessons. I found myself dreading going to the gym which is never a good thing. I ended up cancelling and signing up with The West Seattle Health Club.

This evening about a 12 pack of thug kids were running wild. Swearing, spitting, and staff could not control. They wandered aimlessly, not working out, I’m sure parent dropped off and used it for free day care. This location caters to non revenue low income, if you want to see what a nice ymca is go to Bellevue, this one gets no upgrades.

My husband and I enrolled our children in the swimming classes at the Y. Prior to enrolling in swimming classes, we’ve never stepped foot in the pool area. The first day of swimming classes, my husband and son were in the men’s locker room, and some man tried to pick a fight with my husband for not removing his shoes. All of this in front of our son. My husband kept apologizing, saying he wasn’t aware and that he’ll remove his shoes, but this person kept pushing the issue. My husband left the men’s locker room with our son while the man was still arguing. My son doesn’t even like going into the men’s locker room. So not a very good first impression. We didn’t bring up the issue to the staff, we just shrugged it off. But its uncomfortable knowing that this unpredictable man is around our children.
As far as the services for children, you have to register as soon as possible, which is expected. The childcare option is great.
The facility is small and crowded, but I hear they are going to do some renovations.

They are fantastic with children however their facility needs a serious update. It’s a very overcrowded and parking is generally scarce. People laying on the floor trying to stretch my other people are trying to use the equipment.

I love the West Seattle Ymca. They have a lot of great classes and good programs for toddlers!

Doug is the cornerstone of West Seattle Family YMCA. I’m sure the facility deeply appreciates Doug and all that he brings, but truly he helps people start the day with a smile and lighthearted laughter. How he is able to remember so many names and what person prefers which locker I’ll never know.
The West Seattle community is wholly different from the Downtown and Central District facilities. Yeah, I know: duh. But I took this change for granted and found myself a stranger in a strange land in the West Seattle branch. A lot of the members know one another and have long-​standing histories with each other. And this is great! Don’t get me wrong. But not bringing headphones to the gym and having to listen to the popular conversation topic du jour is always a roll of the dice. Sometimes I overheard conversations about church, other times a parent’s kids in school. The ever-​popular topics were often started by the guys who are in their late 40s yet somehow think they are still in their teens and able to talk about their machismo with great bravado. Yeah, there is nothing better than having to hear that one guy talk about women like he is God’s gift. Never got tired of hearing that guy talk.
I originally joined the Y to swim but the West Seattle location has a very active Master’s swim group. So active the pool would only allow for one open lane, and that was often shared by a few older adults who really, really, really don’t like it when you swim around/​past/​beside them. Really made me the Downtown branch where the only people swimming at 5:45 are the super-​cute older adults getting their aerobic exercise on in the shallow end.
West Seattle Family YMCA definitely puts the «family» into its name. But I prefer the Downtown location: quiet.

This seems like a good facility overall, but they have terrible classes. My child is taking a class where the teacher stops every few minutes to read her notes while the children get restless and cranky. When I decided to stop putting him through the torture of this class, I asked for a refund and was refused. Get all the information you can before you commit to a class here.

Expanding.

I come here just for Kam Zumba on Sundays! Kam gives new meaning to Sunday Funday! My only complaint is that I wish they had maybe a cheaper option for people who want to just do weekend workout classes… we aren’t getting a membership here because my husband didn’t like the tiny weight room. I just pay the $ 10 daily fee. Other than that, great friendly staff and kudos to kam, deb and tish… they are amazing zumba instructors!
***update: One star off for the rise in daily prices. From $ 10 to $ 16!!! Really?!? Not cool!

Make sure you rinse off your swim suit, pool shoes, towels anything, that went into the pool area, before you leave. They have a Silverfish infestation and you will end up bring them home with you. Super gross, I have stopped going to this Y, because of it, but my father continues to go and brings them home with him nearly every time. He is legally blind, so he can’t see them.

Love the Zumba, yoga, cardio salsa, boot camp, barre and Bollywood classes. Great instructors, members and positive atmosphere.

Good classes available, facility is well maintained and are community-​centric. Look out for Reema’s Zumba class Monday & Thursday nights 530 — 630 pm.

My family has been a member of the West Seattle Y for nearly 8 years. The facility is fabulous and the staff is always friendly and kind. The West Seattle branch lives up to the wonderful vision of the YMCA!

This is a pretty good gym. They have 2 basketball courts, free weights, a cardio room, a studio where they do yoga and aerobics, and a pool. I only come here for the pool and I love it.

It’s a nice YMCA with clean locker rooms and friendly staff.
The kids gym/​room definitely is helpful if you have little ones that need entertaining while you work out!

Well, it’s been an entire year so I felt compelled to update my original review. This preschool is still the most wonderful place for our son. He geniunely loves this school, all of the teachers and also the weekly swim lessons that are a part of the program. We were sorry to see Marie leave for Europe to get married (my son cried for several days and still talks about her!) but turnover is inevitable. Every single teacher that we’ve encountered is nothing short of amazing!
We have even had the opportunity to move my son to the same program (at another preschool) that his older sister is at for before/​after school care but we decided against it. Yes, this preschool is THAT wonderful and nurturing to the kids. Plus, my son really has grown at his ‘own’ school away from his older sister. He loves that he has his own friends, teachers and experiences to share with the family at the end of each day.
This place is top notch! I will forever praise this great facility.

Ok I guess I am just spoiled, as are the kids, with the Spokane Valley Y. We went today to try out another Y in Seattle hoping it would better then the one on Friday. It was not better and not really that much worse.
The pool, again, is not really kid friendly at all. It is a lap pool with an area set aside for free swim during certain hours. The shallow end said it was 3.5 ft. Well they obviously cannot measure. My daughter is a little over 4′ tall, as of last months check up, and had to stand on her tips of her toes and head back to stay above the water. There is not shallow end for the younger kids at all. Nothing. Also no slide etc.
No family changing area either. I am not comfortable walking my three year old son through the mens open shower area to get to the pool area either. Yes he has a tally wacker as well but he does not need to see naked men walking past him to go swimming.
Just my thoughts.