The pool only opens 5 days a week, 2 hours per day. Yale is really not the place for sports. read more

Payne Whitney Gym - Gyms Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Seats are uncomfortable. Gymnasium in need of renovations. No bad seats when watching girls game. read more

Payne Whitney Gym - Gyms Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

We attended the Ivy League basketball tournament here. Here's the problem with everything at Yale -- the architecture is fake. It's intended to look really old, but it's only been around maybe 80 years. The contractors back in the day poured acid on the buildings to give them a weathered look. The gym itself is fine for an Ivy League court. Let's be clear, it's no Palestra -- and it's insane that the tournament was moved away from that location because of the perceived home advantage to Penn. The Whitney Gym is a big step down, which will become even more massive when the tournament moves to places like Dartmouth. We were seated somehow in the middle of the Yale student section, which smelled like a combination of guacamole and weed. Bathrooms are in the basement and there's only one food concession stand, but the good news is that so few people go to women's basketball games that we were able to move down to the first row. read more

Payne Whitney Gym - Gyms Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Terrible management. Does not answer emails and cannot reach anyone to cancel my membership on time. They charged me membership despite my having emailed to cancel 2 months in advance. read more

I want to love PW Gym. I really do. I've gone here religiously for the past 4 years during college but now that I've graduated, it's numerous flaws are more than just inconveniences. Let me preface by saying that if you're a varsity or club-level athlete at Yale, PW will treat you well and cater to you. If, however, you happen to be like 90%+ of the gym's membership and are not a varsity athlete, then you will be sorely disappointed. This is the biggest issue with PW -- it is a gym catered to the wants and needs of Yale's athletic programs. It sees its commitment to its other members as secondary and it shows. On paper, PW has many attractive amenities that would make it an excellent gym. If you ever try to use many of these amenities, however, you'll be incredibly frustrated. Want to swim in our beautiful indoor swimming pool? Sorry, it's only open 2 hours a day. Also, it isn't open in the morning or evening when people could use it before or after work, it's open 1-3pm. Why? Because the varsity swim team wants to practice. Are they practicing for 15 hours a day? No, PW just doesn't care enough to provide accommodating hours. It is absolutely mind-boggling. Want to run on our air conditioned indoor running track? Well sorry, that too is going to be closed 4 hours every afternoon so the basketball team can practice. I'm sorry, can someone please explain how my running on the track 2 stories above the basketball court interferes with their practice? I pay a significant amount of money to use these amenities. Why is it that I can seemingly never use them? And in all the 13 stories of space that PW has to its name, you, the member, are provided with about 5000 square feet of space to exercise to your hearts desire (which, to no one's surprise, gets incredibly crowded). On their website, they'll proudly boast of the fitness center's 20,000 square feet of space available. What they don't tell you is that fully half of that space is the realm of varsity athletes only. It's literally behind a wall. You can't even look at it. Parking is practically nonexistent. There's parking available for Yale employees and metered street parking. That's it. If you have to commute to PW like I do, this is not a small issue. I have tried to ask multiple times about all of these problems and why they won't fix them and the collective response can be most aptly summarized as "F#*$ you, that's why." To top it all off, the area in the fitness center that PW deigns to allow its members to use is incredibly unorganized. Weights are haphazardly places wherever. Despite the gym closing 3 weeks out of the year for "cleaning," I've never seen this area cleaned or organized at all. There's plenty of cardio equipment though. Most of the positive reviews seem to be "look at the architecture! It's so pretty!" and things of that nature. Look, if all you care about in a gym is how cool the exterior looks then god bless. Take all the pictures you want. But if you're someone that is looking for a real gym that is committed to providing the best it can for its members, then this place is not for you. read more

When I first visited the Yale campus a few years back, I remember exploring with a friend and wandering into what we thought was a grand cathedral. As it turns out, the building was initially commissioned as a cathedral, but when the original donor kicked the bucket, Yale decided it needed a gym. Or something like that. The building, when not swallowed up in ugly blue scaffolding, is worth an ogle. I've been told that it is the second tallest standing gym in the world. Not too shabby for a school whose football team keeps losing to Harvard. I actually venture inside once in a while and use the facilities. The free student membership is nice, and lockers are affordable and easy to split. Despite the massive size of the Payne Whitney building, the actual weight room is rather small and gets crowded at certain hours. There are a number of ellipticals and treadmills, but the cardio machines are always in high demand, and during peak hours, you'll get dirty looks if you exceed thirty minutes. The weight machines are on the older side, but perfectly functional, and are less susceptible to crowding than the cardio. There are also mats in back for stretching, abs, napping, and they fill up only occasionally and the wait's never bad. Bottom line: the weight room is pretty average for such an extravagant-looking gym, but it's also perfectly adequate. Locker rooms are plenty and never crowded. The best room is on the second floor, but the lockers are also more expensive. The rest of the gym consists of various courts and classrooms. Looking for squash courts? Look no further. Indoor swimming pool? Payne Whitney has two. The place is impressive, no doubt, and necessary to the lifestyles of many Yalies. I'm the one reading a book between sets, looking like I probably don't want to be there. read more

