Richard Alatorre Aquatic Center — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I had a very upsetting experience at the pool recently. When I arrived, a couple was occupying one lane. I didn’t want to disturb them, so I joined from the opposite side. The woman immediately came over and started yelling at me for joining their lane without “permission.” Then her husband came over and made a blatantly racist comment about Chinese people being “so rude,” which was completely uncalled for. To be honest I am not even Chinese but I was still deeply offended.

I tried to stand up for myself, but he got in my face and yelled so loudly that my ears were ringing. When the manager finally came, the couple spoke with him privately for nearly an hour. After that, the manager took their side without hearing me out. He started lecturing me, even though I calmly explained what happened and asked whether there were security cameras that could verify the incident. Instead, he told me I was being “too loud” and asked me to leave — even though I had two young kids with me.

What made this worse is that I had already checked with staff, in front of the couple, to confirm it was okay to share lanes with more than two people. Despite this, the staff showed clear bias and failed to address the inappropriate behavior I experienced.

I’m not here to say whether you should or shouldn’t go — the pool itself is nice — but I strongly urge caution. The way some staff handle conflicts and favor one side without fairly listening is a...

I’m pleasantly surprised by how nice the Alatorre pool is.

Firstly, it’s SUPER affordable—just $4 for recreational swimming! Compare that to Rose Bowl Aquatics, which charges $20!

Even though the neighborhood is a little sketchy, don’t be turned off by that. This pool is very clean and relatively empty, even on the weekends. It’s a great place for lap swimming. The pool is indoors and kept at the perfect temperature. Everyone is very friendly, and you’re welcome to use any of the equipment (e.g., boards, buoys).

Just be aware, there are no lockers, so you’ll need to “check in” your items with an employee at a special window. It’s not a problem, though—they give you a pin with a number and hang your stuff on a rack in their office.

As I mentioned, I used to go to Rose Bowl for lap swimming, but I was turned off by the ridiculous price they charge. Plus, I was disgusted by the temperature of their pool—way too warm. It was also much busier.

Overall, I highly recommend this public pool for swimming! It will be my “go-to” pool...

Staff is super friendly. The hours are great and accessible. Lanes rarely have to be split or circle swam. The adult fitness class (tu-fri @7pm) is also wonderful. Highly underutilized so I've been basically having a personal training session 2-3 times a week for the last month and half. The instructors vary and they adapt well to my ability and desire for the day. During the summer the use increases (which is great community pools are meant to be) so just plan accordingly or just go with it and find the joy...