Mount Albert Community and Leisure Centre — Local services in Albert-Eden

I have been attending YMCA gym around five times per week for two months as I write this review. I chose (or was chosen by) this gym after my doctor wrote me a green prescription which gives me cheaper fees and group sessions.

What I wish to add is that after difficulties getting staff to attend my induction so I could learn how to use the gym's machineries and then after that no-show, getting staff to book me in to a replacement appointment which upon arrival had not been done either a second time, I found them apologetic and I have only since then had positive, caring encounters with the centre's staff.

I also wish to add that I am not a mysogynist, but having myself come from a culture which classically before common era times expected the sexes to lead seperate lives,even if they shared a house and raised a family, hence I do find myself becoming uncomfortable having to share my gym and my workouts at the same time that women are working out, I believe they should have thier own exercise areas, or entirely different venues and many gyms are women's gyms for their own enjoyment and peace of mind and right to their privacy. I feel uncomfortable having to share equipment with them, as well as I may be invading their privacy et vice versa. I do know of at least one gym that has seperate work out areas segregated by genre.

Lastly, I have noticed that this excellent YMCA was missing something that all successful gyms one would expect should feature, almost by rôte, and this fact almost caused me to miss this, and what I have noticed at this facility is the almost 100% total lack of muscle-bound mountain men who normally do weights for hours per day, who enjoy flexing and comparing their hard-earned muscles in the mirrors and commonly work out in pairs and who are inescapable as any healthy, well-run gym would be filled up with them. They are absent at this gym which is a shame as any guy who wants to take his physique further here has no visible goal he could attain by seeing how these men work out and interact as they gave worked hard to be the sizes and...

Used to be great, however, the worker at the front front desk who said he had been working there for 2 months made it unnecessarily difficult for my partner to pay for a student's casual deal. He condescendingly accused her of not being a student and stated that her photo of her student ID was not enough, and told her he had to see the back of the card too which held the expiry date. We then logged in to her university account, before he said that was not enough evidence, so my partner had to scroll through dozens of her emails to find an enrollment receipt. He then took a prolonged glance at it before allowing her in. His behaviour was extremely accusatory, and I have had less scrutiny on ID from bouncers at clubs which serve alcohol. My partner suggested he talk to another worker which we knew who could confirm she was of student status, but he proceeded to passive agressively say that that worker was of a lower position than him, being "only a casual worker". He then said "even I could be a student". This is a great example of what not to do to get customers, as before our encounter, both my partner and I were thinking about joining...

The gym isn't bad, it's nice to see a range of people working out not just gym junkies, and there's a range of equipment available most of the time.

However, I'm surprised the pricing is so high. Considering the gym is not 24/7, it seems extreme to pay $15-30 per week, especially when other gyms are charging lower rates for 24/7 access and waiving joining fees.

I'm also disgusted by the state of the washrooms. All the times I've been in they have been unclean - once with all the sanitary bins overflowing, once with skid marks on all three toilets. There are frequently a few flies and sandflies around the toilets because of this.

Considering the price for pretty average facilities which need more regular cleaning, I think I'll be...