I can see why people would pay big bucks for Flywheel/Soulcycle or CrossFit, but it's roughly $90 a month for membership to this very clean and well-equipped gym with terrific classes. I do spin three times a week and my girlfriend loves body pump; we're lifers at this point. Can't say enough about this place. read more

This is a great gym. It's smaller than the other Y on Rhode Island but it has a more modern feel. The customer service is amazing. The classes are great. I take spin classes with Joel and Michael. They will kick your ass! I religiously attend Les Mills classes with Stephanie and Arnold. It's an amazing place. Also, you can't beat the price! read more

The Y is incredibly convenient to where I live and is brand new so everything is extremely nice. Despite having a gym at my work that I can use for free, I joined the Y because I love their group classes. But I am absolutely over going to the Y every morning and learning that the A/C is broken. This repeatedly happens -- for a while it was okay since the weather was cool but now that it is hot out, it makes working out in the group exercise room really difficult. And because I only joined the Y for the group classes, I feel like I am throwing my money away. If they don't want to fix the A/C that is fine, but they should at least offer some sort of discount to the members who are paying a hefty amount to go to a gym that maintains their facilities so poorly. read more

Nice place! Clean, friendly-staff. Handy bike parking out front. Good equipment. The group classes are much better quality than I expected (for a gym), especially the Pilates classes which are all fantastic! The pool, with steam room and sauna is a really nice touch - though I don't like that members have to pay extra for swimming classes. Love that its located beside Sweetgreen. Would definitely recommend this gym to people in the area. read more

This is one of the best gyms so far in DC area. Staff are super friendly and helpful. It is very clean and full of equipment. Classes are great. Sadly, I need to move out of the area. read more

Very expensive for a ymca but Great gym but very crowded. Excellent offering of classes. Free weight area is too small but they were supposed to be expanding it before I cancelled my membership. I wish that they had more stretching areas as it can get quite crowded and more bench presses and stair steppers. Friendly staff. read more

I was choosing between a few different gyms in the area and I'm excited to say that I'm really happy here at Anthony Bowen. It's a bit higher than I was hoping to pay, but it's worth it for the peace of mind and reliability for me. I've never had to wait for a machine and the bathroom facilities are so beautiful, it's like a spa -- showers, sauna, steam room... the works. Everything feels new and clean. Always plenty of towels, super friendly staff, and I like knowing that part of my membership goes towards community programming. I mostly use the cardio area and enjoy the new machines a lot. read more

I hosted a rehearsal dinner at YMCA Anthony Bowen. The event space is wonderful and spacious and gave guests plenty of room to enjoy the event from indoors or from the outdoor terrace. It was a pleasure working with the staff, everyone was very helpful. From the early planning stages of the event I worked closely with Trenita. Leading to the event day we spoke often and she was always available for phone calls or site visits. The day of the event she ensured that we had everything needed to make the event successful. Trenita and the YMCA Team were accommodating, professional, personable and a joy to work with. Thank you! read more

A beautiful facility that keeps prices low so that everyone can afford to work out. Love the class variety. I'm a big fan of the steam room and pool for lap swimming. Although I don't have kids, I hear the child care option is wonderful too! read more

Other than the lack of cool air and tiny weight room, I really like this Y. Lots of machines and classes, and the women's locker room is amazing compared to the one I am used to in Downtown Oakland, CA. Unfortunately, the location is inconvenient for me to and from work and there is too large of a gap between classes being offered in the AM and PM. I don't understand why classes aren't offered between 1-4p. Sadly, I am canceling my membership. Oh, and if you work for DCPS, ask for a discount. read more

Wonderful gym for the community! I am so grateful to have access to this facility and the people who run it. This YMCA offers so much choice for activities. I go to regular yoga classes and instructors are fantastic. read more

