Vanderbilt YMCA

the worst place I’ve ever stayed in, terrible staff, receptionists and security personnel are hostile and ill-​mannered. for floor there as 60 rooms and 2 wc and 3 showers for men and the same for women.

I stayed here for 6 nights in March 2016. First off, check in can be a sort of long process. Staff seems relatively new, and so that may have been the reason why. Also expect the front desk to be closed past 11PM, in which case you would have to talk to security to check in.
Next, if you are a younger traveler, expect to be given a room in the higher floors. This is the BAD part. If you are in floors 8 – 10, this is where they place large groups who are typically teenagers traveling in groups from Europe.
I was placed in the 10^th floor which was a terrible experience. The walls were dusty, and had holes. The room was run down, and the people in the hallways were loud and distracting. I didn’t want to sit in my room AT all. I had a truly terrible first experience. Finally, I decided to complain to the staff and was given a room on the 4^th floor.
Things were SIGNIFICANTLY better. The room was clean, the bathroom was even cleaner, and the other guests were quiet and kept to themselves. The rest of my trip was GREAT and it met all my expectations. Obviously, it’s not the cleanest hotel, but it would fit most of your needs. Room cleaning service staff was polite, and the restrooms were awesome. My only tip is be prepared to wait to use the restroom in the morning (8−10AM).
As far as hotel services itself, there was some basic stuff. I never used the pool or sauna, but I did go into the weights room which seemed outdated and old. I went on my first day and that was the end of that. As I mentioned before, staff seems undertrained, and there have been times when I’ve walked into arguments and it was very awkward to say the least. Definitely ask for a thicker blanket as it does get cold in the night sometimes.
All in all, I wouldn’t recommend this place UNLESS you were traveling solo or with a group of friends who were under 30. It’s not the cleanest of hotels, and you won’t want to stay inside for too long. It can get noisy throughout the day, so sleep might be hard to come by. Although it is in walking distance of everything, and not in a terrible neighborhood, there’s still better options.
Expect an OK staff, decent room, decent bathroom, and OK experience. For the value, it’s great. But if you’re willing to spend more money, definitely do it. It’ll work for a couple nights, but after about 6 days at the hotel, I was about ready to go home.

Facilities are pretty good, the renovated weight room in particular. Lap pool is decent, the temperature is a bit on the cold side for me, but I may just be a baby. Despite it being busy, I could always find space. Andrew and Brent who teach kettleball and strength training classes are awesome, amazing.
However, their customer service leaves much, much to be desired, which is why I’m no longer a member. I was with my ex once. We were waiting to see a membership rep because a glitch in the system was saying she had not paid for the past month. She had called sometime before, and they acknowledged it was a computer error, and told her to come in to straighten it out.
At 8am, she walks up and asks, «Are you someone I can talk to about membership?»
The front desk clerk bites her head off, «I’m here. What do you think?»
???
We were there because of their mistake; she has a busy work schedule and can’t always make it in for their membership hours. But we came in way early because they said so. Incredible to be treated like this.
Not worth the attitude. No excuse for the attitude from staff. Btw, she’s also been harassed several times by the security guards because her card was coming up as ‘delinquent’ when as mentioned above, it was a simple computer error. I don’t think basic politeness is too much to ask, unless it is here. No thanks.

I was comfortable here. Security was good at the front desk, my tiny room was suitable for sleeping. The bed was firm, but clean. The price was fair. I spent very little time in the room anyway, and it accommodated fine for my needs. By the time I got back into my room I was exhausted and fell asleep right away. Shared bathrooms were different to me, but they kept those clean as well. Staff was very friendly.

This is for the gym.
Overpriced
Understaffed
I was a member years ago when it was much more economical and well run. Was looking to join basically for the pool but concluded it is not worth it.

What can you expect from an Y. Room was small. nothing functioned in the room.
But hey you are in new york. you are not there to stay in your room, so we hardly did.
It was situated perfectly, almost everything was in walking distance. Back then i was single and with a friend, so our standards weren’t very high. No problem then, but now, with my wife, i wouldn’t return there.

