A great spa, in my experience…read more I visited on a chilly evening in December, and left wonderfully warmed. The building was clean, simple, and comfortable. Likewise, the attendants I interacted with were friendly and accommodating, making me feel right at home. As for the facility itself, I couldn't ask for more in a Russian bath: a dry sauna, a wet sauna, multiple dipping pools, a big locker room and secure lockers -- the works, and all at a reasonable price! I had zero issues during my time there, and would gladly return. My sincere thanks goes out to all associated with this business. I am grateful for, and have benefited from, your work and service. Keep it up, ladies and gents!

The place is closed, I tried to call them 3 times; there's no answer! Don't waist your time going…read morethere!

A peaceful oasis from the noisy bustle of nyc. A walk around the perimeter will take probably an…read morehour or less. I believe a bus gets there from Flushing 7 train stop. Its an old fort where the park rangers periodically give talks about history. There's a lot of construction in the area and its surrounded by water. I believe there are portable bathrooms there and the Bayside Historical castle looking thing there. On the upside I saw a groundhog so maybe this blustery fall weather may give way to a milder temperature.

The beautiful fall weather helped a lot The park was busy but not crowded at this time of year…read more The battery was the coolest for photos and interesting view. The historical society home was nice, but I thought it was a self-paced open house tour. It was led by docents and we didn't have enough time to take advantage of the full tour and had to duck out after the first five minutes. This is close to several restaurants so it's a very convenient day trip getaway.

Pool has really stepped up their game this year. Helpful staff, friendly, pool always clean and…read morestaff very friendly. Enjoying the summer.

Extremely unprofessional establishment…read more They lack consistency when it comes to pricing, rules, and openings hours. Everyone who works there thrives in toxicity, they're no such thing as an authority figure handling concerns or ensuring the facility is run properly It seems like there's no supervisors at all, there's no one available who genuinely seems interested in helping if you have any issues and concerns. The pool itself is often dirty, which is disappointing considering the number of people paying to be there. The check in process is also extremely slow. It shouldn't take 15 minutes or more to check in each guest, especially when people are standing outside in 100 degree NYC heat. The staff and lifeguards are another major issue. While I understand many of them are HighSchoolers, that doesn't excuse rude behavior or a lack of professionalism. Many of them come across as disrespectful for no reason Another frustrating issue is the inconsistent rules. They seem to change from day to day, sometimes even within the same week. I understand the purpose of adult swim at a crowded pool, but constantly changing the age requirement without clear communication only creates confusion and unnecessary frustration for guests. Overall, the management, cleanliness, customer service, and inconsistent policies make this a disappointing experience. They don't have any respect for anyone they are just rude and act based on their mood would give zero starts if i could!!!!!

I see some frustrating reviews, while some have a point, but some might not telling the whole…read morestory. I'd like to add in from what I see. The pool will close early if there's an extreme weather like thunderstorms which not suitable for swimming outdoors. The snack bar is pricy, so as the membership. Kiddie pool may have bugs sometimes, but still clean enough to use. They're pretty strict about the rules, not flexible, it seems mostly just protecting their profits, most of the times are understandable. The facility is members only, or paid guest that brought in by a member. To address another reviewer's concerns, non member swimming lessons takers are only allowed to use the pool for the lessons only. That price doesn't include all other facilities, of course besides shower stall and changing room. You have to pay to use their facilities like the pool and playground, etc. Parents got plan better. While I can see it's frustrating to have a young kid waiting in the heat, but I don't see it's the management's fault that you didn't pay to enjoy them. You're lucky if they didn't catch you and let you use sometimes, that doesn't mean you're entitled to. It's unfair to all the members/ guest that paid to use them. On the lessons pricing, I personally think the package is a great deal. The single lesson is 85, while they offer discount on packages, the more you take the more discount you get. They offer different discount rates on 4, 8, 12, 16 packages. As of 2026, 16 lessons package is 615, it goes down to about 40 per session. That's almost half of the price compared to single lesson and other swim school like saf-t. I don't think it's reasonable to buy a package, then ask a refund per session with the package discount. If you take only 1 session, it seems reasonable they charge you the single lesson rate less the discount for the package. I don't see any noodle/kick-board offered by the pool. Members/guests bring their own. There are staffs that are nice and more accommodating. While others, seems like high school/ college students have no experience in handling situations. Once I missed my turn to go to an activity, the kid there signing the seat just telling me no, nothing can be done. While at the end of the day, I was just kind of complaining to the office, they were more understanding, and managed to squeeze me in since they have availability towards the end of the day. I didn't go at last, but their attitude made the experience completely different. Overall I think the facility is nice, offers activities throughout the week. Some staff needs more training to have a more accommodating mindset. If you have money to spare, it's a nice place for the summer.

