Katy Family YMCA

Pros: the people who work here are so nice. Much nicer than my local YMCA in Tulsa (when I travel, I get to use any YMCA in the country for free). After my first time coming here, they remember mine and my sister’s names. Greeted us like regulars. New cardio equipment. Clean. Plenty of parking.
Cons: none I can think of

I’ve been coming here for years ! Normally I love YMCA’s but this one has gotten WAY too crowded in the past couple of years! Do not come during weekdays from 5 – 8:30pm or on Sundays as soon as it opens at 1pm! Barely any parking available and the gym is overpacked! In order to actually enjoy the gym without every machine being taken you must go there enough to know when the crowd shows up and when the crowd leaves!
Also as a swimmer I can’t have a decent workout without kids coming in my lane and blocking the way! The lifeguards do not enforce the fact that those lanes are STRICTLY for lap swimming only when the pool schedule says so, as well as the sign that is put outside in front of the lanes for everyone to see! They also don’t have an interval clock for swimmers to use in either the outdoor or indoor pool the indoor pool is not 25 yards long like a standard lap pool. There is also a swim lane missing a swimming guideline (the line that guides swimmers on the bottom of the pool).
Some of the trainers and employees are nice but the ones at the front desk are rude at times! They make mistakes on the guest passes all the time! I can’t seem to buy a guest pass for my friends without an ISSUE popping up!
Overall, it’s not the greatest pool for lap swimmers and too crowded! Don’t bring your friends !
Update ¹⁰⁄₂₈: I just want to point out that despite the one lady that gave me issues at the front desk, the personal trainer, Zach is one of the sweetest people I know. I’ve watched him train people of all ages and he puts a smile on everyone’s face and has an awesome attitude.

The YMCA is a family-​oriented facility that you’d assume treats their customers like family. Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin with this location. I’m all about customer service. Many times, good customer service can make someone’s day while bad customer service can break someone’s day.
Unfortunately, I dealt with the worst type of customer service. Prior to even coming into the Y, I called to verify the times of the guest pass for the evenings. So once they gave me the times, I was headed up there, ready to work out! But once I went up to the counter, to not only verify that I was a college student to re-​activate my membership & to also get a guest pass, an employee chimes in.
This manager’s name is AMY JO FREEZE. AMY JO needs to be reprimanded for her unprofessionalism, lack of customer service, condescending, utter rudeness & poor use of managerial skills.
So, AMY JO chimes in, declining the guest pass. So I tell her that one of her fellow employees confirmed the evening guest times with me over the phone which is why my GUEST is with me. She continued to smile, shrug her shoulders & shake her head whilst saying, «Well, I don’t know what to tell you. But that’s the times.» So I tell her, «Well I need to speak to a manager.» She giggles, then smirks & shrugs her shoulders whilst pointing to herself. Extremely condescending, unnecessary, & obnoxious.
When an error is made by an employee, the manager should not let a PAYING member leave after taking their time to drive to the facility. She should have said, «Okay, well this time I’ll let your guest go, but THESE are the correct times despite what you were told.» Any suitable manager handles situations like that.
The mannerisms & content of what she was saying while maintaining a «sweet» sounding voice would easily anger anyone. I told AMY JO that I wasn’t talking to her from the get-​go, she should continue to deal with the person that had BEEN in front of her that needed service & let the other employee service me.
Whilst dealing with the other employee, (whom I hate was in the middle of this) AMY JO CONTINUES to chime in & refute everything I’m telling the employee that isn’t her. At this point, I’m telling the lady I was originally dealing with that I needed another supervisor because I was not going to deal with AMY JO, because she kept getting snarky & I was trying hard to refrain myself. I continued to show the transcript of my grades to verify that I was in college. And YET AGAIN, AMY JO chimes in to grab the paper from the employee I was dealing with & tells me, «Well this isn’t the paper that we need & (yada yada yada).» It was a COLLEGE TRANSCRIPT.
AMY JO did absolutely everything in her «power» to make an evening of me running on a treadmill difficult for me. And not only that, her relentlessly chiming in after I told her I did not want to deal with her.
Long story short, I had to deal with a supervisor over AMY JO’s head & they gave me NO ISSUES whatsoever, which is what it should have been from the get-​go.
AMY JO is a poor representation of the YMCA. Because of this incident, I will not give my business to the YMCA again, after being a member for over 10 years.

