Downtown Berkeley YMCA

Fantastic experience: Friendly people And environment

Negative experience: MEMBERS ONLY

Negative experience: I really try to like the Y in Berkeley. BUT Everything is geared towards high schoolers,which is okay, but kids and families are squeezed in between 3 to 5 and a couple of hours over the weekend. There are no dance or yoga classes for kids. Parents can't take their kids in any room other than the pool and probably basketball. I only choose the y because it is close to my home. I wish there was a Y for families. Where parents can take a class together with their kids or where childcare is offered.

Positive experience: I been to the down town Oakland one on a regular and this one in Berkeley is cramped. The free weights machines room is small. The cardio is all over in small rooms. The locker rooms are small too with tiny lockers. They do keep it clean and the staff is friendly.

Positive experience: I been to the down town Oakland one on a regular and this one in Berkeley is cramped. The free weights machines room is small. The cardio is all over in small rooms. The locker rooms are small too with tiny lockers. They do keep it clean and the staff is friendly.

Positive experience: Id give this a 5 star if it weren't for the fact that it can get pretty congested. If you go before ~3pm its a lot better, but when the local highschool and other people come in, you'll have to work in on basically all the equitment. They do have all of the standard equipment you'd find in a gym. Variety isn't an issue, its just volume. I would not recommend this place if youre anxious about working out in crowds.

Positive experience: tl;dr: Solid YMCA with good equipment and friendly staff. Watch out for kid hours; overall, it is great value for money. This YMCA gets the job done. The gym area is well-stocked, especially with that dedicated powerlifting room. The front desk staff is cool and helpful, and having indoor bike parking is awesome. Most machines work fine even if they're not top-of-the-line, and there's plenty of space for them to upgrade in the future. Just a heads up, avoid coming between 3 and 5 p.m. unless you want to deal with a lot of kids doing their P.E. stuff. Other than that timing issue, you're getting good value here. The clear posted hours and straightforward amenities make it easy to plan your workouts. For what you're paying, it's a solid choice for getting your fitness on.

Positive experience: tl;dr: Solid YMCA with good equipment and friendly staff. Watch out for kid hours; overall, it is great value for money. This YMCA gets the job done. The gym area is well-stocked, especially with that dedicated powerlifting room. The front desk staff is cool and helpful, and having indoor bike parking is awesome. Most machines work fine even if they're not top-of-the-line, and there's plenty of space for them to upgrade in the future. Just a heads up, avoid coming between 3 and 5 p.m. unless you want to deal with a lot of kids doing their P.E. stuff. Other than that timing issue, you're getting good value here. The clear posted hours and straightforward amenities make it easy to plan your workouts. For what you're paying, it's a solid choice for getting your fitness on.

Negative experience: I’ve hesitated to write this review for a while. But the situation was so bad that I decided to write this review out. I’ve been going to this gym for over a year now. But there are so many issues here. The workers are extremely rude. Their system is broken. My partner and I have been issues with their payment system. This happened a total of 5 times. They would inform us that the payment has gone through online but when I would try to get in the entrance I would be confronted in a unkind manner from multiple workers that I had insufficient balance. Today was my last straw. I had confrontation and I would just take insults but I don’t want to have bad energy in a area I’m trying to better myself. I recommend to not go to this gym it’s badly managed, busy always due to high schoolers that also throw around equipment.

Negative experience: Horrible place the staff member was very mean and didint like me and my family because we were black

Fantastic experience: Love the Y

Fantastic experience: Love the Y

Fantastic experience: Love this YMCA!!! I have loved it since I came here for college over a decade ago and now I love it even more because of the recent renovations they’ve completed. Honestly the best gym!! Highly recommend to anyone looking for a great community, workout, and AWESOME FACILITIES!! Such a gem :)

Fantastic experience: I am am a teenage girl and I’ve been going to the y for about 6-7 months I rate my experience a 10/10 so far,

Fantastic experience: It is a great gym on its own, fantastic when you factor in the price point. If you're looking for a gym w/ bells and whistles and other services, this isn't it. What is does have is multiple weightrooms, two pools, locker room, Peloton studio, a large functional fitness room, basketball courts, and studios. If it gets crowded, I feel like there is always space to find a spot to get your workout in. If you're looking for a well-maintained, conveniently located place to grab a solid workout with a variety of equipment, it is a great option. Also, very friendly staff. 5/5 for me.

