East Whittier YMCA

Looks like a great facility but terrible service and very high pricing. I tried to speak with the membership director last week but she was in a meeting so I left a note and never received a call back. I just stopped in and was waiting about 5 minutes to speak with them. They were extremely busy at the front desk so I patiently waited. A lady acknowledged me and I explained why I was there. She said she would be with me after she helped this other family. I moved to the side to wait for her availability. Other families came in after me and I said I was just waiting to speak with this lady so they could go ahead of me to talk with the other employees. Next thing I know, the lady I was waiting for just went ahead and helped all of these other people while I was there graciously waiting for her like an idiot. I guess you don’t really care about new members.
Also, your pricing is ridiculous for the stay at home parent demographic which is a lot of us. I have an 8 month old baby. Your pricing for me would be $ 80/​month. My infant will not be using the facilities while I am there. She would just be in the day care while I work out. the $ 80/​month is a great value for 2 parents and their kids or 1 parent and multiple children. However, there should be an additional level of member ship. The $ 50/​month for 1 person should also be allowed for a child under age 3. It doesn’t make sense for me to pay your $ 50/​month but then have to hire a baby sitter while I go work out there and it doesn’t make sense for me to pay $ 80/​month for me to bring her with me and sit in your child care room. If we were members, we would also probably take advantage of your infant swim classes etc but with the non-​member pricing we won’t because there are cheaper places to go. $ 50/​month although higher than LA fitness or 24 hour fitness is something I would do because I like your small facility, would want to pay additional for the classes, and your location is closer to me. Since I am unable to speak with anyone about this and am not able/​willing to pay $ 80/​month for little ol’ me to workout there, I guess I have no choice but to look at the other 2 corporate gyms in the area.
I was so excited when I found out the Y is in my neighborhood but am so disappointed with the unprofessionalism.
The younger staff (early twenties is super courteous and helpful (as much as they have the authority to be). The mid-​level management clearly shows their stress and frustration (I found have witnessed it twice in these last 2 visits). Last week the manager on site was expressing her frustration of issues while she came to the front desk to grab paperwork. Customers should never see that! And today with this woman ignoring me that is a terrible example to set for your younger staff and it clearly shows that a potential new member is of little importance to this location.

So much nicer with the new improvements. Better and friendlier staff than the uptown YMCA.

I’m very disappointed in the YMCA. I signed my son up for private swim for special needs children. It was disorganized from the get go but I said nothing because we received a discount through the Regional Center. I was told that he would always have the same instructor and he started with another instructor 2 weeks ago. It takes a bit for an autistic child to adjust to new people but I was told his original instructor was no longer available even though I saw him at the pool available. Lastly, we paid a discounted rate of $ 70 per month and it jumped to $ 120 per month without any notification and I’m being forced to buy a family membership when I don’t need one. Needless to say, I will no longer be attending the east Whittier YMCA.

I just love how this YMCA is getting a new facelift!!! Just bumped out that there’s no basketball courts! But it’s looking great inside and the kids are excited to come here instead of Uptown Y. Hope they open on Sunday’s in the near future

I like the YMCA, I do. I also liked this one in the beginning, I did. But there are so many things that didn’t seem to make sense after being here for some classes and the remodel.
My kid is here for gymnastics, she loves it. But after missing the one class they were testing the kids to the next step, we had to wait again a couple more month for the testing to the next level again. We took a month off during summer and now back, which they now have new staff. So my kid who is in the next level is now with the beginners. Seriously, the scheduling of the classes could be better. I know the gymnastics and the swimming program here are two of the biggest drivers to this Y.
Speaking of the swimming, yes our kids have done that also. They liked it. Again, when the staff here changes and it changes for not the better, it does affect their mood of coming here. I’m just not sure about the turnover here or how the program director runs this place but I would take more time reviewing it if driving new customers and retaining loyalty is something they desire.
I do like the new remodel with the kids playing in a newer room. I do wish, however, the waiting area by the windows about the pool could be done better in some way. This is always a cluster of parents and strollers in a narrow hallway. More seating would be so much better here to accommodate the parents waiting.
Other than that, I do like the Y here and the services even though I live closer to another one.