This is in regards to some pool rules. My kids, 7 and 9, who are on a swim team and are competent swimmers, failed the swim test yesterday and were unable to use the slides, which is all we came there for. What frustrated me was that they were not allowed to retest that day simply because they misunderstood what the lifeguard was saying. They thought «swim to the middle and stop» meant stop and stand up on the bottom and wait to do the next thing. Because they touched the bottom, she would not let them pass the test. I talked to her and asked to test them again now that they understood, and it is not allowed at that pool. Every YMCA has a slightly different method of swim tests, and at one we go to, they let them hang on the wall before they do a floating or a treading water test. It’s so ridiculous. The lifeguard even said she saw that my kids could swim well, but she was unable to pass them or retest them that day. She also said other kids have made the same mistake, so maybe there needs to be a change in the way it is explained to them, or there needs to be some flexibility about testing them a second time. If I child seems to be struggling (and any lifeguard can tell if they are a competent swimmer or not just by watching), I can understand why they might not retest that child, but when it’s obvious that they can swim, that is just not fair and it ruined our day. My kids still had event numbers on their arms and names on their back from a swim meet last weekend!
I“m sure the rest of the gym is very nice, but this incident at the pool infuriated me.

For a YMCA this one is not one you would want to go swim at. I was a member for a few months and I joined only to swim laps. I was told there is always a lap lane available. Which was true but the amount of children that would pass through the lane or just float in the lap lane was absurd. It was impossible to do a single lap without running into a child or some kid being thrown on top of you. For the lifeguards they do nothing just stand and watch. No authority what so ever. I even made a complaint to the head guard or manager and they simply said let the guard on duty know and they will take care of it for you.
I did bring it to the guards attention but after a whistle blow or two they gave up. I did notice that the Zumba classes were not interrupted by the children. After some time of battling through the kids I ended my membership.

I’ve been a member at a lot of different YMCA’s. I couldn’t do it. So incredibly overcrowded. I toured it twice thinking the first time might have been a fluke, it wasn’t. This facility was built at least 20 years ago before the population boom, it is not appropriate to it surroundings. Highest price/​lowest service YMCA of any where I’ve ever lived.

