Rancho Family YMCA - San Diego, California

Cynthia D.

My first day at the Ymca on Sat. 04/04/25. Was awesome. Alison and Grese helped me tremendously in the covered pool area. They went above and beyond for me. I am 66 elderly with a handicap. 2 other gentlemen were of great help also and the young lady lifeguard. I was in tears for the help I received. You rarely don't find good customer service.YMCA managers you should be proud of Alison and Grese. Thank you so much. C.Davis

Yi L.

Our overall experience with YMCA has been good. We enjoyed the pool and comparably, the restroom is very clean with updated showers. We also took lesson here and the teachers are really great. However, the pools have hours that are impractical for most working families. As a gym, the membership fee triples similar gyms in the area. We enrolled here solely for the purpose of letting our little one swim. Besides the swimming lessons, the pools are barely accessible during weekdays and have limited hours on the weekends. As a family centric facility, management should really consider adjusting the hours. We cancelled our membership after realizing we are paying more than 100 for an hour of pool usage every month.

Raghad M.

I can’t recommend Coach Bob enough! When I started, I didn’t know how to swim at all. But Coach Bob took me from zero to swimming confidently and enjoying every moment of it. His patience, expertise, and encouragement made all the difference. If you’re looking to learn or improve your swimming skills, Coach Bob is the best! Thank you, Coach Bob, for everything!

Vanessa J.

I'm a member of the YMCA, and I live in San Francisco. I believe I've been to pretty much all of the ones in he city.

This past weekend I had a race on a Saturday happening in San Diego, and I was very excited to go swim somewhere else, so taking advantage of my trip for the race, I thought maybe I could go for a swim at one of the YMCA's in San Diego.
I called a week ahead just to double check that I could access the YMCA with my main location being SF, which they confirmed.

It's my first time in the city and it's fair to say that I wasn't too aware of how big it was, and the fact that having a car was pretty much necessary.
So on friday, I get ready for the pool, I take an uber ($23 from where I was staying) and get to the YMCA. Front desk staff were nice and helpful, they checked my membership and then one of them walked me around for a bit into the area.

I went into the locker room for women, and I realized there were no towels. So I went to front desk again and asked them where could I get one, "oh, we don't provide towels, sorry".
I was honestly really surprised. I'm not sure about the rest of the country, but at least all of the facilities in SF provide towels. But more than that, I believe nowadays the majority of the gyms that have a pool, will offer towels. It's basic.

I was already getting frustrated, but told myself "it's fine, just use paper towels after you're done, you're not going to waste what you just payed on an uber". I changed into my swimsuit, go to the pool, and what's my surprise to see only one lane left available, two were being used for private lessons; but the majority of the pool was taken by swim students. I asked the lifeguards until what time the students were going to be there, they said "until closure". Closure it's at 8 pm. I got there at 5 pm.

I've obviously seen private lessons and swim school at pools; but I've never had to literally leave a pool because all of it has already been designated basically to kids. I'm trying to be empathic; but let's not forget that we're also paying customers; and not being able to use an area of the facility; is not acceptable.

I ended up doing a workout in the machines, which by the way, I was surprised to see that they didn't have a wipe dispenser, instead they have ONE towel per room, next to a spray, which says "spray towel, not the equipment, then wipe". It's surprising that after a pandemic, all they offer is for everyone to touch the same towel, it defeats the whole purpose. And again, nowadays having a wipe dispenser it's basic.

Took another uber back, ($22) so I payed $45 for transportation to do a workout in a mediocre gym; because I wasn't able to use the pool.

I could've, and wish I had just used the gym at the hotel where I was staying.
Do not recommend this place.

Thai L.

Great clean gym rooms with sufficient training apparatuses. It's not overcrowded like some other local gyms. It's a family-friendly place with more mature members than young athlete members, plus it has a six- lane swimming pool with an additional area of shallow water for kids and anyone who prefers it . It also has swimming classes and a nice separate water playground for kids. The only thing is it does not have either a steam room or sona room

Merian D.

I am writing to share my experiences with the YMCA summer camps, where my son is enrolled. While I appreciate the variety of activities and opportunities the camp offers, I have several concerns about accountability, professionalism, and potential safety measures that I feel compelled to address.

Incident 1: Unequal Treatment and Disregarded Apology
My son was involved in an incident at the pool where he and another child disregarded the lifeguard's instructions (they were throwing a wet piece of clothing back and forth). The staff rightfully took him to the camp manager, Taylor, for a discussion. However, my son was singled out while the other child involved was not held accountable. Additionally, when my son attempted to apologize to the adult involved, she dismissed his apology and told him to tell it to Taylor. This approach not only disregarded his attempt to make amends but also failed to address the situation fairly.

Incident 2: Inappropriate Staff Behavior
In another instance, a camp employee perceived a contentious discussion between herself and me (she was talking to me while I was in the middle of talking to my son. So I informed her that I didn't hear anything she just said because I was talking to my son. So she acknowledged it and waited a few seconds while I completed my conversation. Afterwards, she and I spoke cordially about whatever was on her mind at the time). Instead of addressing the matter through appropriate channels, she approached my nine-year-old son about the issue stating that I "yelled at her." This behavior is unprofessional and undermines the image of the staff as responsible adults. I communicated my concerns to Taylor, stressing the importance of staff addressing such matters with management rather than involving children.

Incident 3: Physical Attack and Inadequate Response
The final and most troubling incident involved my son being physically attacked by two brothers at camp. One of the boys attempted to kick my son repeatedly, and when my son finally pushed him away, the other brother threw a rock at his neck while screaming a string of obscenities. A camp counselor witnessed the event but only addressed the language used, neglecting to intervene or separate the boys. I reported the incident to Taylor, who acknowledged that the counselor should have acted sooner and spoke with him about it. However, the situation forced me to switch my son's camp sessions and incur additional charges, which the YMCA did not cover.

While I appreciate that Taylor facilitated a switch to another camp without an additional fee for this week, I had to pay nearly $200 extra for next week's camp (this was the only camp available), so as to avoid the boys who attacked my son. This financial burden should have been addressed by the YMCA, given the circumstances.

In conclusion, the YMCA needs to implement better controls and training for staff and prioritize safety. I hope my feedback will contribute to positive changes and improved experiences for future campers and their families.

Brad K.

Nice gym, but the hours are inconvenient. The swim team DOMINATES the pool from 4pm until close, only one lane open for lap swim. Closing at 8pm on weekdays is way early. Weekends are even worse, 3pm on Saturday and closed all day on Sunday. If you work a normal job, this is not the place to go, you're better off somewhere that's open more often.

Erin B.

Chloe the lifeguard is literally the most awful human being I have ever met. She thinks she is queen of the swimming pool and orders people around. She glares at people in the pool. She talks negatively about people. She is nasty to the kids. She tells kids they suck at swimming. She talks nasty about people to other lifeguards. She makes up rules. I have never met such a nasty human in my life. They have nice pools but who wants to swim near someone throwing shade your way the entire time. She does it to everyone who has kids. I can’t believe she has a job!