I liked visiting this YMCA during its renovation. Juan Marco del Potro and Taylor Townsend, two tennis pros signed our yellow Citi Open ball. It was a pleasant surprise to have our photos snapped with two tennis pros from the ATP and WTP tours. There were freshly cut peaches, lemonade, and green YMCA summer camp T-shirts and tennis tickets provided to anyone on the sidewalk who walked by during this advance renovation celebration. The line to get into the gym was long but hey at least we rehydrated and met two tennis pros in the process. I look forward to coming back and seeing the inside of this gym. read more

Everything about this place is awesome. It's just as nice as high-end gyms, but it has a much more community feel, and a much more affordable price. I've never had a problem getting my favorite type of treadmill and I tend to go in peak hours (after work). The pool is really nice, and going to the steam room after is pretty amazing. Also, my favorite is Zumba on Sunday afternoons with Marco...you really have to check it out! read more

Overall this is a nice gym. Nice pool, really good cardio equipment, lots of resources in terms of classes and activities etc. . The staff are friendly and attentive. Very child friendly, tons of little goobers taking swimming lessons on Sunday morning. The vibe is very "open concept", you can see into the pool and into the gym quite easily with all of the glass. The free-weight area downstairs is a bit small for my liking. read more

Kickboxing body pump and spin and aerial yoga! And a pool! Super clean! I love it here!

On June 3rd I held my annual Career Day activity for my elementary school students and I invited Mr. Flores of the anthony Bowen YMCA. Unfortunately Mr. Flores was unable to attend, however he was thoughtful enough to send and entire team to my school in his place. Bianca, Chris, Harold and Veronica were absolutely outstanding! The crew walked in the door with a "what can I do to help attitude" and took off from there. Their presentations were well prepared, thoughtful and relevant to the specified audience. My teachers commented on how patient the presenters were and that every child was acknowledged or recognized. Each classroom of students left school that day with a deeper understanding of the Y and its mission. I often tell Career Day presenters that each one will impact one child they will not be aware of. That was not the case with the YMCA Anthony Bowen team...they had a great impact on a great deal of students and they know it, and my school is better off for it. Thanks again to the team members of the Anthony Bowen YMCA under the direction of Mr. Alexis Flores, yo are always welcome at William Paca Elementary School Kevin O,Avery 14 year Y member read more

Very convenient if you live in the neighborhood, love jogging down and getting right into my workout routine. Front desk is receptive to questions and concerns. Gym has personal trainers, I've had two both with different training modalities, but knowledgeable with nutrition, health and open to whatever personal goals you want to accomplish. Very clean space, love the dry/wet sauna. Always clean towels. read more

I've been coming to this gym for about 2 years now, and am at the breaking point to switching to Vida or something else. The actual gym is great, with lots of machines and treadmills. The problem I have is the showers and steam room. The steam room floor is dirty almost 100% of the time. Plus, it is out of service at least twice a week. The showers would be nice, but the shower heads are a joke. And the shower gel dispensers are often empty. I wouldn't really care too much about these issues if I was at a WSC or somewhere cheap. But to pay close to $90 a month, I'd expect the "amenities" to be exceptional. read more

This gym is fairly nice. i almost joined for their pool -- that is their main selling point (IMO) but if you go during peak times, the space is really cramped and you REALLY feel it here. Also, the fact that much of the gym is underground with no windows feels a little dungeon-y. Despite only being a couple years old, the towels feel really grungy, and there's no dedicated place to stretch. The yoga mats are crusty and feel like sandpaper. It's due to a combination of all these factors that i joined the VIDA instead for basically the same price. I don't need to swim. I'd rather have plush yoga mats and towels. read more

Was so excited to join this beautiful gym at the outset but have really grown to hate it. None of the TVs on the equipment are ever working, class instructors almost always seem to have subs and there is no way to give patrons advance notice of the switch. I signed up for personal training sessions and my trainer did not show up for a total of 6 sessions! I asked for a credit and while they agreed, 7 months and multiple emails, calls and visits later I am still trying to get it posted to my account! Beautiful facility but unfortunately really poorly run, I ended up canceling my membership due to frustration. read more

Started coming here recently and love it. Nice concept and compared with other gyms in the area it is reasonably priced.

