The Harlem YMCA

I should give it 2 starts so no one will come! It is so unexpected! Clean, wifi, affordable, classes, cardio and A POOL! And the staff knows your name! LOVE IT!

This review is for for hostel /​room /​hotel /​whatever you want to call it
We stayed for 5 nights and it was great! The room had fridge, A/​c, window, TV, A/​c, bunk bed, small closet. I think the fridge/​tv option is extra but we just needed the fridge. I used the workout area several times and it was nice to have it right there. It was quiet living area and staff was kind and helpful :)

I really didn’t like this place .
Not so friendly stuff, rude, dirty .
Never stay here.

OMG! Definitely recommend this place to stay. The quality & cleanliness for that price was a surprise for us! Far better than other hostels. Half a block away from the nearest subway station. We had access to all their amenities. The room looked clean and it felt clean! I had no problem leaving clothes around the place and didn’t felt itchy when sleeping, something that i usually feel at other cheap hotels. The only downside is that we couldn’t get the a/​c to be an acceptable temperature.

OK… this review is for the hostel not the gym.
I booked a room at the Harlem Y on Orbitz, and let me tell you the nice rooms they show on that site are nothing like the room I got. Also not mentioned was the fact that I had to share one toilet with a floor of other women. NOT GOOD. Overpriced for a hostel.

as far as the YMCA gym /​exercise sched.: amazing place. awesome instructors. lots of classes. opens early. nice kids play area for your little one while you’re in class (which is included in membership). highly recommended.

Kids swimming classes are a joke. There are 8 – 10 kids crammed into a 30 min session so each kid hardly gets any swimming time.

I LOVE this gym! I have all the excuses in the world when it comes to not working out – I am crazy busy, I have young children (4 and 6) and have no babysitter, I could go on but it would be pointless because the Y in Harlem calls my bluff. They have crazy prices for kids’ classes, 55 a semester for once weekly classes, the facility is spotless, the equipment always works, there are never long lines for anything and the best part? The childcare rocks! My kids ask me to go to the gym just to hangout at the child care facility. Children can attend for 2 hours a day so long as their adult is on premises. This is no baby jail – the staff is warm and knew my children’s first names by our second visit. They play games with them rather than leave them to their own devices, and they shut down inappropriate, rough play and toy hoarding brats right away (in the sweetest, most patient way, lol). I have finally begun working out regularly and I love it. They also have cameras which were useful when my 6 year-​old ran off while I was putting on my 4 year-old’s coat. I was freaking out, but they calmly searched all of their security cameras until they found him on the basketball courts upstairs completely oblivious to my panic. This is not a gym where big buff men grunt and engage in pissing contests. This is not a gym where women where little tops and smaller bottoms. They do have serious equipment, a heated pool and free weights, and they do have fit people and not so fit people working out; this is a family oriented gym, and all but the skeevy should be happy here. Also the rates are awesome 80.00 monthly for me and my brats (up to 5 kids for this price) with no discount. I am a federal employee so I am eligible for a monthly discount (applies only to monthly fees, not class fees); for my husband to join too it would have been an extra 20 a month, but he has pre-​paid for his skeevy gym membership so he will join when that membership expires. Although I feel very poor, lol, we did not qualify for financial assistance, but then again, we never do.