The Katy YMCA is a family-​friendly health club that offers a variety of classes and programs for the community.
MY HISTORY
I first started visiting this location years ago, when it was called the Ken Lay YMCA. It was much smaller then. Then Lifetime Fitness came in and we were wowed by the size and lavishness of the new gym, so we moved our memberships there until Lifetime became too expensive to tolerate. The YMCA expanded its location and changed its name. Within the past few years, my wife rejoined the Y, then my daughter and I did about 6 months ago. My daughter and I have also done the excellent father-​daughter camping program (Princesses/​Trailblazers) in the past through the Y without being members.
SPINNING CLASSES
Coming to the present, in the past year, I have gotten into road cycling, and wanted to find a good spinning class. The Y offers a 5:15am class Monday-​Friday that fits great with my work schedule. There are also two back-​to-​back classes Saturday morning, which is great if you need a weekend ride replacement, and another late Sunday afternoon if you have a busy weekend. The instructors are very nice, and do a great job of pushing you through the workouts. About half of the workouts follow the Les Mills plan, so you know you will get the same workout with any instructor.
WEIGHTS
The Y has a good-​sized weight room with a variety of machines and some Christian rock music playing softly in the background. I do use the weight room and it does not get very crowded early in the morning, My daughter also uses the weight room occasionally to help her with swimming training.
CARDIO
I don’t use the cardio machines much, but there is a good variety of machines and two separate rooms with the cardio machines. The smaller, more private room also has Expresso exercise bikes with simulated courses and competitors shown on computer monitors. These bikes get used quite a bit.
LOCKER ROOM
The locker room is small, but the showers are full-​force and don’t have water-​saver attachments. Normally, the soap dispensers are fully stocked. You do need to bring your own towel and lock. There are only four small benches for changing, so occasionally I find myself having to move my things to make room for someone else. I never have to wait for one of the 8 available private showers.
MAINTENANCE
The Y is very clean, and most of the time the machines are in working order. The spinning bikes get a lot of use, but I never see a bike that is broken. The worst I can say is that some of the spinning bikes need their resistance adjustments fine-​tuned.
CROWDS
I have not encountered crowds too much, but they appear to mostly start late morning to mid-​day. Saying that, note that some classes do fill up. If you want to attend a spinning class, I would recommend arriving 10 – 15 minutes early, because I have been to one or two 5:15am classes where I have not been able to get a bike because I arrived too late. I also like that the Y has a second entrance on the other side of the complex that opens later in the morning (normally starting at 8am on Saturday). This makes parking easier.
IMPROVEMENTS
The only thing that I think could be better at the Y is the free coffee it offers. Then again, it is FREE COFFEE… If I want the good stuff, I go across the street to Kosmos.
COST
The day I wrote this review, I received a letter about the Y undergoing a price increase of $ 2 a month, but the Y also says this this is the first price increase for my membership type in 3 years. IMHO, it’s still a better deal for my family than Lifetime and is also a not-​for-​profit.

The facility could be updated. The instructors are generally very good.
As for the child watch (where you leave your kid while you’re working out). Management doesn’t always seem proactive in dealing with issues. The child care staff has some REALLY great ladies but there’s also some that should not be working with children at all. One of them being a lady named Lilian, whom management knows about but she continues to work there. They also have male child care workers, which even my pediatrician had something to say about that given the statistics. I’ve walked in to find a grown man carrying a small child on his hip several times. I’ve heard many of my other mom friends complain about that too. Given that it’s a family gym, it’d be nice if they were more proactive and took some precautions that I’ve seen some of the other child cares take.
All in all, not bad but could use some improvements.

I go to the Y at least 6 days a week and they’re very friendly, the machines are in working condition and the facility is pretty clean. :-)

Really not worth the price it charges. They are charging $ 90 plus for a family membership in a gym that is absolutely overflowing with people and not friendly for those who want to do maintenance training — which is what 90% of people with a full time job and family do for 90% of the year. I cannot help but notice that on any day, number of families sign up under the subsidized rate for lower incomes, and there is nothing wrong with that, but one gets the feeling that the people paying full rates are increasingly cross subsidizing others — as the full rates seems to keep on going up without any visible additions. Or very, very superficial additions like a few next gen cardio machines that provide a maximum 2−5% better workout than what they had previously. Seriously, they should have a separate rate for those who just want to use cardio and weights, and keep in adding the fees in slab for those who want to go for group classes, use the swim pool etc etc

Overall this YMCA is ok. It is over crowded!!! The daycare has way too many kids at peak time. Classes are overcrowded and the weight area is so small!!! The YMCA feels dirty due to overcrowded!
Word is out, It is in the works a new KATY YMCA!!! FINALLY!!! We need squash courts in katy! There are a ton of squash players who travel to downtown or city center just to play squash. We need a squash community in katy. Katy is growing so fast and only more squash players will join!
Let’s get some squash courts in katy TX!

Overall the staff is friendly however I have noticed on several occasions the so called trainers standing in the area between the free weights and cardio room checking out the girls and commenting on them. More often than not the weights are not put back when members are done with them. Finally the facility is overflowing with people making it hard to get in a good workout.

