I have been a member at the Prospect Park YMCA since 2021, and this has got to be the most poorly…read moremanaged YMCA I have ever been to. I stayed a member for so long because it's a convenient walk from my house, but I recently left here to join the Life Time and I couldn't be happier. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly from my experience. The good: The pool. You really cannot get this anywhere else in/around Park Slope. That said, it is often crowded, with 4+ swimmers per lane, and the swim lane etiquette is not the best. They have lanes divided by speed - low, low/medium, medium, and fast - but basically I've found there is one fast lane, and all of the rest are slow. It feels like the fast-lane users are either former Olympic / Masters level swimmers, so I have to be in this awful position where I'm getting passed all the time in the fast lane, yet people get angry with me for going too fast in the other lanes. That's just my experience though. The bad: The free weight room. Basically, everything is overcrowded, and the etiquette is horrible. The free weight room has ONE power rack, which is insane for such a large gym. This is compounded by the hoards of teenagers that camp at the gym during peak time, sometimes leading to long queues to use any of the equipment. And the etiquette is some of the worst I have seen. People leave weights lying around on the floor or haphazardly put plates back wherever they feel, leading to a ton of clutter and general chaos. There is usually an attendant in the free weight room, yet they do absolutely nothing. Generally, the staff sucks. They do not greet you and just generally seem disinterested except when they are talking amongst themselves. The ugly: The locker rooms are just horrendous. Everything is filthy with dust everywhere. The lockers are super outdated, busted and rusting all over. There are often cockroaches in the dry sauna. But the worst is the showers. I think that was the final straw for me. It genuinely feels like a prison shower in that half the shower curtains are missing, and I even saw a bunch of blood on one of them. The ceiling is covered in mold; they don't even bother to paint over it. I don't need much, but I at least expect a clean and pest-free locker room. The state of it is shameful honestly. There is also no towel service, which is insane for how much you pay. Meanwhile, Harbor Fitness has towels, and the membership there is $76/month. All of this would be fine out of a low-cost, no-frills gym, but the cost of the regular individual membership is $96 per month, which is just out of line. The value is practically non-existent. They will also try to scam you when you try to cancel, saying there is a 15-day notice period, despite that being against the law in NYS. Bottom line, do yourself a favor and don't join this gym.

I have been a loyal patron of this gym for about ~3ish years but only recently started taking my…read moremembership seriously in the past year and started going here regularly. This gym is the best gym in the area by miles and I thoroughly enjoy my workouts here. Yoga classes are super fun, I love the instructors and unlike a lot of other gyms this place is truly home to a community. I enjoy seeing people of all ages and walks of life work out here, it's truly amazing and representative of the neighborhood. The high schoolers can be super annoying in the weight room and I know the staff has worked to curb their rowdiness by assigning them specific hours. I've heard a lot about towel service that used to be here but I've never experienced it, that would be nice to have back. The steam room and sauna are an absolute God send in the locker rooms and I really enjoy that the large pool has been segmented to avoid conflict with other swimmers. I've noticed if anything is out of order it doesn't stay that way for too long which I absolutely love. It's understandable in a big facility like this things will go out of order but maintenance is definitely on top of everything and deserves a shout out. It used to annoy me that the gym closed early but they definitely listened and extended their hours recently till 10 PM which I also greatly appreciate!!

Great gym, staff, huge space, excellent! Accommodating for our needs, very clean and well kept.read more

There is no better gym in New York…read more Here you can not only find some of the most talented fighters in New York, but also friendly folks (both members and trainers assistants) who make it their goal to work with you to make you the best you can be. This gym also has a reputation for helping folks cut weight. I know many members who have lost 30 - 80 (yes, 80!) lbs here! I myself saw a max loss of 28 lbs. (202 down to 174 at one point.) Greg Ardon, the unassuming owner of this gym (known for his training of Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby), has a patient, quiet style that is combined with his extreme knowledge of fighting and a slick sense of humor. With that being said, the biggest lessons you learn here are modesty, self-confidence, and courtesy. These three things are more important than any bag you can hit, weight you can lift, or rope you can skip. I highly recommend you try this gym. 2011 Update: This gym is now officially a pro gym. That means they can train pro fighters, represent pro fighters, and their fighters can compete on a professional level, as well.

I absolutely love this gym. Michael the owner is awesome, and so reasonable. Lina has been so…read morehelpful to me. The gym is clean and so well managed. So wonderful how quiet and clean it is. Im very happy I decided to start living healthy again. Everyone is vaccinated. I feel safe and confident.

Great gym! I joined because of the location but have stayed because it's never crowded and very…read moreclean. When I requested a couple of additional pieces of equipment like bumper plates, the owner personally reached out and got them within the week. Very impressed!

I decided to quit the Armory after a promising few months. I got tired of waiting to use equipment…read morein the weight room, of the teens who never wipe anything down and of the kids in the cardio room who are there to play. Sad to go, it's a beautiful space and the staff is friendly. BTW quitting is NOT easy. I tried numerous times by email while I was travelling for work and landed up paying for months I never used.

After nearly a year of emailing and notifying the gym staff and "complaint box" about, I finally…read morequit this place. The staff doesn't help clean the place up, people don't re-rack their weights, the free weights and kettlebells are impossible to use because they can only be accessed by the classes, there's a single bench press area, a single squat rack/deadlift platform, spin bikes are only available during classes, two benches, and as I mentioned, nearly no available kettlebells and free weights outside of classrooms. Teens take over the place, as do unsupervised children. Lifting on a wooden floor is dangerous. I personally had to put up a "broken do not use sign" on a broken peleton, because the staff didn't notice. There's one plyo box that you have to run around to find. NO showers...in a gym. The manager, Chris, does not address your concerns, even after contacting him personally.

