Arrillaga Center for Sports & Recreation

Top of the line facility. Very clean and well kept up. Never any broken machines. They have personal trainers for the staff and students for a reasonable price if you need that type of thing. I recommend this gym. It will be better after they remodel it to add showers on site. Currently you can walk across the fairway to the Ford gym for showers.
I play basket ball at this gym and the courts are nice.

Not a bad facility for working out. Come on this is Stanford we’re talking about. The minus star is for the lack of having a changing room in the same building as the gym. And I have to lug all my gear over to the other side to use their lockers. A little backwards, but you can rent out a locker in the changing room per quarter. I don’t have that kind of money. The lockers in the gym are key code, very cool. No need for a lock.
The gym itself is clean and well ventilated. You don’t get that musky humid feeling as you walk in. It’s crisp and fresh. Yay! I do enjoy my workouts here and feel so grateful for working on campus.

If you’re not affiliated with Stanford in anyway, it will cost you $ 5 to buy a pass for the day. However, t once you acquire a pass you can access all of the sports and recreational facilities including the gym, rock climbing walls, squash courts, etc. It’s a great place to spend your day if you are really into sports and physical activity. If you have a friend or loved one who wants to have a sports day, this is the place to go.
Of course, if you’re looking for a gym membership, I’d suggest you join another facility that is cheaper. If you go to the gym 20 times a month that’s already $ 100.
Avoid going to the weight room during these times if you do not want to wait in line for equipment and machines:
6AM-​8AM
3:30PM-7PM
Basketball courts are usually busy during these hours:
5PM-​11PM
The pool is usually most busy from
4PM-​7PM
Of course, all of this information isn’t concrete and perfect, but they are patterns I’ve noticed according to my experiences. If you want to go to the gym and not feel claustrophobic then avoiding such times may be of benefit. Weekends are generally free at all times, although it can sometimes be slightly impacted at night. Best wishes to you all. May the love for fitness live on.

This review is for the racquetball courts (actually closer to the Ford Center across the way). The racquetball courts are of reasonable quality with paneled walls and glass back walls. The floors are not perfect, but better than many of the older courts in the Bay Area.
The largest negative would be that the courts are disconnected from the main facilities and lacks both a restroom and water fountains. The doors automatically lock, so be sure to take your ID with you if you leave to get water.

Deduction of a star for not having a locker room, I mean who builds a gym without a locker room? You actually have a travel a but to get there but hey, you could always hit up the AOERC but that place is usually pretty packed during rush hour, I usually have to wait a bit for a the stair master I want. Other than that I have been her for a few classes and its a pretty radical gym.

A pretty nice gym. My recommendations:
1) Add an outdoor bball court (/​multiple courts) right outside, since the indoor courts are often packed
2) Add lockers that don’t need to be rented in advance, like they have in the new gym that just opened up

Workout!

I made it!!!

This is not a Stanford class facility; however many of the people who work there are high quality.
It’s just not a very functional space. The yoga room has a squishey floor that makes balance very difficult, there is no air circulation in the main gym, the spinning classes are held in the main gym with everyone else (which must be super annoying for them), there are no locker rooms, and recently chemicals (maybe equipment cleaner?) have been stored in the backpack cubbies-​the ONLY place we have left to ditch our stuff.
I’m hopeful the new facility will be addressing these deficiencies.

Oh Stanford, I will be a member of your campus one day…
That being said, the Arrillaga Center (or Arugula Center as I have creatively called it) is a BEAUTIFUL recreation center. The center was used for a dance competition and the first thing I noticed was the size and the quality of the establishment. It has a gorgeous edifice, incredibly large fans on the ceiling in the indoor basketball court, and ample space and seating.
It is a gorgeous gym and rivals UCI’s Arc. I would recommend coming here for events and even hosting large events.

Perhaps the worst gym I’ve used in decades. It only has one star because it’s free, though in reality, it’s just baked into my tuition. It is always packed between 3pm and 7pm and is lacking quite a few common pieces of workout equipment, including anything to work out the neck or many ab machines. There are no lockers, no showers, and no towels. It’s often incredibly hot and stuffy, and between the lack of towels, showers, and air conditioning, it’s basically the most smelly and disgusting place on campus.

A truly subpar fitness facility.
While Stanford is generally blessed with great weather (making it easy to run outside on most days), having 10 treadmills for 10,000+ students is just ridiculous. In addition to a lack of cardio machines, the gym also has no:
— lockers
— showers
— towels (the university gym at my undergrad made these available)
— circulating air
And for whatever reason, a lot of sweaty patrons refuse to wipe down machines after using them, so there’s that.
One star for staying open past midnight on most nights and for the awesome kickboxing instructor on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, but otherwise, this gym has no redeeming qualities.

