RecPlex

We Had our daughter’s first birthday party here. They have a nice party room for presents, cake & food across from the kids play area that hold around 40 people. We had kids of all ages & they all had a wonderful time especially the toddlers. FYI: They no longer have the ball bit but have a trampoline & rock climbing wall. Staff was awesome & very helpful when arranging details for the party and the price was reasonable. They also brought in a high chair as requested & coffee maker. I would definitely recommend this place as the best bank for your buck!
They also have a open gym play area for toddlers open weekly but sadly they do not have the most convenient times.

RecPlex has fantastic swimming teachers for kids. My kid was afraid to put his face in the water for ages. He kept using life west for years. It took Molly (instructor) three lessons to make him go under water and one more to swim across the whole kid’s pool. Thank you Molly. Swimming is so much fun for my son now!!!

I really enjoy the RecPlex and Mt. Prospect Park District! I’ve experienced different facets of the RecPlex by myself and with my young daughter. I’ve been a member of the gym at the RecPlex for a few years. They have a great variety and quantity of cardio and weight equipment. The recent renovation of the fitness center turned out really nicely and made the area feel much larger. The locker room is very clean and spacious.
My daughter has taken several early childhood classes at the RecPlex over the past couple years. One of the best is Tot Gym! It’s a semi-​structured class held on one of the basketball courts where the teacher guides the children by a theme each week (ie: flowers, apples, snow, etc.) and leads the group in songs and books. During the 45 minute class, about 10 – 15 minutes is seated and guided by the teacher. The remainder of the time is free play. The RecPlex sets up a lot of stuff for the kids to play with such as slides, play houses, little basketball hoops and gymnastics type equipment.

New to the facility, used to play ball here regularly in the past. Moved to the area (though not a MP resident) and was happy to see an affordable non-​resident rate for a fitness membership ($ 25/​mo for indiv). The facility is clean and expansive. Few reasons I wouldn’t give a 4 or 5 star review: 1) After I signed up the fitness area was closed for renovations — but I have no idea what was renovated, it wasn’t any of the cardio equipment. 2) Multiple check ins? — So when I get there I check in, and then when I go to the fitness area I have to check in again. There has to be an easier way to facilitate this, being that it is 2015. 3) The membership card (that I need twice each time I go there) is NOT on a lanyard or even a small clip, they don’t provide them. I mean, at least make it easy for me to carry this card that I need several times, rather than risk it falling out of my pocket. At the end of the day it’s a decent place and I will continue to go but there are a few minor nuisances that have to be overcome.

Re. Swim Lessons for the Kids
Am very impressed with the instructors. They are well organized and excellent in teaching technique. You can tell the instructors know what they’re doing. Can’t imagine trying to work with kids in the pool but they keep their attention and challenge them with a variety of things. Usually at least 2 instructors per session. Highly recommend.

The Rec Plex is awesome. Beautiful, clean facilities, super friendly staff and alot of parking!

Very nice facility! I’m working here today so I can’t really comment on the breath of services, but it nice and clean the staff are very friendly and helpful.

Fitness center is small but decent. Good value. Track is great asset.
Gym is great but do not buy a family pass because it is always booked by rec programs or overtaken by pants droppin’ teens so you’ll never get use out of it. Not family friendly.
Haven’t used the babysitting but prices are great and area looks clean.
Receptionists can have their rude moments but a few are sweethearts.
Pool and locker rooms are clean and big.
Waste of space by the vending machines. Lots of tables that barely get sat on.
Classrooms are clean and camp staff is great for kids’ camps and programs.
Overall, it looks like the place is a bit outdated and needs a sprucing. Also, hope they take a hint from neighboring Arlington Heights or Des Plaines and add outdoor spaces to this place. Has no outdoor playground except the one locked up for the preschool kids.
Another MP Park District place that could use more funds. Disappointing for Mount Prospect. Womp womp.

Run for your life on the track above the gym.
Shoot your balls to your hearts content on three full courts… sometimes one or more are fitted with volleyball nets for the spike-​happy mother-​jumpers among you.
The pool is divided into lanes with shallow on one end, deep in the middle and not-​so-​deep-​not-​so shallow on the other end… perfect for the Phelps in all of us.
The right lane is for beginners. The middle lanes are for sharks. The left lane is for car-​pooling only so buckle up, sit back, and jump on in… or something.
They have kick boards and goggles-​a-​plenty and whosits and whatsists galore…
You want lockers? They’ve got twenty… who knows… maybe mooooore…
Racketball courts and a spinning room for the weirdoes… but seriously… I don’t judge… weirdo.
The 2^nd nicest thing here is probably the massive parking lot but don’t leave valuables in your car (or locker) because you WILL get ripped off.
The first nicest thing is the affordable childcare. 24 hours advanced notice gets you a a baby sitter while you workout for only $ 3 bucks or so per hour!!! Double that if you want to run errands!!! Still affordable!!!
Live in Mt. Prospect and you can save a bundle on memberships– wait until the end of the year and save more$$$.
They even rent out for birthday parties. Affordable and a great spot.