So thanks to their amazing financial assistance program, my underemployed self officially has a membership at the Harlem YMCA. The process was pretty simple and I heard back from the financial assistance office within 2 or 3 days of me handing in my application. With that said, I still love this YMCA as much as when I took advantage of their summer membership a few years ago. The classes are awesome, the facilities are clean, never really crowded where the machines are so the wait is almost non-​existent, the staff is really friendly, and so are the members that I have met.
To speak more on the classes/​instructors…
Harold — He’s such a great instructor! He is great about trying to show us to use proper technique and his classes are pretty tough. You will definitely break a sweat in any of his classes! This session (9÷6÷11−10÷30÷11) he is teaching Total Body Conditioning, Kettlebell, BOSU Ball, and Bootcamp.
Tineta — She has such an awesome spirit and great energy! She makes working out fun and you will also break a sweat in her classes. She primarily teaches Spinning classes this session (Beginning-​Advanced) and is teaching a Total Body Conditioning class. Her Spinning classes are some of my favorite.
Barry — I’ve only taken Spinning with him but I felt that he was a great instructor. His class was definitely challenging and he has the perfect energy for instructing a spin class effectively. His music playlist for spin class is great. He also teaches Core Training which I’m sure is probably great, too.
Linda — I’ve taken her for Core Training and while I did feel like the workout was effective… I just don’t feel motivated to go to her class. Really because of her attitude/​energy. Didn’t really feel positive to me. From what I can see, she’s teaching a lot of classes this session but I’d rather take classes with the other instructors who seem happier to be there and to teach. Just to be honest… (I mean she might be better teaching other classes, not sure).
Jon Q — I haven’t taken Jon Q this session, but I have taken his Boot Camp class in the past and LOVED it! Granted, it was at 6:30 in the morning for an hour… but the class was really the key factor (aside from my diet change) in me getting to my weight loss goal. When you start off, it’s tough but you’ll be amazed and happy to see how much you can do at the end of the session. He has great energy and is very motivating. Definitely recommend him. He also teaches Core Training.
But yeah, definitely check the Harlem YMCA out if you live in Harlem/​in the area. It’s a 10 – 15 minute walk from where I live, which is great!

My son learned how to swim here when he was 5, took 8 months but happy we came here. Loved his 1^st instructor that has now left :-(The other other instructors are nice, mostly friendly. He stayed in swim classes from age 4 to 6. Now this summer he will do the swim camp, i’m anxious to see how it goes? I trust the instructors with his safety. Theres only been 2 or 3 times the class as been to big for my liking due to staff absence. He did the regualar camp here spring break 2010. It was ok, very loud when i went to pick him up, lets see how camp goes this summer and maybe we will be back at swim class to master the strokes in fall? Good price compared to other places i called.

Don’t know about the gym side, I was just here for a cheap place to stay during a weekend visit. The place is more expensive than a cheap hostel, cheaper than a stupidly expensive hostel (of which NYC has many), and way cheaper than any other private room that close to the center of town.
The rooms are small but reasonably comfortable and clean. Shared bathroom, but that’s certainly expected at the price. There’s always someone at desk, which is really convenient for the weekend trip crowd (a lot of hostels seem to have a «you must check in before 11» policy, really inconvenient if there are any delays on the Friday evening bus, which there are approximately all the time). Also, the tall building with a GIGANTIC NEON SIGN visible from the subway station was a nice change of pace from the usual unlabeled hostel entrance.

I’ve been a member of several gyms in the city since I moved here. I was a member of New York Sports Club, Chelsea Piers, the Hoboken Y, and 92Y. Before that I used the facilities NYU provided for its students.
It’s worth noting for people just getting to the city that the name YMCA does NOT connote the same substandard quality that comes with the brand outside New York City. I’ve been to several Y’s here and there’s not much comparison. It’s difficult to decouple the name from your experiences in California or Minnesota or wherever, but do yourself a favor and have a look at the facilities if the price fits your budget.
The Harlem YMCA is in a strange position because it’s more or less the only game in town, which makes it indispensable for locals who want to stay in shape. That said, it really pales in comparison to many of the other gyms I’ve visited in the city. The weight room and cardio room are cramped when traffic is low and more or less worthless when traffic is high. While there is a pool, which I was excited about when I joined, it’s a tiny pool that receives extremely high traffic.* Good luck swimming serious laps there.
Still, the staff is a delight, and being the only game in town the Harlem YMCA could be a LOT worse. If there were any meaningful competition I’d give it three stars.
*– If I knew you’d better I’d make a culturally insensitive joke about the irony of this sentence given the location, but we’re strangers, so I’m gonna keep my mouth shut.