Negative experience: The Berkeley YMCA violated the Fraud Section of the U.S. Penal Code when it advertised a fully-staffed hostel while absconding its under-staffed dual hospice, homeless shelter, felon halfway house. Its re-branding of the 1851 non-profit into a subsidy-raiding business generated trauma, health hazard, emotional distress, sexual harassment, xenophobic hate crimes and other personal injuries to civilian tenants.

Fantastic experience: Nice and clean

Fantastic experience: I LOVE THE DOWNTOWN BERKELEY YMCA ALWAYS CLEAN AND WELL MANAGED FRIENDLY STAFF - GREAT FACILITIES - COULD NOT BE BETTER

Negative experience: I am a member of YMCA since 2011 off and on. I would share my experience in the facility as subpar. I would not recommend YMCA Berkeley.

Fantastic experience: The Berkeley YMCA offers delightfully economical gym membership and wonderful work out facilities for the whole community. It's spotless clean, the staff are friendly and always helpful and the hours are perfect. Exercise classes and workshops are offered both free and also at reasonable cost. I cant recommend this gym enough!!!

Fantastic experience: This is the best gym in town. Memberships starting at $60/month or so and you get access to a great gym, pool, indoor basketball courts, decent locker rooms with a sauna and a steam room, plus great programming for all ages. Since I moved to Berkeley I’m at the Y at least 4 times a week!

Positive experience: Would be a great gym if it weren’t overrun with high school kids. At peak times, the weight rooms are borderline un-useable. Also, the gym is freezing much of the year. They keep all the windows in the gym open all the time, even during the winter. Hard to get a good workout in when you’re constantly cold.

Negative experience: I had a HORRIBLE experience at this YMCA. I usually go to the location in Oakland off of Broadway but decided to try this location because I was in the area. I attempted to scan my membership card to get in but the machine wouldn’t let me so I was directed to one of the front desk workers. The woman I spoke to “Lulu” was very rude and aggressive with her miss information that they “didn’t sell day passes” and that I was “not allowed to use different YMCA locations”. I looked at the YMCA official website after confirming that this information was in fact false. Would not go back!!!

Fantastic experience: Safe place for trans folks. Ive never felt safer

Negative experience: Refused to allow me to purchase a day pass to use the gym.

Fantastic experience: Happy to see men's Steam room working today.

Fantastic experience: Always welcoming and well-run, lots of good facilities right Downtown and for a fair price. Truly a community resource

Negative experience: I do not feel safe at this gym one of the staff members kept staring at me making me for several minutes making me feel uncomfortable . She then approached me telling me I couldn’t wear crocs to the gym when I saw others within inches from me wearing the same exact attire and she did not confront them about it. Being the only black person in the room I couldn’t help but feel discriminated against and I have no other shoes at my disposal to wear the gym but I still make the effort to go and I should be able to go workout and not feel persecuted for my skin color or what I’m wearing I do not recommend going here .

Negative experience: As someone with a family this place is just a shell of it's former self. - No childcare (what are they doing with that space?) - Toddler pool no longer in use - No kinder gym anymore - Too few family swim hours to the point where when there are family swims the pool is too crowded and they make everyone get out after an hour and line up in an attempt to make people leave - No towels anymore (!!!!) - There's been a sheet of black plastic dividing the men's changing room for ~ 3 years now and ugly PVC purposefully blocking the use of overnight lockers (WHY?!?) I do like pretty much all of the staff but something is obviously very wrong with the management. They don't answer emails and are never around so I guess I'll write a google review?

