JCC of Greater New Haven

Love, love, love the JCC of Greater New Haven! There are gyms and community centers closer to where I live, but I trek out here for the welcoming environment, wonderful spa locker room with sauna, steam, and jacuzzi, and the well-​maintained indoor heated pool. There’s also a large, well-​stocked gym area that is never too crowded, and a nice variety of exercise classes including spinning, water aerobics, Zumba and yoga. You don’t have to be Jewish to visit or join. As a result, many families, seniors, and members of the community end up here either to work out, relax, or to take advantage of the many cultural and fun events offered throughout the year. There’s plenty of parking, and free wifi in building.

We recently cancelled our membership after being a member for almost 10 years. The gym is okay with a mix of older and newer equipment. Invariably the TV screens in front of a limited number of elliptical machines would not work (no closed captioning or would not turn on). The treadmills were standard and the TVs were at the front of the room — unlike Planet Fitness). I did not use the weight room so I cannot comment on that. The locker rooms were okay. Family locker rooms were kind of dirty and had wet floors. The pool was fine and used quite a bit by the community. On the days before cleaning, you could see bandaids, hair and other debris in the water. The pool temperature was also inconsistent, some days colder than others. Drivers speed through the parking lot and don’t obey the one way signs. The reception staff and instructors were pleasant though. My biggest complaint is when I had to cancel the membership due to us not needing to use the facility anymore, the membership and finance office were rude and only responded after several calls. One would think after being a member for 10 years, faithfully paying for 10 years, that they would be slightly professional. Customer service skills were horrible, brisk, and denigrating when I had a question on the last few months of billing (since we used extra services such as classes, etc). I didn’t even bother asking if they would refund the extra athletic training sessions my husband had paid for (several hundred dollars) and didn’t use.

Very clean. affordable alternative to typical gyms.
I joined because of the racquetball courts.
They also offer your standard weight room, the room w/​exercise machines etc, a pool, a bunch of other areas that I don’t really know anything about.