McMenamins North Shore Lagoon Swimming Pool — Attraction in Bothell

Thankful for a local saltwater pool with a new session every hour (7 days a week too), with discounts for Bothell residents and those over 62. They keep the pool warm(ish) and stay at about 90 degrees, which helps on cooler winter days as there's often a breeze flowing through 2 large skylight-high openings (like windows but no glass) at the deep-end side. The pool is indoor/outdoor, essentially. There's a few handicap-parking spots out front, but it's rarely enough (they're usually full so expect to walk a bit). The building features wide doorways and a single-occupant/device-sized elevator that goes up to the second-floor tiki bar/restaurant, overlooking the pool. In the pool area, each of 2 gender-specific bathrooms includes a dedicated ADA room for guests with mobility challenges. (Callout to pool staff for adding a sign that says it's for disabled use only.) The shower in the ADA room tends to be loose, requiring you to hold onto it while bathing. The ADA rooms have a single chair (but would benefit from a stool instead). A bench provides additional seating. Pool is available to hotel guests and our gets a lot of families and lane-swimmers during the day. On Fri/Sat evenings, pool staff dim the lights for the last hour. Bring your own floating as the pool has only a few small, floating balls. Love the multiple "pipes" that pour in warm water. Staff sometimes turn them off when it's warm outside. On weekends, the pool is open until 10pm Fridays and...

Unpleasant Staff, Great Pool

The pool itself is great, but the front desk staff (the lady at reception) is terrible. Communication was rude and made me feel unwelcoming.

We attended the last session, which ends at 10:00 PM. My husband and kids went to the men's showers, while I went to the women's. There were ~20 women with their children at the end of the session, but only three working showers. Obviously, this meant long wait times. I decided not to wait and just sat near the pool to wait for my husband.

At 10:15 PM, the front desk lady started kicking me out. Seriously? With only three working showers and a full session of swimmers, how do you expect everyone to just vanish by 10:15? When I explained I was waiting for my husband and 2 kids, she rudely told me, "We don’t brush wash and dry our hair here. People get in their cars and dry their hair at home." It was obvious she just wanted to leave, and we were in her way.

It’s completely unrealistic to expect everyone to clear out in 15 minutes with full swimming pool of people, especially when half the showers weren’t even working.

I urge management to double-check the closing policy. If 10:15 PM is truly the expected exit time, it's unacceptable. If staff are just pushing people out early for their own convenience, that’s even worse.

Would love to return, but the way we were treated left a...

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to file a formal complaint about an incident of discrimination that occurred at your public swimming pool in Washington, on [Friday 05/24/2024]. My friends and I, all of whom are Muslim and wear hijabs, arrived at the pool around 6:20 PM with our children, ages 3 and 1. We were accompanied by our Arab friends and their children.

Despite being informed that we could stay for two hours, we were asked to leave at 7:00 PM. When we requested to stay for an additional hour, we were refused with the explanation that it was a holiday, even though the pool was not crowded and we customarily stay for the full two hours every Friday.

As we were preparing to leave, my friend and I went to change clothes while our other friend, who is 21 years old, stayed with the children. When we returned, an employee accused us of leaving our children unsupervised, which was untrue. Our children were under the supervision of our friend. The employee then informed us that we were no longer welcome at the pool.

This treatment made us feel unwelcome and targeted due to our religious and ethnic background. We have always followed the rules and ensured our children were supervised. We are deeply concerned about this discriminatory behavior and seek a resolution.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your...