I would give it 2 ½ stars, however since this rating is not possible, by the time you read this, 2 stars will likely be most appropriate for this Y. Please read on.
We have been a part of this Y for going on 10 years, back when it was named for a guy named K. Lay. However, it is a far cry from what it was back then.
The place has had some expansion over time, but not nearly enough to keep up with growth. It is quite overrun by members today, coming from the constant stream of people at the front desk filling out the paperwork to become members. This is no surprise given the area’s near viral rate of growth, the low monthly fees, and the fact that there is no limit to the number of members that they will accept. The influx of members is so bad that even the huge parking lot is no longer enough to keep up… it is now very difficult to find a parking space.
What the Y leadership should look at is building a new facility to the north and perhaps another to the west. This would relieve the overcrowding at the Cinco Y and improve quality and availability of the facilities for everyone. The other option is to cap membership at some level suited to the facilities that are offered.
Alas, this Y is now more of a people zoo than a place for a family to enjoy. Let’s hope they build more facilities to serve the huge numbers coming in…

This is the best YMCA I’ve ever been to. The staff is friendly and the instruction quality on group exercise classes are top notch. I take my son to the child watch and the ladies there are very sweet. I know I have left him in good hands. Their gym is kept clean and all of the machines are well maintained. My favorite part is the Zumba classes which would be incredibly hard for me to part with if I had to change my schedule or move!

This Y might be a good bet for child programs, but my only experiences have been so-​so to poor. First, the pools. They are closed random times not stated on the website or at the front desk, even when the schedule says otherwise. Sometimes there is an explanation (cleaning), other times not. Can’t they plan their cleanings around the pool schedule? Even if you ask at the front if the pool is open, they rarely know.
Swim lessons: we attended the parent-​child classes, and the instructor didn’t seem to know anything about that age group. We’ve gone to other y’s where classes were much better. We started with 10 the first day and by the second, only 3 of us returned.
The exercise classes were good, although crowded. The stroller fit class is a nice touch, but the instructors don’t incorporate the kids as the description states, so it’s basically you exercising while the kids stare at you. And that’s when the instructor shows up.
Customer service: this has never been their strong point. They let people jump in line before you at the membership area and front desk when you need assistance. It seems like they don’t care much about keeping their members happy or selling a product, which it is a nonprofit, but still.

The YMCA is a great place for families, they have plenty of programs for adults and kids to stay active! I love the fact that they have a huge child watch center that looks more like a daycare rather a room with some TVs and toys. The staff is incredibly friendly and our kids think it’s a second school that they get to go to and have fun! They love the pool, but who wouldn’t with the water slide and play area in the pool! 24 hour fitness ain’t got nothing on the Y. Lifetime fitness may have a cool pool area too, but the YMCA has got a lot more to offer than any of those other places. They build stronger families physically and morally. I got all the time and the staff is incredibly friendly and helpful. If you need help on how a machine works or advice on how to better your workout they are happy to assist without buggin’ out about hiring them as a personal trainer. Which they do have programs to help with that too. You can’t go wrong at the YMCA. They got everything you need at great rates!

The Katy Family YMCA is excellent! Everything is brand new and in excellent condition.
The wellness center has about 20 high-​quality treadmills, 3 stair-​masters and about 10 elliptical machines. Each with earphone plugs to listen in on any of the 8 TV screens.
In the adjacent weight room, plenty of free weights, cable machines, straight bars, Smith machines, etc, etc.
Full-​sized locker rooms for male and female complete with shower facilities. No towels though, bring your own.
Indoor and outdoor pools complete with lap area, kids water park and 2 Schlitterbahn-​style body slides. Life guards all over.
Group classes in a dedicated studio room with lights, sound and equipment to get the group moving to the beat.
Large gymnasium for volleyball, basketball, etc.
Dedicated spin class room with about 20 – 30 bikes.
Down the hall is the new fitness room with another 20 treadmills, 10 ellipticals and bikes, each with own 5″ TV screen.
The floor trainers are there for anything from chit-​chatting about your day to asking fitness questions to getting a spot for some heavy lifting.
Nothing beats this place!