It's such unique experience to walk into a church like building and watch basketball. The arena is set up perfectly, it actually looks bigger than what the official attendance is. Location is not great but there is terrific pizza in New Haven. I'm normally able to get street parking about 5-10 min walk. No bad seat in this place. It's most unique arena in college basketball. Yale fans created a tough environment to play in. This was good venue for Ivy League Tournament even though The Palestra is better. read more

Payne Whitney Gym - Penn vs Harvard - Gyms Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Payne Whitney Gymnasium is the largest gym in the world. It is a nine-story tower, and it includes a fitness center, one practice pool, one exhibition pool (with room for more than 2,000 spectators!), a basket amphitheater, a squash center, a golf center, fencing salon, exercise and dance rooms and even rowing tanks! It's really huge!!! It's free for Yale college students and it isn't so expensive for other Yale students or staff (and their families!). You can check the fares of the memberships on their website. I'm in love with the architecture of PWG. Before crossing the door, you don't realize you are entering to a gym, it seems to a church or a temple, a sports temple! The fitness center is fully equipped, with a lot of modern treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, and all kind of weight machines. They also have flat TVs to entertain yourself while you are exercising. You can buy drinks from the vending machines or you can free refill your bottle with water from the dispensers in all the floors. It's really great to have this gym in the campus, enjoy it! read more

See all

I am writing this from the perspective of a visiting spectator at a basketball game. I attended the Ivy League Tournament. Architecturally, the building is Neo-Gothic by a noteworthy architect. While it is interesting to explore, it doesn't function especially well. For instance, the men's room is hidden in the basement, and is simply marked "restroom." For basketball, PWG is relatively small venue, yet it has a lot of bad seats. While mid-court seatings is generally good, seating on the sides is often partially blocked and you have to twist your head to see most of the court. The seats themselves are relatively comfortable given that they appear to be original. It is not very good acoustically, but not nearly as bad as Jadwin at Princeton. The ticketing team didn't seem ready for an event of this scale. The food concessions were very limited, but again, not as bad as Jadwin. read more

For a university gym this place isn't too bad but for a place like Yale I was hoping for more equipment. But it does have that retro gym feel. Nothing beats metal plates and old rusty bars. It sets a great tone for your work outs. Definitely a lot of open space. Tall ceilings and bright walls. You have about 5 deadlifting matts "platforms" and a decent amount of benches. A good range of dumbells from 5 - 150lbs. Some are missing but you can manage. You have your basic cable machines and other assisted equipment. They have locker rooms with showers and saunas as well as an olympic size pool. Tracks are available as well. racket ball too. A good all in one gym. They offer discount prices for students, staff, and employees, so take advantage. It's located in a great area in terms of location to the university and hospital so thats one good thing about it. read more

This place is garbage. I would assume Yale's exercise facilities would be excellent... but PWG is straight trash. As a serious lifter and career firefighter, I joined ONLY because I was told I can do Olympic lifts in the Israel fitness center. I was told today (a month after joining) that I can't do Olympic lifts. Not to mention most of the equipment is junk and outdated, and the only weights that are organized are the dumbbells. So pretty much the only highlight of working out here is being able to tell people you lift at Yale's gym. I'm sure they won't miss my membership fee but I sure won't miss Payne Whitney Gym. Peace out. read more

I used this gym on and off for a few years and I was pretty fond of it, in that way that you are fond of even a half-decent gym, be it endorphins, the satisfaction of taking care of yourself, a self-righteous spring in your step, whatever. I was well beyond my undergraduate years, but easily the average age of the Payne Whitney Gym-goer. It's truly an all ages show. I swam in both pools regularly, and I loved them both. As I remember it, the open lap swimming schedule was relatively accommodating. I used the cardio machines, but less often - the room is crowded, stuffy and drear. I took a yoga class with one of the worst yoga instructors of my life. But I know some of their instructors are great, so I think I just chose unwisely. And the class was held in a beautiful, well-ventilated, vintage basketball gym tucked into a corner, oh, I don't know, somewhere in the building. The soft indoor track is awesome, especially since you can distract yourself with the action on the courts below. This is in some brand-spanking new annex of the gym, just past the crew tank. If you're getting lost and breathless, enjoy it. My least favorite thing about the gym was the floor of the third floor locker room, which needed to be cleaned much more often than it was. But the locker room itself had fine lockers, a sauna (which was quite clean, as no one used it), a suit spinner and a big old-fashioned scale. If you have the opportunity to join, give it a try. read more