Fantastic experience: Best Y in the bay area

Fantastic experience: I love the group fitness classes here. They are some of the best group fitness classes that I've ever tried. There is a large selection of different types of classes. I also love the work out spaces and facilities here. I like that they provide various spaces that are set up in different ways so that you won't get bored with the workouts.

Negative experience: Agree that things have changed. No women’s gym, no children’s space, shorter hours, $15 to bring a guest!? Pay for parking. I decided to go with City Sports (Richmond snd Berkeley): less expensive, even w 2 free guests each time, free parking. Child room in Richmond (beautiful newer facility) Down side: No classes, no sauna in Berkeley, (people go in sauna clothes & shoes on in Richmond (!!) )

Fantastic experience: Simply the best gym in Berkeley

Fantastic experience: I used lap pool on most days, machine rooms good bicycle rooms good! Don't come here if you didn't come to do what you came to do! That's what makes this place nice people come to do their business and that's what it's all about

Positive experience: I cannot say enough good things about the childcare center here. The workers are exceedingly kind and Compassionate to the kids AND parents. The actual facility feels a bit congested and could use an upgrade, like some windows, BUT I'd choose this facility any day just to know my kids are being treated well while I work out!

Negative experience: Have been a happy member for about 20 years but that has changed. What happened to women's gym? Don't mind working out with adult men but some of the high school kids are too rude, selfish, and downright dangerous to be there without mature adult supervision. Shorter hours make it more difficult to avoid the chaos and I find I'm planning my week around avoiding these kids. For the first time since I joined, I'm looking at alternatives. Very unhappy!

Negative experience: Going to end my membership after 15 years. -Short hours esp on Sunday at 2pm. No gym in any major city in U.S. have this kind of hours. - No steam - too many high school kids during 3-8. Will renew again if the hours change and steam room open.

Fantastic experience: I look forward to going here nearly every day. The YMCA is clean, the employees are friendly, and they have many more squat racks than I have found at others gyms. There are lots of windows that are frequently open for fresh air in the cardio and weight rooms. I like the aesthetic of the gym in a historic building that's been updated with modern comforts.

Negative experience: There is no longer a women’s fitness center which was a main reason I joined. It was a safe, warm, friendly, supportive environment. It was kept very clean. Gym is overrun by many high school kids and not open during later hours when they would not be there. Not enough bathrooms on the main floor. All bathrooms are ‘All Gender’. That’s gross. Guys pee all over the floor. As a woman, I feel like a third class citizen….men and trans first. Toilets do not have tops and when flushed spray all over the bathroom. Basically when you go in one you are breathing in what the former person flushed. This is a well known scientific fact. I got a staph infection here in spite of wiping equipment down. It happened 3 times. The Y now has a lot of homeless who live on the street downtown to shower and hang out there. It’s gotten to be a filthy place. Especially the wet areas. Parking here for a handicapped person is very difficult. At least 3 handicapped parking spaces in front were removed by the City.

Fantastic experience: Best gym. Has all the equipment you could possibly want (much more than Equinox and at less than half the price). Can get crowded at peak hours, but there is still plenty of space. Doesn't play around with predatory contracts (like Equinox). If you need to cancel, the process is straightforward and easy.

Fantastic experience: Incredible amount of equipment in the weightroom. Inexpensive and there's bike parking and free wifi. (There's a bunch of other facilities as well that I haven't made a lot of use of.) What else do you want?

Positive experience: Overall a good Y. The pool is excellent, although sometimes it gets a bit crowded. The men’s locker room is small but clean and feels secure. They have a good sauna but it’s a shame the steamroom is no longer operational. That’s just a waste. Cardio rooms are also very good. One negative is that some days the weight areas are overwhelmed with HS kids who hog pieces of equipment and don’t seem to understand the concept of sharing.

Fantastic experience: Fabulous programs for people over 60!

Fantastic experience: The best Y ever.

