TL;DR beautiful pool, beautiful gym…read more PLUSES: + outdoor pool = great view (campanile) + design is old, rustic, and beautiful + huge locker rooms + halls are perfect for a photoshoot

Designed by Julia Morgan and located on the UC Berkeley campus the Hearst Memorial Gymnasium houses…read moreHearst Pool. It looks and feels exactly the way you would imagine the ancient bathhouses of the Romans. Adorned in ornate marble tile decks, colonnaded walls, and spectacular statuary, you'll swear you were in Greece. The bottom of the pool is lined in marble, a beautiful site to take in while submerged in your lap routine. As you turn your head to the side for an inhale either see the iconic Campanile, or one of the many classical goddesses or 'putti' sculptures. You have to have a membership to access. Definitely worth the cost! Paid parking only so ride a bike or walk for an extra workout.

They have 3 different pool with different depth to it, there are attentive and friendly lifeguards…read moremaking sure they rotate turns and that everyone is safe. If you're looking for a place that doesn't close super early during the summer this one's an option.

I've been going here for a few years. Lap pool itself is fine, but the city REALLY needs to do a…read morebetter job cleaning the locker rooms (they get a zero for cleanliness), and they need to offer times when you can lap swim without the family swim. Today is the third time everyone had to get out of the pool because a kid threw up (last two times it was poop). Pretty gross, no matter how much chlorine you put in. I'm considering going back to Golden Bear now that they have better pricing.

First time visiting this outdoor pool faciltiy on 1/17/26 (Saturday) during their public hours…read morewhich opens at 11am. Front desk staff was friendly and I was able to sign up for a 10 visit pass for $51, otherwise it's $6 a visit. I figured this will hopefully keep me consistent for the beginning of the year. The facility itself could use an upgrade but overall it is wat you would expect from an older building. The entrance into the pool is through the locker area which has lockers, changing area with benches, showers, and bathrooms. The pool looks fairly clean on the surface and we'll maintained. There are lanes divided into slow, fast, and medium speeds for circle swimming. Much of the demographics is 50+ during the time I went and they were all spaced out fairly evenly. The pool is actually open earlier for swim club members ($55/month) which is nice for early birds and the crowd seems younger at that time. I was told it's open to the public to sign up for that as well. The water itself was a good temperature. The pool goes from 3 ft to 9 ft. The bottom of the pool was clean on the 3 feet side, but had debris on the floor in the 9ft side. Folks would swim for about 30 minutes - 1 hour and more folks would flow into the lanes. Everyone is respectful and the regulars would chat with one another at the walls. There are kickboards and other supplies you can borrow from in a shed if you'd like. There is a lifeguard on duty. I asked her for the time, but she didn't know it, which I thought was odd because I could hear her talking on the phone or talking aloud. I asked another swimmer for the time and he said there's a clock right behind me, which I didn't see, and I'm surprised the lifeguard couldn't just tell me there was a clock to check. Apart from that, I enjoyed my one hour swim and got a reality check on how out of shape I am. I'll definitely come back to continue swimming and work my way up to the fast lane. Check out more recs and spots in the bay @thefoodhigh

Superb pool. The lanes are wide and the pool is heated. The pool length is 30 yards. The other…read moreswimmer are friendly.

My 4 year old son has been coming here for private lessons for about a half year, consistently. The…read moreinstructors are either high school or college students and depending on the instructor, some are better than others. For the most part, he seems to be adjusting to the lessons, regardless of instructor. The only consistent issue I've been noticing is that whenever there is a schedule adjustment or pool closure which affects the lessons, they are very slow in issuing refunds or credit. In fact, you have to keep on them otherwise you'll probably not receive any compensation back. It has been a week since a recent pool closure affected my son's Saturday lesson, and we still have not received anything. The front desk said that they are "behind."

Wow, coming back to Albany Aquatics Center for kiddo swim lessons is full circle. Back in the day I…read moreswam here for swim meets in high school and now coming back, such a cool moment to be with the family. They offer Tot Swim (including on Sundays) which is honestly such a fun addition. We called ahead of time with a bunch of questions as newbies and inquired about walk-ins. We received answers to everything we needed to be set up with success for our first swim. There's also a super cool vending machine by the bathrooms/showers/changing areas that offers nutritious pre and post snacks, goggles, sunscreen, and I think swim caps too. The indoor pool is super spacious and everyone was respectful (of lanes, hehe). You're able to utilize pool accessories during the swim hours and there's lifeguards on duty with a stop watch to let you know when Tot time is over. We had around an hour and 15 or so. There's an awesome grass area and epic park next door. Parking is accessible in front of center. Can't wait to return! Definitely check the swim calendar online before heading over.

