Palo Alto Family YMCA

This place is literally so unsanitary and they have poor customer service. I tried to cancel my membership and i still got billed! I am Very unhappy, and i want my money back. I will be speaking to management about this because it is absolutely unacceptable to bill someone who has already canceled their membership. Will not be returning.

Once again Unilocalers organize the reviews by dates because you’ll notice the most recent reviews the Palo Alto family YMCA is continually getting worse and worse :-) the inefficiency of the front desk is overwhelming one scanner with 50 people waiting in line… El Camino has 4 scanners East Palo Alto has 2 scanners… you kidding me, Then to be greeted by some crabby Woman. If you’re blessed Ashley may be at the front desk and she’s delightful,
Also this spitting in the showers is still ongoing and chronic. Seems that the spitters also like to take 20 to 30 minute showers. One simple solution might be remove the moldy pvc shower curtains to protect the anonymity of the 20 to 30 minute shower takers that chronically Spit Entire time While wasting water… Just a gentle suggestion :-)
Also if you join this branch be prepared for the closures which are abundant to go to the website but it’s closed almost every holiday and have the shortest most ridiculous reduced hours 8 AM to 2 PM. FYI you can go to the JCC with an efficient front desk check-​in process and I believe the only closed Hanukkah or only one day a Year. Holiday hours are liberal
7 AM to 5 PM. Once again the closures/​Limited holiday hours are not member centric and should’ve been updated with the closure of Page Mill YMCA.
Also the carpet in the locker rooms is gross and moldy and should be ripped up and let us have clean tile which is under the moldy carpet. Cleaning staff is good and hard-​working. Also covered bike parking spots are why they are getting one star.

I do believe that a lot of things can be improved here, for example: knowledge of your workflow and general quality of service. The FitLinxx ID is something that is used on machines in the Wellness Center, and my hearing impaired friend has gotten vastly different responses to how to obtain her ID. First, she was told from the Wellness Center that she had to go to the front desk to obtain this ID. When she arrived at the front desk, someone who worked at the YMCA was clearly too preoccupied with his phone and rudely answered her question with «The front desk only swipes cards in and out. Registration is now closed, you will have to come back.» He kept reiterating this when she was hoping to get more information.
While I understand checking your iPhone is a routine activity, it’s also disrespectful to disregard paying members. Perhaps on this particular day you had no patience for my friend. Or you were off the clock, I don’t know what excuses this kind of behavior.
Also I’ve experienced some impatience and rudeness from a few members at the gym. This is not something the YMCA is capable of changing, but it should be duly noted.
I will have to say the only good thing about this place is the kid who helped me in the Wellness Center, and the U-​Jam instructor. So that’s the extra star.

The gym has gone downhill. Front desk is mostly friendly, but the back office staff I have encountered are slow to reply regarding refunds/​ignore email/​argue about policy instead of taking responsibility for things that go wrong.
Gym doesn’t really enforce good practices, like penalizing members for taking 1 hr showers or using the shower stalls as a changing room for kids, spitting in the pool and showers. As a result, disrespectful members who take advantage of the system stay.
High turnover of lifeguards, which is troubling, as the attentive ones have left. I went to another local gym even though membership is higher.

This YMCA is okayish.
Some staff are great, some not so much.
The facility surely needs a face lift. The kids club is great for the little guys, and staff is really good, but the one for 5 and older: the space is super dingy and unwelcoming, staff is bored out of their mind and it shows, plus the computer game section is out of control. I have never left my kids in there by themselves and will not.
We tried the YMCA summer camp this year, and while the Director, Epsom, was very professional and responsive, we will not sign our kids up again. Kids are left to fend for themselves while counselors chat and sit around doing nothing, activities only start at certain time so kids are left in chaos until that, age groups are non existent, big kids /​little kids all mixed up, that works when your kid is the big one, but ours are young and they were baits in there. It’s really convenient to sign kids in and pick up but try to venture in the actual space and you will see the chaos. Definitely would not recommend.
Sorry YMCA, got to up your game a bit!

TERRIBLE Staff.
When I used to go here, people actually seemed to know what they were doing, they were friendly and got things done. The current staff seems to not understand teamwork at all and are rude and horrible.
If I was corporate, I’d look to make some quick hiring fixes as well as update the facility if they expect any decent members to keep coming.

Terrible customer service.
The director told me (through email) that they were going to give me a refund for my son’s basketball league due to several reason. They ended up putting him on the wrong team, there was no coach and absolutely no direction and communication during practice. When I didn’t receive my refund, I emailed the director, but received no response. After at least an additional two more emails with no response, I just gave up and never got a refund. What’s also annoying is that when I go to the Y, the tell me that no one else can help me other than the basketball director, but he is NEVER there. I’m not giving y money to this Y anymore.

Unaware of the family unfriendly rule, my kids stepped in Kids Club on Sunday afternoon. Soon a manager named Arundhati Ranganath showed up, yelled at them with a stern, cold and rude tone, to order them out, without even telling them where else young kids can go play in «family» YMCA at that time.
My son is only 3 and he was so scared since this is the 1^st time being treated like a criminal, and cried all the way home.
It is sad YMCA has sold its soul, and is hiring a kids unfriendly manager discriminating families going there during weekend afternoon family time.

