Chinquapin Park Recreation Center

I took my 15 month old here yesterday to play in the soft playroom (and will likely go again today because it’s raining) and she had fun. The volunteer there is friendly and there are lots of soft slides, climbing areas, ball pit, etc. there. It doesn’t smell like feet because everyone’s required to wear socks and there is a purell hand sanitizer dispenser by the entrance. It’s $ 5 per child per half hour, which goes by super fast, and you pay again at the end of the half hour to extend your time. One adult is free with the kid, or you pay $ 1 extra if you’re a resident or $ 4 non-​resident adult fee, for an additional adult (if mom AND dad go with 1 kid, it’s gonna be $ 5 plus $ 1 or $ 4. Would definitely go again (obviously, I just said I was going today probably, geez where has my brain gone?)!

Over the year we’ve tried to come here several times to swim and every time we come here to swim we get stomach «issues» for 3 – 4 days afterwards, cramps, diarrhea etc, then warts on our feet, EVERY time. Clearly this pool in UNCLEAN, unsanitary. We’ve yet to see anyone cleaning it or adding chlorine to the pool, cleaning the bathroom etc. You know what they say about pools that smell of Chlorine, you can SMELL the pool in the whole place, right when you walk through the door. They do not enforce showering before entering the pool which I’m sure is adding on to the problem. The 15 year old lifeguards are not able to manage the pool chemicals correctly.
They closed for a very long time spend $ 20 million + in renovations, I can’t tell they did anything?! Where exactly did that money go?! It’s painfully dated.
In the summer the a/​c is not quite strong enough. Ugh just not worth coming here.

We go to Chinquapin regularly, mostly just because it’s nearby. They closed for a long remodel and it’s unclear what changed. The entire place feels like it hasn’t been redone since the early 80s.
The tables are cluttered with hundreds of leaflets (in orderly stacks, but still), and there aren’t really any communal spots to sit as a family or with young children– just some tables and chairs that are stiff and remind one of a fast food restaurant.
The pool is large, with a zero-​entry zone, which is nice if you have young children or need easy access. There are several noodles you can use, that’s a plus. All benefits end here. The locker rooms are desperately in need of remodeling, and there are four puny showers that look like toilet stalls, very little warm water. There are barely any hooks for clothes or towels, and the locker room does not offer any space for privacy or family changing spots.
The soft playroom is meh. It’s got way too much equipment, no windows, no one who works there to promote play or be helpful. Just the occasional grumpy woman who asks for your receipt and watches the clock like a hawk. If it’s 4 minutes before your 30 minute allocation is up, you better hustle– she’ll push you out of there in no time flat.
They let really big kids (ages 5 – 8 or older?) in the room, even when it seems designed for infants and toddlers. This, plus the fact that most families bring 2 – 4 (?leave grandpa at home, or have him bring the kids) extra adults, so the space gets TIGHT.
Bring socks, they don’t sell them at the front desk and if you want to go in the soft play room it’s a must. They charge $ 5 for 30 minutes and don’t offer deals of any sort to residents or frequent visitor cards, etc.
We much prefer the Gymboree of Alexandria for its modern amenities, spacious playrooms, bright, well-​lit, clean play equipment that the staff always thoughtfully re-​arranges, with nice Putumayo music that kids and parents enjoy. The staff there is diligent at cleaning the equipment several times a day.
I’m still on the lookout for a City of Alexandria indoor play room or pool that is clean, well-​kept, modern, and family friendly.

The main issue here is really attitude. It is a beautiful facility, but it is a recreational center in search of the word «friendly.» I always feel as if I am somehow intruding on the staff’s space. It reminds me of that friend you had in high school whose mother had a special room in their house where no one was permitted to enter.

Very reasonable monthly ($ 37.50 monthly if you do a year) or per visit prices ($ 6 a visit if you buy 25 passes) especially if you’re interested in swimming or racquetball. Functional locker room and sauna, but very basic weight room. Lots of lanes, although you’re more likely to get one to yourself during off hours (avoid 6 to 9am).
The Y has more activities and equipment, but it’s about double the cost. Make your choice.

I would like to share an email I sent to management in regards to our treatment at Chinquapin on a recent visit to the soft playroom. The playroom itself was great but we will not be visiting again:
Good evening,
I am reaching out to you to share the experience that I had at the Recreation center on October 9^th. I have been on a search for a venue in which to celebrate my daughter’s first birthday party. After seeing great reviews for the soft play room at Chinquapin Recreation center I decided to take my daughters to play there. I arrived at the rec center and proceeded to wait in line to pay the fee to get in. There was a young African American female employee helping out another guest. She was trying to solve a billing issue and called an older African American male to help her with the process. Shortly after she asked me how many of us would be entering the playroom and if I would like to pay for a 30 minute increment or an hour increment. The older gentleman (who I assume was a manager) was standing next to her during the whole transaction. I paid the total of $ 20 and proceeded downstairs with my family. The whole time we played there was only one other family there and the entire rec center was pretty empty as it was a beautiful day outside. It was almost time to leave when a young white female comes into the play room and says, «You need to pay to play in here you know!» I was taken aback and said, «Oh I did pay and described the employees who had dealt with the transaction. She then replied, «Well no one has signed in for the last hour. Do you have a receipt?» I was pretty upset and this point and leave the play area to get my receipt out of my purse and show it to the employee. She looks over the receipt (which has the vacate time clearly written in pen at the top of the receipt) and says, «Well you only paid per person, not per hour.» I go over the situation again and explain to her that we were asked if I wanted to pay for the 30 minutes or the hour and I chose the full hour, it is not my fault if the employee did not charge us correctly. She then started apologizing and saying, «Oh, that employee is new and doesn’t know the policy. Next time please be aware that we only allow you to pay in 30 minute increments in case that there are other people waiting to play.» I tell her that although that is understandable, 1) I’m not an employee and am not familiar with the procedure 2) the rec center was empty and 3) there was another employee (whom she confirmed was a manager) standing by the whole time. At that point she apologized again and left the playroom.
I was so disappointed with her behavior at that point that we just left and there is no way I will be reserving a birthday party at your venue. How on earth would I have been able to «sneak» into the playroom unseen? As you know there is a turnstile and the playroom is downstairs! I am upset at myself for not confronting the manager and letting him know of the appalling behavior of his employee. As we left the rec center they were both in the office still discussing the situation and neither one stopped me to apologize. I will be posting my experience on Unilocal and several «mommy» blogs that I subscribe to. I am sad to say that I believe I was a victim of racism on that day. I am a young Hispanic mother and I am 100% sure that the employee would not have approached an older white parent with the abrasiveness and accusatory tone in which I was approached.