Fantastic experience: I have only been going for a little while but I love it. The whole family can get fit and they have tons of programs. The staff is super nice so nice it's almost weird. I guess I'm use to that cheesy gym experience but this place is really cool. The game room for the kids is nice and the pool is a bonus. As for work out equipment they have it all. This Y has free weights, machines weights, and tons of cardio equipment. An added bonus is they have a day care so the kids can get dropped off and parents can work out. That alone make this place rock

Fantastic experience: Great community center and gym. Separate women's workout area with cardio, weights, machines, and a stretching/meditation room.

Positive experience: I wish they offered financial assistance for low income households like the San Francisco YMCA does. Disappointed to learn how anti-union their management is.

Fantastic experience: I’m a senior that is from Bay Area and I joined today Oct 9,2022. But I took a tour with Jenny Oct 8. 2022, who helped me enter my info on computer , etc . She as well as the other front desk person a white male. was exceptionally nice . I was amazed how this ymca had changed since I last used in mid 70’s when I was young . I’m happy to be back and I used the gym today and the lap pool.I recommend all to support the ymca , one of the few good things that have remained . Charron Osborne, born and raised in BerkCa

Negative experience: What’s the deal with their hours these days? Waaay different from the great hours they used to have when I was a member a few years ago. Not gonna sign up again as originally planned due to their restrictive hours.

Fantastic experience: Its a wonderful place that does so much for so little. They had a big setback from covid but theyre still there. When they can get the staff, I hope they open up the saunas, steamrooms and spas. And get longer weekend hours

Positive experience: W gym

Positive experience: Pretty good facility in general, nice basketball courts and plenty of machines and weights plus tons of cardio. The only negatives are how early they close(8pm) as it was 10pm before the pandemic, along with it being closed on Sunday. Pretty solid gym though maybe some more bathrooms on the main level could be added as well

Fantastic experience: I love it here

Fantastic experience: The best gym ever. The women's fitness center really made an impact on my desire to work out. It was like family without being to much. I'd go work out say hi or maybe just wave. Keep it moving. Right by buses, Bart, plus validated parking. Truly a treasure

Positive experience: I wanted to update my review for the YMCA. I don't think my review from before applies in any way after COVID because the members and the gym are so different. I just joined the gym again after 18 months on a medical hold. Here's what you should know returning the the YMCA: 1. It's still strict, you will need to wipe down before and after and adhere to their policies even if they make little sense or aren't enforced equally. Respect the community and facility. 2. The gym is not getting deep cleaned at least not the machines and they are wearing out even though many are new from the last 5 years. 3. They installed ventilation so the gym no longer smells like sweat and the windows are always open now but this means no AC. 4. No towel service anymore but you get your own disinfecting bottle which you'll need since you have to wipe before and after. 5. Rooms have been broken up into a machine room, a free weight room with 4 racks and the old child gym has thankfully been turned into a room with 10! yes 10 squat racks!! That means they increased their rack capacity by like 220% great move! 6. No locker rooms or showers.. weird because CC county has them open but this helps lower gym capacity. 7. People mostly following the rules but some are not wearing masks right. Probably the gym has a high concentration of people who never believed in any of the COVID rules anyways. 8. New online system is nice and gives a record of going to the gym but does not show capacity of the Berkeley YMCA weirdly. 9. It is not really crowded mid day at all. It's desolate. 10. Some days staff was extremely limited no personal trainer on duty and only one staff member in the front. 11. They seem to have added fans all over each room that have some component to neutralize virus particles with blue light. There is also some kind of machine in the stretch area. My suggestions to the gym after a few days of being back 1. Deep clean the machines 2. Remodel the bathrooms to add more bathroom capacity on the main level. 3. Replace more floors with sound proofing and dampening materials when possible. 4. Fix the lightening in the new rack room it is falling out of the socket. I personally really missed going to the gym and Bowflex 552's at home and step aerobics is just not comparable to the literal fitness buffet this place offers. I actually spent more last year on fitness equipment than what it cost for the gym (Weights $380, Aerobics board $110, Bike repairs and parts $600 vs $540 for a 1yr membership). Whats it like going back? Well the first few days my body felt like it was on drugs from working out again. I hurt in regions I forgot existed. Food tasted richer and time seemed to slow. This place can be like a magical temple of the mind and body if you make it that. It is legendary. Good luck to the Downtown Berkeley YMCA and hoping it 50 more years of success!