OLYMPIAN GOLD MEDALIST MISSY FRANKLIN…read more I came last Saturday to watch a swim meet between Arizona Wildcats vs. California Golden Bears. The main attraction for me was a chance to see Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin swim in competition. The layout of the facility is different from what I normally see a swim meet on television. First the lanes are only 25 meters long - half of the standard 50 meters lane. Second the facility is outdoor. The facility overall is small than the standard world class swimming facility. However the smaller facility means that you have a great view to see events from the diving competition to the swim races. Another cool feature about the facility is that on the wall facing the spectators you can see years of NCAA championships that Cal Golden Bears team have won relating to water sports - Men's Swimming and Diving Team, Women's Swimming and Diving Team, and Men's Water Polo. Not only did I have a chance to see Missy Franklin swim to win three events - 200M Freestyle, 100M Freestyle, and 500M Freestyle - but also the swim meet was free admission to the public. Where do you have a chance to see an Olympic Gold Medalist compete for free? It appears this is the place to see.

Their website says their open Sat at 11am. I arrived at 1 pm and they were closed…read more Went to Hearst pool, mentioned it the folks at the desk and they couldn't give a damn. Their respond was oh well. Your a college with bright young kids the least you can do is have an accurate website!

Great place with wonderful, helpful people. A fun, safe, integrated workout, that allows and…read morepromotes the use all my skills ..

This place has a great strength training, set up in addition to the rock climbing facility. My…read morereview is based solely on the strength and conditioning side of the gym. It's an excellent gym, but it's a little pricey since the fee includes the rock climbing access, which I do not use. Overall, it's a very good gym for strength training and I plan to be back regularly.

Positives: They…read morehave like 17 squat racks in a room. It's amazing to see. The chemicals in the spray bottles are blue, so I know the workout equipment I'm spraying it with will be clean. The cardio area looked nice but I didn't get a chance to use it when I went two weeks ago. Negatives: Their upper body free weight area is kind of stuffy.

The Berkeley YMCA continues to be my least favorite branch, which is unfortunate because it is my…read morehome branch. A month ago or so, I was there on a Saturday afternoon, and a staff member comes into the locker room to announce they are about to close. I hop in the shower and quickly get dressed. The staff tell each member on their way out that next time, they need to leave earlier. I can certainly understand wanting people to exit by closing time so that you can clock out as soon as your shift is over, but how about setting yourself up for success by starting with some sort of announcement about closing time? Do they really think all members know the exact gym hours -- which vary by the day of the week? I don't think they have public address system, but it would solve the problem of members not being aware that the gym is closing soon. The public library gets everyone out on time by announcing 30, 15, and five minutes remaining. The YMCA should do the same. One more thing: the men's locker room is has an unpleasant air -- and it isn't just from the men. The vents push warm air in for some reason, making it uncomfortable. I guess it's another way they try to get people to leave.

Great pool. Nice staff. Would love longer/more lap swim hours. But overall a great place to swim…read more Fair prices!

I made the mistake of getting a 10-times swim pass card, anticipating that I would be able to swim…read moreuntil the end of September. Well, we are past the first half of September now and I have not been able to use my pass. The heater is broken and the water in the swimming pool is very cold. The administration makes no attempt to accommodate the community. The pool is open in the morning for a lap swim which makes no sense. The warmer parts of the day are in the afternoon, so the water doesn't warm up until 1:30 PM when they close the pool. Also, the weight room opens up at 6 PM so you cannot coordinate workouts. Oh, and the pool is closed on Saturdays and Sundays when most people have free time to use it. Why not open the pool from 4 pm-6 pm, and on weekends, so people could enjoy warmer water and then use the gym? Please, either make a more sensible schedule or refund my money!

Most all of the reviews are accurate. To summarize/add in my experiences:…read more Pros: Clean facilities. You see the janitorial staff constantly cleaning. Plenty of parking (at least after work). Free validated 2 hour parking Clientele are fairly considerate (they'll tell you they're only using one of the 2 cable towers. Ask you if you're using X attachment) Price (4th? cheapest option in the Bay Area behind 24 hour, planet fitness, and crunch) Transparent pricing (you pay first and last month dues and initiation fee, and then annual fee 2 Weeks later) Con The gym itself has a fairly small footprint. It gets pretty crowded during peak hours (e.g. post work rush) The after work crowd dies down around 9. Not a lot of TVS in the gym if you want to watch X sport during your work out. I think the only one is in the bathroom? Guest passes are a ruse. You sign up for one, and they'll you that they're not available for 2 months. But if you sign up on the spot, then suddenly you can get access to the gym. Sauna is perpetually broken Closes pretty early on weekends (8PM) and holidays (usually 4PM) Parking garage ramp is narrow, so might be tricky if you drive a larger vehicle

They are refusing the give people guest passes. They were upset that I refused to sign up the first…read moreday I visited the gym. Because I refused to sign up, they forced me to purchase a day pass. The gym itself is decent. They will make you do a 45-60 minute tour. This is not a friendly environment for individuals looking to shop around. They will refuse your guest pass if are transparent about not purchasing a membership. Manager - Annan Chandler (name given) refused to give me a guest pass because I didn't want to sign up same day. I'm not sure what their standard practice is, but he said he refused to honor the guest pass email and I had to pay to use the facility in which I did.