YMCA of Greater Seattle – Bellevue

I have been a member for years and usually it has been a very pleasant experience, unfortunately this was not the case when it came to registering for summer camp. The staff is unresponsive and you are never really sure who you are dealing with (emails get cc’d and forwarded around), no one returns calls, and are never available to speak in public. In my specific case, I was trying to enroll my son in summer camp (this would be his second year) and was told I would get a response within 2 days. However, I received an email saying that there was an outstanding balance that was a pretty significant amount of money. Somehow, their record keeping slipped thru the cracks. Long story short, I was told that they wouldn’t even process my registration until this was paid in full. My account was never flagged and we attended the Y all year so the fact that this was just now coming up was very strange. Not to mention he has participated in several other programs that we have paid for and have had no issues. They refused to take responsibility for the lost payment saying that it is company policy to give receipts meaning if I did not have one that I did not pay. Even when I offered to split the difference knowing full well I had already paid, they refused to work with me. Working in retail for so long I understand that the customer may not be always right, however refusing to work with them and avoiding all contact is extremely unprofessional and almost insulting. For a company that claims to be based around family values and good ethics I was extremely disappointed, not to mention they refused to give me contact information for anyone higher up to see if they would be able to assist in resolving the issue.
As I said, I have been a member for a while and for the most part my experience has been just fine, however after all of this I will now be referring families seeking gym memberships and other programs to facilities such as Boys & Girls Club, LA Fitness, and other gym facilities.

A bit disappointed. You do nothing to accommodate a full range of classes throughout the day. Many of the things that should also be offered at night like barre and back exercise classes are only open during the day. Every other fitness place seems to realize these things are big. Even the morning hours; 10 or 11 are not timely — many of us are already on with our day even if we don’t have an office to go into. Not everyone wants just late night full-​on Zumba — bring on longer than 30 minute (which never winds up being 30 minutes because the last class still clearing out and then you have to run to next thing to get a spot) combo classes that combine Zumba with the weights and mat work you offer so little of. Don’t charge full service pricing and not have full-​time commitment to serving everyone…

If you are a lap swimmer you will hate this place. Parents and kids don’t respect the designated lap swim lanes and the life guards do nothing about it!

Front desk staff is very friendly and open to questions. Facility is clean. Free weights weight room is small, but uncrowded (yay!). Parking is a little tight (literally. People park HORRIBLY & the spots are a little small). Voted best yoga in bellevue too! Way to go Y!

$ 70/​mo +$ 100 membership fee??? For the Y? Are you on drugs? I am going to join a gym for less than half of that. SHAMEFUL!

This review is strictly for the office staff. I am not sure why companies think it is appropriate to have non-​native speaking people be their sales representatives. These people are the face of your company. We need to be able to communicate effectively. I am not talking about accents here. I spoke with a lady there about swim lessons and I simply couldn’t understand alot of what she was saying because not only did she NOT know the information, but her sentences were not formed correctly. I simply wanted information and our conversation had to take twice as long to decipher what she was saying.

$ 65 per month? Plus $ 100 joining fee? For an older single adult person, those rates are outrageously high. I could join a hoity toity private club for that much or the Gold’s Gym type for around $ 30 per month, but not looking for a meat market. Guess the «Y» these days are mainly for the wealthy or the seniors who can go for free.

After attending many gyms in the past, I was expecting this one to be a meat market filled with body-​idoling snobs. It wasn’t. The staff actually know my name and I’m always greeted. When I join a workout class, I’m warmly welcomed and invited in. The pool is sufficient and at luke-​warm temperature. The machines are well-​kept. They have a track above their gym which is great for walking. There’s a good variety of work out classes including great water aerobics for low impact. I really like it here.

They have good reason to call it a «Family» YMCA. Its unpretentious, kid-​friendly, with clean facilities and competent and cheerful staff. The gym accommodates a full size basketball court that can be split into two smaller gyms by a partition. There is a good mix of scheduled sports activities (including basketball & volleyball) as well as open gym times for kids and adults. The gym floor is nicely maintained, smooth and polished with good grip. The free weight room is a bit disappointing — small, with a rather meager selection of weights and equipment, compared to other gyms and to the downtown Seattle Y.
If you’re thinking about joining and want to give it a try, they do allow a full refund of the monthly membership fee within your first 30 days. (The initiation/​joining fee is NOT refundable, however.)

what can i say about this ymca that i havent written about all the others .big basketball gym and workout area greatstaff. tytyty!!!

