Northern Regional Recreation Center — Local services in Cornelius

We booked a birthday party here after attending another. We booked a room for up to 12 kids from 4-6:30. Booking it was a little confusing online, but it wasn't the worst. Nowhere on the website does it mention that you need to bring your own towel, so keep that in mind. The cost was $300 for 2.5 hours. It did not cover food, drinks, decorations, paper plates, napkins, or cups.

We arrived a little late unfortunately due to traffic. I called the facility to let them know and they were kind enough to get our guests settled in with their wrist bands so they could start swimming. The lady who checked us in was incredibly sweet and helpful. We all went swimming and that was great. A few lockers did not have the ability to lock, and there was no swimsuit drying machine. At 5:30, we were urged to leave the swimming pool as our swim time was up. It almost felt like we were yelled at, but it's hard getting 8-12 8 year olds out of the pool quickly. However, we all got out and went to go get changed/dried off for food. While we were eating a man came by the room at 6:15 and gestured "5 minutes remaining" to me. There was no clock in the room, so I assumed it was 6:30 and hurried up and rushed the kids to get ready to leave. As I was cleaning up, I realized it was only 6:15 and went to the front desk to speak to the man and told him that we booked the room until 6:30. The paper that was given to us when we arrived said that "End Time and Departure of Room" was done between 6:30 and 6:40. However, he told us that the form was wrong and we needed to leave by 6:30 since that's when they close. ** We left by 6:30. I know that we were only shorted 10-15 minutes, but thats a good portion of time when the birthday party is only 150 minutes long. The man who pushed us to leave was rude and should've abided by what the paper said as that is what was advertised to me when I paid them $300 upfront for the party.

Pros: -The pool was nice and was filled with salt water. The deepest end is 3 feet 6 inches deep. There is a splash pad, a whirl pool, a giant water slide, and so many lifeguards. I felt the kids were very safe there. -They gave thank you bags for our guests. -Birthday girl got a paper tiara and a small "swag" bag with sun glasses. -The lady who checked us in was great. -They gave a cart to help us carry things in and out with.

Cons: -They had the wrong name on our room for who's party it was. -They supplied no napkins, plates for food. (Only supplied small plates for dessert). They did give you wrapped plastic utensils. They also did not supply cups, but offered ice. -There was no clock in the room to help you keep track of time. -Some lockers didn't lock. -You had to supply your own towel. -You don't actually get the full amount of time you paid for.

Overall, it was an okay experience. Honestly, it should only be valued $200 to $250 at most. But it is what it is. I definitely won't be booking another birthday party there, but it is a nice enough facility. The lifeguards were great.

Other Birthday Party Options: If you are looking for a birthday party, we have enjoyed Spare Time and Urban Air the most. -Urban Air was about the same amount of time. It had a lot of fun activities to help tire the kids out. It included pizza and gatorade. There was a party host to help you with dishing out food and collecting the kids for the "Happy Birthday" song. It was a bit more expensive than the Recreational Facility, but comparatively, I think it was worth it. -Spare Time has a birthday party that is the same amount of time and roughly the same price, but the food is extra I believe. The customer service was great and they give you a bowling pin as a keepsake.

**I tried to add a photo of the form they gave me today, but the review form is not allowing me for some reason. The form states that: Swim time: 4:00-5:30. Party room time: 5:30-6:30. End ime and departure of...

The more things change… the more that they stay the same!! It is 2022 and discriminatory practices are still happening! My daughter and I joined the facility about two weeks ago. We visited the facility two times since obtaining a membership. There were issues both times while we were at the facility. The first incident involved our check in. At the time of check in, we scanned our membership card. We were at the desk waiting for assistance to ask a question about schedules. . While we were waiting, three separate sets of Caucasian individuals came in. None of those members were asked about their membership or stopped at check in. They scanned their cards and walked on in. After standing and waiting for approximately 10 minutes to ask a question, we decided to go ahead and workout and stop by the desk after our work out. As we were going up the stairs to the upper level, an African American male that was sitting at the desk says to me and my daughter in an accusatory tone, “y’all need to check in!” I was very shocked and embarrassed that we were the only ones that were stopped and told that we need to check in. This was after we had already scanned our membership card. My daughter looked at me and said, “why were we the only ones that was stopped and none of the white people were stopped?” I do not understand why we’re we stopped and the other white patrons were not stopped? On our tour with Gabe, we went into the studio where kickboxing classes are held. My daughter specifically asked if there wasn’t a class being held, would she be able to use the area and the boxing bag? She specifically asked because she does not like classes. Gave informed us that that would not be a problem at all. She would simply need to ask a staff member to move the bag for her. Low and behold, when we visited the facility on Monday of this week and my daughter went into the studio, she was told by a gentleman that she could not use the bag if a class was not being held. I spoke with the gentleman and explained what we had been told by Gabe. The staff member then went and got Ed. Ed’s breathe reeked of alcohol as he began to speak with us. Ed then began to make every excuse as to why my daughter could not use the boxing bag. Although I shared with Ed what I had been told by Gabe, he suggested that my daughter wait until 5:30 to attend class. It was very obvious that Ed was not listening to what I shared with him about what Gabe had told us on our tour. He continued to make excuses for about 45 minutes. I also shared with Ed the experience about the check in and feeling singled out . Again, excuses and defending the staff member’s actions. I was told by Ed that he would follow up with me after speaking with Gabe. Of course, that did not happen. I felt totally embarrassed and my daughter was on the verge of tears. It is unfair to be targeted and discriminated against. If one patron is asked about checking in, ALL patrons should be asked!! I will not...

I went to North Mecklenburg Rec Center yesterday, February 4, 2025 in the hopes of attending a fitness class. I arrived at the class about 10 minutes before it was scheduled to begin. Participates laughed at the idea that I might think a spot would be available. They said it was normal to wait 20-40 minutes for a spot. People line up outside the door in advance. There is no possibility of making a reservation on line.

The instructor of the Barre class took me down the hall to a Body Sculpt class. That was also full. I went down to the gym and there was a class that, I didn’t realize started at 10:00, and by now it was about 10:15. I thought I would try that but the gentleman in charge told me that was also full.

I looked at the pool. I had brought my bathing suit to swim after a class. Each lane had at least 3 people.

I went back upstairs and sat in line for Chair aerobics for over 30 minutes. I managed to get in this class, but it was so crowded it was uncomfortable. It started late because they needed to get more chairs for the many people attending. It was a 35 minutes work out.

Not to be totally negative, the instructor was great. The facilities are nice and the people seemed very nice.

End of the day…it took over 2 hours to exercise 35 minutes. Waiting 30 minutes to take a 45 minute class just doesn’t make sense. One woman I spoke to (while I was waiting!) said her car was hit in the parking lot because there were so many people trying to exit at the same time. Not to mention…don’t try taking a left turn out of the parking lot.

A traffic light needs to be installed immediately to...