Thornhill Aquatic & Recreation Centre — Attraction in Calgary

I grew up coming to this pool and even taking lessons here as a child. I have a 3 year old child who was enrolled for unparented lessons for the first time. I thought we'd give it a shot at this location as we did lessons at Vecova and in Airdrie before for Parent & Tot. My child did lessons from 4 months old and loves being in the water.

There was little information about how to check in, where to go, and where to wait unless you explicitly ask. I showed up early to make my child feel safe and secure and get used to the location. My child was very excited for this first lesson.

When we entered the pool area, we found our spot and waited. We weren't informed that we needed a life jacket. Again, I had to ask. The instructor didn't do any real formal greetings with students and barely spoke with parents other than saying we needed to be back by a certain time.

My child seemed to enjoy the lesson at first and then halfway through the lesson was not happy. A very lovely lifeguard helped out but it didn't last long. My child ended up terrified and didn't want to go back in the pool for the rest of the lesson. The instructor dismissed this and brushed it off because my child had only done Parent & Tot before and simply said I need to talk to my child to make it better for next week.

I spoke positively all week about lessons and the pool with my child, I even took my child to a pool so we could get comfortable again and it worked. At first my child was apprehensive and said it was scary and then wouldn't get out of the pool. I was confident my child would love lessons again like before.

My child was fine until we got to the pool deck. Everything suddenly changed. The instructor once again barely acknowledged the children or parents and didn't speak to the children in a way that was helpful. Most children were nervous and scared and the instructor didn't make it any better. I tried to help my child feel more comfortable but it didn't work. Any time the instructor came close, my child was scared again. There were more details that I won't share but I chose to withdraw my child as a result of these interactions.

The City of Calgary Recreation needs to ensure they match instructors with the level of swimming. Instructors teaching preschool need to be more cognizant of the needs of littles as opposed to...

I am enjoying this gym however the woman’s change room is like walking into a sauna. It is grossly hot in there. I talked to one of the staff members about it but it hasn’t changed. I am usually there around 10:30-1:30pm. Just one other thing, the weights seem to need some oiling. They are a bit old and stiff. Nothing a little maintenance wouldn’t fix. Thank you Thornhill for making us Renfrew members feel so welcome.

I felt I needed to add this negative view. I tried to put it on its own posting, however it wasn’t working for some reason. *

Yesterday, May 15th I was doing the deep water workout. I was at the front of the class. Mary Lou humiliated me and other members when we weren’t doing the workout the correct way. She was so unprofessional. She was like a mad woman, kicking a chair over while demonstrating what she wanted us to do. She used symbols with her fingers as to which leg we were to exercise, like we were suppose to know what she was talking about. I wanted to leave the class 1/2 way through however I stuck it out. Her humiliation went on throughout the whole class. I have been in her aqua size class many times at Renfrew and didn’t have this problem.

When I went into the change room I vented my anger to some of the other members. One lady that was in the class said she does this all the time so this lady stays at the back of the class to avoid being humiliated by Mary Lou.

I am new at deep water aqua size, so I might not be getting the correct moves right away.

I will NEVER attend one of her deep water workouts again. I may never attend another deep water workout period.

Mary Lou could use some anger management classes.

Thank...

After reading the reviews about the change rooms and the cleanliness of the facility. I thought I should give an update since most of them are a couple years old. I don't know what has changed whether it's staffing or lack of staffing to clean the facility properly, but in general the place is gross. I've seen hair on the walls that stays there for days and days. Dirty tiles. Dirty toilets overflowing toilets. Lack of maintenance. Dirty lockers pretty much. If you're going to go there, make sure you have water shoes and sandals when you get out and have to walk through the bathroom. Most of the time in the ladies there is hair everywhere. There's also an issue with the water temperature in the showers. Sometimes it's alarm most of the time. It's either scalding hot or cold. The sauna is probably one of the coldest in the city and there is a hot tub that is out of service. I'd say 40% of the time and it's pretty gross. I've been going there for 3 years and I have seen a decline. There is also an issue with people using their cell phones in the change room in the shower area. Pretty much wherever they want and there is a lack of enforcement. I've seen lifeguards walk through the bathroom and pass a person on their cell phone and say nothing. The staff however are friendly approachable and capable. There is a lack of communication. However, most of the time the schedule online is wrong and if you ask a staff member they don't know what's going on from 1 hour to the next. This has been an ongoing issue. Like I said, the only reason I gave this four stars instead of two is because of the great...