Kent County Branch YMCA

sam stone

Most the people that work here are very racist, very rude when asked questions about programs and if you are foreign or a person of color they are watching you constantly with their racist look. And the kids that watch the children in the afterschool care program are violent with the children so be careful of your children in this place also.

Deenie G

We had twins that were babies and I'd been inside for 3 1/2 weeks during a snowy and icy winter in 2013. Our family lived out-of-state. The babies were 10 months old and we joined the Kent County YMCA. After a month or two, I could leave the babies in the Kids Care room for two hours... well... I usually had to go change a diaper, but then I could go back and do yoga. Or swim. Or walk on the treadmill. Or - best of all - sit on the recumbent bike and leisurely read a magazine. I really like the staff in the Kids Care, and the front desk staff were always kind and welcoming. Having family out-of-state, I really needed those smiles. I highly recommend the Kent County YMCA. There is an integrity in the staff that I appreciate. They do the right thing. It is a safe place for the community, and it is easy to sit in the lobby, have a snack with the kids, and then let them have fun in the Kids Care. I would watch the kids through the huge wall-length glass window whenever I felt like it. Or, when they were babies, I would sneak over the side of the babies' area and make sure they were okay. They (mostly) always were. Lots of toys, big mats, lots of staff. Kind people. Babies smiling. Mommy happy. If there was a problem, the staff would find me and let me know. It is a very safe place to leave babies and kids. We've been going since 2013.

S Rao

Relatively clean facility with multiple recreational areas however staff can be rather temperamental and classes mediocre. Our interest in swim lessons prompted our visit to this YMCA; however, we were met with a rather rude, unwelcoming aquatics director who either did not answer our questions or brushed them off in a pompous manner. The aquatics classes left much to be desired -- The lessons taught relative to the skills required for progression to subsequent swim levels are out of sync and give an impression of a haphazard teaching schedule; this, combined with discrepant records on any given student's enrolled class -- computer records stating one thing, teachers apparently thinking they're teaching another thing, and enrollment staff trying to decipher the entanglement -- is more than disconcerting, especially given the importance of properly synchronizing teaching skills to the degree of risk associated with interacting amidst a water environment. Suffice to say that since our initial introduction -- and after having subsequently participated in various activities at this YMCA -- deficiencies in the aquatics program and a deceptively subtle yet ever-persistent "chip on the shoulder" demeanor by the aquatics director has prompted us to look elsewhere for a more suitable, hospitable YMCA (Sad to express that at one time this same fellow went so far as to glare at us and, of all things, twirl around a stick while we respectfully picked up some chips that we accidentally spilled on the lobby floor). What once appeared to be a large, clean, well-equipped facility eventually revealed outweighing character flaws. We'll migrate to another facility that exemplifies a welcoming, safe, overall healthy learning and recreational atmosphere for adults as well as our children.

Peter Lecomte

Great place to go. Good for families with kids. I'm a night owl so I would like it if they were open a bit later and the free-weight area gets a bit cramped, but overall they have most things you need for a good work out. Pool is clean and change facilities are clean and bright.