I’ve been a member of the Harlem YMCA for 4 months now, and couldn’t be happier. I recognize the other reviews (complaints) about this facility, which are mostly valid. The facilities are old and could use some updating. If you’re paying a full $ 55/​month membership with $ 125 sign-​up fee, then I can understand your higher expectations and hence your disappointment. But if you’re among the city’s lower income class, then you can apply for financial assistance, and they will help you make it affordable — how many gyms will offer you that?! And when you add to that the kind and friendly staff, the huge line-​up of diverse classes, great co-​members, a heated pool that offers swimming lessons and aqua aerobics, and a sauna in the locker rooms, any superficial issues with the building and programs all but disappear! It’s true, some of the instructors leave much to be desired, and I’ve experienced missing/​late/​crummy teachers (I agree, Linda is one of these!) and a shortage of space and equipment to be sure. But some of the classes are outstanding, and this is one of the only places in the neighborhood to offer yoga classes, at least one each day. The yoga teachers are outstanding, and I find myself at the Y at least once a day. The Harlem YMCA does so much to improve the quality of life of its members and the community. Love it!

This YMCA is strongly factoring in why it may be hard for me to leave Harlem.
I’ve been a member since 2007, and I’ve watched them upgrade the facilities and classes while still maintaining a great neighborhood feel.
I frequent their cardio room in the morning, and it’s never too crowded. It is, however, immensely populated with older people, which I actually love because a.) I don’t have to worry about getting hit on, or trying to look cute to impress people, and b.) when you see a 70 year old man wobble up to a machine and then do 10 chin ups it reminds you to stay on your game. Everyone here is super friendly and always looking to help & swap exercise tips.
The machines are less than 2 years old, the locker rooms are clean, and they offer simple yet effective classes. I recommend any yoga class with Spirit, i go just so she can pat my forehead with peppermint oil during svasana, it is simply DIVINE!

Thank GOD my membership at this hole-​a-​crappola is almost expired. It started out good, which is why I give 2 stars instead of 1, but it’s gotten increasingly more disappointing with time like a middle school relationship.
In the beginning, I loved the sauna and steam room, the friendly people at the desk and the crazy spinning class that kept me sweating and singing at the top of my voice on Tuesday nights. But then the sauna and steam room kept being «out of service», the bathroom smelled like boiled eggs and the crotchety lady in the locker room kept scolding me. In the summer the pool was constantly occupied for camps so unless you’re willing to get there at the ass-​crack of the morning, you’re going to share your one lane with 1 or 2 other people trying to do some laps. The cardio room is small. let’s be honest. Luckily this gym rarely gets crowded so I never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a machine. Took the most boring and uninspiring yoga class ever here. Lemme see, what else? They fired the nice guy at the front desk and installed an alarm that goes off every 10 minutes in the locker room to let you know when the sauna reaches a certain temperature. The effing thing is so loud I thought it was a fire alarm and almost ran out of the place butt naked. When I asked about it, I was basically told to suck it up. No wonder the locker room lady is so grouchy. The gym was closed unexpected due to «water damage» and in the 2 weeks everything was shut down, they didn’t bother to think of a way to reimburse people for the half month’s membership fees they paid for a gym they didn’t have access to. I still haven’t heard back from them dispite my phone calls and inquiries. I really like the other members of the gym, everyone is so friendly and people remember you and say hi, but I just can’t deal with the sub-​par everything of the gym itself.

This is the worst YMCA gym in NYC. I love the Prospect Park, 14^th St and 63^rd St Ys, but I will never ever go back here. I went to swim and the pool had been closed down by the NYC health department — apparently they were working on their filtration system. I decided to take the abs class — the instructor was 20 minutes late for a 30 minute class (not even a simple apology) then no one in the building could unlock the room for 10 minutes. After waiting around for 30 minutes the next class finally started in a new room with the same instructor. There was no music, the room smelled worse than you can imagine, and the instructor had such a bad attitude and was incredibly lazy. She told us we would have to get our own weights out of the closet upstairs. Every person was doing a separate exercise and the instructor did not show us even once how do do the exercises properly. When I asked for some instruction, she told me to look at the other participants. The managers heard me out and they actually seemed like they were going to do something but I’m not very hopeful for Linda as an instructor.