I come here because I have a free membership as part of being a student, not because I have any real love for the place.
It’s massive, it’s got everything… And still, between the hours of 4 – 7, you’ll have to wait 10 – 20 minutes for a treadmill. They’re always playing music, which is a crapshoot whether you’ll enjoy or not, and the system for hearing the tv is really confusing.
But. It is very expansive and comprehensive in the things it has. It’s open almost all the time. And it’s logically laid out. I’ll give them that.
Of course, I have to lodge the biggest complaint against the place: there are no showers or locker rooms or changing rooms at all. It’s preposterous and horrible for anyone who doesn’t live on campus. You have no choice but to work out at the end of your long grad student day, unless you want to become known as Allison «sweaty pits» M. Which you don’t. Trust me.

PE Classes: 5 Stars
«Enrichment» Classes: 2 Stars
General Facilities: 2 Stars
Gym Area: 3 Stars
Rock wall: ???
There are a variety of PE Classes which are pretty cheap for students. They vary by your interest and the instructor, but are a great resource overall. The «enrichment» classes are different — they cost more (typically $ 90) and aren’t for credit. If you are a student, spend your money elsewhere! The trainers aren’t bad, but there are much cheaper options!
Facilities are a bit hit or miss. The place is pretty new, but it has lots of minor issues. If it is raining out, the floor is a slippery mess. There aren’t lockers in this building, so the bathroom stalls are usually occupied by students changing. There will not be any paper towel left in the evening. If it is hot outside, it is terrible and oppressive inside.
The «gym» portion has a little bit of everything… perhaps to the detriment of it all. It is usually very crowded — treadmills, weights, everything. Not only is almost all of the equipment in use, it is very close together.
There is a rock wall here, so I guess that is cool.

A lot of equipment that always gets replaced. But small and often cramped.

5 stars for NANCI CONNIFF.
Stanford students are lucky enough to have a whole array of Athletics classes available to them (yay!). A large number of them take place in the mat room (or the basketball courts) on the first floor of Arrillaga.
If you are able to get access to Arrillaga, or any PE classes, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND taking a class with Nanci. She is AMAZING. I stumbled upon her class several years ago and have been attending her classes ever since (practically every quarter, very faithfully). Nanci genuinely cares about the health, happiness and general fitness of her students– I would even go so far to say above and beyond that of an instructor. Despite her ever-​ballooning classes, she is still able to provide individual coaching/​instruction to those who need it, and is always so upbeat. Plus the woman is fit as hell… what an inspiration!
As an aside: I find that the first floor facilities of Arrillage are quite nice, but very basic. As others have mentioned, there are NO lockers in this particular building. If you need to change, you can do some in the restrooms. There are several water fountains sprinkled throughout the first floor, both near the restrooms and on the basketball courts. There is also a rock-​climbing wall (small/​cramped, but pretty nice), as well as a very nice mat room. The equipment provided for the class are adequate, and kept fairly clean.
If you go downstairs, you’ll find private tutoring rooms for student athletes, offices, and the gym. Its not the largest gym I’ve seen on a university campus, but they do have a large number of cardio machines (dozens of ellipticals, maybe 10 or so treadmills, stationary bikes, stairmasters, etc), free weights and weight machines, as well as mat areas for stretching and ab work. During busier hours it takes FOREVER to get onto a machine (there is a sign up whiteboard on the western wall), but if you go during off-​hours (mid day, early afternoon, etc) its fine. Ventilation is a bit lacking, but only truly noticeable during peak hours. I like that they have several TVs hanging above the cardio machines. If I remember correctly, they offer personal trainer services, and often have fitness challenges for gym-​goers.
OVERALL: Again, I can’t say enough good things about Nanci. The gym itself is around 3 stars. If you have a chance, take a PE class!

Initially excited to get my swell on in a school with great D1 athletics, the main weight room here leaves me sadly unimpressed. With no towel service and cubbies instead of lockers, I felt more pampered working up a schvitz in my hometown’s rec room.
ACSR does offer great facilities for more adventurous activities like rock climbing and a plushly matted dojo, but the basement-​buried weight room is somewhat dated. It is outfitted with standard Life Fitness equipment and there are several nice squat racks for big lifts, but these unfortunately double as the only barbell bench area too (redeemed by extensive dumbbell selection). Cardio is also packed into the room, which means a lot of exothermic, sweaty bodies in a space that could already benefit from some additional ventilation or AC.
10+ benches/​barbells are probably not necessary for the general population here, so perhaps I had unfair expectations. That said, I may just have to adopt more outdoor fitness on a campus that features beach volleyball and soccer games at every corner.

