YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase

I have a skewed view to YMCA. We are a military family that moved to the area. We fell in love with the San Diego YMCA. Moving to the area we joined and were disappointed with how far our money went. $ 100 a month family price for a weight room measuring 15×60(roughly) and a cardio room that is equally small is a steep price. I was only paying $ 50 a month in California. Granted the classes were not included but the classes were only 5 – 15 $ per visit. I don’t know if this is the «east coast» way of doing things. But this YMCA is making a large some of money and providing a low quality product. They do have a lot of summer classes and camps for the kids. But at the same time I would always see several people working in the offices pecking on their cell phones during the winter months. How many people does it take to run a gym???

I called in to ask about swim classes for my 3 kids and asked a few questions about membership, front desk girl was being rude and laughing with another person while im asking questions, then says «omg» under her breath and tells me i need to come in to get the full info about ymca membership and swim classes! Nope i will not ever get a membership with you guys! In order for this post to go through i need to give you guys 1 star, but i am not giving you guys any stars! Zero!

i have been swimming for over 40 years, competitively, as a coach and as a mom teaching her kids. This is the worst pool that I have ever swam in. The only reason that I swim in this pool most days of the week (the other days is at Georgetown University) is because I babysit my granddaughter who lives a mile away. I can swim at 0545 and babysit from 0730 on. I joined my granddaughter for $ 10/​mo and that was a great idea.
BUT…1) the locker rooms are disgusting. crowded. full of women who have no sense of space. 2) the pools are crowded and it seems like there are no rules. Some lap lanes get a jogger who bogs up the lanes. or a kid who’s playing around… and guess what? the lifeguards do nothing. 3) during adult swim all the kids get out of the pool but then run over to the wading pool. They pretty much torment the toddlers. No lifeguard ever checks.
4) on crowded days just forget swimming. as a matter of fact my stroke has worsened b/​c the entire time i am swimming i am expecting someone to jump on my head or barge into the lane unannounced.5) summer camp needs their own pool. its like herds of cattle on Ecstasy.
6)The person at signup isn’t very nice. My older daughters came on a guest pass that they printed out from the computer and there was no smile or welcoming feeling. 7) at the end of the year i am charged an extra fee for people who can’t pay their dues. what the hell? can i be one of those people? I never said that i would give extra money. my card was charged without my consent. as soon as my granddaughter goes to school i am changing pools.

I belong to the YMCA in Alexandria (where I also live), but I come up to the Bethesda Y once a week for the Body Jam and Dance Fusion classes that they don’t offer at the YMCA in Alexandria. The teachers are excellent and they have a nice clean facility. The outdoor pool looks excellent as well, but I haven’t used it personally.

This is a busy YMCA in the DC metro area. The main draw here is the year round swimming pool, though the gym is busy too. That is about the only good thing here, except for the staff being friendly (for the most part).
As others have noted, this place is many years past its Zenith as a good club and is in severe need of a complete renovation — from the aging gym, the pools, locker rooms, and general ambiance.
Lockers are grossly inadequate with not much room to move around and sit. Access to the pools is via the showers and on slippery tiles — accidents waiting to happen.
The pools are overcrowded and there is not much room for lap swimmers, especially during peak hours.
Also, about half the indoor pool area is generally taken up by swimming classes forcing the rest to swim closer together!
The hot tub/​jacuzzi is small in size compared to the number of people wanting to use it.
As mentioned earlier, the main draw here are the swimming pools and members have to make do with all the inconveniences to have an opportunity to be in the water during the winters!

I have been a member since 1971 but recently joined a more «upscale» club. The pools, both indoor and outdoor, were a big draw initially, but the Y is much less favorable to swimmers now. They are more interested in classes that make money and the pools are less available to lap swimmers. The club is generally more crowded now and locker rooms have never increased in size to accommodate the numbers of young kids that are there. Only 4 spaces to change in private (I have had breast reconstruction). The exercise room in the main building is generally not well monitored by the employees assigned to it. Twice in the past two weeks I have witnessed ugly situations that came up because members did not honor the time limits of the machines. Meanwhile, Y staff sat and looked/​played on the computer instead of tending to business which, if they had, would have avoided a bad situation. The Y is cheap, discounting membership to seniors, and that is about it. So, it depends on your wallet and your priorities, but if you can afford it you should look at a club that offers more. There is a suggestion/​comments box but I don’t think anyone reads anything you put in there. General annoyance and disappointment has made me switch clubs.