Good for swimming:
The weight room is beyond dated, and it sometimes feels like they have too many events scheduled, but overall this is a good place to go swimming. The pool is clean, and the facilities are adequate.
It would also be nice if they’d open up an additional lane for laps.

This is a nice pool, but since the «improvements» were completed there have been multiple issues. The showers in the locker rooms are almost never warm — ice cold much of the time. As part of a group who swims here, we have brought the water issue to the attention of staff on multiple occasions, starting as soon as the pool was re-​opened last year. It has still not been resolved. The lockers were replaced with lockers that don’t work, and the locker room was painted a dingy brown color, which certainly did not help. Several of the showers were broken less than a week after re-​opening.
Seems like a large waste of money and a job that wasn’t done correctly.

I don’t like this place. In my view it’s a classic example of a government run facility at its worst, and that there’s no incentive for an efficient, well-​run facility because they receive plenty of income from the Alexandria taxpayers, myself included.
But will I stop coming here? Nope. Its a necessity in this area for my 2 younger kids, especially when the weather is not nice and you’re looking for activities for them. They enjoy the soft playroom, but you really need to be on the ball with their hours, because weekends are dominated by them renting the room out for birthday parties, (which again I think is BS because I’m paying for this, but I’ll stop the whole tax thing).
Parking is a joke here. They spent the whole summer improving their heating and cooling (which if this were a private company they would be out of business, there I go again. Ok, promise I’m done now), this seems like the perfect time to expand the lower parking lot. But whatever, I’ll park up the street.
We have tried to swim here, maybe it was just lousy timing, but lots of times we could not, because of maintenance, or scheduled activities. It’s definitely something you need to plan in advance, or hopefully be able to sign up for a class.
So, I will keep coming here, when my kids want some activities, because those are the things you do as a parent. And I will keep smiling at the staff, and filling out comment cards on why I don’t like this place.
1 star for the free leaf paper bags they supply, thanks!

This is a pretty solid rec center and pool. It was owned/​operated by the city of Alexandria. To city residents the charge to get in is $ 6 which gives you full access to the lap pool, small exercise room, and for your kids the soft playroom.
I came here yesterday to bring the boy I nanny to the soft playroom and to swim. Unfortunately the time we showed up, the soft playroom was being occupied by a birthday party. Instead we decided to go to the pool for the next hour and a half which was fun. We played a lot and swam. The pool is quite massive so it can hold a lot of people without you interfering with others. There was the spring break camp, a baby swimming class, free style swimmers then us all in the pool with still room to spare.
I can’t say much about anything else since I haven’t explored the rest, but I’m sure that is all in due time and for an updated review.

Nice place to bring the kids during winter for swimming and exercise or for Mom to do laps during the day while kids are in school. Fairly clean most of the time but can be nasty if a bunch of kids just came through. They have classes for all ages and weight and training equipment. There are party rooms to rent out for kids birthdays and such too. All in all a very convenient place when the gym is too far.

This is where I go to regularly swim. I am usually here during the day, and it is not too busy. The locker room is great… even though there is a pool, it is rarely wet and kept clean. The sauna is well kept too.
The pool facility is great with windows that let the sun in which is quite pleasant. It is, however, rather cold compared to some of the other rec centers in the area (like Mt Vernon or George Washington).
The gym area is rather small. I went one day and there are only three treadmills, about four elliptical machines, and a couple odd stair stepper like things. Also a small selection of nautilus equipment.
They have a nice plan where for $ 102 you can get a no-​expiration 25 visit pass. This is a good deal if you don’t think you will have regular visits.

I tried out the indoor pool and probably won’t go back. The pool was OK, although a little dingy and crowded with three separate groups of classes going on during after-​work hours (two kids’ classes and one scuba class).
The locker room was very dingy and dirty. There are only four shower stalls and the first two I tried didn’t work. The tile in the shower was so gross I didn’t want to touch anything. The wall-​mounted blow dryers were so low and mounted in awkward places so that I couldn’t easily put my head under them to dry my hair.
For lap swimming, if you can go during the daytime when there are more free swim lanes open, it would be a lot better. Definitely bring flip-​flops if you’re going to use the shower.

Pretty decent place operated by the city of Alexandria. Weight room/​gym is kinda of small, but indoor pool is pretty good. There will be softplay room for kids opened in fall 09.