Ambler Area YMCA — Local services in Lower Gwynedd Township

I had such high hopes for the YMCA when it opened in 2010/11. But a cascade of failures and an unwillingness to remain flexible and reflect changing preferences/needs is remarkable.

Fitness center has fans blasting. No one will turn them down or off per policy. Obviously no one setting policy works out or they would realize how cold you can get. Fitness center didn't incorporate a water fountain. Yes, you read that right. How does that get missed by architects, designers, YMCA experts? Instead, they piped in a water line for a water dispenser. Pathetic There is virtually no place to stretch out. Doors are locked to rooms when an instructor is not present. Why? Insurance reasons. Really- the liability policy explicitly states rooms must be locked? So for 10 hours a day (at a minimum) some of these rooms that could be used for stretching, personal yoga or sit ups are not available to the membership. Just stupid. How about the entrance. Designed by a high school student in architecture? The egress point for scanning in is tiny. Lines back up. None of it makes any sense. A huge foyer with a huger hexagon shaped topiary. What is that needed for other than making the space more crowded. Leadership and employees are drones. No capacity to think critically, rationalize or recognize that business practices put in place don't help but hinder an experience. You can never...NEVER get in the pool to swim. Always something going on. Bathrooms by the front lobby smell. Paper towels are typically missing. Soap dispenser often broken. Egress/Ingress- the entrance to the facility also is poorly designed. Hard to get in and out. Tight spaces.

If you want a positive gym experience with an engaging staff and receptive to feedback, this ain't your place. Try Orange Theory, Lifetime...

I called 2 hours before hand to see if there would be open basketball courts tonight around 7-9pm. Also asked if I’d be able to sign into this YMCA as a guest with a friend who held a membership. I was told “Absolutely, of course!” - those words exactly. The lady I spoke to on the phone was really nice, but failed to inform me that you can’t sign guests in past “guest hours.” That’s the info I got after I drove my sorry ass 40 minutes out to Ambler to spend my one free night playing basketball with my friends. Literally the reason I called beforehand - to get any info that might be important before taking the drive.

The person at the front desk was snobby, didnt take any accountability. Rolling eyes, sucking teeth, and repeatedly tried to insinuate that the issue was my fault. Don’t remember anyones name, but doesn’t really matter I’m not coming back ever. Thanks for wasting my time and gas, and for motivating me to leave my first angry google review 😂. Wouldnt have even considered writing this if it wasn’t for the gross attitude at the front desk. Totally could have been a non-issue if some sort of accountability was taken and if I was treated respectfully.

If any management is reading, nobody wants to exercise at a place where that’s the energy you get when you walk in. With the state of this country’s health, exercise facilities need to be more welcoming and kind than ever, so people can be excited to be healthy. In my eyes this spits at the feet of that sentiment, a sentiment I always thought the YMCA held until now. I highly encourage people to go somewhere more affordable, and that gives a more...

I really, really wanted to love my daughters swimming lessons experience since it is our local Y and we were considering joining if all went well. Unfortunately, it was a terrible experience. She was enrolled in Swim Basics Stage 1, Water Acclimation. I understand that there are 5 kids to a class, and some of the kids in her class had behavior issues so she received less direct instruction than she should have, but I am a teacher and the directors of the program should have adapted and put another teacher in the class (kids were 3-5 years). Things weren’t totally terrible, just bad, until the last week. There were THREE kids that showed up the final week and my daughter received a total of FIVE minutes of instruction in the pool from the instructor for the entire WEEK. The instructor spent the entire week focusing on the other two boys. My husband and I complained, and all the director said was “interesting” and that the instructor normally gets such positive reviews. We will not be returning. I should mention, we did complain about halfway through the program about her lack of instruction and that was when our daughter started receiving noticeably less time in the pool. Our daughter has excellent behavior and just sat there politely while the teacher focused on the other kids, but she noticed that her teacher wasn’t paying any attention to her and it made her very sad, which broke my heart. She told me the teacher didn’t think she was a good swimmer… I suggest looking somewhere else for...