While the gym facilities are good and the gym staff and security are friendly, the staff at the reception desk have ZERO customer service skills! Coupled with a bad attitude, there is an extreme sense of entitlement. I work in the neighborhood and the Y has a large base of customers from my organization. Needless to say they need to treat their corporate members will respect else they face a reputational risk with a large base of their clients.
Essentially to recoup once month’s fee when I insisted that I am currently not using the gym (recovering from surgery), even though I was happy to pay the reduced ‘freeze fee’, I was still charged the full fee. I have been a member for 3 years and they preferred for me to cancel my membership (annual amount of almost $ 1,000) rather than charge me the freeze fee. Essentially they lost a revenue of over $ 900 for not being flexible, as I duly went ahead and cancelled my membership! Great business sense!
This of course was not been my first negative experience here. Signing in a guest (even with a pass provided by the Y themselves) is a pain and my locker was also broken into and money stolen (though I do understand that this can happen anywhere)!
I doubt any efforts will be taken to improve the attitude as there is a sense of a ‘government organization’ here with employees in comparison with other gyms, in some serious need of ‘training’.

I like to workout. I don’t have the best physique, but I try to stay in shape. I workout on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. My workouts consist of cardio (running on a treadmill), weight lifting, and sometimes isometric exercises (push-​ups, pull-​ups). I follow a strict regimen. The only time I’ll skip a workout is if I’m sick, it’s a holiday, or if it’s a life or death situation (ie. something happened to one of my relatives).
At all MTA subway stations are a list of lines that will have weekend construction. Those lines are either rerouted on other lines, running local instead of express, or replaced by shuttle buses. I take the E train from Jamaica Center to Manhattan. Yesterday, I checked the weekend service advisory. It said NOTHING about any construction on the E line. I took the E train to my normal workout on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, the train decided to run local. FML.
I usually workout at the Parks Department East 54 Street gym. However, that gym closes at 4PM on Saturday. The train was crawling and I knew that there was no way I’d make it to the city by 2:45 (I workout from 2:45 to 3:30 and then I shower and get dressed). However, there was no way in hell that I was missing a workout. If I did so, then that would throw off my whole regimen. With that in mind, I decided to head to the nearby Vanderbilt YMCA and purchase a day pass.
PROS
The gym is immaculate. I didn’t see any garbage on the floor. Even the bathroom and showers were clean. It looked like one of those gyms that professional athletes use
There are enough exercise machines for everyone to use. It’s not like the ghetto gym I usually go to where 1 guy hogs a machine for a half hour or half of the machines are broken
You can watch TV while you run on a treadmill
The weight room is amazing.
CONS
$ 30 dollars for a day pass? WTF. Their monthly membership is also quite steep ($ 95 a month plus a $ 125 one time joiner fee). I pay $ 150 a YEAR at the welfare gym that I go to
There’s an old expression: You get what you paid for. The tuition at Columbia is much higher than the tuition at City College since Columbia is a better school. Likewise, this is a more expensive gym than the NYC Parks Department gyms since it’s a better facility

Good place for a cheap stay, dorm style showers and bathrooms. Very very small rooms but suitable just for a sleeping and storage area.

Note: this review is for the gym, not the hotel.
I live in the neighborhood and have been looking for gyms that offer pools. I’ve been a member of Blink Fitness (a barebones gym costing just $ 25 a month); though I’ve been pleased with the club, I wanted to see where else my dollar could take me. I picked up a complementary day pass online to check out the facilities on a day off (a Tuesday in November). After checking in at the member services desk, I was free to come in and out of the Y during that day.
The Y lists all of its classes online on its website. I decided to take a spin class. The instructor, Terrence, was awesome! I hadn’t done spin in a while and he helped make sure I was on the bike correctly. Plus he had a ton of energy. At the end of the class he gave every participant a high five which I thought was cool.
The cardio section looked spacious and I do appreciate that this gym has multiple large exercise rooms for classes. However, the décor is very drab and the signage is confusing. Finding the staircases from the lobby to the 3^rd floor, where my spin class would take place, was not an intuitive process.
Note that the Y mandates that all swimmers to wear a swim cap. They sell different models at the lobby if you don’t have one, staring at $ 10.
I really wasn’t a fan of the pool. Just getting to the pool is a real process, involving going down multiple staircases. I swam at 11:30 am and checked to see how the pool fared at 6 pm (the time that I normally would be working out). During both times, lane occupancy was between 2 – 3 people. The Y clearly dedicates each lane to specific speeds (from slow to fast and everything in between). Swimmers were courteous; the pool has signs requesting swimmers inform others before sharing a lane, which is helpful. The pool itself is 4 feet deep all around, and diving is prohibited.
During my look around at 6 pm, another of the pools was empty (usually used for classes as opposed to lap swimming), which is a bummer considering it could alleviate congestion in the other pool.
As an adult, per the YMCA’s website, my membership at this location would have cost $ 95 month, plus a $ 125 one-​time fee (though the site stipulates to ask about corporate discounts). The closest NY Sports Club to this area, by comparison, offers plans at $ 60 or $ 70 a month plus $ 50 annual fees, while the Chinatown Y – which also has a pool – charges $ 88 a month and the $ 125 one-​time fee.
I’m simply not convinced I’d pay a premium price for the pool. I wasn’t sold on the layout of the gym and the amount of people swimming at any given time was discouraging.
P. S. Yes, I mentioned that this also is a hotel which I found bizarre. The staff in the lobby desks handle requests for gym members and hotel guests, so lines can be slow moving.