This gym isn’t for everyone, but it’s perfect for us. This isn’t a 20-​somethings singles dating scene. It’s a big gym with plenty of machines, a pool, large weight room that’s not too busy, and a full size basketball court.
Most importantly, they have child care for much of the day with a huge playset and a separate room for toddlers. This is the best feature a gym can have, and our monthly dues cover it. Great deal.

I’ve been a member here for 9 years, and much as I would like to say I love it I’m afraid I can’t. There is a really awesome weight machine downstairs that I like to use but is totally taken over by the over 60s enjoying their social time. I don’t want to come across as mean-​spirited but if you want to be social, fine. If you want to work out, again, fine. I have many times asked if it’s possible to cut in and do a quick set, and the reply is always the same — no, I’m using this machine, despite the fact that the next ten minutes is still devoted to chat time! I hate to sound like a whiner, but it is very uncomfortable in that room. Having spoken to many other members, it seems I am not the only one who has this issue.

I guess you can’t guess what I did in the month of January – Join the YMCA, after all it is that time of year to get in shape… I must say I felt a little dumb joining at this time of year-​but super glad that I did.
I am very impressed with the facility, the staff and the people that work out at the Y. They are very friendly and you don’t feel like you have to buy your workout clothes from Nordy’s. There are many different classes and the instructors are very good-​willing to correct you so that you don’t get injured.
The indoor track is small, but a great way to walk or run during the winter months. They offer family zumba as well as adult classes, nia, step, yoga to name a few. No reason to ever get bored at the YMCA as if you are sick of one form of exercise, there are many others to try.
Best gym I have been at! perfect for individuals and great for families.

I’ve been a member since 2008 and I am so happy that I invested into getting a gym membership! This place was the footstone to getting me into great shape… definately love the location which is super close to my home… size of the gym is perfect and there is plenty of equipment… semi private so there isn’t always tons of noise and such and the people are generally friendly… love coming here to lift weights and running pick up games =]

This is a nice YMCA. The locker rooms are not gross (this is a big deal for me) and there are a lot of families who go here. I don’t have kids so I am not as interested in the programs for families (these seem great). There are some adult classes but these are not quite as good as the classes you would find at a nicer gym. They just aren’t rigorous enough for my liking. I can never work up a good sweat. The cardio rooms are pretty nice. There is a decent magazine selection and if you bring in an fm radio you can watch the TV’s that are usually set to CNN (there are also a limited number of personal TV’s).
If you join here you are automatically a member of all of the gyms in the Seattle area. This is great for me because I work in Redmond but live in Seattle. Membership is $ 50 (ish) a month but there is a first time extra $ 100 fee to get things started (for individuals). I think that is kind of a lot. Sometimes this can be waived or cut in half depending on your job or the day so make sure to check that out.
All in all the gym is reasonably clean and reasonably new. I just wish the classes were a little better.

I really loved going to this Y. The people there are just awesome. They are practical, friendly, and knowledgeable. I first went in there at 5’3″ and 310 pounds, and nobody blinked; the coach that I was paired up with (who had awesome scars on her knees which somehow I found very comforting) had absolutely no attitude about me being so fat and taught me how to stretch using a chair, something nobody else had ever done and which was not only fantastically successful but easy too.
I had my gastric bypass surgery and went back to the gym two weeks later. Cathy (my coach) didn’t miss a beat and she challenged me every day as I lost down to 134 pounds. She was my biggest cheerleader and she kept the workouts really interesting for me by mixing it up, having me do things I knew how to do already in harder ways, and keeping the goals in my mind when I got frustrated. I can’t say enough good about her. She was nurturing AND tough, which you don’t find often in a single personal trainer.
The facilities are good. They are not PRO-​Club posh, but it’s also $ 50 a month for a single-​parent family, which was about 20% of the same membership’s cost at the PRO-​Club. I don’t need no stinkin’ juice bar! I also felt more comfortable at the Y; it’s a great mix of families, big and small, old and young, all colors, and lots of different languages being spoken… the PRO-​Club was so Microsoft white it was kind of blinding.
They work hard to keep things clean and working. Sometimes you might wait a minute or two for a machine during the busy times. I just did something else while I waited (treadmill while waiting for elliptical, etc.) so I didn’t really mind, but if you were OCD about following a program in a specific order, you might be annoyed.
Their kids’ programs, single-​parent family programs, and senior programs are outstanding. They have family dinner nights too which were great for meeting new people. They offer an incredibly wide variety of classes and lots of them, so you’re sure to find what you like on a schedule that will work for you. I especially loved the fitness and toning class they had for big women. It was friendly, challenging, and productive and the instructors were really good about bringing each move to every woman’s skill and fitness level.
I really feel that most of the people who work at this Y CARE about the people who attend. I don’t think that’s true of many gyms, and it really helped motivate me.