This is a really great place — I would love to be a member if I were closer.
In general I like the YMCA’s in New York — they are much better equipped than others in the country. I’ve visited them all in Manhattan and Harlem and the Westside tie for my favorite.
Harlem has great equipment, a pool and an array of classes you can take — but less equipment and many fewer classes over all than other locations. Still, this place receives much, much less traffic than the other locations and never had to wait.
The facilities on the whole aren’t as new but seem lovingly maintained — which I would expect from a place with this much history (
).
So the lockers and the floor are a funny color and the paint may be coming off here and there but there is a sign on the sauna and steam room saying that it is closed daily for cleaning. I have never, ever seen this before and can tell you that where I work out now it’s not uncommon that I share a sauna with a cockroach. So everything is clean — the steam room has a touch of eucalyptus, the sauna smells like cedar. There is a «lady’s lounge» in the locker room with some cushioned chairs and magazines. Everything is well cared for.
Also, the staff is very nice. One mark of a good YMCA for me is if the person at the front desk teases/​flirts/​harasses with you in some way and, better yet, remembers you. And they do here!
Also, I think it’s a little cheaper than other locations (around $ 50−60/month I think), but you’ll have to check. You can apply for financial aid and that can vary quite a lot. They do, however, take an incredibly long time to process applications.
In general this place isn’t very posh, but they have everything I need and it feels very comforting to be there.

Pluses: few people and very nice personal
Minuses: you only get 1 towel per person in exchange for your card, the equipment is very worn out, some are not working properly the water fountain is broken and the whole place just looks very old (

OK, so I’ll give it 4 stars, mainly for value. Basically, it’s a good deal… you’ll be hard pressed to get a room to yourself in Manhattan for under $ 60 a night, except here.
I came out for the gf’s graduation from Columbia Teacher’s College, and since she was staying in a hotel in Queens with her parents… I had to find my own accommodations. I opted for something close to Columbia. Being a poor college kid myself, I was looking at hostels. After debating between several hostels, I decided having my own single room (that locked) would be the way to go.
My room was a little musty, and sort of New York «clean,» in that it’s not clean, but not «dirty.» It’s more just «well-​used.» The room had sort of a «court-​imposed rehab» vibe to it… but I wasn’t there to hang out in my room. Furnishings included a table, a dresser, and a little nightstand-​type table. Plus, a TV (w/​rabbit ears… tolerable reception), a fridge, and a window AC unit. Only caveat there: one outlet. Therefore, I could have the TV and AC on, but no fridge. TV and my cell phone charging, but not AC unit. Luckily, it wasn’t hot, so I just used the AC’s fan to get some air in there, plus some ambient background sleeping noise.
Shared bathroom was all right. Again, not sparkling, eat-​off-​the-​floor clean; however, not «dirty.» I felt comfortable using it. It was a little small, in that there were just 2 toilet stalls, 1 urinal, 4 sinks, and a little shower room with 2 shower heads. But the shower was fine. Water was hot, pressure was solid. Do take flip-​flops (or stop at one of the discount stores and get a pair of 99-​cent ones: they have em). I didn’t get down to the weight room or pool, but as a guest, you do have access.
Staff was nice enough. Security recognized me quickly, one of the registration ladies even remembered my full name. And on my final day, they let my get a late checkout since the day’s graduation ceremony didn’t get over until 12.30, and the checkout time is noon.
Overall, it is what it is. More privacy than a hostel. (Although there is a little «lounge» with some padded chairs and a table on the floor.) It’s cheap. It’s convenient: the 2&3 are at the end of the block; the A, B, C are a quick walk, as are busses (the M60 to LaGuardia is at 125^th). I could walk over to Columbia’s campus easily, too. And I never felt unsafe in the area. It *is* Harlem. If you’re white, then yeah, you’ll be well in the minority – as in possibly the only one – so if that’s an issue to you…
But if I’m ever in a similar situation, I’d stay there again.