Waltham Family YMCA — Local services in Waltham

It’s a Y, not a fancy gym, and it’s a middle of the road Y at that. Temper your expectations. I’ve been to much bigger and nicer Ys and some that are worse. It does have an indoor and an outdoor pool which is nice and on the plus side the dues are reasonable.

The employees are mostly nice. A few appear bothered when you ask a question or need assistance.

Patrons are a mixed bag. Usually, there is at least one person listening to music without headphones or screaming into their cell phone trying to have a conversation on a treadmill or elliptical in the cardio room. This is technically not allowed, but the facility refuses to put up signs. The last excuse I was given is that patrons don’t read our signs so there is no need for one. It funny because they put up a ton of other signs and advertisements just not a sign saying talking on cell phones or listening to music without headphones is not permitted in the cardio room. Perhaps they could also mention the rules during each patrons first visit? Workers are generally quite put out when asked to tell someone to stop screaming into their phone.

They generally keep the facility clean but some areas do smell bad off and on. I can only speak for the men’s locker room, but I highly recommend foot wear at all times in there. It amazes me how many patrons walk bare footed on those highly used and dirty floors, it is very gross!

The equipment is in decent shape overall but when a piece goes down it can be down for some time.

If you are a treadmill user note that some genius decided to take out a couple of treadmills a year or so ago and squeeze in other equipment that is hardly ever used. I run 4-5 days a week and must wait for a treadmill about twice as week since the change. Luckily it’s usually 10 minutes or less. They were busy before the change but there was usually 1 or 2 open. The new equipment is not in use almost every time I visit no matter the time of day.

This Y is close to home and cheap, so I overlook its various short comings. The location is also a member of the national network, so your membership gets you into other Ys when traveling. I’ve visited some fantastic locations on trips. If it wasn’t so convenient, I’d likely be...

Update: young Y worker just shouted through the Y that a 5-year old [and yelled her entire name] was left by her grandmother at the Y. If I wanted to kidnap [insert kids name], I could walk to the counter right now and say, "I'm here to pickup [kid]. She's five." and these juvenile reps would probably let her go. NOT COOL. End Update 06/07/18 I love the YMCA OVERALL, but this Y is subpar, especially related to neighboring Y's. The only reason I'm not cancelling my membership during the 30 day trial is because of the other Ys. I've been to Salem, Greater Boston, West suburban, and they've all been impressive, even without extra amenities like hot tubs. This Y has a hot tub, but it can be randomly and inexplicably closed after you've battled traffic for 45 minutes thinking about the tub. No one here seems to know what customer service is. They can't replace the machine wipe-down towels without a maintenance person. They don't enforce any rules (cameras and phones used in the bathroom; people with rashes all over their body using the hot tub and doing veritable yoga in it; music with offensive lyrics on the building's system. etc.). Hot tub water is SUPER chlorinated (should be brominated) and burns eyes from just being in it. They have HUGE speed bumps that will destroy your car if you're not SUPER careful, and HUGE crowds in a hurry that ride your butt all the way out to the road. The daycare looks good. The showers and men's locker looks like it goes all day without a cleaning. Walls are stained. Tissues, dust, and discarded things in lockers. Where this Y is good, they do well, but on everything else requiring a modicum of attention, effort, or enforcement, they fall down, I suspect because the staff is so young and inexperienced. I even submitted an application to volunteer and never heard from them (and don't really trust that my private information isn't sitting on a desk somewhere in the open). The Away at the Y program makes membership...

Disappointing Experience with Aquatics Program at YMCA in Waltham

My recent experience with the aquatics program at YMCA in Waltham has been extremely disappointing due to poor management and lack of communication.

Twice now, my child and I have arrived for swimming classes only to find that the instructor failed to show up. This left the remaining instructors with an overwhelming number of students, far beyond the recommended limit. Not only does this compromise the quality of instruction, but it also raises serious safety concerns for the children involved.

What’s even more frustrating is the complete lack of support from management. There are no additional instructors available to help in such situations, and it seems there is no plan in place to prevent these occurrences or to handle them effectively when they do happen.

Furthermore, there is a complete absence of communication from the management regarding cancellations or changes to the schedule. There have been instances where classes were canceled without any prior notification via phone call or email, leaving parents and students confused and inconvenienced.

It’s unclear whether there are re-training courses for instructors scheduled in advance or if they are arranged hastily as a response to these incidents. Regardless, the lack of transparency and communication only adds to the frustration and dissatisfaction with the program.

Overall, my experience with the aquatics program at YMCA in Waltham has been subpar, to say the least. I hope that the management takes these concerns seriously and implements necessary changes to improve the program’s efficiency, communication, and overall quality of instruction.

I would caution other parents considering enrolling their children in this program to carefully weigh their options and consider alternative aquatics programs with better management and...