Pool is nice and big, however, the "noodles" and kickboards have not been replaced in years and…read morethere are so few of them. The snack bar prices are a bit steep for a snack bar and they don't have enough people working there. You can wait on line for food and drinks for 20 min. They also need bug zappers. Locker room should be cleaned or at least the floor should be dried several times a day. Please enforce no loud music. Great music throughout the day but some people bring speakers and play some crappy music very loudly. More table in shade needed in snack area

Birchwood Towers has a private pool which is open to non residents for a small fee. Our group of 3…read moreadults and 4 children, ages 2-6, paid over $100 to get in, but left within the hour due to the rudeness of one employee, namely a young lifeguard with long, blonde, wavy hair. She kept yelling at our kids, who are very well behaved and disciplined, while we were right next to them. A different approach could have been taken, such as telling the parents and not the kids directly. No one is allowed to yell at my son, except for me, I am his mother. Working with children requires patience and although we will not be returning, I thought Birchwood Towers should know and provide the appropriate training to their staff. Again, this review is based on the inappropriate and rude behavior of only one employee. The facility itself was very well kept and not crowded.

Update 2nd heatwave of the season and you cant swim in the water. The pool is heated and to hot to…read moreswim in. When it is 95 degrees out you want to swim in a cool pool. Not a hot bath. Literally they had the heater blasting on a day where it felt like a 105 degrees. Very unhealthy. It wouldn't be so bad there if the pool was cool. Noone wants to sit outside in heat and jump into a 96 degree temperature pool. Do better Birchwood pool committee. People pay a lot of money to live here to have access to a pool for the summer.

Beautiful well kept apartments Attentive maintenance staff…read moreBeautiful neighborhood Buses, railroad and parkways at your doorstep Parking and a pool club One block away from a vital shopping center

prices went extremely up which is absurd makes me not want to come as often from last year i asked…read morefor a towel however they wanted to charge $5 which it doesn't say on the flyer!! and bathroom was filthy they don't check on it nor the kiddie pool

Love Bay Terrace now, it looks like they're under new management. Everybody is super friendly and…read moredown to earth. My instructor is great: very professional, really good at explaining technique and making it fun at the same time! The courts are well maintained. And they have a pool next door :) Location is awesome: it's right next to the Bay Terrace shopping center, so I can tie my lessons in with errands and getting refreshments afterwards. Works perfectly for my busy schedule :)

New management just started in May, 2016. Great to see. New pro staff with very friendly and…read moreprofessional top notch service.

The pool just came off a two-year, $19 million renovation -- closed after the 2022 season, reopened…read morein June 2024. Crews rebuilt the pool shell from scratch, replaced the deck and gutters, and put in new filtration and chemical treatment systems. The water itself feels noticeably better for it. That said, don't expect the renovation to have touched everything: the locker rooms, bathrooms, and communal showers are untouched, still the same ones I remember from before construction started. I was there again yesterday and can confirm: nothing's changed on that front, and honestly you won't be in there long enough for it to matter much. Access is still free, no Parks membership required, just a bathing suit and a padlock for the lockers. Security is strict about bag checks, and heads up: cell phones aren't allowed on the pool deck at all. Current hours: 11am-7pm daily, with the pool closing for cleaning from 3-4pm. Inside, you'll find the pool split into zones: a lap section, a general bathing area, and a shallow end for young kids. The bleachers give you plenty of space to stake out a spot for towels, and if you're lucky, you can grab one of the lounge chairs near the old diving pool (now covered over). Lap swimming has genuinely improved. The biggest change I noticed: there are now dividers separating the lanes, and they're generously wide. A real upgrade from the old system where everyone just shared open water and hoped for the best. A few things still apply, though: - Always glance ahead before pushing off to make sure no one's swimming toward you. - Roughly half the lap crowd sticks to a slow breaststroke pace. - Every so often someone decides to stand up and walk mid-lane, or just doesn't realize it's a lap-only zone. Lifeguards try to keep traffic moving, but it happens. - The pool's sheer size still works in your favor: way more room per lap than a standard 25m pool, and less crowded overall than most NYC public pools. - Timing tip: the best window for lap swimming is right at 4pm, the moment the pool reopens after the cleaning break. It might be the single best hour of the day to swim here. No outside food on deck, but there's a stand on the west side of the pool deck selling burgers, hot dogs, fries, wings, mozzarella sticks, salads, and ice cream. Cash and card both work. A heads-up: No tap-to-pay, since phones can't come out on deck anyway. Even with all the crowds NYC pools can attract, I've never found this one packed. Same goes for the surrounding park. Because it's a bit of a walk from the nearest subway stop, the crowd here skews heavily toward local families rather than people coming from across the city. This means that this pool never really gets crowded, let alone anywhere near capacity. If you're driving in, it's an easy trip: there's free public parking right at the entrance to Astoria Park, under the RFK Bridge. Speaking of pool renovations gone right: maybe for the Reflecting Pool the Trump administration should've called whoever redid the shell here at Astoria. This one's still holding water: No algae blooms, no peeling liner, no $16 million overrun. Sometimes the WPA crews from 1936 still know something the current contractors don't.

PUBLIC POOL: It's been a couple of years since the Pool became operational again, after a massive…read more$19 Million renovation. Spent many Summers at NYC's largest Swimming Facility both as a camper and a counselor. WORTH VISITING.