The gym is very fancy looking from the outside, and is the second-largest gym in the world by cubic feet according to Wikipedia. Inside it doesn't seem super fancy, but it's more than adequate for a university gym. I am a runner and so mainly use the gym because it is one of only a few gyms in the area with an indoor track. The track is nicely maintained, although you never know when a whole sports team may show up and do organized sprints around you. (This could probably be solved by going to the gym at a less popular time). The weight room can also be crowded, but it has lots of machines and free weights, so even though you might have to wait for the exact machine you want, you can usually find something else to do in the meantime. I'll have to explore the rest of this huge building to see what else is offered. I know there are several swimming pools, and even a pool for the crew team to row in! Permanent lockers and towel service are extra charges. read more

no frills, but a very large gym with all amenities. they have all that I need for a great workout: stairs machine, elliptical (cool new machine to try that makes you feel like you're gliding), and weights. great for those swimmers and avid squash players also. membership is restricted to Yale affiliates only. read more

See all

Strengths: Olympic pool that often has available lanes during open swimming time High ceilings and natural light in the main work-out room Lots of cardio equipment, resistance machines and free weights Scales (now fixed) To do: First and most importantly, create a culture of innovation, improvement, feedback, goal-setting, benchmarking, measurement, accountability, and performance incentivization - which may require bold, decisive action on employment agreements and labor relations Replace the CRT TVs (not kidding) with large flatscreens Clean (since 2001, over perhaps a couple hundred visits, I can't recall once seeing anyone cleaning anything - yikes) Put in modern exercise bikes. For instance, of the ones there now, one set of them jerks when used standing Stop errant alarms, e.g., in the 3rd floor men's locker room Put in eucalyptus towels :) Extend hours to 6am - 10pm, 7 days a week Get a complete first-aid kit, a fellow traveler tells me Bring in a fresh juice bar read more

A top spot for all Yalies, athletes and non-athletes alike. If you want to play pick up basketball, you can usually find a group to play with, just remember to bring your own ball (not everyone is used to sharing). I am a former track and field athlete, but I love playing basketball, so that's why I ventured to the Payne Whitney Gym in the first place. For runners however, the track is very nice, but don't be surprised if you have to move to the outer lanes if a Yale team is having practice. They also have a weight room, which has elipticals you can use. If you want to feel the "payne", definitely try out the free weights. :) It's a large building, and there is a pool too, although I've never used it myself. Hope this helps!!! read more

I've been going to PWG 4-5 times a week for about 9 months. I was especially happy that they extended their hours to 11pm (weekdays during the school year) since I'm so busy in clinic, classes, and meetings, often until really late at night that it was difficult to get to the gym by 9pm to destress. Great job with that. Additionally, since last week, I noticed the student workers cleaning every single machine - all the nook and crannies. It was quite odd at first because it was unexpected, but dang, the gym looks fantastic and I don't smell of someone else's BO by the time I get home. That's always appreciated. Keep up the good work! Also, what happened to that one oblique machine? It's just gone. read more

Lots of room to workout. Only recommendation is to avoid the after work hours (5-7pm) because everyone and their mother goes at that time.

We went to the Ivy League basketball tournament here. With the low ceiling and small size, it got loud quick and made for a great college sports atmosphere. It was by no means deafening, my son and I could still hear each other talk. Nice size concourse/hallway area and it wasn't overly crowded. Concession stand had ok food options and they were selling hot sandwiches in another area. Payne Whitney Gym is centrally located near The Shops at Yale. There was parking close by. Overall, a good experience. read more

As a professor who has used this gym a lot, I can honestly say AVOID AT ALL COSTS. This gym is terrible. It is outdated and the equipment is from the 1970s. I only use it because I'm on campus so it is close to put up with all of it. Half of the equipment is always broken. Yale just spent millions to clean the exterior of the building but they won't spend a few thousand to get decent spinning bikes or treadmills, etc. The hand sanitizer is never filled, and the equipment not very clean. On top of that, it is more expensive than other gyms in the area. AVOID AT ALL COSTS! It's a total dump! read more