Ann Arbor YMCA Reviews

Nothing but positive experience. I am only there between 7-10am, but in that timeframe, I enjoy the various workout areas. Tour was nice, everything is clean in the AM, and it's not crowded in the AM.

This Y does have a pool, a gym, a child watch center, and afterschool programs but the best thing about this Y is the community. It's easy to form a friendship - even if I was the only 17 year old in "active older adult" classes during a season of physical rehabilitation. Inclusive and full of diversity, this Y feels warmly welcoming for all.

Been a member for a few years now and though I find the structure of the building nice and clean, there's some serious apathy from staff towards making the fitness floor better. My main concern is the lack of a squat rack. If the YMCA is all about "healthy living" and educating people on fitness, then why leave people ignorant to such an important exercise such as squats? There's a smith machine but those don't even compare to the benefits of doing REAL squats on a REAL squat rack. I see kids come in everyday to do a full bicep workout and never workout their legs. Maybe if there was the proper equipment to do so they would be more interested. You're leaving people uneducated and ignorant to fitness and it's disappointing that it's coming from the YMCA, an important establishment in our history. They've got a large amount of old, rusty, gross cable machines that barely work, maybe they could just get rid of them and get something that's actually useful? They need to teach people about all aspects of fitness.

Such a turn off the moment you walk in, very unfriendly staff which makes them unprofessional. most gyms someone will show you around, here you are not greeted with a welcome or anything except to sign something before you can have a look around. Due to the unfriendliness here, we will not be joining. I would not want to use the child care facilities here for our little one with the displeasing attitude they have. They need to replace all if not most of the employees and put in those who care about their jobs and the people coming in.

Best YMCA I've ever been to, feels more like a high class fitness center. But because it's so cheap to join, it's often overcrowded. Try coming during non-peak hours.

So I go here for the gym for like a month while I am here but my home base is Austin, and I have to say I am very impressed with the YMCA of Ann Arbor.
It's very clean, has pretty much everything you cam think of.
I still would prefer the WCC gym though

Most down to earth and welcoming gym in town. Friendly staff and great child care programs/camps :)

Fracking horrible.
Plain and simple.

This is a high quality Y. Lots of equipment, a very nice pool, pleasant staff, and very clean. It also feels like a community gym, with people of all ages, rather than just another college town gym.

Friendly, clean, and well-maintained. Great place to workout.

Love the facility, lots of equipment, great variety of things to do. Only wish there was a playground or something equivalent for the kidwatch.

I love the Ann Arbor YMCA. My primary reason for going there is Child Watch. If you have young kids and don t know about it, you need to. I have a baby and a preschooler and Child Watch is the only reason that I can get any reasonable amount of exercise. They hire fantastic, loving staff and my kids always have a happy time there. I want to thank whomever came up with the idea. If it weren t for them I d have an aching back and clogged blood vessels. It s like having a babysitter included in the price of your membership. Yes, please. Also: the place is beautiful and spotless. Nice people go there, and nice people work there.

I personally love the staff. The programs dedicated to the community are amazing, and to top that, the building is also a extremely new, high quality, modern building. The membership prices are high but definitely worth the pay!

Friendly staff, great facility, convenient location

Good facility. Just dont set your weights down too hard or they will be all over you..

Rrally great price for a gym. Some classes are included in the basic package but not all. The staff are friendly and the facility is always clean. A very welcoming gym environment for anyone!

Ive only been there once or twice but it is a really nice place

Really nice people, great equipment. Locker rooms need a little work though.

Great for winter fitness. I mainly use the pool and have no complaints. A bit crowded at times, but not too bad. Sometimes the men's locker room smells pretty bad.

