T.W. Davis Family YMCA

I have been a member here for about 6 months and it’s a good, not great, place for what they offer.

I was born & raised in Richmond, but somehow made it to adulthood (by age only) without ever stepping foot in this building. I recently moved home to take care of a sick parent, and slowly felt my body getting soft & puffy, and my energy greatly diminishing. I typically work out at the Y downtown, and although this location does not top my favorite location, I was pleasantly surprised. There are high ceiling in the machine area, which is important to me… I have been to some locations with low ceilings, and it does not make for a good workout experience for me.
The staff member who greeted me was curt, and borderline rude. I explained to her that I had never been to this location before, and if she could give me a quick rundown. I asked her how to get to the machines, and she pointed to the correct door. I asked her if there were small lockers for wallets and change, and she said «you’ll see them when you get in there»…she didn’t bother to point out the rest rooms, locker rooms, pool, etc. She was more concerned with me scanning my card immediately to be sure that I was a «city wide» so she could quit dealing with me if I wasn’t.
This location does not have individual TV screens on each machine, and does not offer towels… you have to bring your own. Also the sensor for bottles on the water fountain in the workout area was broken. All of the machines were nice, clean, and fairly new. I went during the day and the crowd was a nice mix of seemingly decent folks. I will definitely go back here without any issue. I would rate this lower due to the staff, but the environment was pleasant, and after the initial orientation, there is little reason to interact with staff.

I used to work at this YMCA & I’m honestly astounded at how they treat some of their members.
MY family and I have been members of this YMCA for approximately 12 years, and before then we attended the Weekly YMCA (back when it was at the West U Rec).
Whenever I left employment here, the management apparently forgot to reset the member fees (you don’t pay full price as an employee) for two and a half years. There were countless times where they asked if I still worked there, and I said no and to switch it back, and they never did.
Needless to say the woman who runs member services found out after two years and countless reminders from staff and us members alike, and she was mad because of something that wasn’t our fault. Ever since she confronted me in a very rude-​like manner in the lobby, I feel like all of the people who work at this YMCA are trying to run my family and I off. Which makes no sense because we donate and have been loyal members for over a decade, and we’ve even «recruited» new members.
Every single time I walk in to go to cardio, the same people at the front desk ask me if I still live at home. In the past six months, I have had to bring my school schedule FOUR times just to show these people I’m a full time university student. If I come in at 8 PM, I am rudely told that they close at 9… even though I have a full hour to do something.
If this place had better customer service… and better PARKING, I would love it more. I honestly would rather go to the Weekly YMCA or UH rec than deal with rude lobby staff.
Also, if you go in the morning, Chris and Richard are GREAT. The gym itself is nice but good luck with parking between 5 – 7:30.

Come here before 6:15 am or after 8am. 4:30pm through 7pm is packed. Needless to say there are no roid freaks or skanks here so it is a great place to just workout and not worry abouth anything else