Western Branch YMCA Reviews

The summer camp program is AWESOME! My 8 year old great granddaughter had only positive experiences in the two day camps she completed so far this summer. I signed her up for a total of five. I also enrolled her in a daily swim lesson. Her coach, Miss Vicky, is so committed and focused on strengthening the skills of her students. The skills and endurance my granddaughters acquired are notable and applauded. This coach is a parent's DREAM. Skills and personality PLUS! The management at this YMCA is approachable and professional, especially the Camp Director, Kelly. No concern or problem was too small to address and correct to my satisfaction. The overnight Cheer Camp was exceptionally organized and supervised. We are non-members but considering a membership.

Great Place with lots of family friendly Activities! We love the outdoor pool area!The staff is always friendly and our son loves all the staff at the kids stay and play because they treat him so nice

Girl in the front was rude from the moment we walked in. Had stink face from the moment we walked in. Was extremely rude to my spouse and myself. I will not return to this Y for the simple fact that I pay to be here and to be a member and the treatment we gor from her was rude and uncalled for. Her name is Alicia and I hope it is brought to her attention. That kind of behavior is not acceptable.

Swimming classes are way below expectations. My son did not learn anything new. They cancelled classes 2x without calling us. They said they would call us to reschedule but never did. Aquatics Director can never be reached. Even voicemail does not work. I asked to get a refund. Never going here again.

Edit: Women's rest room on the 2nd floor was not cleaned all weekend. No staff in sight. Huge 6 inch pothole in parking lot in front where you cannot avoid it. Disappointed.

Machines are well taken care of and staff are helpful. Restrooms are clean most of the time. It can get busy on Zumba night and kinda hard to get a close parking space. My sisters family is happy with the pool.

-locker rooms need far better ventalation. Fans blowing musty and dank air around feels unhealthy.

-many people complain about therapy pool variable temperature not being at around 90 degrees. Chemicals uaed to clean tiles are very very strong and are being cleaned at times when member use is high.

-Cleaner being sprayed directly on water fountains, whereby the taste is in the water.

-having visited all of South Hampton YMCA's including satellite locations such as Curituck, this Y is definitely in the group of needing improvement.

-only member due to conveniemce. Sorry.

They are very nice, I don t recall rudeness ever being a problem, and I go there several times every week. It would be nice to eventually have some swim lanes added and expand the outdoor pool, but it s really a nice place to work out in general, and they are one of the few gyms with an indoor track.

Awful front desk customer service. Went in to inquire about membership and start the 7 day trial before becoming a member. Lady was rude at the desk and told me I have to come back Monday to begin anything. I asked her why that didn t state that on the website. She said they don t have to state that because that is just what that location does. I have also emailed them several times with no calls back. Get your act together taylor bend ymca. Most unwelcoming ymca I have ever been to.

Been a member for over a year now and go a couple of times a week. Plenty of cardio equipment but the limited free weights are typically crowded. Associates are very nice. The major issue I have is it's always hot inside. When you come in to exercise and sweat you want it to be a slightly cooler atmosphere. But it's actually hot in the gym- always. Thinking of switching gyms as exercising in a hot room isn't great.

I love the atmosphere here it s a mix of people from all ages. It makes me feel included, unlike other gyms that don t have many young teens working out.

Love taking the family to the ymca everyone there is friendly and the staff is great with children

I was in town visiting family and decided to bring my niece and nephews here to enjoy the pool. The process to obtain a guest pass was fairly easy. I love that its pretty easy to enjoy the facility as a guest of a member. If you are in state, its free and being that I was out of state; I paid $5 which isn't bad. The facility was clean, well decorated and very kid friendly. There appears to be something for everyone here. Swimming lessons were being conducted in the pool and then the lap pool opens for everyone to enjoy. There is a jacuzzi that is a decent size. The locker area was clean and spacious and makes for an easy trip back home because you can be clean and showered! We solely stayed outside in the pool area. There is a back gate that allows entranced directly to the pool area so you don't have to walk through the facility (wet and cold) trying to get to you car; if parked in the front. However, this gate has not been opened for the summer hours; which is unfortunate. The pool area had a huge play area for children. It was colorful and bright and had all kinds of "water attractions" for kids. There is a kiddie pool that is about 2 feet 8 inches deep and it has a slide. Then of course there is the main pool that reaches 5ft at its deepest. There are lifeguards throughout the area and what I liked is that they rotated and relieved each other quite frequently. I felt this method keeps them alert on what was going on in the pool area vs someone who sits for hours at a time (which could cause a decrease in attentiveness). The restrooms were easily accessible from the pool area. The staff was friendly and our experience was great. We would definitely return.