Front desk was rude to me. I called prior to coming in for the requirements needed to get a day pass. After calling I showed up they told me that I was wrong and told me a totally different thing than what I had been told on the form. This is not the first time I have had a disrespectful experience at this particular Y and plan on never coming back and you should too

If you have a family, maybe. If you don't or are tiniest bit serious about fitness, it's pretty bad. If you try to workout seriously, you get nasty looks from the staff. Parking is impossible. Staff is frequently uninterested or annoyed at anything you try to ask (like why has some piece of equipment been busted for 4+ weeks). There are signup fees, fees for classes, fees for parking and relatively expensive monthly fees. Tried it for a few years and other than being close to work, it was a constant source of frustration., annoyances and screaming kids.

Pick an actual gym (like Anytime, LA or even Planet Fitness) and you'll get a good, quiet (no kids running around and screaming) gym with plenty of space, equipment, plentiful free parking, etc. (but no pool, if that matters)

P.S. It's sort of pretty for a gym, so it's got that going for it...

I don't normally write reviews, however I feel the need to start. I truly love this place. The atmosphere is conducive for family. Child watch is wonderful and my youngest is really adapting to the staff. They have many programs available for adults and children. Also for families that can not afford a membership to most exercise facilities they offer help. I recommend this location to anyone. They have something for everyone

Good modern gym . Dry sauna pool towel service . But for away member it's really hard to find parking in the Dt area .

My review is mostly from the point of view of the fitness classes so keep in mind I haven't had much experience with other aspects of this Y. The facility is quite nice and the pool is great. The staff is nice and mostly friendly (mostly college students it seems), although they often don't seem to know what's going on, especially with fitness classes. I've been pretty impressed by the fitnesses instructors they have found--this was better than I expected. The communication about fitness classes is really poor, overall...not just to students but I've seen poor communication from the Y to teachers as well...not telling them when the Y is closed for construction, when there's break in classes. So then teachers don't know either, and the Y often doesn't communicate with people by email about class cancellations, etc. Class updates aren't part of the standard text updates either..I can't figure what those are for...it seems like they only update about the pool and the bathroom. In addition, the web site (which is clunky overall) isn't always accurate for which classes are actually happening and which ones aren't, so you really have to call the front desk and sometimes they don't even know. They really don't seem to have much of a system checking people into classes, either--sometimes they check your punch card or online registration, sometimes they don't. You have to pay a lot extra in top of a membership for most of the fitness classes at this Y (maybe that's true of others Y's as well) so it's pretty frustrating to have to deal with the communication issues and mis-management of these when you're paying so much for them. On the plus side, they do have a pretty variety of class offerings, including several different types of dance classes, which I've appreciated.

Great for families, with family locker area, nice pool for little ones, and lots of classes for all ages. Friendly people with all types of classes. The sports teams for kids is very affordable. Nicely kept and clean everywhere. Very popular place to work out.

The Y is a wonderful facility with a pool, weights, track, gym, studios, and lots of classes offered for all ages. Everytime I go there are friendly faces and I feel encouraged and welcomed. The Y also has youth development programs and is impacting the community on a much larger scale than you can see when you come. My whole family enjoys coming to the Y and we are involved in more than just the physical fitness side. Being members helps us to become stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually. I highly recommend the Y for people of all ages and walks of life- there's a spot for everyone!

I have been a member for several years. The staff is nice and helpful. Yes, if come at 6:30 PM it may be crowded. Why? because everyone is coming from work. Get use to it or leave work a few minutes earlier or go in the AM before work. I have never had a problem with waiting for a machine. The classes are great and a bargain. Our whole fmaily uses the Y. I don't understand the negative comments. They really aren't true.

It has mostly everything that you'll need. At the time of this post, 10-2-2016, they had 2 flat benches, 1 incline bench, 1 power rack, dumbbells that go up to 100*, a cable crossover machine, and about 2 of every common machine i.e. lat pull downs, cable rows, leg press, all that stuff.

There is an area for deadlifting, they pretty much require you to put these 6 inch green pads down because they get mad if you drop weights, even though everything is padded.

I was dumbbell pressing the 100's and had to use the same green pads because someone told me I couldn't drop them to the side when I was done.

