Camp Rising Sun, Cary YMCA Review

One bad experience changed my opinion about this YMCA and made me not want to ever come back there. We specifically enrolled to visit the toddler pool as our three year old loves to be in the water. My husband also took him to the nursery which seemed to be very good, but the swimming pool staff ruined any desire to come back. The day of the incident water felt much colder then usual and looked kind of dirty with something floating in the water. The lifeguard took one of the kiddie toys and scooped it out of the water, dumped it right otside the pool and put toy right back in the toy box. I am far not germophob but it's not a good way to represent yourself. Now to the actual cause of this review: there was a woman with three boys who were way too old for toddler pool, not supervising them and letting them jump, fight and splash me head to toe (well I was in the water up to my knees to be fair) when I was wearing a t-shirt in the pool clearly trying not to get wet. The lifeguard on duty completely ignored that (rules state that children are to be within arms reach from supervisor and woman was away from the pool reading a book). The biggest boy pushed my son and that was ignored by both lifeguard and boy's guardian. When confronted, the woman told me I have to take my 3-year old elsewhere, her children are here to play and the rules don't make any sense. Lifeguard stayed silent. The sad part is, a few days before that we had to leave the pool because my son got upset when the lifeguard didn't let him splash in the water and there was no one but us in there! Apparently the more children you have the more rules you are allowed to break? Well, woman's lack of parenting skills is her own problem, but I have never been in a public pool or waterpark where lifeguard, whos job is to make sure everyone is safe would completely ignore rough play and pretend he doesn't see one child push another (twice smaller). After submitting a comment about this via e-mail I received a generic reply - without even an apology. "Thank you for letting us know the areas where we need to improve" it said. Well, while you "improve" I will go some place where my child and I would not be bullied and I don't have to worry about my son's safety.

I like the Ymca especially the Bicycle inside the lockers much better

Great gym. Not of the hardcore type, but enough to get a workout in while traveling.

Very rude director (Collins) and unprofessional staff, in my opinion. Nothing very Christian about this place.

Excellent staff and amazing child care . My davorite gym

Absolutely love the Y! Kids enjoy themselves tremendously. Pool is clean there is a slide, swim lessons. Basketball, racquet ball a track. Friendly staff. Very nice

The Cary Taylor Family YMCA is a great facility in the heart of Cary (near Bond Park) for working out, swimming, playing basketball / volleyball, etc. They also have great summer camps and track-out camps for kids -- my kids love summer camp there. While the strength equipment area is a bit smaller than would be ideal, you can still get a great workout in. And I really like being able to swim year round there with two outdoor pools, including a main one that gets a "bubble" when outdoor season ends.

I loved all the activities but I did not like that they had fire drills and my kid didbnot like it..

I originally joined for all the group fitness classes. For $33 a month I have access to Zumba, Yoga, Pilates, Spinning and many more. After taking a free fitness consult I was also showed how to use many of the machines, and given a tour of the entire facility. I love this place, the staff is very friendly and helpful, and all my instructors are fantastic. I'm specially a fan of Vihn's Zumba class, I've never had more fun dancing.

Love this place. I only wished I had joined sooner. Childcare is excellent.

We used two passes to go visit the pool and see if this was a place we wanted to join. The lap pool was taken over with swimming lessons, which was annoying, but I was fine with using the regular pool since it had lanes.

The first thing I noticed was that the lifeguard didn't seem to be paying attention at all to the many children in the pool and was having an engaged discussion with people he knew. He looked to be in highschool or college-aged.

The second thing that really bothered me, and ultimately inspired this review, was this lifeguard proceeded to have a long conversation while at his post that was ultra-conservative and borderline racist in nature. Him and his friends discussed George Zimmerman, feminists, how much they hated Obama, how they wanted to overthrow the government, Black people, etc. etc. Every time I came up for air on that side of the pool I was forced to hear a conversation that sounded straight out of Rush Limbaugh's radio program. This was highly unprofessional conduct for an employee to be engaging in such a conversation, much less while he was on-duty in a position in which he has to be focused on making sure children don't drown. It made me decide that the YMCA was probably not the place for me.

The best YMCA for families I have ever seen. My daughter has never been to a daycare, her first time here, she wanted to stay. The staff have been nothing but helpful. A huge variety of gym equipment. My husband says the mens locker room is bad, but the womens locker room is a real spa like atmosphere, private and lovely. I want to be here every day with my family. Outdoors and indoors is wonderful and amazing. Recommending everyone with a family to get a family membership. Wow. Just wow. Thank you YMCA!

I love the Y but it's not as accessible and as fun as it used to be, so crowded now. The pool is way over scheduled with swim team. They should just go ahead and put a cover over the secondary pool and keep the main pool for the members. Then everyone would be more comfortable. Would like to see more opportunities for teen activities. Definitely would like to see the weight room moved to one of the racket ball court or one of the ground floor rooms instead of over the game room. Very loud when the members drop their weights. It would be much safer over on the other side of the gym since it would be on the ground floor.

