Santa Monica Family YMCA - Santa Monica, California

Clara B.

I was drawn to the YMCA because it is very affordable but canceled after one visit. Half the workout equipment was taken up by high school kids sitting on their phones not even dressed to work out. Very few people actually wiped down equipment after use. The brown paper towels offered are not efficient in properly sanitizing equipment either way. None of the workout rooms are properly ventilated and get extremely hot and stuffy during a workout, especially the stairmasters where you have about six inches of space before your head hits the ceiling. I also do not recommend this gym for young women due to the inappropriate staring from some of the male members even when dressed in just leggings and a Tshirt. In my opinion the low price can’t justify the quality

Hrayr D.

One of my favorite YMCAs in SoCal. Apart from being in a nice area, the gym itself is very welcoming with its amazing staff and all the equipment is up to date and kept clean. I always clean after myself when I’m done using a machine, but I have to give a shout out to the blonde woman who tours around the rooms and cleans machines when they are not in use (sorry I do not know her name) but that’s something I do not see in other Y’s. Awesome!

Gustavo R.

Great gym with renew equipment, all ages are welcome here, big basketball area, tenis rooms, pool and activities for all.

Eric S.

Rundown, dirty facility. Locker room has a distinct odor, saw a roach in the sauna

Austin B.

STAY AWAY if you even slightly value professionalism, customer service, honesty, or equality.

I was working out one day, like any other day, until this older white woman asked me if I was still using the machine I was on. I told her I was and went back to working out. Those were the ONLY words exchanged between her and I. She began filming me workout without my consent (violates YMCA SM policy and California law), then she lied to the under-educated staff that works at this location and claimed I had refused to let her work-in (never happened).

Under the "Membership Agreement" section of their website, it states "Suspension or termination of YMCA membership may result from a violation of this Code of Conduct. While an incident is being investigated, the membership of the person(s) accused of violating this Code of Conduct may be temporarily suspended pending a final decision," which I think is a very fair policy. My issues are the following: First, not letting someone work-in or share equipment is NOT in violation of ANY policy in their Code of Conduct, therefore they had ZERO grounds to temporarily suspend my membership for a week solely based on the old white lady's initial (dishonest) accusation. Second, the severely incompetent staff failed to conduct an investigation as they refused to listen to my side of the story and lied by claiming to have evidence they DID NOT HAVE.

Instead of attempting to hear my side of the story in any capacity, the uninformed staff members (who should be educated on their own Code of Conduct and policies) claimed they had a two minute video (ILLEGAL footage) of me refusing to let this lady work in with me and that I was to be banned for a week from their facility. My response was to ask to see the video and I was met with an aggressive response along the lines of "we don't have to show you anything" (anyone knows that means they didn't have what they claimed to). I was then told I had to cancel my membership because I was being argumentative (no duh?) trying to tell my side of the story rather than just rolling over and allowing them to unjustly violate the terms of their membership agreement. Instead of attempting to amend the situation at all, they believed the lies of the old white lady over even hearing me, a young person of color, out.

The intellectually limited YMCA workers passed it up the chain of command until I was told the CEO (a middle aged white man from the south) had been told of my situation and, from what I was told, I felt he decided to doubled down and side with the dishonest and law-breaking white lady (shocker).

They refused to refund me for the following month I had JUST paid for even after I detailed my experience in a lengthy email. I was out a total of $130 from the cost of the month's membership they refused to refund me plus the cost of my new gym membership all because THEIR staff decided to breach the terms outlined in THEIR OWN membership agreement.

What makes this experience even more absurd is that, rather than investigating a baseless accusation that doesn’t even break any of their rules, the staff entertained lies from a woman who openly admitted to breaking their Code of Conduct and California legislature herself (filming another member without consent). Yet somehow, I am the one out $130?!

What I’ve learned from this experience is that the YMCA SM and its CEO care far more about 30 dollars than honesty, equality, and fairness. If you value being treated justly and expect an organization to uphold its OWN policies and the terms of your membership agreement, this is NOT the place for you. When you sign as a member, there is nothing explicitly holding the YMCA SM accountable for breaches in their membership agreement, meaning you have no protections from their tyranny. The way they disregard their own rules and enforce decisions arbitrarily makes it feel less like a community and more like a dictatorship. Unless you’re okay with being treated this way as a paying customer, I would stay as far away from the YMCA Santa Monica as possible!

Joseph Y.

Great facility. The child care is awesome. Thank you to the staff

Meredith M.

We've been members here for years. Our kids have done summer camps and after school camps and swim lessons we have never been disappointed. Best family deal in town. My teenager's workout with us know!

Sebastian U.

Great staff & Great facility. Special shoutouts to the front desk team members: Kenny, Christy, Geordy & Brandon for their bright energy day in and day out.

The gym itself is fantastic with a full weight room, cardio room, basketball court, swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, and much more.

Very grateful to be a member of the Santa Monica Family YMCA!