Fantastic experience: It’s my first time being at the y and honestly it’s actually a good place to exercise and I bring my own wipes so It’s easier than spray bottle and paper towel. I recomend bringing your own wipes so you don’t have to use the proxide spray on paper towel

Fantastic experience: It’s my first time being at the y and honestly it’s actually a good place to exercise and I bring my own wipes so It’s easier than spray bottle and paper towel. I recomend bringing your own wipes so you don’t have to use the proxide spray on paper towel

Fantastic experience: My kids take swimming lessons here. They last 30 minutes, which is perfect.

Positive experience: Great place

Positive experience: Great facility, friendly staff, welcoming & inclusive.

Negative experience: Why is YMCA open when virus is all over ? I thought it’s all about health

Positive experience: I come here exclusively for the workout room. While it's very convenient for me since it's very close to my apartment, there are a few things about this Y that I feel like need to be improved. I probably wouldn't go here if it wasn't a 5 minute jog away. The first issue I take is the poorly stocked bench weights. When I go around 4, the bench weights never seem to be in the right place, and they seem like they could use a few more. I constantly need to take plates from other stations to get the weight I want. The second issue is that there even are bench stations. These 4 bench stations would be much better off as squat stations that can be adjusted to be bench stations. The reason being because the 4 squat stations they have almost always being full when I get there. Maybe that wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't for issue number 3: high schoolers. I'll admit, this is mostly unique to when I go, since I go very close to the end of school. Unfortunately, I don't have much of a choice to go another time; I leave for work at 6:15am, and I'm the cook of the house, so I should be back at home around 5 to get stuff going. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that the youth are that go here are developing healthy habits. The issue is, they spend so much time doing one exercise with way too much break in between. They easily get distracted by other high schoolers, they all crowd around each other, and often half of them aren't working out and aren't even properly dressed. This should be unacceptable. If you aren't working out, you shouldn't be in the work out room. If you are taking more than a couple minutes between sets, then you are spending too much time goofing off. Some high schoolers are working hard and aren't goofing around, but a huge majority have no respect for any of the other members' time. I don't want to hate on this Y too much. The staff is always very kind, and I like the equipment there. They just need to buy a few more plates and clear out some of the people that are goofing off.

Fantastic experience: Keep it moving! Even if you have to go at it alone!

Fantastic experience: Awesome location and facility! And the staff is great too! Very nice and responsive to all my questions and concerns. In my opinion it is very clear that everyone there cares very much about ALL of their clients! Anyone looking for a club should definitely seriously consider coming here!

Fantastic experience: I've been a member since 1989. Raised 2 boys as single parent with the child watch,swim lessons, birthday parties at the y . Went from dance airobics to body sculpture to Pilates and yoga. All the while the y was my place of sanity. I love the kindness, community, my spin classes, the sauna . My place for all my stages, ages. Five stars, well lighted and clean.

Negative experience: L'endroit est abominable, surtout n'y allez pas et gardez un peu de dignité ! L'endroit a une odeur tellement forte et désagréable que vous n'en dormirez pas la nuit. Le nettoyage est très bref voir quasi inexistant. Le staff est absolument pas compétent et cela pour n'importe quelle question. Il vous faut votre clé si vous avez besoin de faire pipi la nuit. J'ai trouvé des cafards dans ma chambre et sous mon lit, un anti-rat. Vous n'y serez absolument pas bien. Les lumières sont des néons ce qui vous donne l'impression d'être en prison. Ma chambre donnait vue sur un mur, la lumière n'y passait pas. La pire expérience "hôtelière" de toute ma vie.