I initially liked the gym but I'm starting to hate it because the weight area is too small and space they do have I feel is underutilized. I've read that they were expanding the weight area and was holding out before I cancel my membership but it's taking them a long time to get to it. Membership cost is too high in my opinion, as well. read more

I could not agree more with the individual who gave massive props to Francella. She also inspired me to become a fitness instructor and is a delightful spin et al instructor. More generally I'm a fan of the Y's Anthony Bowen - great location, well appointed, nice diverse community, and compelling history. I looked at several gyms in DC before committing to this one. read more

Have been a member for a year and while I like the convenient location and the offerings in general (pool, machines, classes), the enforcement of rules and general maintenance are really weak. Complaints to staff seem to be met with shrugged shoulders. Signs are posted saying we can't leave things overnight in lockers, yet it's always a challenge to find an empty, unlocked locker even at the slowest times. There's practically no one monitoring things in the locker room. There are guys shaving in the sauna, leaving their sweaty clothes on the wooden barrier around the heat source (most likely a fire hazard), and bringing in their own loud music in common areas. Many members use up to 8-10 towels per visit, leave them lying in the sauna/steam room, shower area, or locker room. The most infuriating thing is that many members sit on machines texting or playing with their phones while other people are waiting. read more

Fantastic facilities to be sure - everything is brand new. The locker rooms are really nice too, as are the showers - the stalls are large, individual and the water is nice and hot. This branch is quite large - even during "peak" times I've always seen equipment available. The one con is the weird layout of the men's locker room at the entry - the layout is such that it's hard not to bump into people coming and going. Small complaint, but annoying during peak times. With that said, I don't really use the machines too often but I do go to a number of classes almost every day of the week and have been for a few months. Standout instructors for me are BodyPump and the Grit series with Francella, Arnold, or Melissa. Go to any of those instructor's classes and I will guarantee you will work hard but have a great time and leave feeling exhausted, but motivated. Trevor is also a great instructor of the Grit series - he's a bit different than the aforementioned three, but is excellent as well. Each of them has a teaching style and personality that I think is well suited to both the spirit of the class and to the Y itself - you they love what they do (and if they don't, they fake it well!). Francella also does a spin class and I think she always has the best playlist of any of the spin classes I've gone to, and Joel does as well. Michael's Saturday class is always good too. If it seems like I'm calling out all the teachers, I can assure you I am not - but these are instructors who particularly standout. If you like spinning, Tom is also a fantastic instructor. Elaine is great as well - her playlist favors less pop/dance and more classic rock - I'm sure it's a draw for many. Joel's spinning classes can and do fill up (the others' don't seem to), so get there early. The classes in the group exercise room (I can speak to BodyPump in particular, and Grit to a lesser extent) *do* get very crowded, especially after work. If you can work up the gumption to do the 6am classes for things like Grit or BodyPump, I'd recommend it. Much more space, more focused attention of the instructors. The crowding issue should die down after the New Year's Resolution folks drop in attendance. In the mean time, if you are going to a Group Exercise Room class after work, get there a bit early so you have a good spot (or a spot at all!). Grit is typically much less crowded and since 2 of the 3 classes in Grit don't use the bar, available space is maximized. However, it's also much higher intensity than BodyPump, so be prepared to feel a bit more fatigued. With that said, it's also only 30 minutes, so it's a great way to quickly get in a butt-kicking workout. Unfortunately, some of the instructors there leaves a bit to be desired - one in particular isn't very engaging, but I suppose he might be a better fit for others. I personally think for a high intensity class like Grit that it works best if the instructor is loud, dynamic, encouraging and pushes you. The one I'm thinking of is very quiet and doesn't really have an interactive teaching style. I'm sure some prefer that, but I prefer a loud, motivating instructor for classes like Grit where you are pushing yourself to your limits. I really never thought I'd see the day when I'd enjoy going to work out. The YMCA has totally changed my attitude toward fitness to the point where I look forward to going to my classes. It really has a lot to offer, so while membership is pricey (although in line with other gyms - at the time of this review it was $73/month), the facilities are so nice and the course offerings are so good that I think it's worth it. Edit: I've sadly moved away from this branch and will miss the classes a lot. I did knock one star down for administration. It took me 4 months to get a refund for something and about 20 contacts with various YMCA staff and about ten broken promises to get it resolved. That was frustrating. I also did one personal training session which was mediocre at best. I'm not sure if it's because it was an introductory one or not, but my instructor, while well-intended, seemed to be unable to adapt his planned session for someone who already had pretty high baseline fitness, was at a healthy weight, etc. Also, the AC has been broken several times in several months, for days at a time. I realize that isn't wholly within their control, but it's a big problem if your AC will break for a week at a time, making the group exercise rooms hellish. read more

