I love my local YMCA, which is currently the Merrimack, NH branch. They have a wonderful…read moreassortment of fitness classes, which I find to be the most fun way to burn calories. Checking in is a breeze, the front desk staff are always so friendly and welcoming, and there are plenty of vending machines with healthy (some more than others) and refreshing drinks and snacks. The Merrimack location has an indoor track, racquetball courts, cardio and weight equipment, a swimming pool (for lap swim, classes, swim lessons, team swim, etc), as I mentioned previously, three locations for fitness classes (aerobic and yoga area, spin and dance studio that is used by the barre class). I love Yoga, Zumba (regular and toning), Dance Fit, and kickboxing. The instructors are friendly, welcoming and informative. I always have fun even if I am not the most coordinated individual. It is a great way to cross train for my regular hiking and running routines. The fee price is more than your typical PF type place but offers so much for the cost. They have reduced fees for individuals who may be in need due to low income, disability, etc. I am a fan and look forward to going.

We started swim lessons here weekly about a month ago and have really enjoyed talking to the staff…read more(Genevieve and Jaclyn are delightful, joyful and willing to help) and have enjoyed the lessons. I have a 3.5 year old little girl who is terrified of herself and the water and in just 5 lessons, she's progressed so well! Brittany is an excellent swim coach and my daughter has definitely bonded with her. We look forward to coming here every week. It's managed and ran well.

We've been members of SafeSplash in Manchester for around 2 months now, and I'm still on the fence…read moreabout it. I'll update my review if my opinion changes with time, but so far here's where I'm at: My kiddo loves her swimming lessons and has no complaints. She's 3.5 so she's a bit of a pill at times, but the teachers remind her to work for a sticker and know she loves swimming with pool noodles, so they use that as motivation. As a parent, I would appreciate if the place felt a little more organized and if there was more consistency, both with the teachers and the terminology. My daughter has attended 6 classes now and has had 5 different teachers. I'm sure teachers probably rotate their shifts so not everyone has to work every single weekend, which I understand, but having a different teacher each time seems to make things more complicated. Sessions are only 30 minutes long, which means a portion of that short time is spent getting to know the child and where they are at: do they swim independently? Dive? Submerge? Are they motivated by stickers, silliness, or something else? What is their comfort level with water? What about their comfort level with new teachers? The teachers do their best, but I'm certain their jobs would be easier if they were able to form more of a bond with the students, and if the children weren't thrown off by swimming with someone who is essentially a stranger each time. There's the added pickle of teachers using different terminology/methods to teach swimming. For example, one teacher told my daughter to "scoop" (or maybe scoot, I'm not sure) and "stomp" (make a stomping motion, but while horizontal) with her feet to swim. The next week, a teacher saw my daughter attempting to swim in the same way and admonished her a little bit, like, "what is that? That's not kicking..." although she was only doing what she had been taught the week prior. Similarly, last week the instructor told her to "doggie paddle" which is not - to my knowledge - terminology the other instructors have introduced to her yet. I don't want to knock the teachers, though. I have no specific complaints about them - they are doing their jobs well and always have smiles on their faces. I know it's hard to work with kids and they do a great job. I think my issue is just with the lack of consistency Each session usually has someone there - I'm not sure what their titles are, but think of them like a manager - who will step in and offer guidance to the teachers. The managers so far seem amazing with kids and are wonderful at helping out with hesitant (or in my daughter's case, stubborn!) swimmers. So as a parent, what would improve my experience with this place? Well, I'd like to know who my daughter is having as a teacher. Even if it's not the same teacher every time, maybe getting an email or an automated text saying "Looking forward to seeing you at [time]! Today your teacher will be [name]!" would make parents feel a little more comfortable going in and would eliminate some of the awkward standing around. Communication between teachers about students. I had one teacher ask me if she'd ever gone underwater before, when she had during the previous session. I had other teachers ask me if this was her first lesson, when it wasn't. The website claims that once a month, parents are invited in to hear about how their children have been progressing, but so far that hasn't happened. I'm not sure how they keep track of their progress or what they are working on, especially if the teachers there didn't know she had been there before... I also think that children work toward ribbons, but I don't know what ribbons are available, how close my daughter is to earning one, or what she needs to master in order to earn her first. I'd like to know more about that. I was in the process of typing this all out when I got an email from SafeSplash saying something like "we sent out an email about price increases on Monday but we decided to wait until the next billing cycle to increase the rates." So... another vote for them being disorganized, I guess, because I didn't receive an email from them on Monday. I emailed them back asking for clarification and letting them know I didn't get an email... still no response 3 days later.

JUST. DONT. Unprofessional attitudes, VERY POOR COMMUNICATION and your on their time no matter…read morewhat, simply bc this is a fairly small business, so if u have time to waste, they are your people. Our regular appt was cancelled, & my child WITHDRAWN without even so much as a phone call. My daughter had succeeded from being scared to get her head wet, to lap swimming within weeks. Unfortunately this was was very bad business.

Swung by here after doing some shopping in town, was impressed by the enormous and very airy,…read morespacious-feeling workout area which is ringed by a nice big indoor track that has full length windows offering some beautiful verdant vistas on all sides. Actual equipment was ok, a bit willy-nilly jumbled up and crowded together though, and the general vibe perhaps as a result of the architecture was somewhat cold and impersonal despite the small-town locale. I was relieved to see that they did have at least two Keiser stationary bikes, which are increasingly rare these days as most gyms get suckered into the big lumbering fancy LOOKING bikes with the flashy screens and video-game simulations, that have lousy ergonomics making you feel like you're pedaling a toy not a real bike. They do have some Concept rowers at least, which is a good sign. Overall I'd say it's a fairly decent Y except for the sauna, which was sorely disappointing in that despite being brand new looking and quite pleasant/spacious, was being run at some geriatric 150-160 degrees tops. Oh and they close way the hell too early on weekends: 5pm on Saturday, 4pm on Sunday. Only slightly less lousy than my home Y in Cambridge (4pm both days). Argh!