Rec Plex has better prices than any similarly-​outfitted gym or fitness club I have found. They are so much more than a place to work out or go swimming, though. They offer children’s exercise activities, babysitting for parents who are working out, rooms for kids to have birthday or other parties, and other activities you would expect at a park district.
While I live in Des Plaines, which shares a pool facility with Rosemont, I found the hours and selections for aqua aerobics classes much better here. Prairie Lakes, a similar and also very good Des Plaines park district facility, lacks a pool but has a much better outdoor area.
I have always found the locker rooms very clean here. You can bring your own lock or purchase one at the front desk for $ 5, and there are many hooks in each locker to prevent your coat and shoes from touching on wet days. Staff members are friendly and unobtrusive.
While I generally love RecPlex, the parking lot can be a real mess, and the water level and temperature in the pool is inconsistent. They also have some classes where the regulars are very cliquey and can be a little rude to newcomers. Still, I’ll keep going here over a health club or gym, especially since nobody is constantly pressuring you here to sign a contract, join more classes, or buy specialty products.

Great place to play, learn, spend Winter or rainy days. Best for toddler age, OK for infants. Not a huge place but your child can easily spend 2 – 3 hrs exploring. Very cheap compared to any place alike in the Chicago area.

I got a membership when the outdoor pool on Algonquin closed on Labor Day.
Pool and lockers kept clean. My sole complaint is not enough open swim time. I can only get there after work and weekend days. Thus, having swim meets, senior work outs, kids lessons, etc. eats a lot of swim time.

I came about this place for a Birthday party for my daughters school-​aged friends. When we were there, we were directed immediately into a room located on your left. I didn’t get to see much, but in the area that we were in (the playground area), I was able to see that it was pretty big. It could be comparable to some McDonald’s indoor playgrounds. Though the room that the playground was in was REALLY echo-​y, it was hard to sit there without hearing another child screaming. I think they could have reduced the sound better here. The room that were were guided into was an ok size. I remember when I was little, we would go on field trips and sit in rooms this size. Now, it just seems OK, but back then, it sure did feel BIG. Anyhow, it was nice that the room we were in had a kitchen inside. That must have been convenient for the parents. We spent much of our time near the playground area and the private room we had directly across from the playground. What I did notice was the gym adjacent to us. Man you could sure smell the sweat that was protruding out the walls/​glass windows! Glad I was there for a kids extravaganza and not an adult sweat-​fest. That turned me off slightly…
Come to find out, the bouyfriend goes here to play basketball with the «guys». LOL

Cool place for hanging out if you’re in the area, but the Buehler YMCA in Palatne has a less pricey membership. OK playplace for kids, but this place is mostly about the exercise rooms.

I moved into this area recently and was very sick of dealing with XSport and their shenanigans so I decided to try out this park district.
The building itself looks pretty nice and when you go in it’s really clean. You can pretty much see everything from the gym, fitness center, the track, to racquetball just by standing in the middle of the building. The people there were very nice and let me walk around by myself. None of that pushy salesman type deal (which I LOVE!). The place was really clean and not-​busy. No crazy loud music. Just serious people working out. Their prices for in-​residents and out are pretty decent! They also have a little preschool for the kiddies which I thought was very adorable.
What I love about it the most. YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU PLAN ON USING! I didn’t plan on using the fitness center or the pool. I just wanted to use their track to get some running in during the morning times and I only had to pay for the 3-​month membership that I wanted. No admission fee or application fee stuff you get at other places. Very excited to be working out here for now on! =)

Overall I give this place a five. Mainly because if you live or work in the area, it’s a great place to work out. The plans they have available suit just about anybody. It lets you pay as much or as little as you want, and with no fees you can’t beat it. If you live in the area the most expensive pass is about 32 a month, if not then it’s about 45. But if your work is in the area, you can get a discount.
Perks: As I mentioned, the different types of memberships, the pool that’s half Olympic and always has 3 lanes or more dedicated to lap swim and the classes (although they are a separate expense, kind of the downside). I recently started doing the spin class here and I love it.

Took the kids here today and they had a blast. Two hours of fun for a buck! The ball pit and slide was a lot of fun. The only thing that I didn’t like was that the little kids were getting buried under the balls and the big kids were jumping on top of them. The 48 inch and under height requirement was not being enforced. There is a definite survival of the fittest attitude here!!!

This is a great place to know about on cold winter days when the kids have no place to play. Located near Dempster & 83, the RecPlex is the mother of all park field houses.
I must say, Mount Prospect residents really have it good. I wish Park Ridge or Niles had something like this. There’s an indoor pool and fitness center, but that’s not all.
Best-​kept secret: for $ 1 admission paid at the front desk, they have an indoor playground with ball pit, trampolines, ladders and a big slide that rivals your typical McDonald’s Playland but is a lot cleaner without food crumbs all over the floor or the constant allure of junk food. The play area is well-​maintained and pretty clean compared to McD’s too.
We came on Good Friday, when it was snowing outside and school was out. Still, we were the only ones there. This is also a favorite place Grandma takes my boys on days she watches them.
Staff are watchful, making sure the kids play safely. The ball pit is a lot of fun. My 21-​month old had lots of fun throwing balls and was even able to climb up to the top unassisted and went down the slide after his big brother helped him get the courage to do so. There’s even a couple benches for the grownups to sit and watch since they are not allowed in the tunnels and ball pit.
So if your kids got nothing to do on a rainy day, check out RecPlex.