Vanderbilt saved my vacation to New York city! Can’t thank them enough for my own snafu. Great Customer Service Rep (TJ) was able to accommodate the snafu to the utmost satisfaction of the traveler, me! Thank you so much, can’t thank you enough. This is my budget spot whenever I am in NY city and its been at least 7 years. The place is a no thrill, clean, and comfortable place to stay. It’s a good half mile walking distance to Time Square, a few blocks to the subway. I totally feel safe in the neighborhood. It’s actually surrounded by all the embassies, so I’m sure security cameras are in every nearby buildings. The check in had a long line, but Y staff seemed to be very patient and helpful. You get your room scan card, show it to the security, go upstairs, and you see rows of doors. It’s co-​ed floors. The rooms are small enough to fit a twin bed, some with bunk beds, a desk, chair, small refrigerator, air condition, place to hang your clothes with exactly 3 hangers, TV with no remote, 2 nice clean towels, one pillow, and bed with drawers on the bottom. I had a bit of a worry while taking a nap that someone was trying to open the door. I hoped that they just got the wrong room. Overall, it was a quiet stay. Since there is no room service, people are out and about. At each end, there are specific gender bathrooms, with extra shower rooms nearby. I didn’t run into too many people using the facilities. The bathrooms were clean and well stocked with paper towels. Free wi-​fi, woohoo! There is a computer for use at the «so called» gym/​lobby for $ 2.00 for 10 minutes? I got to print out my plane boarding pass so I thought that was convenient. Printing was .10 each. Everything is so vending machine oriented! Either you put in dollar bills or your credit card. I left my luggage at check out with the Y security, but first you got to go to vending machine to print out luggage tag and receipt. $ 2.00 per bag till 12 midnight and then they turn your luggage into garbage (just kidding). At Check-​out time, there was a long line for one machine. Last stay, I got to go to a yoga class, but this time, there was exploring to do. Dear Vanderbilt Y, I’ll be back!

Well, this is now my new place of employment so what’s not to like.
Being a YMCA kid to being an employee for the San Diego Association, it’s only right to continue my Y career path in a new location and association.
I came here to take a tour before my interview, I «secret shopped» them and surprisingly the tour was given extremely well. I was very happy with the front desk staff and the joyful vibe I received while going inside. I was very welcomed.
They have 6 floors, great camps, and the level of cleanliness was very high. I even considered grabbing a white cloth glove to check if there were dust or floor crumbs– not it was super clean, which is exactly how it should be.
Kudos to this Y!

I swam there e few days ago pool was clean and nice to swim in
People where friendly and pool attendant was helpful
The lady was very helpful and happy to help me even though she had trouble with my Aussie accent
The only down fall was the man that met me at reception was a bit surly and I felt like I was taking up his precious time when I asked him a question
His response was to point and grunt over there
Maybe a bad day for him but the rest of the people and facilities were fantastic

Great place with an extensive list of classes.
The yoga and Zumba classes are must try’s.
They have 2 swimming pools which means that there is always room.

I was on an assignment in NYC, Manhattan, for a couple of days. The hotel prices were astronomical, in the city. To find a less pricy hotel, I had to take the train to Qeens or Staten Island. That would have resulted in time and commute expenses. This YMCA was in walking distance, and cost me $ 115/​nite.
Had I been a woman, I would have hesitated. The restrooms and shower facilities are shared, though reasonably clean. I am a guy, and not particularly picky. The staff is nice and friendly. There is an eatery across the street. The room was very tiny, the street view was a back alley, and the window did not do much, obstructing the noise.
Unless I increase my income, if I ever have to come back to NYC, this will be the place I will be staying.