*The dumbbells at higher weights are also absurdly long as in when you do a traditional dumbbell press with the 100's, your arms end up in a V when locked instead of parallel because the 100's are so long that they hit each other. It's pretty annoying.

They do have an indoor track but it's one of those tracks where 13-14 laps make a mile. So if you're doing any kind of long distance speed work it's kind of a pain.

If you can ignore that stuff then it's fine.

Awesome facility and extraordinarily accommodating and friendly staff. The childcare team goes above and beyond any gym I have belonged to previously. They snuggle the babies and have the older kids running, creating art, and laughing. The kids are not just being watched, they are getting a fun experience! There are many things that make the Y great (clean facility, great workout equipment, warm zero entry pool, indoor track...) but the friendly atmosphere is what really makes it my favorite gym!

If you want to work out a lot (4-7 time per week), then it's very important that the gym you join be in a location that is convenient to access. Maybe it's just me, but if I have to go out of my way to get exercise, I just won't do it very regularly.

So, for me, location is one of the best things about the Y. It's basically at the midpoint of the two mile line between my house and my job. I go past it at least twice a day whether I work out or not, so joining was kind of a no-brainer.

The facility seems to me to be extensive and pretty all-encompassing for all different kinds of exercise, though I think (especially from reading other reviews here) that maybe this has resulted in a kind of "jack of all trades, master of none" situation. Even if that is true, for me it's fine because my primary needs are:

1. A daily cardio workout to burn some calories since I sit at a desk all day at work.
2. Some strength training equipment (machines and free weights), so I can dabble in that a couple times a week.

It's nice to have all the other stuff that's there available to me in case I want to use it, but it's the location, cleanliness, and ready availability of equipment that I personally want to use on a regular basis that are the real selling points of the Y for me.

I also made good use of some of the specialty machines that they have at the Y when I was rehabbing from shoulder reconstructive surgery, and prior to that also after a back injury. I suspect that the Y may be a generally good choice for people with anything that could be considered "special needs".

Of course you have to think about what your specific needs are before joining. It is not as cheap as some other places. I have seen a few hardcore-looking muscle-guy types, but only very rarely. If that's the kind of "fitness" you're looking for, then the Y might not be for you. That probably shouldn't come as any surprise, though. Also not a great spot for trying to land dates with other singles, as it caters pretty strongly to families, senior citizens, and teens.

Everything nice. Good value. Staff are cool. Kids like it. Lack of power rack and lame reasons for not having one scream "we don't know much about fitness." Someone concerned with finding a "real gym" should look elsewhere. Other than that it's great. Also super convenient for anyone who lives/works downtown.

Great with friendly staff. amazing pool, gym, fitness, and track. great for everyone

Great place for families and living a healthy, productive lifestyle.

The summer camp is the worst! I have witnessed the staffs were shouting at the children, loud whistling to get the kids in line. My 6 years old son have been to 5 different camps so far, he said this is the worst one! They were treated like dogs.
The worst thing is that when I wanted to contact someone to talk about it, left numbers of voice mail, no one response or nobody there! I called by the end of August when the camp still running, The person in charged of the camps is not coming back until October!!!

Very good option for family - child care included in membership fee is great option for my family, allowing both me and my wife to work out.

It's a great family friendly place to workout, though I find it a little expensive. The do have a large pool do laps and a smaller pool for family fun. Includes a basketball court and an additional running section in the third and fourth floors. Attendants are very helpful.

AJ was really helpful along with all the other staff

It's a great place and friendly staff, but you have to pay for parking lot which is terrible and it's so expensive. I was only able to afford it when I was a high school student because they had a special rate for students.
I used to go there regularly a few years ago in high school and stopped but recently I was back in and I have mixed feelings about the remodel. The gym part not the basketball court, used to be so bright and full of light and now it's dark and gloomy. Also I really like how they are making things wheelchair accessible. There is only one leg machine and it is terrible. I also like how w now in the locker rooms there are lockers that have locks so you don't have to purchase a lock for them.

Always busy, can't find parking that you don't have to pay for. I pay enough for a membership.