This is by far the worst YMCA in the Hampton Roads area. The facilities are very cramped and out dated. The staff doesn't care if you have problems, all they care about is the monthly fees. The pool hours are extremely limited at best and they shut it down all the time. People that work out there attempt to use 4 machines at a time and make it almost I possible to workout. I have brought this issue up to the staff on several occasions and although they have numerous employees working they refuse to enforce their own rules. I've talked to the staff about all of these issues and they dont care so I will be shifting my membership to Onelife. The Y is simply not what it used to be.

Classes can get a little high school with 30-40 year old women bullying each other especially instructors...

Great fun for the whole family and a sense of community!

Absolutely the most disappointed I have ever been at an organization. They will change policies on you at the drop of a hat and not tell you. Had the ability to bring guest, thought we might take the kids and visiting family swimming. Was sent to front desk to be notified that we were no longer allowed to even pay to bring our guest (visiting family) in with us. Looks like I won't be a Y customer long. The three times we have been there it has been nothing but inconvenience to enjoy some family recreation. Exasterbating!

The Stay and Play staff is great with my daughter, the facility is clean, and faculty members are great. I go to this facility over the one by my house because their hours are better and they have more machines and space than the portsmouth YMCA.

Great place for the family, friendly staff always greets you in the morning.

Great place awesome programs, neat clean and organized facility.....but I like to give special recognition to the Vicki and the swimming program.
It is amazing what you've done for my two little ones.....you've made them love the water and swimming so much , it's difficult to keep them away from Great wolf lodge and water country....We thank you Vicki and the YMCA Taylor bend and it's amazing staff.....

There are a couple of instructors here that I enjoy and feel the difference after only one class My biggest qualm? The bathrooms are gross! The showers smell, and are covered in hair. There is no ventilation which doesn't do much for the smell....

This is actually a decent place to work out, except when they have Child care camps. The noise they produce really takes away from your experience. I realize it's a Y and Children are going to 'be there but the facility isn't really build for 70 Children to be confined to a small gym for activities.
The other thing is the price, its different for everyone it appears and I found out that one person could easily be paying more than a Family of. Four which is kind of crazy.

The staff is wonderful and for the most part the gym is clean and the People that come there are really decent, but that price should be lowered especially for a single person that's paying more than a Family of four in many cases or more than a couple and I'm on a fixed income too.

To bring a guest shouldn't be like pulling teeth especially when your paying the highest rate. You have a visitor from out of town and you might want to go first to clear or take a chance on being embarrassed.
However, they have everything you need to get a decent work out, the classes for the most part are very good, just bring ear protection and your wallet. You will need both or you might get lucky and get an extreme discount. I didn't at all.

I have been a member for over a year now and me and my boyfriend would come and swim every now and then, but working 80 hours a week it s hard to actually go, so I have been basically donating they say lol however my last withdraw from my bank I noticed it was $12 extra than usual. I decided to call and find out what s wrong, they stated that it was returned from my bank because of insufficient funds. I have navy federal mind you. I called my bank immediately and gave them the date and time that this ymca gave me when they tried to withdraw my membership fee and surprise, my bank told me I was never overdrafted or didn t have enough funds. So I called their customer service with them telling me I would have to prove that I had sufficient funds, no problem! I called my bank again and received my bank statement of that week and politely emailed them my statement proving that I had enough funds. I was told I would get a refund of the $12 or get an update from their director. It s been 3 weeks and absolutely nothing from them... disappointing and will probably go elsewhere... poor customer service. But I won t give up on my $12 that is basically a whole hour of me working that you are stealing from an honest person, even my bank called y all scetchy ... sad!

The place is amazing and my mom and me with my sister always come and have a great time. You can have fun with employees and they aren't that rude. The only bad thing is when the inside pool has too much chorine and outside pool isn't being cleaned up when leaves are at the bottom.

Due to illness I needed to cancel my membership until after surgery. I'll be using the facilities at my doctor's office for physical therapy, and I simply cannot attend the YMCA for the next 6-7 months. I was confused as to why it's an option to join the YMCA online, but you have to provide written notice in person when you want to cancel. I understand rules are rules though, and it took me almost a month to manage to get in to cancel today, and I was informed that I will still be charged another $93.00 in 2 weeks. I was pretty shocked, and when I asked why, the young lady at the desk was cold and defensive and told me it was in the agreement when I signed up. I guess I missed that part. I don't understand how a supposed "family" center can continue to charge me for access to a facility I physically cannot use weeks after I have provided written notice of cancellation. I will not be signing up again for the YMCA when I'm cleared by doctor. This is obviously not the family local YMCA it used to be, at the end of the day it's all about how much money they can get from you. Charging me for an additional month that I cannot use has lost them a member for life.