The counselors at the YMCA are very nice and the YMCA is also a place for fum and safety and I will recommend it to other people. Also its a great place for summer camp, after school and for parents to work out. All I can say is that the Y is THE BEST. Since I have been in the Y.

Great place to go for the morning workout. Friendly staff who gets to know you. Not a meat market type of place!

Great place to workout and very friendly staff and people. I get my membership paid through my employer (Shoeboxed) which saves me about $50/month on a gym membership. I use the Cary Family Y and the Durham Y. I really like the Cary Y and the walking track although it can get very busy at times. Also the group fitness classes are awesome and a great bang for the buck.

The YMCA is much better and cheaper than Lifetime Family Fitness which I used to be a member of. I have been enjoying my membership at the Cary Y since 8/1/2012 or for about 4 years. Hope to workout here for many more years to come.

I just recommend that there be more open pool swim times at the pool, but still great.

UPDATE- Still get a FREE fully paid company membership at the Y through my main employer. Great gym and very friendly staff and members.

UPDATE 2 (8/12/2017)- removed one star because of how noisy the basketball area is when I am trying to peacefully run, but I need to go at times when people are not yelling playing basketball. It can also get very busy & crowded at times which is why I also go to the Downtown Durham YMCA.

UPDATE 3 (10/21/18)- Feel very welcome here by the staff and Terry is very friendly and makes me feel included. Thanks for making my experience so much better Terry. :)

UPDATE 4 (1/20/2019)- Recently the staff and almost everyone at the gym has been uncomfortable around me because of the way I talk (I have a moderate speech impediment). I really thought the Y was a "judgement free" place. If this continues I will cancel my membership and go to another gym. It is very hurtful that everyone ignores and avoids me even though I am not a bad person. I just happen to me on the autistic spectrum and it would be nice if the staff were more knowledgeable about how people with autism behave. Thank you!

Update 5 (3/24/19)- completely cancelled my ymca membership and joined Planet Fitness. Sick and tired of of being laughed at and ostracized. GOODBYE YMCA!!!

Really good place... So many things to do. I particularly love the after school program. But I am only going to give this place 4 stars because it isn't as good as it use to be.

At this location during open gym hours you can not train your own child for basketball do not use this location if your kid is trying to get better at basketball. They told me I can't use cones to do so as well for dribbling drills and they are very racist

You will definitely enjoy your time spent here working out, playing, basketball, or swimming. The staff is also very friendly.

Staff is wonderful and facilities are more than adequate. Most importantly, I take my kids here for summer camp where they thoroughly enjoy themselves and are well looked after.

My 7 year old son nearly got hit by a car while in their care. This happened in their track out camp on a field trip, where the group of children was walking through a forest and my child was left behind. He was trying to catch up with the group and had to cross a road with no adult supervision. As he was crossing it he nearly avoided getting hit by a car that failed to slow down. There should be liability for this kind of negligence. I will be calling some lawyers to see if we can sue. My son was also complaining that his counselor was mean to him. For example, he wasn t sure where he was allowed to sit down for lunch and asked the counsellor. In response the counselor shoved him down. I guess that meant right here . My impression of this camp is there s way too many kids and too few supervisors, who are mostly teenagers and don t know what they are doing.

I was so excited to see the Y is open once more beginning last week. I visited first thing this morning to try to minimize contact with others, and while exercising on the weight machines this morning noticed another member exercising without a mask, huffing and puffing while lifting weights. When I reported this to a staff member, he said the YMCA of the Triangle doesn't require members to wear masks while exercising. I'm so disappointed and upset that the Y would risk the health of both their members and staff with a policy like this! It's no fun wearing a mask when I breathe heavily, but if I'm going to be in an enclosed space and breathing heavily and forcefully, it is mandatory for me to minimize risks to the people around me. I can stop going to the Y, but the employees there that need their jobs to pay bills don't have the option of not showing up for work to protect their health.

This is the 2nd YMCA I've visited in the Triangle and I really really like it. The staff at the front desk are always friendly and always welcoming and that's really nice. The upsides: Great facilities -- everything you could want - Steam room and sauna in the locker rooms. Cardio equipment - plenty of it too. Well maintained. Locker rooms are clean. For a week or so the hot water was lacking in the mens locker room but appears to be fixed. Nice Gym with dividers. Running track on upper level of the gym. Pool is in a separate building right next door. Looks like they have a good daycare program for families. My only suggestions and they are minor but would be helpful: a suit wringing machine in the mens locker room would be nice to be able to use after steam room and sauna -- otherwise you have to bag it and go next door to the pool locker room. And vending machines that accept credit cards would be nice -- I don't carry cash very often --- Minor details, but probably with time they add these. Overall a great YMCA.

I have been a member of the Taylor Family YMCA since 1995. My children participated in before and after school care through the Y, as well as summer camps. They took swim lessons at the pool. I have worked out individually and through classes, and have enjoyed the camaraderie shared between the staff and members. This YMCA is warm, welcoming, and a great place to belong.

It has the children and infant care rooms, the children gym and the exercise rooms in the top floor.

