Rice Recreation and Wellness Center

The rec is awesome. Very well kept, clean, and decently equipped. Usually, it’s never a problem to find a machine available. You will be calling it close if you’re coming in before dinner or a couple hours after as those are what I perceive as rush hours. Furthermore, as it is located on rice campus, you may find some peculiar sights… Once, I saw a hardcore pre-​med sprinting on a treadmill while flipping through an orgo book… But only at rice haha
I don’t usually venture too deep into the weight section, but when I do, I am pleased with my choices. But instead, I prefer the cardio side, specifically the treadmills or the rowing machine. Other machines the rec offers are two types of stationary bikes, elliptically, skiers, stair masters, and some random others. It also has a mat area where people can do abs or stretch, two basketball courts, a couple swimming pools, racket ball courts, and pool tables.
Overall, great place to work out!

Meh. It’s ok. Yeah it’s got great facilities but come on– the men’s locker room has no hot water in the sinks so when I stop by early in the morning and need to shave before work… ooooooops!!! And what is with the deal with the showers and having curtains instead of regular doors? Paying $ 3000 a class for grad school I expect better quality. Otherwise it’s ok gym just seems like Rice doesn’t want people using the locker rooms. Lol maybe they’re afraid some naughty things might happen like at Penn State! Just sayin…

This place is the bestttttt. Honestly, it’s one of the best fitness centers I’ve ever been to. There are tons of treadmills, ellipticals, and bike machines as well as weight-​lifting machines and free weights. The lockers here are super convenient (all you need is a code). There’s a swimming pool out back, and basketball courts upstairs (ask the front desk to borrow a basketball). Finally, the entire facility is BEAUTIFUL.

One of the biggest things I miss when I’m not on campus frequently. :(
From what I understand, the current wait for community members to become Rec Center members is three years (if you’re not affiliated with the university). It’s about $ 400/​yr for community members. Whereas it’s included in tuition fees for undergraduate students (~$ 160/​yr). It really is a fantastic gym though.
There’s a dance studio upstairs that I’ve called home for the past four years with 10+ hours every week spent losing skin and making callouses on the marley floors. However, the floors aren’t sprung so a lot of people easily can develop back problems.
The workout equipment downstairs is always kept clean, and the Rec Center rotates new equipment in and out to see how students respond before they invest in a new line of lateral-​movement ellipticals. The recreational pool is always great to be at on nice weather days while the competition pool trains winners for National Conferences (and diving boards while there are no diving teams)…
You can always find an influx around 3−6pm on weekdays of school kids who train and take swim lessons here, so it ends up feeling like a pretty community-​oriented place despite being on a college campus.
Check Rice calendars for meets and dance performances if your interested in swinging by! They also have some specialty classes for non-​members as well. Or you can pay a $ 5 guest fee to use the Rec for a day.
Stay fit! Stay swoll!

Not only is the rec center well equipped, clean, and well lit, but the atmosphere is great! There is not an hour that you will find an empty workout room, yet there is rarely an issue with finding an empty machine. This is a great resource to the Rice community that students and faculty alike would be missing out if they did not use it to its maximum potential!

I am so incredibly lucky not only to attend Rice, but to have this beautiful rec center available to me! I usually bike or use cardio equipment; only during mid afternoons/​weekends have I ever had to wait for a machine (this is very rare). I have never had a problem with anything malfunctioning and they always feel clean and well maintained. The staff are friendly and keep the towels well stocked, which is nice for heavy-​sweaters (like myself). Outside I have used the pool about a dozen times, sometimes for laps but mostly the rec pool for volleyball or relaxing. These areas are also beautifully maintained. My one complaint is that the mat area is a bit small (especially during NOD season when every student is frantically trying to tone their abs) but as long as you avoid rush hour you’ll be able to get a space to work out.

Occasionally you’ll run into professors doing workouts more hardcore than yours, but it’s a great, clean, well-​equipped facility. Docking one star because the pool is outdoors and I’m not (like the professors) hardcore enough to swim outside in the winter. You may say it’s Houston, but I still say it’s cold.
Sometimes I’ve forgotten my ID card during crucial rare moments when my body craves exercise and staff are generally very nice about it. Being students, they are empathetic. I’ve never experienced crappy service from anyone when inquiring about available multipurpose rooms or the like.

Being an employee here, I feel a slight bias to praise the facility.
The rec center is the heart of Rice University. While it is not the biggest gym I’ve ever seen (especially when compared to those gyms at UT Austin), it does have really nice facilities and really cool people! If you are a student at Rice, your membership here is included in your tuition. If you are a community member, it will be really difficult to get a full membership here, but you can always ask someone to guest pass you in!
The equipment here are pretty new and complete. Whether you are a pro/​bro weight lifter or a newbie who just wanna gain a bit more muscle, you will feel right at home. With 2 basketball courts and a lot of racquetball/​squash courts, you can also get your fair share of «balling» action here.
The only problem with the rec is its «rush hour» aka 5−6PM every weekday. I guess everyone on campus all have the exact same idea to work out right before dinner (… this problem is especially bad after new years or at the beginning of the semester, since people seem to set «resolutions» and whatnot), and the rec can get really packed. So my tip is definitely avoid that hour and come at night or early afternoon!
Overall, rec is a fun place and I love working here. Woohoo.

wish this gym was here when i went to Rice! $ 5 /​guest/​visit. it’s tough to beat a university gym if you can get a membership.

Great gym, very cheap for those affiliated with Rice. Excellent weight room and cardio room, pool is Olympic sized and open all year. Hours are until midnight on weekdays, until 10pm on weekends. My only qualms are that it’s hard to find someone to play racquetball with (though there are plenty if courts) and there are a few pieces of equipment I consider essential that are missing from the weight room (military press and roman chair). Not enough to remove a star, though :-)