The Dalles Athletic Club — Local services in The Dalles

Dig deep and know what you are buying compared to what you need. Just because this is the only all-service club in town doesn’t mean it will work for you. This club seems best if you need a family/casual environment (pool and basketball area), want to play tennis or pickleball indoors, have mobility or other issues that make water movement exercise preferred, or are doing weights/machines and can afford what seems pretty high price for the quality of the facility. Be Ok with kids of both genders in locker rooms even if you are naked/showering. Accept unaddressed maintenance items such as water leaking onto the bathroom floor from oozing toilets. Overlook the occasional cloudy pool water with the random bandage or loose hair floating around. It is an old club; don’t expect incense and fanciness. Very nice staff and tour initially. We were shown the pool and given a schedule including times for Adult/Lap swim, our interest. But the club has its own version of what Adult/Lap swim means as compared to international pool etiquette. Here, exercisers and pool walkers get preference and are allowed to own a swim lane, even if the pool is busy during specified Lap Swim. This means FOUR people can fit in the 5-lane pool at lap swim time if folks choose not to share (the lane closest to the wall is always exercisers). In swim communities, lanes are “split” or circle-swim usage happens so that everyone can participate. The WEBSITE even says swimmers must swim in a circle. Don’t be fooled; that is not enforced. We were frustrated with being run into or having people walk across us, and they were equally frustrated we had the gall to ask if we could share lanes or “circle swim,” something they had never done. Mutual complaints favored the people following house rules, and we were made so uncomfortable as to get a refund and cancel our membership. Suggest Gretchen and staff POST their rules on the very large/visible bulletin board in the pool room. Also suggest the rules are summarized as part of the tour. Doing these things will minimize mutual frustration in the pool...

A shame this is the only gym in town with childcare. For those of you with kids, I would suggest finding an alternate gym and childcare or just workout at home unless you know for a fact what time your going to the gym that day. Come to find out you have to make reservations before 3pm for the evening shift (3:30-8). So, when you work a job where you get off anywhere between 330 and 5 it creates an issue, as I don't know when I'm getting off until it's after 3. Which means they stop taking reservations and will tell you childcare is full for the evening. Since they only take 10 kids. So my 100 a month membership does me no good, kind of just throwing money away at this point. I have never been to a gym that you have to make reservations, so when I asked if they had childcare and they said yes, these are the hours, I should have asked for the specifics. Now I am locked in for a year. And, on top of it, it's 2.50 per child per hour. When I asked about pricing they said "it's a small town," so we have to charge more. Well I don't see the logic in that, since I moved here from a small town, Klamath falls. There I paid 25 a month for a 24 hour gym, .50 for childcare,per child, for two hours. They had morning and evening childcare, no reservations needed, you just check in and drop your kiddos off between 8 and 11:30 or 330 to 930. They didn't have a limit on kids, so if they needed more staff they would call them in, the members never had to suffer. The only amenities my gym back home did not have were the pool, tennis, and basketball which I don't utilize anyway. When I asked the staff about the possibility of bringing in more people to open up spots for more kids since it was always full, the and was no. Pretty disheartening to pay so much and not even be able to utilize it.

UPDATE: I appreciate your reply, I did bring this to the attention of the front desk and was pretty much told too bad so sad. Could you tell me when these changes will take place as I went yesterday and still the same policy. I really do appreciate you changing things and making it accessible to all of...

Was a member there for some time and it was alright. The general staff were very nice and helpful but sometimes lacked knowledge.

Unfortunately they have decided not to keep the dance studio going that many kids are involved in. That is a huge disappointment for a place that has hardly anything for kids but claims they are going to have community events and activities in the near future. However, the dance director worked out continuing to use the studio it will just not be done through the gym. So please have your kids join so we can support the wonderful teachers.

Another issue I have with this place is that they will no longer allow the ROV club at the middle school to practice just a few times or so with their submersible robots. Where are they suppose to go, the outdoor pool that isn’t open during this time of year? Physical sport is not more important than mental sport. The students have no other place to go and the gym management claims they are becoming more community based.

I hope that since Google is a funder for these after school tech programs that none of their employees spend their money on this gym. They likely have a better gym for their...