I have postponed writing a review for East Suffolk Recreation Center despite using the gym for…read moreseveral weeks now. I wanted to make sure I could give a complete overview of the facility. However, since I have not used any other aspect of the Rec Center besides the gym, this review will focus solely on that. A co-worker told me about the gym at Parks and Rec; I had no idea this building existed even though I pass by it on my daily commute to work. It is located on 6th Street and is a renovation project of a historic Suffolk school. The center opened five years ago and is a wonderful resource for the community. Here is the deal on the cost: Each person has to pay an annual membership fee of $20 to Parks and Recreation. There is an additional $10/month to have unlimited access to the gym. There is no contract so you only pay for the months you use it. Michael Frickanisce is the fitness specialist and is there to help show you around the gym and equipment. You can also set up an appointment to receive one-on-one training at an additional cost of $10/hour. The gym has several elliptical machines and treadmills; both have television screens built in which is a wonderful distraction while working out. There are also a couple of stationary and incumbent bikes that are usually available. The rest of the gym is filled with weight machines. I have yet to try these out so I can't say anything about them except they look good. They do ask that you wipe down the equipment after you use it. The gym is open 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays; they are closed on Sundays. I go on weekdays around 9 a.m. and have never had an issue getting a machine. I can't say how busy it is in the evenings but I will probably try venturing over one day to check it out. Saturday mornings at opening are pretty empty. Unlike other gyms that have music blaring, the gym at East Suffolk Recreation Center is a quiet oasis. If you enjoy listening to music while working out, be sure to bring your own. Ear buds are necessary for listening to the built-in televisions on the equipment. There are many windows lining the walls of the gym so you can see the trees and grass outside, helping to get your zen on. If you've been looking for a way to jumpstart a health kick, I strongly recommend signing up for a membership. I have a treadmill at home but found myself always coming up with excuses not to use it. Now I actually look forward to my gym days--that should tell you something right there.

There is a lunch with Santa held every year. Usually the first Saturday in December. Always a…read moregreat time! This is a well kept recreation center! I had never had a compliant about this center. The staff and facility are always in tact. I visited here last Saturday for their annual Lunch with Santa! The event started promptly at 11am and ended promptly a few minutes before 1pm. The City of Suffolk opens there doors to Northern Shores Recreation for a few hours of free fun for the kids. If adults want to participate (eat lunch) they are asked to pay $5 in advance (registration required). But I found out that the in advance registration is only to get a rough estimate of attendees. As a result, if you do not register prior to the event, there is certainly opportunity to register once you arrive. While adults are responsible to pay $5, children are asked to bring an unwrapped toy for a boy or girl to place under the Christmas tree. Now how awesome is that!! So once the adult pays and the child brings the toy...a day of fun begins. During this event you will experience: bounce houses, cotton candy, popcorn, pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus, holiday crafts, coloring, face painting, custom balloons, lunch from Chic Fil A and raffles drawn throughout the event. Now I love a great children's event and I must say Northern Shores has it put together very well!! This was my 2nd year attending and I plan to attend until my 7 yr old daughter tells me she's too old to go. Children ranged from toddlers to 11 years old. And even if your child isn't into Santa it's still a great time for a worthy cause!! I would definitely recommend you mark your calendar for the first Saturday in Decemeber 2015 (when the event usually takes place). You will definitely not be disappointed a Saturday of fun well spent... Also...the picture quality is great as well. If you wish to bring your own camera to take the picture that is totally acceptable! Have fun :)

I visited this center for a private event last weekend…read more I heard about this center before and wanted to check it out, but never got around to it. I still really didn't check it out last Saturday. I only walked in the front door - to the right - and the event was in the banquet rooms to the right. If I had to guess about two rooms were used to accompany about 100 people. Overall, I was please with the center. I did see young boys enjoying the facility. I did notice this center is only open from 12p-4p on Saturdays. Unlike most recreation centers in the area, this one looks to be the the largest or in close competition with others in the city. Plenty of parking! Check them out when time permits. Have fun and enjoy life :)

This center is huge and so amazing. I came here because of tge google reviews and they were so on…read morepoint. Greeted with kindness, everything is spotless, seniors are working out, I mean really pumping iton. I am motivated. The parking lot is wonderful too. Spaces are wider than usual to accommodate newer vehicles. The mixture of ages is very nice. I am jazzed by the positive attitudes and smiles. Loving it.

Everything, staff members were very helpful. Very organized. Building was clean. Large facilities.read more

This local facility is utilized for educational and recreational programs. The opportunity to use…read morethe facilities is always appreciated. It's tough trying to find programs for the kids to participate in that has good coaching and available facility to use. I do believe this location also hosts several Nonprofit entities as well. The location also provides adult training programs too.

Love this recreation center. One of the reasons to feel good about being a VA Beach resident is…read morethat you get an annual membership for $120 and you get access to all the amenities (pool, gym, track, locker room, etc) and classes (tai chi, Zumba, yoga, etc ). Not only at this location but also other recreation centers as well! Parking is ample. You get full view of the pool to the left of the entrance and then the welcome/reception desk and even a peek at the indoor court. The membership signup was a breeze, the staff was helpful. Flyers of class schedule, pool and gym schedule and other locations are all available by the bulletin stand where you take schedule printouts. I cannot wait to start my early morning classes!