The women’s locker room is gross. It is old, lockers are broken, it has the dirt of the ages in the grout, the toilets are poorly maintained and it gets muddy during rainy weather. You have to walk through the showers, which are slippery with soap, to get to the pool. There are unnecessary barriers EVERYWHERE. The gym is just awful and stinky and crowded with a poor array of equipment.
Not only does the $ 79/​mo fee NOT include classes but in Dec I was billed $ 118. When I ask, I was told this is the annual «catch up» so they can keep dues at the same low rate. NEWSFLASH: You raised dues $ 3/​mo but just did it in a lump sum!
Also, besides the pricing dishonesty by the management, those frequenting the place are none too honest either. Theft is rampant from the locker room – there are signs about it everywhere. In November, I was in the locker room when someone put down their phone beside them on the bench next to them while they were getting dress. WIthin a minute or two, someone swiped it. Maybe another member, maybe a member of the staff. In any event, it was a very ballsy theft. DId the staff care? Not at all. They pointed to signs warning about thefts.
Really, this place deserves NO stars.
Really, the health department should probably close it until it is cleaned from top to bottom. Preferably, it should be torn down and rebuilt and restaffed, but since that is unlikely, just go somewhere else.

Best part about this place is the indoor and outdoor pool, except they charge $ 10 for even their away members and guests pay a full $ 20. Cardio and weight room are small and in the basement. If it’s warm and sunny, LAY OUT!

Classes are not included in monthly fees which is more than ridiculous. Life guards and front desk staff are rude. For the price we are paying every month, there needs to be an overhaul.

Whoa. All the negative reviews at first made me defensive of my Y.
But then I thought: great! the @ssholes are staying away. I mean, if it’s too much effort to carry 3 feet of terrycloth from home to gym, what are you doing at a gym, anyway?
I LOVE the B-​CC Y. I’ve been a regular for almost 20 years and never once have I thought: DAMN. I have to bring my own towel — it is so not worth being able to swim under the stars as the snow gently falls.
If you want lots of glittery spandex and a chance to feel superior, I’ll admit, this is not the place.
One of my unforgettable moments: I’m swimming, feeling pretty confident in my prowess (outside, in the middle of winter, catching the setting sun with each breath) when an elderly man joins my lane. He proceeds to kick my butt, repeatedly lapping me and generally putting me to shame. We finish together, smile and exchange pleasantries. Then he swims to the stairs and hobbles out, collects his prosthetic leg and carries on.
The Y is the U.N. of workout facilities. People aren’t there to see and be seen. They are there to stay in shape. And the staff is there to help them.
If you hate children, old people, nice people, diversity, everyone but yourself, etc., you probably won’t like it. So please, stay away and let the rest of us continue to enjoy this terrific place.

I quit the Y this year, and with the perspective of a new gym/​pool, thought it worthwhile revisiting my review. Leaving the Y made me realize just what a drag it was — I look forward to swimming or working out now. I’ll keep the 2 star rating (I reserve 1 star for really terrible organizations!), but want to emphasize a few things: (1) their making you bring towels is a real pain — come on, how stingy can you be? And the showers are somewhat nasty; (2) they have floatation devices (for pool running) but don’t let you use them (only for classes they say); (3) swimming there in the evenings was almost impossible in the winter, in spite of the fact they have 3 pools — the outside pool closes early or was closed for the cold, the «B» pool is used for classes, so all the swimmers are crowded into 3 – 4 lanes in the «A» pool. The water in the «A» pool is a disturbingly cloudy green (what’s with that?), and I often get yelled at by unpleasant swimmers for swimming too fast, swimming too slow, etc etc.
All this, plus the general dingy environment, crowded treadmills (you often have to wait are are limited to 30 minutes!), crowded cool locker room, and generally unhelpful staff make for a bad experience. You should look carefully for other options.

