Vanderbilt Recreation & Wellness Center

Matthew Knowe

The pool has been closed for so long. And it's still closed indefinitely. Student rec fees are for what?

Thomas Zabel

I haven't been here but Google keeps asking me to review it. So I'll say it's good.

Lucas

I’ve held a membership at four D1 gyms in the past, and this is hands-down the worst one I’ve been a part of. The equipment is pretty dated. Free weights have chips, rust, etc. you can never find a pair of working clips. If the gym is full it can even be tough to track down simple things like 5lb plates. Many of the machines dont have free movement, e.g. the lat pulldown has no horizontal give. Newer equipment doesn’t generally force your body through a motion like these older machines do. It looks like there was is a TRX system at one point but it has been covered on the ceiling. Lots of things are simply missing, not working, or need replacement (see photos of tv and water fountain). The locker room looks like its out of the 60s and there is no jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, etc. Their rules and hours flip-flopped continuously through the pandemic - sometimes you had to wear a mask and would be hunted down from across the gym, other times you didnt need a mask. Sometimes you could have guests, other times you couldnt. The hours of operation and open areas have also been a complete crapshoot. Some days you would show up in the middle of the day and it would be closed. Management would justify this by saying “check the website constantly”, as if the onus is on me to hunt down the shifting hours for the gym that i am unfortunately being forced to pay for as a part of my tuition. If you are a full time student during the year, you still need to buy a summer membership separately. This is in contrast to the policies of many other universities. You can certainly get the workout you need here but the aura and management are both off-putting. For whatever reason there is also sometimes a worker sitting in a desk in the middle of the lifting area on their cell phone (see photo). Overall a very odd gym that is certainly not worth purchasing a membership to if you cant help it.

Dominic Lahar

This used to be a fine facility before COVID. They were open to community and alumni and had a variety of classes and summer programs. Over two years on they still haven’t reopened their doors. Meanwhile, other YMCAs with saunas, friendly staff, and updated equipment are passing them by. Why give your money to a university that isn’t part of the community?