UPDATED REVIEW (April 2026) -- I joined the YMCA of Greater Cleveland in November 2025. I've…read moreenjoyed my experience so far. I visit almost every day and I love it. The fitness classes, swimming pool access, sauna and hot tub access, plus a massage and yoga room make it worth my while.
I attend the Lakewood location (my home location) and sometimes I visit the downtown Cleveland location. Members can visit any location as long as they visit their home location the most in a calendar year. The downtown location is much bigger and newer so it feels fancier but the Lakewood location is solid.
FITNESS CLASSES -- Free with your membership. I've really enjoyed their Les Mills BodyPump classes. I've also taken their compound circuits, cycle, pure strength, and barre classes. The bodypump class is my favourite because I love using weights.
SWIMMING LESSONS -- These are offered for a separate fee. They offer swim lessons for children and adults. They offer beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes. I took their 10 week beginner adult swimming class from late January to March with instructor Elliott. I was nervous but I'm glad I challenged myself. I learnt a lot and I hope to sign up for another beginner class again as I'm not ready for an intermediate level yet.
SAUNA/HOT TUB/STEAM ROOMS -- all free with your membership. I enjoy using the Sauna anytime I come and I've sometimes used the hot tub. The Sauna at the Lakewood location gets busy but I normally can find a seat or I just stand. Sometimes, I have to wait to enter because it is too packed inside. The downtown location's Sauna is bigger than the Lakewood one plus downtown has a Steam room but the Lakewood location does not have a Steam room.
GYM/WEIGHTS ROOM -- This is upstairs and items where all the cardio and weight machines are. There are also 2 bikes and 2 rowing machines here. There are plenty of treadmill, 2 stair climber machines, and elliptical machines too plus free weights (dumbbells). Other machines include leg press, squat, etc. They also have weighted balls or medicine balls, sand bags, kettlebells, etc. There are more bikes in the cycling room.
The 2nd floor also has a yoga room, a cycling room, a massage/quiet room, and TRX/extra weights room. All of these rooms are included in your membership. Of course, if a yoga class, a cycle class, or a TRX or strength class is happening then you can't use those rooms. The 2nd floor has a main big room where most of the fitness classes are held such as the Bodypump classes.
CHILDCARE -- There is a childcare space that I believe is free with membership. So if you are a parent and need to exercise, you can bring your child here. Employees look after kids as parents workout. I don't have kids but the childcare service is a nice benefit.
PRICE -- It's all relative. We all spend money on what we want. If you don't own a home with exercise equipment or live in an apartment with a gym then the YMCA is your best option. The YMCA membership is affordable to me and a fair price compared to most gyms. It's also cheaper than eating out everyday as some of us do (BAM!).
There are different membership levels depending on if you are a child, student, adult, or senior. Call them to inquire. I pay under $50 a month before taxes for my adult monthly membership.
PARKING -- Free. There is a huge parking lot but it can get extremely crowded because a lot of families are YMCA members because of their kids. The downtown location also has a free parking garage which is validated for YMCA members.
The only issue that I have with the Lakewood YMCA is that the sauna is very small so it is always packed. I think the employees can do a better job at monitoring the sauna to make sure that no one stays in there too long. There is a sign outside the sauna that states it is limited to 10 mins every time but some people stay for longer. I stay longer when no one else is waiting to enter or when I'm in the only one using it.
TIP -- While the cardio machines in the gym seem busy, I've learned that coming early in the morning before work sometimes helps because it is not as busy. After work (between 5:30pm - 8pm) is when the YMCA tends to be very busy.
Overall, I would recommend the Lakewood YMCA. The price is very reasonable and the gym has a lot of classes and services to offer. The employees who work here are really nice and helpful. They also bring in cookies often from Insomnia cookies (on Tuesdays) because Insomnia brings their leftovers to the YMCA. Giant Eagle often brings some pastries and bread to the YMCA too which is cool for those who want it. I forgot what days the bread products come in but I believe the days varies. I plan to be a member for a long time.