I have been a member since the Anthony Bowen location opened but the membership rate has increase so much that there is simply no more room left to get a work out. The Anthony Bowen Y is taking the overflow from the closed down town Y, making the problem even worse. It seems greed or necessity has gotten the better of the management because they continue to take new members despite the obvious overcrowding. For example, just today after work the line to get on a treadmill was three people deep. on a regular basis (even early weekend mornings) you need to arrive at least 30 minutes in advance to hope to gain attendance to one of their classes. Even if you do get in, the classes are overpacked making the work out a rather miserable experience--as you all fight over the limited amount of floor space and equipment. The recent addition of two new class rooms has done nothing to alleviate the problem. Last year I liked the Anthony Bowen Y so much that my partner and I chose our apartment in order to be close by. But now we are seriously considering dropping our membership--it is simply not worth the stress and fight to get a work out which is suppose to be a relief from the stress of the day. Moreover, a good deal of the front desk staff are rude and out of touch (although some are pleasant). They simply do not seem to get it, or have any idea how to responsibly manage a fitness club. If you are considering joining, think again, and find some place else. You will be better off in the end. read more

This is the best YMCA I have ever been to. The facilities are top notice and they are cleaned and maintained well. I have been a member of the Y for 8 years and this is much superior to Rhode Island ave. $78 for regular membership. Only minor downside is hidden $40 fee at year end and bacon smell fromSweet Green connected in lobby. I am moving out of area and leaving this gym is my biggest regret. read more

Our family has really enjoyed being members at this Y. From the attentive child care to the quality equipment, it is well worth the investment. I have also used their training services - Ivana L. has worked hard to help me improve strength and general level of fitness. She eeps each workout new and fresh, and very intense. Definitely an engaged coach! read more

Extremely busy now unfortunately. Great gym but can not even find a place to stretch. You have to wait an hr for a treadmill on weekdays. Classes are generally good. Clean gym. read more

Love this place. If only they opened at 5am I would love it even more. The instructors are great and it's a reasonable price by D.C. Standards. Daycare option can't be beat when you are trying to get evening or weekend workouts in. read more

Really nice gym. Pretty laid back as far as environment. Great staff and friendly trainers.

Everything you'd expect from a brand new gym. Shiny new equipment and locker room. I would've given 5 stars when it opened but now it's getting more like a typical gym, with classes getting too packed to join. They've gotta do something about the Sweet Green smell wafting into the gym. There is no door between the Sweet Green and the gym so it makes for a stinky run. Good for the diet I suppose bc I definitely don't want to touch food after my run. They do offer a lot of classes with great instructors, but I would love if they'd add a difficulty level between Y-fit/Krav Maga-type classes and Zumba. I haven't used the pool yet, but it looks lovely. No laundry service like national Y. It's a great deal if you have kids, avg price if just buying for yourself or two-person family. read more

My life has been so much better since this Y opened. Everything about it is great. It's a wonderful gym, the pool is outstanding, and it's a center for the community. read more