Daniel Gennaro

Review of Glenwood YMCA

I've been a member of the Y for 5 years because of...

I've been a member of the Y for 5 years because of it's mission and the amenities. I like how they do so much for the community, allow youth a place to play, and because of their Christian foundation (some will argue its all-encompassing now, which is true, but that's not the principles it was founded with.) The pro's of this branch are: tons of classes to utilize, very spacious, coffee in the mornings, friendly staff (for the most part) and they keep it very clean. However, over the years the things that upset me is that firstly, you're paying A LOT of money for membership, I pay near $40 for an individual plan. Secondly, things are often broken, and when they are, they're not replaced for a week or so at a time. It shouldn't take 2 weeks to fix a cable on a machine. The thing that gets me the most is the steam room is often not working correctly by not putting out enough steam, and above all, the dry-sauna is useless. They DO NOT LET YOU put water on the rocks, and its often barely warm enough to sweat, maybe around 120 degrees or so... (I understand a lot of that is from opening/closing the door) but EVERY sauna is designed to put water on rocks, it releases steam and helps the heating sensation, the only reason to not allow water on the rocks is because 'it may reduce the life of the sauna element.' hence, they're trying to save money. It's not the heat that makes you sweat, it's the humidity, and according to many sources, "A properly functioning sauna should be operated at 180-200 degrees Fahrenheit." They also recommend using some essential oils to help open the lungs and your pores. However, try doing that at the Y and they're gonna kick you out because they don't know how a properly functioning sauna is supposed to work. Any who, I like the Y still for what it is, I enjoy being able to go to any branch in the county but a lot of people don't know all what your membership includes, such as: 'The Away Program' where you can access different Y's across the country when traveling. My final thoughts are if you're paying that much per month, they should do a better job keeping equipment maintained and improving the amenities that differ it from other standard gyms.
Lastly, i had an incident where I closed the bank account where my membership was being drawn from. I gave them advance notice that I'd like to switch it but they said it was fine. Turns out I got a $25 bounced check fee to start my membership back up. This place has money, don't let them fool you.