Hello, my old friend. I've been on a bit of a hiatus from Equinox (and instead becoming a Barry's…read moredevotee), though I'll never say no to a good chilled eucalyptus towel. We were staying nearby and my husband had a guest pass and it was either vegging out in the hotel room, eyeing the minibar, or moving my butt, so off I went. This Equinox is situated pretty close to the Insta-famous picture spot of the Brooklyn Bridge that all the movies and TV shows feature, so be prepared to wade through a camera-wielding crowd. The stairs to the check-in desk aren't bad at all. If you want a Stairmaster workout before your actual workout, try the stairs at the Seaport location in Boston. Brutal. Layout is pretty typical for an Equinox - I did appreciate the natural light facing the weights area. Perhaps in a nod to what the clientele are clamoring for, much of the space is devoted to weights/machines, with all the cardio equipment in a smaller cluster near the back. When we went in the afternoon on a weekday, the space, particularly the locker room, was completely deserted. There's also a smoothie/juice bar on the first floor.

Are you ready to start your workout with some stairs? Get ready. This location is all about walking…read moreup those stairs. The moment you walk in you walk a flight of stairs to the mezzanine floor where front desk will greet you. The second floor you have your weights, women's locker room, and main studio. Moving on now to the 3rd floor where you will find the men's locker room, the first sets of elliptical machines and treadmills. Finally, you made it to the 4th floor where you will find the Pilates area, some more treadmills, yoga studio, and cycling studio. The gym is well maintained and clean. You will find towels on every floor. The upkeep is well taken care of before and after classes. This location the layout is different compared to other Equinox locations. Might be med size, but has everything will separated. I like the main studio has a sense of privacy compared to other Equinox locations where the main studio is full exposure. The only thing I don't like is the yoga studio size. On most slow days the capacity is great, but on other days, depending on the instructor, yoga classes can get crowded. Can be a bit challenging when crowded to move around or extend yourself without bumping into the next yogi. You do have a few popular yoga instructors and their class can be crowded. The locker room you don't have much space if someone else is using the lockers. You have to wait in case someone is using the kicker next to yours. Service is good. Have no complaints. Very modest location and nice staff.

well it turned out my emails werent going through and they contacted me right away and fixed…read moreeverything for me . actually impressed i might just join back when i get back to brooklyn . thank you guys

I've been a longtime member of harbor fitness and I think it's the best gym in brooklyn…read more But what the heck is going on with the men's sauna at park slope. It's horrible. The gold standard for sauna is 180 degrees Fahrenheit. It struggles to even get to 160. It's often at 140. This is not acceptable for a sauna. I also despise when people have taken to making it into a steam room. It's f$&ckin stupid. So to members who read this. Stop with that. You want steam go to 92nd location, they have a steam room. The point is to heat your body up and get blood flowing heart rate up and recover. Sauna is not about just getting wet and sweaty. When the sauna was renovated about 2 years ago. You also got rid of the second level , why? Some people want to be up there and get hotter. Also why is the temperature sensor inside with the sauna heater. Is there a reason why it's placed there ? The sauna will never get hot enough. If the sensor is basically next to it. I remember the original sensor before the sauna was renovated was by door. And back then the sauna, never really had stupid A holes putting water on the heater. We would police that and stop them. Please fix the sauna. Fix the sauna please. Please fix the sauna

Visited the website to read about the pool rules. It wasn't clear in explaining that you cannot…read moreenter the pool deck, and understand that all of the pool is the pool deck, without being in a swimsuit. The workers are clear when you get there. Bring a lock, wear a swimsuit including swim top for males wanting to wear any type of tshirt or a white plain tshirt. Clear directions when you get there but the website needs to be more clear. It reads like suggestions rather than mandates. Not against the rules because there needs to be order but just make sure that the website clarifies the rules as requirements. Pool is in great condition, very clean, respectful workers who were kind enough to let me give my kids their towels before I went back to my car to wait for them. I only got one pic. Lots of parking if you get there timely. In my waiting, they closed to capacity based on the number of lifeguard to swimmer ratio. Well run.

This update is about the pool. VH and I had the opportunity to go to the pool this Saturday. I've…read morebeen to a few of the outdoor pools around the city that are open in the summer, and this is the one I like the best. First of all, its size: 330' x 130' x 4', olympic-size pool, i.e. BIG. In fact, this is the biggest outdoor pool I had the opportunity to swim in in NYC. Because of its size (and maybe because this is Red Hook), it doesn't get too crowded. Second, the water: nice and clean, very clear. This pool is clean, a lot cleaner than, say, the John Jay pool in the UES. Third: if you are serious about lap swimming, about 1/4 of the pool is devoted solely to that. This means that, at times, it can get crowded, but the turnover is pretty quick. On a sunny Saturday late morning-early afternoon in August I was able to swim laps without any problem (in the end, only a handful of people were swimming nonstop). Personally I wish the space allocated to lap swimming were bigger, but I guess this is fair enough. There may be hours early in the morning and late in the evening when the pool is open just for lap swimming. Fourth: the changing room is not really a changing room, more like boards put in front of the lockers (which are all of the small type, by the way); and the restrooms remind me of something out of a soviet gulag... Last but not least: grab a delicious pupusa at one of the carts by the park (... and quickly recover all the calories you have just burned swimming).