Love this YMCA. The instructors are very experienced. They make workouts feel fun and short. The facility is clean. It's not as modern as the new Northwest location but this gym feels like a second home. My kids love the daycare here. The pool is also great. The pool is even open in the winter. We feel very welcome here. I highly recommend this YMCA.

I have tried a couple of the big corporate chains but I never felt I was getting the variety I wanted. The Cary YMCA may be a bit more expensive than some of the other options, but it makes up for the cost in the programs and amenities. The class offering are numerous and timed for any schedule. I love the abundance of free weights and the multiple areas for cardio. The locker rooms are spacious and clean, and the steam room is perfect to relax in post workout. It does get crowded, especially from 5-7pm, but there are usually enough machines to go around.

I hate to give 2 star reviews - but this is probably the grossest YMCA that I have ever been to! And I have to plenty of Y's between NC & FL. I frequent the Alexander & Poyner YMCA's near downtown Raleigh that are both in stellar condition. This Taylor Y, however, looks and smells like it was renovated 15+ years ago. Everything is so outdated it is depressing! My skin was crawling just walking through the locker rooms. Just one great big NO!

Fantastic pool facility. Very clean locker rooms and good staffing levels.

Staff is friendly, clean and lots of activity. My daughter loves the camp here because they make it fun. I just wish there wifi worked better. My phone keeps dropping it and always get error that it is unstable. My phone is Samsung S5.

Caroline Williams was very kind and helpful in setting us up with a swim pass so we could exercise. We are from Wilmington and have been in Raleigh due to Hurricane Florence. She could not have been anymore helpful. We greatly appreciate the staff at the Taylor YMCA.

Super old YMCA. But, everything works, and the machines are very nice. Want a swim lane between 4pm - close, M-F? Forget it. The swim team at this place must have 350 people in it. One day, maybe, the front entrance will re-open, and we won't have to freeze waiting to check in. Won't that be nice? Also - no towels are available at the Pool. The Hell???

The after school care(Middle School care )is very bad because one the staff rarely give punishments to people WHO DESERVE PUNISHMENTS like they just give you a talk and you re told not to do it again but then they do it and but they just sit you out or force you to leave the rank. two the staff don t pay any attention to problems like people personally try to hurt me and my 1300$ trombone I tell them to stop but they got a load of various items that can potentially break my trombone and chucks it at my trombone which can be a crime for destruction of property and also it takes them about 20 or so minutes to find a KID VAPING not exaggerating the kid actually vaped and again no punishments but a parent phone call which to me I would suspend them for at least 2 days like a school would do and last the staff are high schoolers. (Me first time coming seeing the staff :????????????????????????????)
and in all I would give this 0 stars if a ai didn t make us do a 1 star but I recommend NOT TO WASTE 2000$ FOR DROPPING YOUR CHILD AT THIS AFTER SCHOOL ( Middle school only Elementary is fun)

I have loved the Cary YMCA for about 15 years now. It is our home away from home. Facility is very nice, but more importantly, the members and staff are great. Always smiling faces to see at the Y. The fitness classes are free. I have played volleyball there for years, and it is a good level of competition and welcoming. There are two (something three levels) of adult volleyball leagues, three seasons per year, free to members. There is also open pickup volleyball often on nights that the leagues are not playing. There are basketball leagues (adults and kids), racquetball leagues, tennis courts, and two outdoor swimming pools. The main pool is under a dome in the winter. Good children's after school and summer programs. About the only negative thing that I can mention is that a few times per year, when the weather is changing from hot to cold, or cold to hot, the heating / air conditioning is not ideal. Can get a bit warm or cold.

What can I say? I'm a "lifer" at the Y. We joined over 16 years ago, and there isn't a week that goes by that we aren't there at least 5 days a week.
My kids have done all the camps: Kanata, Trailblazers, Kindercamp, CILT, and tracking out. Even Middle School UN.
My oldest started working there as a life guard 5 years ago, and they moved her right up through the ranks with wonderful PAID trainings, and salary raises. She has been promoted twice and absolutely LOVES working here.

The staff are all knowledgable, helpful, and if they don't know something, they know who to ask to find out for you. The childcare is great!
Oh yeah but its a fitness club- THEY have GREAT instructors and are always looking to add to the roster of class offerings. I like that every January they reassess what is and what is not working. This place ROCKS!

Do you enjoy unorganized teenagers watching your children? Then this is the place for you.

Give it zero stars if you can... Girls are forced to wear t-shirts here and publicly admonished if they do not. It is disgusting. I knew someone who wore a work out crop top and leggings to this gym and was ripped apart y one of their workers. This place disgusts me. Men are allowed to work out shirtless here, but this sexist place will not let a girl walk around in a sports bra. It's 2018 people!!!! The YMCA affiliates itself with the Christian religion, yet they JUDGE people by what they are wearing there. Disgusting...

Perfect place for the whole family to get involved in activities together or individually.

They do not watch children properly in the after school club, they hide assaults, they can not amend information and they charge your account without permission.

Staff is nice and friendly. They are doing renovations currently so the check in area is kind of temporary. Over-all great experience.