Windsor Water World

one of the best places to swim in Windsor, a larger the life swimming area with a wading pool section, a separate lap pool\diving area, a separate slide, and a separate hot tub area, this location has it all. oh and a sauna, worth the price every time to come here to swim.

After being a member at the Windsor YMCA for almost two years, my partner and I decided to make a venue change. Since this isn’t a review of the YMCA, I won’t get into the details regarding our motivation for change. Suffice it to say that the bar was set pretty low for another facility to «Wow» us, and it seemed they were on track when someone turned the lights out on me. [More on that story later in the review.]
Tammi and I toured the facility and inquired about membership costs, and we were both quite impresses by what we discovered. While this facility has both pros and cons, the pros far outweigh any negative points.
First, the facility–
The pool area is fabulous. It has a large lap pool with a diving board and climbing wall, a shallow, beach-​entry splash pool, a therapy pool and a large indoor water slide.
The gymnasium looks to be well maintained.
The fitness center looks newly renovated. The Cybex machines are modern and in great working order. There isn’t a huge selection of free weighs but we haven’t had to wait to use what they have in the room.
Next, the membership fees–
There are too many options to list here but I will give you a quick overview. You can buy memberships for Swimming, Fitness or a combined use of the facilities called SwimFit. For each of these options, Windsor Water World offers annual rates, as well as the option to buy one month, three months or six months access at a time. The more months that you purchase, the more cost-​effect the deal.
The Fitness membership starts at $ 27 for a single month and goes up to $ 243 for a full year. The Swimming membership starts at $ 32 for a single month and goes up to $ 288 for a full year. The SwimFit combo membership is $ 42 for a single month; unfortunately, I couldn’t tell you how much a full year costs.
The other great thing about the memberships at Windsor Water World is the fact that you are not asked to go on an automatic payment plan. If you buy a single month’s membership, you will be asked to pay for the next month when you sign in after the initial month has expired.
This works out well for me because I am on the road a lot for work and I am not paying for month after month of unused membership access. If I am gone for three weeks starting the last week of a one month membership, I only lose a single week. The membership goes on hold at the end of the period and awaits my return. When I do, it starts from that date forward. Very handy for me.
Finally, the hours–
They are actually better for us than the YMCA because WWW runs later on the weekends.
Weekdays 6:30am — 8:00pm
Saturday 7:30am-8:00pm
Sunday 7:30pm-5:30pm
We were sold on the facility and signed up for a month to give it a try. The first three days were great! I loved the fitness room and all the equipment. I had been missing the Roman Chair, which really helps me with my core training, and WWW has one. Tammi loves swimming her morning laps while the sun rises, and she says the pools is far better than the one at the YMCA.
HOWEVER…
As my fourth day wound down, I found myself lathered up in the show with about ten minutes to go until closing time when the lights when out. Pitch black. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.
I shouted out to someone but heard no reply, so I rinsed off quickly and fumbled around to collect my soap, shampoo, razor and towel. I worked my way along the shower room wall, slipping and falling twice, as I attempted to feel my way back to my locker.
A bruised butt, a banged elbow and two stubbed toes later I was standing at my locker trying to work the combination in the darkness. Opening a combination lock in the dark is harder than I thought. While the mechanism is somewhat forgiving if the dial doesn’t point to the exact number, in the pitch black my usual rotational rhythms where having a hard time finding the right numbers.
In frustration, I stumbled across the change room and found the door to the hallway. I pushed the handicap button and the door swung open automatically, allowing a little daylight to sneak into the darkness. A mad dash back to the locker and my fingers were able to make quick work of the lock before the door pulled shut and the darkness returned.
Eventually, I found myself standing at the front desk, water from my body creating wet patches on my clothes, my wet hair dripping water on the counter. The lady who greeted us upon sign-​in was standing at the alarm panel with her back to me, hitting numbers on the beeping key-​pad.
I noticed that Tammi was sitting in the lobby of the building waiting for me. «Just a second,» I told her as I turned my attention to the staff member that clearly wanted to be headed out the door. The time on the clock above her head read 5:30pm. Closing time.
When questions about the early closure, she threw a half-​hearted apology my way without even looking at me as she continued to set the alarm. I left quite upset.