I like the area but most of the employees need to relax, especially the swimming instructors they don’t have personality they make you feel very uncomfortable. I mean they are there to teach a child not make them feel uncomfortable. Wish some improvement

This gym is average and not as nice as the Uptown Whittier campus, however, I understand that they are about to remodel the entire thing so I will update my review then.
I would give it 3 stars but there is never anyone there so the equipment is always free and open to use, that’s why I gave it 4 stars since you have to wait in line to use equipment at the bigger, commercial gyms like 24hour and LA Fitness.
The people who work there are super nice though and very helpful to train you for free. I’m pretty serious about working out 5 days a week and it becomes difficult to do all my exercises since their machines are so old or completely absent.
Altogether I would say that this gym is great if you are on a budget and like a friendly environment. You never feel out of shape since most people who workout here are 50+ and decently out of shape. If you are a beginner it’s a great place to start.

This no glamorous pick up gym. Its simple, clean and safe. If you are a fan of down to earth excercise and enjoy a small town feel, this is the gym for you. The staff is very nice and there are no complicated individuals to deal with. No drama or egos walking around. This is a great environment to relieve stress and unwind.

I enjoy coming and working out my favorite class is @ 7:30 Tuesday & Thursdays the Cycling Class with Angelica she is very nice person.

Wanted to write a review because some people have given bad reviews and I genuinely love this place. Let me tell you why…
Child care: I can take my two kids and leave for up to two hours at a time while I workout. The staff is super attentive with my kids. My daughter loves Jessica and begs me to go every day.
Classes: They got many different classes, but I’m faithful to any of Angelica’s classes. She is super intense and runs a yoga class as well as a cycling class. Both which are very small.
Staff and Facilities: Staff is all very nice! The person who complained about the life guard probably was the same person I saw get kicked out of the pool because they kept throwing the balls around and had no regard for others in the pool. If that is you, you deserved to get kicked out. You’re lucky I didn’t tell you something. The life guard kept asking you to stop and you laughed and continued. I’m glad they are strict. I want to enjoy myself and not have people acting disrespectful in the pool area. The facilities are old, but next year they are looking to remodel the entire gym. Looking forward to that.
Price: I pay $ 50 something for my kids and myself. I think it’s worth it because other gyms tend to charge every time I take kids. They also have a family summer special.
This is a family gym and no one cares how you look. Give the place a try.

Hi I have on Facebook

The female life gaurd is a strict judgemental lady that made my family and I feel so uncomfortable while swimming during a family swim. She kept staring and watching our every move to use any rule against us to force us out of the pool, like I have seen her do before to some children that were just trying to have some fun.
After 15 minutes we just decided to just leave. Now I am trying to develop a schedule for when she is on duty, so we know what days are ok for us to go for a swim without feeling so uncomfortable.
Other than that, there are very few staff members that are decent people.
I recommend they so something about that lady, she is very strict and will use anything to suspend you from enjoying a nice swim.

Fees are exorbitant. Wanted to sign my kiddo up for a water babies swim class, but the cost would have been almost $ 20 per 45 min class!

came here for a few weeks for swimming lesson as a kid, still looks the same, definitely a lot of memories and pretty decent prices.

I used to be a member of this ymca for about 9 years and I’m not anymore. It’s too much money and it’s not worth it. I would have to pay 56 a month for me, it’s old, it’s stuffy, poor ventilation especially in the child watch room. That room smelled. Every year it goes up 2 dollars but they don’t do anything to the building, like fix it up or make it nicer. They do paint but that’s it. I thought the Y was suppose to be cheaper but it’s not anymore. My kids hated it, the lady who watches them had no control over the kids. In the Y website it said that they won’t turn anyone away due to financial reasons but they turned a away. When I first joined it was great, the lady who watched the kids was great, she did things with them, she let them go outside to play. This new lady makes them stay inside even though it’s sunny. The Y is not the same anymore, it’s getting more and more run down, the trainers I don’t know if they are certified to be trainers.

This YMCA is really important to me for sentimental, psychological, and pragmatic reasons. I took my first swimming lessons here, and these very vivid memories are some of my earliest. I didn’t actually do much swimming here, as I was too young (or at least I wasn’t in that class), but I did learn how to kick, and at the end of the session, the teenage instructors would take us up to the high dive and jump into the water while holding us. That was a little bit scary but also really fun, and it helped teach me about trust and overcoming fears. OK, that sounds way too sappy, but I was a really sensitive little kid, and I can honestly say these swimming lessons were the first time I felt truly comfortable around people besides my parents, sister, and brother.
The building itself is pretty small. It was built in 1970, and its age shows. The pool isn’t very big, and I’ve never been in the weight room, so I don’t know what it’s like. Parking is pretty easy, and it’s right across the street from Vons and the rest of the Whittwood Mall in case you need to grab some food.