Gymboree Play & Music

My son has been going to Gymboree for around 6 months now and loves it. The staff is always very nice and flexible. If I need to make up a class there has never been any problem. They also make a point to try and learn everyone’s name even though so many children come. Open gym is also a bonus! As for price, it’s about the same as other places in town. I’m thinking about enrolling in a second class for him next!

My 10 month old son started coming here and he seems to really like it. It’s a safe place for him to explore and gain skills. Four stars because the reasons why I bring him here outweigh any of the cons.
Pros:
–nice staff
–they sell the toys they use in classes
–great place for babies who aren’t walking yet
–the price allows you to attend all/​any open gym times. I take him there nearly every day to get all his energy out.
Cons:
–I have yet to see them enforce any rules.
–People complain about germs, yet I have never once seen any parent follow the rules on the wall, saying to wash your and your child’s hands before and after using the gym area.
–Parents are supposed to stay at hug’s reach of their child. I have yet to see this.
–My baby puts everything in his mouth because he’s a BABY. Yes, your child is bound to get sick when they’re around other children. I put everything into the dirty toy bin, but I have yet to see them clean it.
–They refer to each other as «Teacher (insert first name)» — I refuse to call them that. It’s ridiculous.
–pricey… very pricey

We love this place. The couple of stable teachers are EXCELLENT! And I do mean excellent. Our child is very happy to attend a couple classes a week. Would definitely recommend this to anyone with a child from a few months old up to preschool age. They even have a school skills class which basically amounts to a small intimate preschool. We live itj

My daughter has been attending classes at the Redmond Gymboree since February ’11, and we love it. I originally enrolled my daughter using a Groupon that I had purchased, wanting some kind of group learning/​playing atmosphere for her on a regular basis. At first she was very shy and tentative, but after just a couple of classes we could already see her opening up and beginning to come out of her shell. After the initial month was up, we were happy to continue bringing her back to classes.
We have had two different teachers since enrolling, and while both of them have been nice, our current teacher, Laura, is our favorite. Our daughter has taken to her much more quickly, compared with our previous (male) teacher, who was very enthusiastic, but perhaps more intimidating in that sense. Laura has a gentler manner and interacts with each child, calling them by name, whereas I don’t recall our previous teacher ever using the children’s names.
We have always felt that the facility is clean, safe and well-​maintained, and Laura, for her part, has done an excellent job answering our questions and responding to our needs. On the few occasions I have contacted the manager, she, too, has addressed our concerns most of the time, although one or two of our e-​mails did go unanswered.
I have not had trouble so far with billing problems as previous reviewers have, as we have never tried to cancel. We are happy Gymboree customers thus far, and we plan to keep coming for as long as our daughter is interested.

It makes me sad to see so many 1 star reviews :(
We just signed our son up for Gymboree and he LOVES it! He has a great time. The teacher, Miss Laura, is so nice and entertaining. My son brings toys up to her and smiles at her and she is so warm and welcoming. He has learned a lot in just a couple classes! It’s great to have him interacting with other kids and testing out new toys and jungle gym type things in a safe and totally padded setting.
It really is a clean place. I am really weird about germs and it took me awhile to warm up to the idea of my son playing at a place like this, but they have great hygiene policies and standards… everything that gets put into the mouth is washed and sterilized. Laura was also very kind, open and honest about what gets cleaned and what is not. I felt like she truly cared about my feelings and concerns. She wasn’t just trying to get us to sign up and spend money.
It is rather pricey though… worth it, but pricey at $ 79 a month (1 class per week, so 4 classes = $ 79)
I never tried cancelling a membership or anything, so I can’t comment on that.

Agree with other reviewer. This place is a RIP-​OFF! There are MANY better deals in Redmond. Great Play, Gotta Dance, Emerald City Gymnastics, Orange Blossom, etc. etc.
Manager loves to try and HIDE the fact that you are automatically renewed after the last class. Further she deosn’t give you a copy of the paperwork she has you sign and she won’t give you a cancellation form unless you specifically say the words… a.k.a. ‘we don’t want to continue’ apparently doesn’t mean anything to her. This place operates like the old Bally’s fitness. It should be avoided!!!

My older two kids took many, many classes at Gymboree Play & Music, and I was quite satisfied with everything about it. They were super flexible with make-​up classes and enrollment, courteous, and understanding.
Having had a long break from it, and then experiencing it recently with my 3^rd child, I have to say things have changed quite a bit.
1) You now not only sign up for the class (and it ain’t cheap!), now you must also pay a one-​time Initiation Fee of $ 40.
2) Your class «membership» automatically renews after the last week; you have to notify them a week before the deadline to cancel. Since I didn’t realize this and missed the deadline, I now get to fill out a change of status form to cancel this contract; which I definitely will since I’d like my almost $ 400 back.
3) If you don’t renew, you don’t get to do make-​ups that you are owed (and i truly believe that since I PAID for these classes ahead of time, that I am entitled to these make-​ups; but they feel otherwise). So we are apparently not entitled to make up the 4 missed classes, even though I paid for them already. I find that ridiculous and I feel totally ripped off – that is the equivalent of about $ 130 that I’m out.
I also don’t think the upkeep of the place is very good. Every time I come in the place smells like soiled diapers. I think the teachers are good, but I do question the hygiene. I always make sure to have my child wash up completely after I pick her up.
All in all I think it is okay, but if I were you I’d check into other similar places like Great Play or even the Redmond Community Center. I was not satisfied with this experience; it felt like they were just there to take my money. The curt responses to my emailed questions were also not appreciated.