Negative experience: Before I even walked into this place I called them. They were so incredibly rude I was taken aback. THe person answering tried to dismiss me as fast as possible and offered no real explanation for my questions. Since this is the most convenient location for me I thought it may be worth a shot anyway. I was wrong. Just take the time to go elsewhere, you're worth more than this.

Negative experience: I was out of country and I asked them to put my account on hold by email and they responded late after I got charged. They charged me for a whole month instead of the hold fees. They kept my account for a two month hold then recharged me again without my notice and my authorization. Worst service I have ever seen. They don’t care for their costumers. Only care about money. Poor place I don’t recommend it.

Negative experience: I'm a big fun of YMCA, was a member in NYC, Boston and just purchased membership in Berkeley. Came this morning for second time. Stuff told me I'm not allowed use more then one towel ( btw their towels extremely small) otherwise I'll be charged from my account. Nobody warned me about anything when I was signed, I asked if exception can be made just this time, since I had no idea. The answer was no. Pay or leave. For someone with disability and low income, every penny matters So yeah, I have to leave :(

Negative experience: Please note my review is not about the whole YMCA, but about their yoga class. The other facilities of the Y are actually great, and I'm glad to be a member. But on to my review of yoga instructor Scotty M... I took my first yoga class at the YMCA and was appalled. First off, the class itself was pretty mediocre for my level; I get that the class was noted as "all levels" but ultimately, it was below my skill level and I just didn't get much out of it. The instructor, Scotty, seemed to have no plan and had to pause for at least 30 seconds in between every pose while we all waited for him to come up with what to do next. Come savasana (corpse pose) at the end, I decided this class just wasn't for me and wanted to leave. I get up as quietly as I can and put away my mat. I turn to tiptoe to the door, and Scotty says, "Please don't get up and leave." At this point I'm confused, since 5 people have already left and he didn't say anything to them, so I assumed this was an acceptable thing to do. Not wanting to disrupt the class any more, I continue tiptoeing to the door. He repeats, "I'm asking you not to leave," and I whisper, "I'm sorry, I need to be somewhere." He says, "Don't come back." Excuse me? I have never been told to not come back somewhere. Literally every yoga class I have ever been to, people are allowed to come and go as they please. What if I have an emergency? Have to pee? Have an important phone call? Are we held hostage? Is the door locked? Are we not all adults here? I completely understand that my leaving can be disruptive to the rest of the class. But I repeat, I made every effort to be as quiet as possible, and it would have taken me all of 5 seconds to get my things and be out the door. Instead, Scotty tried to make an example of me, after others had already left, and turn this into a completely rude and hostile interaction. If anyone was being disruptive here, it was him. The professional way to handle this was to let me leave quietly like an adult, but instead he seemed to have a big ego trip and got mad I didn't stay for his whole class. Look. This isn't Esalen. This isn't an ashram in Rishikesh. IT'S THE YMCA. It's a free class in a metropolitan location that I try to fit into my busy schedule, and sometimes I'm going to have to leave earlier than I thought. But in this case, to put it bluntly, I wanted to leave because his class wasn't good; I gave the excuse that I "had to be somewhere" so as to not turn this ugly, but obviously that didn't do any good. At the end of the class, I realized this wasn't for me and I wasn't going to sit there for 20 more minutes doing nothing (every other yoga class I've ever taken only allotted about 5-10 minutes for corpse pose; 20 minutes is just ad nauseam in my opinion.) I was so stung by his remark that I just slipped out of the room without saying anything back. I felt attacked. When you think of a yoga instructor, you think of someone happy, kind, accepting, understanding, positive, gentle, spreading good vibes. Not Scotty. He is rude, egotistical, and quite frankly a grouch. His class was not a welcoming environment. I will gladly not return.