I came here with my sister and we all have memberships. One of my sister use to work here & her membership was inactivate so she already had a membership with my mom. Alicia wouldn't let her in even with her other membership. She was being rude, and wouldn't let her in at all. When I come back I DO NOT WANT HER TO BE AT THE FRONT BECAUSE SHE WAS REALLY RUDE. The YMCA is no place for that.

I had a wonderful time with my neighbor Sue Hall who invited me to go to water exercise class with her tonight. Great class.

Great place and I'm glad it's a place where Christian values are valued.

NO STAR....outdoor pool here is nice...but the lifeguard here is not nice...

Aweful customer service ! I DO NOT recommend taking swimming classes here. The instructor was late for 2 classes and ended on time . You should at least have the curiosity to accommodate your customer for that lost time on your part and they cancelled one day NO NOTICE NOTHING!!!! I got off work early to come for my lesson to find out that the instructor wasn't even there !!!! JUST HORRIBLE!!! and wouldn't accommodate me for the funds lost . Go pay for swimming classes elsewhere !!!! Do not give these ppl your money !!!!

If I could give zero stars and write a review, I would. My family is serving and about twice a year I visit for a week or 2. I am visitng for a week and yesterday I stopped in this YMCA location, where my family has a membership and their son even participates in the after school program, and asked for a 7 day trial/guest pass - whatever it's called. First I was told to get a pass I'd have to have ID with a local address. I accepted those rules. Then I explained that I was from out of town and only visiting while my family member is on assignment. The young lady proceeded to say, "Sorry, we can't let you in." I pulled out the keys, flashing the YMCA card explaining that they held a membership and that I only needed a week and would pay for the access to the gym. The young girl looked at me as if to say 'so what?'. I then mentioned that last year, under the same circumstances, a much more understanding lady allowed me access for the 3 weeks I was visiting at the pro-rated monthly rate. The young lady wasn't moved by this either. So I left upset. My biggest qualm is the inconsistency. 2nd is the attitude from these kids they choose to be the first face people see. And lastly, this is the local YMCA not a 5 Star fitness club. And if I wanted to jump through hoops I would have gone to a regular gym. Thanks for nothing, Taylor Bend!

Me and my friends were planning to go to the pool on a Sunday and we re real exited about it. We took a 2 mile walk with an 8 pound cooler all the way up there only to be told we couldn t get in without a member. Now let me say I called twice before arriving once to check and make sure we could get in even though we re not members and the person never said we needed a member with us only 5$ and an ID. Then I called that mourning to see if we could bring food. We were really bummed and that we had to walk the 2 miles with the 8 pound cooler in tow again.

The lady at the front desk was so rude from the moment we walked in. Another young man had to help my children and I with registration to swim in the pool. We are from out of town and were already told on the phone it would cost $5....cool. After her rudeness and trying to say we could not swim because we weren't members 3 TIMES!!! THE WHOLE PROCESS TOOK 40 MINUTES... MY 12 year old son and 16 year old daughter stood patiently off to the side dressed in there swim fits and excited!! We go around the corner with our towels and 5 dollar change, just to be met by the director whom says there is no public swim because of classes. The pool is clearly being used for class using up 2 lanes but there are also 2 more lanes clear on the opposite end....still the director walks us back out to get our money back and leave. The young woman in the front with the bad attitude could have/should have told us before my family and I had to leave. We sat there gave you all of our info for almost an hour just to be walked back out. Ive never been more disappointed in ymca in my life!!

Me and my family love the Y. But it's so unorganized. I have two kids . My little girl was on the swim team. She loved it. The payments went one more than needed. We have called and sent emails. But still haven't gotten our money back.

Quality organization, but family focused to the point of being a detriment to non-parent adults. The basketball court having no ceiling and opening up to the cardio area often means turning up your audio or raising your conversational voice to compete with the loud, protracted outbursts of trash talk or arguing about plays.

Wife loves her classes, so I'm stuck regretting that I didn't have her try ONE LIFE before we signed up. Then again, I wouldn't have the excellent aqua volleyball at that gym. Oh well.

They do not accept silver sneakers and if you're are a member out of the network but allowed to use they facility the front staff, at least the lady I dealt with, are not very friendly. I did give it 2 stars because their outdoor pool and splash park is nice for kids.

Disappointed in the level of professionalism during swim lessons. When you sign up to teach 3 year olds you must remember that children take more time and patience. If you don t have patience then you definitely need to only teach adults but then again you know that you wouldn t be able to talk to an adult they way you did today. It s not okay to yell at someone child as if you were yelling at your own. I thought the Y was about family. I definitely didn t see it at this one and wouldn t recommend anyone to go here for swim lessons.

I think is awesome because I took lessons there and I learn a lot of things and I had fun to and I think this was a great experience and I would come back every day if I could