Catskill Recreation Center

Every community should be as lucky as we are to have such a fantastic facility as the Catskill Recreation Center! The pool is just the right size and temperature to accommodate lap swimmers, casual swimmers, kids, therapy users and seniors. They are careful with chemical usage so there aren’t burning eyes. The fitness room is very well equipped and their are various classes for all levels. The new Executive director and her staff couldn’t be nicer or more helpful. Definitely worth the very low daily or monthly fee.

We went to this very nice-​looking facility on a cold rainy day recently so our kids could swim. We found out there was only an hour left to swim, but were told we could come back at 4pm and swim again. This was why I decided to shell out close to $ 50 for the 3 kids to swim. After waiting a full 15 minutes for a woman to painstakingly handwrite a receipt with every child’s name on it, our kids (12 years old) were made to pass a swimming test, even though an adult was in the water with them. Once they were left to swim with 30 minutes left, they realized the water was so cold they couldn’t stand it. They lasted 10 minutes until their lips were blue and teeth chattering. They went for the warm showers.
I politely went to the front desk where the «CEO» Dana Lamsal informed me that the posted temp of the pool was 84 degrees. I explained that while that «sounded» warm, you can’t really argue with blue lips and chattering teeth. Since I knew we would not be coming back to freeze some more at 4pm, I politely asked that at least some of my money be refunded. She refused.
This degenerated to Ms. Lamsal literally chasing us to our car, hurling insults all the way, telling us not to bother coming back. This was very unprofessional and totally unnecessary.
So … word to the wise — ask to actually FEEL the water before you shell out your money. My nephew ended up with serious sniffles and a fever by 6pm. And the Catskill Recreation Center might want to think about their «CEO» and her short fuse.

Great new center. Has a huge pool with 3 lanes designated for lap swimming, one large area for free swim and a kids area (huge compared to other kid designated areas I have seen). The gym area is super clean with plenty of variety of equipment and they also have daily classes ranging from swim aerobics to kickboxing.
Still very new so hopefully they keep up the clean look and the friendly service.