For a place with so many engineers and a famous human-​centered design school, you almost couldn’t imagine a more poorly designed facility. Maybe the planning went like this:
We all know that it makes sense to exercise in your work clothes, or if you really do want to change there are lockers in some other building on the conveniently compact and small Stanford campus. So no need for lockers or changing rooms. No places to put your stuff, no places to change. This building is also being designed for things like martial arts (judo, tae kwon do, etc.) and fencing that require special uniforms. These people can change at home and bike here in their outfits, as we won’t have any parking nearby, just a giant series of bike racks.
People at Stanford are very aristocratic, they don’t sweat and always remain calm and cool, so there’s no reason to have any kind of ventilation in this building where hundreds of people are exercising. In this relatively new, ‘state of the art’ facility they have to have floor based fans all over the place. The stench of the rock climbing room is unbearable. It doesn’t seem to have any kind of ventilation at all except for a little fan they put by the door. Maybe this room can serve double duty as the steam room, it’s just that the lack of showers or changing rooms means that it is filled with sweaty, unwashed hippies.
It’s very important that everything be color coordinated, so when they decided to create a room with wall to wall padding for things like yoga, judo and pilates, rather than just using red mats, they were spray painted to be the exact Stanford cardinal shade. What? The color rubbed off only all your clothes? Why weren’t you wearing Stanford colors in the first place? That is why we put a store selling very ‘reasonably’ priced Stanford branded sportswear right across the street.
This is a big school, so we’ll put in some exercise equipment like some cardio machines and some weights and things like that. Only we won’t really allocate very much space or pieces of equipment for this, as the students are probably lazy and only a fraction of them will want to work out. Let’s look at the gym requirements of a school of about 1000 students, and do that. Crowding won’t be a problem. Hmm, let’s also take up ¼ of the room with the bikes for a spin class. We could do that some place else, but let’s do it here. It won’t be disruptive.
Also, there’s really no need for good ventilation and lighting. It is in the basement after all. After we build it, we’ll realize this is California, so we’ll put in a big AC machine against the wall. It’s okay if the room is freezing cold in one corner, and stagnant air in the rest. It will eventually equilibrate.
We don’t want varsity athletes mixing with other students, so we’ll put in special lecture and teaching rooms where they can have tutoring sessions and the like, and maybe these rooms will get used two hours a week total. No reason they should use any of the lecture or study rooms in any of the academic buildings or libraries on this very small campus. There probably aren’t thousands of empty rooms in the evenings and weekends. Also, we can’t assume they will own a computer or can make it to one of the dozens of computer labs that lie empty. Let’s build a giant computer lab and fill it with machines. No reason to make more exercise space or buy additional cardio machines and weight lifting equipment. It’s only the gym after all.
When it gets down to actual construction. Let’s really skimp on some of the essentials, like plumbing and building materials. There’s no need to have water pressure in the water fountains, people aren’t going to want to drink water at the gym anyway. We also don’t need to put in any filtration system on said water, as we know people won’t drink it, so it’s okay if it tastes nasty.
It’s okay if the urinals and toilets have no water pressure either. This whole place is going to smell like a sweaty sock anyway.
We can make the floor and other things out of materials that will start to crack and chip and wear very soon. No reason to expect this to be a high traffic area.
Also, no reason to put in any extra effort on planning for the weekends when the janitorial staff seem to be off duty. It’s okay if the bathrooms get disgusting and run out of paper towels on the weekends starting Friday night. It’s only a gym with no ventilation, locker rooms or showers, so people probably won’t have much interest in washing their hands after touching the nasty equipment.
Hmm, this sounds like a winning combination for a student gym. Let’s get building. If any of the students complain, just remind them that it is free. Tuition, what?

A fitness center without locker rooms. Clearly a genius was behind this work of art. At Stanford, nonetheless.
Okay, so you work here, you are a slave to the books and your studies here… thus, you gym it here. Convenience, price, and spotting the hottie from your Entrepreneurship class sweating it out on the elliptical all make it worth your while to get in on the action.
Basketball and squash courts, a yoga/​pilates/​martial arts studio, a rock climbing gym, state-​of-​the-​art sports therapy and a jam packed-​to-​the-​mirrors sweaty fitness center, you can get fit and never get bored.
Open before dawn and open until bed time or at least, when you begin tackling your work, usually 1 a.m. If you forget your ID, it’s likely you’ll be able to slip by the front desk, just act like you know where you’re going and don’t look back.
The Pros:
Free (for students/​faculty/​staff, bring a friend for $ 5)
Open early (but you’re still sleeping…)
Open late (better for you than a late night boozing at the Nut House)
Options — an ID in the door gives you access to everything (including
Endless (and endlessly full) bike racks outside (don’t be lazy and drive to the gym, it’s not helping your ever widening hiney)
MMmmm rock climbers… check them out. Join them. You will not be disappointed. Untapped resource.
The Cons:
NO LOCKER ROOMS? WTF!?!
…as a Stanford Staff member, the gym comes after work, it does not involve swinging by my non-​existant dorm room and changing into some sexy spandex and lycra get-​up. If only. Changing in the bathroom it is. A sure treat. No (secure) lockers to store your belongings and no shower to hose down afterwards. (Unless you head across the street to the pool or to the Ford Center).
The elliptical/​stair-​stepper end of the fitness center is mysteriously in the dark and has zero circulation. Bring your iPod because you’ll strain your eyes reading a magazine and drip sweat on it anyway.
«Cardio paging in effect» — you may or may not notice this sign on the desk when you walk in the fitness center. If you see it, just ask at the desk. It means their busy and don’t even think about jumping on the next treadmill. But to a gym newbie or someone so in-​the-​zone you fly right by the desk, this means nothing. Just ask.
The bottom line:
you’ll feel better when you leave than when you came in. So what are you waiting for?