Charles River YMCA - Great Plain Ave — Attraction in Needham

Coming from the Oak Sq YMCA I am absolutely floored that this place charges the same price ($44/mo for young adult). Charles River has MAYBE 10 treadmills, 0 floor space and at any given time 3+ out of order cardio machines. The space is INCREDIBLY cramped even during off hours...forget peak. The Oak Sq Y is a beautiful 3 floor facility with sprawling cardio areas and multiple work out studios. This place doesn’t even have a pool/spin studio in the same building! Luckily I only did a short term membership as I’m only around for 2 months but I can’t believe people CHOOSE to stay here. The staff is nice enough and it’s pretty clean...only “pros” if you can even call them that. This location doesn’t deserve to be more than $20/mo. yet charges the same as its far superior counterparts...

It’s small and cramped ,there are people in the back of the cardio machines dropping weights on the floor (very noise and irritating .)They don’t have several cybex machines and the ones they do have are up against the wall near the cardio machines also . The rowing machine is blocking a fire exit ,fire extinguisher and a fire alarm . The lockeroom is 10 x10 if two people are in it it’s cramped . The pool is a a separate building several blocks away . Only four lanes and today they had 5 people in one lane .( dangerous, I got out !) I’ve been a member of the Charles river Y after moving here from western Ma. 2 years ago , I was a member of a great Y there for 25 years and am extremely disappointed with the Charles river YMCA . If I could give it no...

It's a small gym, no doubt, but definitely has pretty much everything you could need. If you're a gym rat who NEEDS a rack at all times, there's only one for everyone to share, but that being said, the gym-goers at this Y are generally not of that variety and you might only need to wait for one person to use the rack ahead of you if at all. The staff are friendly, the facilities are always clean, the Zumba classes on Saturday and Sunday mornings are SO good (some of the best in Greater Boston, no doubt). For folks hating on this Y, they're just used to bigger more glamorous gyms. This place definitely does the job and is so convenient if you live...