Love love love this place. There's so much to offer here. I come at 5am because that's when they…read moreopen. They have the gym downstairs with some fitness rooms, basketball courts, a pool, waterpark, and an aqua track, and then upstairs they have a walking track with an area for personal training. They also offer a few early morning classes, which I take advantage of as well. The employees are always so friendly here and sometimes they're outside in the mornings, waiting to greet you as you come in.

This is my go to..linedance,yoga,and zumba class 3 times weekly..This place is very clean and my…read moreinstructor Policia is the best .These classes are targeted for seniors.

Voting site getting sole usage during Covid. They were polite, well staffed, and organized…read more Parking was touch and go but thankfully, I scored a space. In and out in under 40 minutes. Fields surrounding center are vast and normally well maintained; basketball courts can be iffy depending on weather. Oftentimes there's standing water or lots of sand from small playground nearby, both hazards to hoop'n.

The staff are so nice and it may look like a big brown buliding on the outside but on the inside it…read moreis so cool. My child almost did not want to leave. I rate it 5 stars it is so easy to enroll your child. But they have free snacks after school and 2 vending mechines if your child wants food or drink. They give free snacks after school.and they have fun activeties

It was only the second time I had been to this Rec Center. Neither time included activities. The…read morefirst was to check out the walking lanes in the pool. This time was for an event being held in a large meeting room off the lobby. The location is on the portion of Newtown Road where the road turns east & the remainder is called Diamond Springs Road. This portion of the road actually runs between Haygood Road and that split. On the campus of buildings are also two elementary schools. The land, previously a farm, was donated to the city by the Williams Family, There are definite positives & negatives to the indoor pool. It appeared from my viewpoint to be slightly smaller than that of Bayside Rec Center. The walking lanes are fantastic for those who enjoy or need that experience for therapeutic reasons. But it does take away from the pool space for those who go to swim or just splash. There are outside activities that aren't available at Bayside. A large connected & fenced splash area was great for younger kids running through the water on a hot day. It gave the feel of a series of stationary underground sprinklers. I viewed an enclosed skate board ramp. Adjacent to that was something being used that was below ground level. I'm not sure what type of activity was involved. I didn't venture further down the meeting room hall. But the large glass window room in which my event was held was great & very accessible. One big flaw was the lack of handicapped parking spaces. I only saw four & had to park in hinterlands in terrible heat. This Rec Center is a great addition to this part of Bayside. It's walking distance from a lot of condo's & apartments. So kids can get there very easily in the summer. The Williams family's land donation is being put to good use.

Since my go-to rec center was having a check-up, I have been trying out different rec centers in…read morethe area. I'll say that I had a very pleasant experience at Williams Farm. To be perfectly honest, I had no idea this rec center even existed, but I'm glad that I know about it. The rec center has all of the features of the other local rec centers - pool, open gym, weight room, cardio machines, indoor track, clean (very important) locker rooms, and free (and plentiful) lockers. Extra points for the showers in the locker room because each shower has an additional partition so one can shower in one partition and change in the other. The weight room is pretty comparable to a smaller gym's, but the center has all the equipment that one would need for a general workout. Actually, I think this center's weight "room" (or should I say weight open space) is a bit larger than a couple of the other VB rec centers. I noticed this rec center had a few bench presses and deadlift squat apparatuses. This is in contrast to my regular rec center, which has only one of each. I really enjoyed that the rec center has plenty of large windows so the weight room and indoor track receive plenty of natural sunlight, which leads to a cheerful workout . . . at least for me. The staff was pretty much nice and very helpful in providing directions to different parts of the gym. While this rec center is somewhat out of the way for me, I definitely will visit when my local recenter is closed.

The new renovations are awesome!! Fun for all ages! They…read morealso have a Flick N Float in July!

**There are four regional parks in Suffolk: Bennett's Creek, Lake Meade, Lone Star Lake and Sleepy…read moreHole. But, there are also 14 neighborhood parks as well. I am going to visit as many as I can before I move next month. That is my last parting gift to Suffolk.** Neighborhood Park #2 out of 14 I had no idea that Cypress Park and Pool (CPP) even existed. CPP is located close to John F. Kennedy Middle School but tucked away off Hollywood Avenue. The only public pool in Suffolk was opened in 2011 by Parks and Recreation. According to the city's website, CPP has 30.6-acres, which is quite large for a neighborhood park. I'm thinking part of it must be included in the walking trail that goes into the woods. *Basketball court *Horseshoe pits *2 Picnic Shelters *Grills *Walking Trail *Playground *Lots of open, grassy fields *Restrooms *Outdoor Swimming Pool *Swim lessons *Party rentals (call for more info: 514-7250) When I arrived at CPP around 10 a.m. on a weekday, there was not one person there. Because it was empty and the trail looked hidden, I did not check out it by myself.