For $ 104/​night, you can’t expect much in NYC, right? My room itself was of course tiny, but clean and the bed was surprisingly comfortable (not too firm or too soft). The bathroom however is a real problem.
You’re supposed to be able to use your hotel key to enter the hall bathrooms and shower area. Unfortunately, other guests are idiots and leave the doors purposefully open so a key is pointless. I don’t know if it’s out of sheer laziness or ignorance, but it’s in my opinion, a safety issue. As a single woman traveling, I don’t want to worry when I get up in the middle of the night that someone could enter the bathroom without a key. One night I entered and there was a man in the next stall-​this was not a unisex bathroom. He immediately rushed to leave before getting «caught.»
I’ve lived in several big cities (DC, Paris, Quebec) and traveled in many others and am used to urban living, staying in hostels and what each entails. I was however taken aback when I entered the women’s bathroom late one night and the fetid smell of alcohol and soiled clothing both overwhelmed and nauseated me. It appears a homeless person was allowed in was allowed in through either a window (it was below 40 outside and the windows were wide open in the hallway and bathroom) to use the facilities (I am not making a derogatory comment about the homeless).
The other guests are extremely noisy at night; they stand in the hallways and party. Thankfully, the room air conditioner (it was on when I arrived and as it wasn’t high enough to make the room cold, I left it on) acted as white noise to drown them out a bit.
The water pipes in the room rattled hard. They are very loud, but as I was very tired, I was able to sleep.
The staff downstairs is fairly indifferent, but they’re not impolite; at least, they weren’t to me. I did not complain about the bathroom situation because I was pretty sure they were aware of it.
I did not use the gym, but it looked well-​maintained and modern.
In sum, as I just needed a bed for a couple of nights, it did the trick. Would I stay here again? Doubtful.

I am a canadian physician who has experienced a multitude of various facilities in the past twenty years. I am a Y member in canada visiting NY and I attempted to utilize vanderbilt during my stay, since the Y proudly boasts international accessibility. My experience in dealing with the membership and guest staff has been absolutely atrocious. I would only be granted 10 visits with my current Y membership. The process of waiting in line and going through a painful check-​in process every visit has shaved a number of hours off of my life that I will never get back.
However, what prompted me to write this review was my most recent (and last) visit to vanderbilt. Specifically due to a staff member named Ginette. This woman has absolutely no customer service skills and in fact, has made me feel like an intruder signing in as a guest on more than one occasion. I have also witnessed the same thing happening to other customers in this last month. Today, she actively watched me stand in line for 18 minutes, before proceeding to help people who arrived long after I did. When I asked another agent if they could quickly check me in because I had been ignored, I was told I still had to wait. Ginette became aggressive and abruptly began to raise her voice at me unnecessarily, as she knew exactly what I had complained about, which had put a dent in the power trip she had been enjoying all the while.
Although this gym is not my home facility, I will be promptly canceling my Y membership. I do not pay $ 55 per month to be treated like a piece of trash by anyone who associates with the YMCA.
Oh, and the facilities-​equipment is good, but the layout of the gym requires a comprehensive map to navigate.

Rooms here are not that big… In fact pretty small… Like… VERY SMALL. Near soso neighborhood. Service is mediocre AT best… leaning toward the crap/​non-​existent side. If you don’t mind any of that and just wanna save some money for the big places in NY, this may be fitting for you.
Located near downtown NY, this was the only place that we found during our summer NY trip we could afford but still be in the city. For a large group, I would really not recommend this place unless you don’t mind splitting into a bunch of small rooms.
The area around YMCA is alright. It’s near downtown NY so you can only expect so much. Walkable distance from Grand Central Station, which is SUPER convenient! You can also walk to some of the museums if you want to. A plethora of stores/​restaurants/​shopping places near by, so that’s awesome. At night, the surroundings can get a little shady, so try to avoid travelling alone at night. I would not say this is anywhere near «ghetto», in case you are wondering.
Service wise, there is a gym downstairs, but I mean… if you are travelling in NY, why would you even use it? So I don’t know how great that is… but I saw a decent amount of equipment in there (treadmill, elliptical), no weights though.
There are shared restrooms/​showers on each floor. The showers here are relatively clean (at least during my stay), and I didn’t feel disgusted when I stepped in. However, the shower is SUPER basic and nothing fancy at all. Furthermore, I heard the lock on the shower door for some girl’s shower rooms were broken? Not sure if that will always be the case.
One HUGE complaint: during our 3 night stay here, they did NOT clean up our bed even once. Their excuse was that «we had items on the bed», which we REMOVED after the first night, but they still did not change the sheets. We could tell cuz the sheets were still messy when we returned each night. So unless they put on new sheets and made sure to add the extra creases in there so that it looked JUST like how we left it in the morning, they probably didn’t do anything in our room. Very unfortunate.
Oh yeah, there is no complimentary breakfast or service or anything. You have to have an ID to go upstairs, although the security can be a little lax. For the most part, however, they will not let any random dude go upstairs into the rooms (HOPEFULLY) so it is relatively safe.
In all, this place deserves 2.5 stars. For how much we paid (like 100 a night a person… we snuck 3 ppl into a double… BARELY/DIDN’T FIT) and the service we got/didn’t get… this place PASSES… but don’t come here on your honeymoon or something.