Positive experience: It's funny not until I read other reviews did I realize that this Y is a little different. The people were rude and tended to stare. It seemed they recognized I wasn't a regular. I also was yelled out for being on my phone. I was surprised that it was such a big deal especially since I didn't see a sign. Still a nice facility, amazing steam room!

Fantastic experience: All around awesome gym! I’ve never belonged to a gym before but this one is perfect for its location, price (not cheap but definitely doable for a student if it’ll motivate you to exercise), and services. The classes are great, especially cycling, and no matter what day or time you come to work out alone, it’s never crowded. Everything is clean and neat, and it’s a very calm, quiet, and friendly environment.

Positive experience: large swimming pool, clean and spacious environment, comprehensive classes, is expensive, but worth it.

Positive experience: ジムはスチームサウナや一般的なサウナがあり、水着をきればプールやジャグジーが使えるのでとてもいいです！ ボディ＆ヘアシャンプーというソープがついているし、タオルも１枚なら借りれるので手ぶらのまま来れます！

Negative experience: Rude staff. Have never been turned away at the gym. I guess there is a first now.

Negative experience: Full of super old men who stare the locker room is disturbing feels disgusting pretty sure I got a foot fungus can be poor drainage in the showers for men u have too pay for more then one towel because 60$ a month isent enough the staff seem a bit self centered and occupied the membership is not cheap and I’m my opinion not worth it unless u like being divided in the workout areas so u never see women and the hot tub is something you should never use I’m going too 24 hour elcerrito just opened one sadly I thought ymca was good but now I’ve realized I never liked it I’ll give it two stars for the new equipment

Fantastic experience: Great atmosphere and wonderful inclusive gym

Fantastic experience: This gym is really well-equipped for the price you pay. I like that they have weightlifting platforms and bumper plates in addition to a lot of free weights and machines, trx bands, etc. Even the cardio equipment (not my thing) is better than average. It can get pretty busy, but there are also times where it's practically empty. There is a women's gym upstairs, which is cool, but doesn't have the same variety of equipment. They also have tons of yoga and other classes. I'm happy I signed up for this gym.

Fantastic experience: An open friendly place with great choice of classes and equipment...

Fantastic experience: It's 5 stars for what it is, which is a down to earth, inclusive gym and nonprofit. Obviously it's not the fanciest place, but it is a Solid gym. The staff is warm and helpful. The community is kind. The facilities are pretty good. I'm all about the women's gym upstairs. Locker rooms are a bit cramped, but it's no biggie. I always feel safe here, rarely self conscious, and the stretching room is FABULOUS. Seriously, the women's gym. The Women's Gym. Go to here.

Fantastic experience: Great staff. Diverse programs, staff, members. Decent equipment

Fantastic experience: i love soghyr

Fantastic experience: Great neighborhood group with fantastic community programs.

Positive experience: Great place. Lobby has been remodeled.

Negative experience: The pool is always full. Don't sign up unless you are willing to share a lane with 3 other humans that swim very, very, very slowly.

Positive experience: Whoever designed the weight room never lifts. I feel like a light saber is piercing through my eyes when I bench. I come out blind after every set

Positive experience: It's... alright. I sometimes walk in and love it but then there are other times where it seems like they cut the air off and the smell of everyone who worked out that day is just lingering and filling the atmosphere with dank and damp sweat. I'm also not the biggest fan of the hours it's open on the weekends, but I'm a person who likes to work out at night so that might be a personal issue. Overall it's a gym with decent equipment and a pretty low key and non judgmental atmosphere (other than that older guy in the weight room who seems to stare at people with daggers). Really not a bad place to work out but not outstanding either.

Fantastic experience: Joined from Crunch SF ( good place too) . This Y and the one at Emberc'o have great facilities and very customer focused staff. Great pool, clean and bright. Start my day at 5.30 am there and enjoying it

Fantastic experience: Best gym in Berkeley. Hands down.

Fantastic experience: Great place, always clean, everyone friendly, love it!

Negative experience: bad smell bad wifi bad attitude bad manage