Gosh I want to like this place. It has three big pools of which two are indoors. There is a capable gym as well. The pools are usually very crowded some times to the point of being ridiculous.
The problem is the pricing. At over 100 a month I expect more. Given our pool usage the Montgomery pool system is newer, nicer, and a better value.

I would have given less than one star if i could. Horrible customer service & attitude. We printed guest passes online in advance to save time including filling out the form. The woman at the front desk made us fill out the form again and we had to wait while she let others in. Almost made us late for swim class. If she had been a bit more friendly & customer service oriented, I would have understood better.
Then the woman in the swim lane next to a pool of 20 1-​year olds complained about the flash of the camera. THEN a different employee came and said no photography at all. They were awful. Not worth paying dues for that kind of treatment.

4 stars with the perspective that this is a YMCA, not a spa.
I read the other reviews and think that folks have unrealistic expectations for what $ 100/​month for a family membership gets. There are three pools — two in and a huge out (which is heated and open all winter — even when it’s snowing).
We joined bc it has tons of swim lessons for the kids — and we like hanging out after swim lessons.
They offer a couple of hours of free babysitting w the membership — so the kids can play in a supervised environ while we work out.
I would say the weight room isn’t much better than what you find at a decent hotel. The Cardio rooms are good size, but one of them has no windows and can get busy midweek after work.
Big locker rooms are super clean but definitely not plush.
Also, understand this is a YMCA — there will be kids there. They sometimes are not quiet.
Pools and pool deck are always clean and always well supervised — have been a member for 10 years and never had a real concern about the lifeguarding as mentioned in another review.
For what you pay, you get a lot.

I live almost directly across the street and dropped my membership. Why?
1) It’s filthy. Consistently. Has been for years.
2) The gym is a closed-​up, underground hovel with scads of always-​broken equipment and a serious lack of ventilation.
3) The «free swim» area of the outdoor pool is tiny and when the camps come crashing in with almost no supervision, it becomes downright dangerous. Mark my words: A child is going to drown here.
4) The building itself is worn and outdated. Which would be OK, but this is the single most expensive Y in the D.C. region. More expensive than any other health club around. Why? No clue.
In a word: Ick. In three, no thank you.

I never once have had bad service… not one problem… so it’s sad to read the reviews!
I have been coming here since I have 5 and still use that exact card and only get smiles and laughs every time I walk in.
It’s a great place in my opinion just maybe a little outdated on some things like the gym but if you can’t come up with workouts with the equipment they have then that’s due to your lack of creativity.

I’m visiting from out of town and stopped by this YMCA today if I could use the facility for free since I’m a Y member. I’ve never had an issue a YMCA in a different city but apparently you can use this facility… for $ 10 a pop. Um, no thanks, I will go somewhere else and avoid the clusterf** of the parking lot here.

At the Y–
Came here to see my daughters swim class. I found it to be a typical YMCA. The one thing that was annoying was having to walk through the showers to get to the POOL? Gross. if you know what I mean. The class was unorganized and the pol rather small. Not sure I would re visit.

This is the YMCA of childhoods! Hmm… I wonder what I will say. It’s always there for the public. They hold the Thanksgiving Turkey Chase every year. It’s off Old Georgetown Road. We always would drive by it. We always had the chance to go there for a quick swim. It’s the YMCA of Bethesda! YAY! I miss it.

I started semi-​private swim lessons here a little over a month ago and really you cannot beat their prices. I used to be a member of the Bethesda Sport and Health Club (which is a fantastic gym) but swim lessons were ~$ 60/​hour. The Y charges $ 55 for FIVE 45 minute sessions. So I switched.
Positives:
— inexpensive membership
— inexpensive swim lessons with well trained instructors
— outdoor pool open year round (!)
— 2 indoor pools (one is heated to about 84)
— So far I have not had to wait for work out equipment
— All the machines have a personal thin screen tv
— Easy parking
Negatives:
— no towel service
— no shampoo/​conditioner
— older building
— classes/​alternate work out room in another building
— Staff is disorganized
— LOTS of kids
— Intimidating weight room
Bottom line: The Y is a no frills affordable family oriented gym.