The entire staff is very helpful when you ask what to do to obtain your goal. Now if you come to the gym to lose weight, you have to remember this place is just a tool. You need a proper diet to get the dream body you desire. Take full advantage of their cardio classes, because the weight will begin to shed instantly.
Recommended classes:
— Spin Classes with any of the instructors
— Zumba
— Aqua Zumba
— Empower with Terrence
— Kick box with Andrew
The list goes on! Take my advice: stay quiet, have good music in the ear, take one cardio class and complete 1 hour weight training, steam room… Do this 5 – 6 days a week and see your results. You will see the change.
I can rate the gym anyway I like, but your body transforms based on your actions.
This gym gets 5 stars, because they have all tools needed to get that dream body!

After being accused of not paying at my current gym for the billionth time (I payed — the back office is disorganized), I decided to start looking into new gyms. I am an avid swimmer and wanted to get involved with a masters swim team.
I stopped in here this past week to take a tour and do a trial run. The woman who showed me around was very polite and answered all of my questions. The space is very nice and very clean. It is also huge.
The other reviewers are correct in saying that this spot has a older crowd and a lot of teenage groups of students visiting from abroad hanging around. It can get pretty crowded in the lobby.
In the end, I decided to go with another swim team. I would recommend taking a tour of the facilities and trying the gym out for a day if it’s one you would consider joining. I can see this place being a hit or miss for a variety of reasons.
This gym is also less that $ 100/​mo with towel service.

ich war das erste mal 1997, das letzte mal 2008 dort.
das haus hat sooo ein tolles flair mit diesen vielen jungen und auch älteren leuten aus allen ländern und kulturen– herrlich!
immer nettes personal und saubere unterkünfte. für new york ein top-​preis für übernachtungen; mehr macht man dort in der regel nicht. schließlich will man new york erobern.

Wir waren drei Tage 2008 hier. Die Lage ist super zentral für alle Ausflüge zu Fuß oder mit der U-​Bahn. Das Zimmer mit Doppelstockbett, Schreibtisch, TV, Klimaanlage war sehr klein. Da wir jedoch ohnehin nur zum Schlafen hierher kamen, war das für uns kein Problem. Von der gemeinschaftlichen Damen-​Dusche konnte man auf das Chrylserbilding blicken! Zustand soweit ok — immer unter dem Aspekt von Preis und Leistung. Man kann sicher komfortabler in NYC unterkommen, aber mit extrem höheren Kosten besonders in dieser Lage! Wir würden bei unserem nächsten Besuch wieder hier wohnen.
In 2008 we were 3 days here. The YMCA is very central to visit NYC. The room was very small but enough for us only to sleep after our visits. The price for the perfomance is good. If you want living more comfortable, you have to pay very much more — in this area. We will come back by our next visit!

224 East 47^th Street
New York, NY 10 017
Phone: (212) 756‑9600 Fax: (212) 752‑0210
Das Vanderbilt YMCA befindet sich in der East 47^th Street zwischen der second und der third Avenue, in Midtown East, Manhattan. YMCA steht eigentlich für Young Mens Christian Association, was aber nichts über die Besucher dieser «Jugendherberge» aussagt. Man findet alles von der Schulklasse bis zum Businessman auf der Durchreise, und natürlich nicht nur Männer.
Die Zimmer selbst sind zweckmäßig eingerichtet, d.h. drei auf fünf Meter Raum, also genug für ein Bett und einen kleinen Schreibtisch. Kein Schrank, nur ein paar Kleiderbügel. Einen Fernseher gibt es auch. Trotz der Zweckmäßigkeit des Zimmers: es ist auf keinen Fal unhygienisch oder ungemütlich, man hält es gut aus dort. Die Duschen und Badezimmer werden geteilt, wobei ich nie warten musste um zu duschen. Auch hier war nichts unhygienisch.
Weiterhin verfügt das YMCA über ein großzügiges Fitnessangebot inklusive Schwimmbad, welches man über den Keller erreicht.