Thank you, Palo Alto YMCA for clean locker rooms! Actually, thank you for keeping everything clean and comfortable. As a mom, I really appreciate that I am not totally worried about my toddler touching things here.
The swim classes are the best. The baby classes are fun and just what you would expect. I like how the indoor pool is so nice and warm in the winter! It is like getting into the water in Hawaii on a summer day. So nice, so relaxing! I will be coming her much more often, especially for the kids’ swim lessons.

The pool is good and most classes are good, but one big problem is that there are so many hit-​and-​runs happening in this Y’s parking lot. I recently had one and talking to people and found out that at least 5 other people also had the same experience, hit-​and-​run victims. The sad thing is that we don’t get much help from the Y staff and there is no plan from the Y administration to find solution to solve this BIG problem ! I never had that problem in San Mateo YMCA which I was a member for over 10 years. Someone in the management needs to do something for all those hit-​and-​run in the Y parking lot to make sure that all the members can enjoy their exercise without worrying their cars being hit by someone.

This review is only for the aquatic program.
The aquatic director, Andres, is extremely non-​responsive to the point of being non-​existent. Signing up for summer private lessons literally took MONTHS. Yes, I understand there was a lot of people trying to get in at the same time. I accepted it and moved on.
The lessons are run poorly, the instructors are flaky and disorganized, and having private lessons during open swim is ridiculous and chaotic. Instructors would rather chat with each other than teach or watch the kids to keep them from drowning. Nice.
Two stars for the pool itself.
Searching for yet another pool, one that can run their program smoothly and get back to their members in a timely fashion.

This review is only for the kids’ swimming classes. The classes are pretty good and our kid loves them. They provide the towels there. I wish it could be less kids per 1 instructor, but as the price is reasonable, it’s fine. The only thing I don’t like is that yu can’t choose the instructor you want.

The Silicon Valley YMCA has decided to permanently close down the Page Mill YMCA October 1, 2014. It is expected that most displaced members with go to the Palo Alto Family YMCA. How do you feel about 3500 more members (and their cars) trying to fit into your parking lot and use your class gym space? Call Silicon Valley YMCA: 408−298−1717

REVIEW ONLY FOR GYM USERS:
I went here as a guest. This place’s gym is way OVERPRICED fee for not-​so-​great gears: there only 1 straight bar and 2 EZ curl bars with only TWO SQUAT RACKS. Are you kidding me? My high school gym that is FREE has 4 squat racks with 8 straight bars and 8 EZ bars with medicine balls. For gym users, never step a foot in this place. Ever.

Great facility. The staff is always so friendly and helpful. I really like that they host sport leagues there for young children. It’s great to see the way they are so involved with the community.

Such a clean, family friendly facility!
I’ve been taking my daughter swimming there for over a year now, since she was 6 months old. She’s made a lot of progress in her skills, and she enjoys it a lot! I also take her to the gym classes there, which are included in membership, as well as swimming classes for toddlers! People who work there are super friendly and professional, the heater goes on in the changing rooms when it is time for children’s classes. There are two covered pools, one of them is super warm. Child care is also amazing. Prices for membership are very fair, and you get a lot of service for what you pay! There is always parking, the location is great. Thanks for a great place to spend time at with my family!

My husband joined the Palo Alto Y several years ago because of the indoor pool. I recently asked him to add me to his membership so I could get a workout in while he swam with our daughter. Facilities are very nice but so crowded its very difficult to get a decent workout in or leave the locker room without grinding my teeth due to the swarms of people in the shower/​locker area.
On four separate occasions I visited (one weekday, three weekends at «off» hours but never managed to get a free treadmill without a lengthy wait… then you are only allowed thirty minutes. The cardio-​weight room is small and equipment is nice, but jam packed every time I go. This is a nice facility but not a good option for busy people who need to get in and out or for people with children who have to grab a workout when they can. The crowds in the workout room, pool lanes and locker room slow you down considerably.

The Palo Alto YMCA offers a great range of classes at convenient times. The facilities are gorgeous and the staff is very helpful.

As a displaced son of Palo Alto, I come back two or three times a year to visit family and friends. On a recent visit with the parental units in (still living in the family manse) I searched out a gym that offered day passes to visitors. The YMCA offered a fair daily price ($ 15 a day) and it was relatively close to the house. The staff was friendly and provided specific information regarding the facilities and forms.
Despite having a pool, basketball court, and a wide range of activities, I only used the gym. The equipment is fairly new a well cared for but I was surprised at how small it was. It must get busy during the day (I was there in the early morning) for there were sign-​up boards for every piece of cardio equipment. I had no problem getting on the equipment I desired since I was there early.
All in all, the location and friendly staff make me think that I will use the YMCA on future visits with the folks.

We’ve been spending Saturday afternoons at this YMCA lately for my 5 year old son’s basketball games. It’s impressive that they even offer a basketball league for kids this young… and they also have age brackets going up through at least junior high.
In all, the basketball league has offered nice early exposure to the sport and my little guy is having fun with it. Be prepared if you sign up though: the format each week is a haphazard 30 minute «practice» session followed by another 30 minute 5-​on-​5 full court game. So I’d highly encourage teaching your little one to dribble and shoot a little before signing up. Since there is not much passing at this stage, the one or two best kids on each team end up controlling the ball.
I’ve also taken a spin through the rest of the facility and have considered joining. In all it’s a well maintained, clean gym & indoor pool… kind of that «in between» option for the pragmatist who wants something a notch above 24 Fitness but doesn’t want to pay up for a swanky club.