Thoroughly impressed with this Y facility, the group class offerings, the cleanliness, condition of…read moreequipment and kids programs. Tremendous value for a family, in my opinion. Check it out.

Amazing coaches! I can't speak highly enough about them all! My daughter absolutely loves it at…read moreSpectrum.

Great Gymnastics facility in Londonderry NH…read more Smaller intimate school compared to surrounding schools; Phantom, NEGTC, Nashua SoG. Highly talented staff and a majority of town sponsored school Gymnastics come here to use their facilities. Decent sized waiting room with vending machines, viewing window and two bathrooms. This is a great 'hosting school' with small invitationals. Internet is public too! They also have Cable Tv/DVD for younger 'uninterested' kids. They also have a climbing wall as well and host awesome birthday parties with blow up 'jump' mazes. Great for -13 kids! USA Gymnastics Member.

Very friendly staff, decent enough facility, though the pool area could be cleaner. Locker rooms…read moreare clean, parking is easy. Having said that - there's a water aerobics class that closes the pool for anyone who doesn't sign up for the class. The class is almost entirely older/retired folks every time I see it - one of them is an Arthritis class. The schedule for the class is 9:15AM, and 6PM. These times are pretty easily recognizable, because they're the same times that working folks go to the gym. That's in the morning on weekends, and in the evening on weekdays. So unless you schedule the rest of your life around the pool hours, you'll either have to start your swim workout at 7PM on a weekday, or get there early enough on the weekend to get it in before they start. There's a dedicated swim lane for the pool, which is great, but you can't use it during the aerobics class. This is a decent gym otherwise but this policy is terrible. Closing the pool at peak times for a class (especially one aimed at retired folks with a more flexible schedule) is extremely inconvenient. My wife and I signed up at this gym specifically for the pool, and not being able to use it at the times that the average person hits the gym is obviously unacceptable.

I signed up for a year membership. All was fine until a hostile encounter with the pool supervisor…read morenamed Bobby. I was informed while in the pool that I was not allowed to be in the pool during swim class time. I said " I think my contract says I can be in the pool during open hours, other than water aerobics" " He literally yelled at me and said, "it's at the pool staffs discretion and you signed the contract, if you have a problem with it talk to the front desk and tell them Bobby said it's the rule" I reported this encounter to the owners son. He shrugged it off and said "ya, Bobby can be like that" After that I went back a few times. but felt uncomfortable, always looking to avoid him and this was not worth the stress. I am a leukemia patient. Stress is very bad for me. I initially signed up for exercise and swimming to relieve stress. I than decided it was best to not return. I never went back. 9 months of wasted gym membership. I felt uncomfortable and very unsafe. Afraid he would come at me with comments about reporting him to the owner's son. Bobby is a loud, disruptive self-centered inconsiderate and very rude person. I was sad to not return. however, his professionalism and communication were unacceptable. Everyone else was very professional and kind. No other issues. Clean & maintained nicely. Valerie

It was great for a birthday party, but they are no longer open. What a shame! Hopefully they come…read moreback

Permanently closed! Owner was terrible with his prejudices, and unjustifiably denies memberships !…read moreNo wonder his clientele dropped off over the years. What a waste of good $ always pushing members aside for private parties

Just completed a scuba certification here and Mike was awesome! Super helpful and answered all my…read morequestions. I also felt very comfortable learning and in the ocean during my dives! Definitely would recommend!

Scheduled an intro before I put in for the whole certification class. I drive an hour, and when I…read moreshow up shop was closed. I called emailed messaged and waited a half hour before leaving. I figured hey human nature she must have forgot. 2 days later this is the response I get. No apology, nothing.

I needed a mask with prescription lenses. Mike explained everything to me very thoroughly on the…read morephone, and when I went into the shop, Paul helped me to pick a mask, dropped in the right lenses (in stock), tested me, and wrapped things up within a very friendly 20 minutes. Very fair prices and a fantastic experience with people who are extremely knowledgeable. I'll be coming back for sure!

After spending two half-days with Nick at East Coast Divers, I walked away with a completely new…read morelevel of information and confidence. Even though this wasn't a certification course, the workshop provided practical setup advice and technical insights that are hard to find elsewhere.   Nick's technical knowledge is expansive; he was able to address every question or concern the group had with ease. What impressed me most was his willingness to help outside the specific scope of the workshop--if we had a scuba-related subject we were curious about, he would work with us one-on-one to provide pointers or recommendations. It shows he's invested in the diver's overall success, not just checking boxes for the day's lesson.   He clearly cares about the curriculum and his students. He went over the allotted time both days to ensure we truly understood the material, and I wouldn't have shortened it by a single minute. If you are looking to fine-tune and improve your in-water skills, I highly recommend his Advanced Buoyancy, Movement, and Positioning Techniques workshop.

Highly highly recommend. In particular, I appreciate the professionalism and responsiveness by…read moreDick Scott for their training programs; qualities getting harder and harder to come by these days.

I can't recommend Portsmouth Scuba enough! I wanted to challenge myself to get my open water…read morecertificate and the instructors / staff were beyond supportive in helping me achieve that goal. Very knowledgeable / experienced / professional / fun and willing to share it all for your benefit. You're in good hands with them!