Maplewood Swim & Tennis Club

My family has been members of this amazing laid back pool club for 4 years. It’s our oasis during the hot summer months; where are kids can run around, swim, play tennis and dig holes all the way to China in the sand. If you are looking for a place that’s not pretentious, the families are friendly and you feel just as comfortable as if you were sitting in our own backyard then this is the place for you.

Once it hit the low 80’s back in June, we decided to look for a summer retreat where we could take a dip and chill out with the family.
We checked out some of the fancy shmancy Westchester country clubs, but most were like 10 to 20 grand a year and required that you play golf. We also checked out the other end of the spectrum, the local county pool. While cheap ($ 20 a season), the vibe was something along the lines of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with Hawaiian Tropic, boomboxes, and beach towels mixed in.
Not happy with either of these options, we came across Maplewood, which charged $ 2300 for the summer. Set in a pretty wooded area in Hartsdale, Maplewood has all the facilities we were looking for; huge pool, kiddie pool, tennis courts, grassy sitting area, and a quiet, leisurely atmosphere. Everything was pretty well maintained, though the locker rooms were very primitive considering the membership cost. As for the people there, the staff was very nice to work with, and the members we met were pleasant, though a bit aloof and cliquey.
For us, the one major downside at Maplewood was the poor level of value. Whats a visit to a pool club worth to your family? $ 30 for a few hours of swimming, mingling, and catching some sun? Well, to get that $ 30 per visit level, you’d have to go 76 times in the 90 days that they’re open. From our experience, that’s a near impossibility. Like most couples, we weren’t free much on weekdays, and on the weekend, we found that we had a lot to do aside from chilling out at the pool. In the end, we would up going 10 times, or $ 230 per visit, which totally sucks. To be honest, even if we went every weekend this summer, we’d still have paid about $ 100 a visit. In my opinion, that’s far too much for what they offer.
If you’re retired and have boatloads of free days, or if you have a big family with lots of kids, this place may work out for you. But for our family, the math just didn’t add up.