It's the Y. It's not a fancy schmancey, hoity-toity, lala gym. It's a neighborhood gym for normal…read morepeople. Average Joe's if you will. And I love it. We left Crunch after 17 years (well, technically it was Gold's before but you get the point) because I had a female stalker and Crunch wouldn't help me (even with restraining orders). I was wildly unimpressed with their non-assistance. We went to Equinox bc it was supposed to be nicer and it was only a 1 mile walk from our house - fantastic. While it looked nicer, it was not nicer. It's old, outdated and limited. It's stupid expensive. And the hours really, really suck. So after a year, we left Equinox and we were wavering on going back to the Bay Club or joining the Y. Our kids really wanted to work out and the Y was a great option for a family plan. So we joined for them. While testing it out and thinking we might bounce out to the Bay Club, we ended up loving it. They recently upgraded all the equipment to smart equipment and I'm diggin it! I haven't seen these machines since I was at an upscale gym in Houston a couple years ago! I love the price ($185 for all 6 of us, plus it as daycare vs $230/mo at equinox per person and no kids are welcome) I love the normalness of the Y too. I may make great income, but I don't want to be with the stiffs. I want to be where my roots are.

Oh man I had no idea this is such a nice gym. It is such a cool place to exercises when you are in…read morethe SM County area. This location is close to everything including Foster City. I like how the size of this YMCA is super big. It has a large pool and a very huge exercise area. Whether you are a local or a tourist/outside staff member like me it's a must visit. Even better there is a lot more parking than any other YMCA that I have seen. Towel service? You got it. Like Palo Alto family YMCA Everything you need for a good welcoming workout is available. Although I didn't swim during my visit, either way the the pool is nice. Pickleball was seen when I first arrived. They even have also a nice waiting area if you need to pause after a workout. Front desk was very nice in welcoming me to SM county

Let me count the ways how much I miss and love Equinox…read more Yes, I know--it's a high-end gym. But you truly get what you pay for. I was a member of this location for over a decade, and since moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, I can honestly say there is nothing quite like it. The nearest one to me now is in Atlanta, and I still miss the San Mateo club regularly. This location has everything you could possibly want in a fitness facility--and then some. The Fitness Floor Downstairs is a beautifully air-conditioned workout space designed for people who are serious about exercising. No distractions, no crowds hovering by the windows--just a clean, focused environment. You'll find: * Full weight training equipment * Recumbent bikes, ellipticals, and treadmills * Dedicated spin, Pilates, TRX, and group fitness studios * A large open stretching area with foam rollers * Cold, filtered water stations throughout * Staff available for spotting if you're training solo It's efficient, professional, and thoughtfully designed. Locker Rooms & Amenities The locker rooms feel more like a boutique hotel than a gym. They are consistently spotless and fully stocked with: * Plush towel service * Spacious showers with teak benches * Steam rooms infused with eucalyptus * Complimentary razors, Q-tips, and personal care items * Premium Kiehl's products It's luxurious, yes--but also incredibly practical. You can comfortably get ready for work, dinner, or travel without feeling rushed. The Rooftop Pool One of the standout features is the heated rooftop pool. It has multiple lap lanes, cabanas, and water aerobics equipment, and it truly feels like a mini country club in the middle of downtown San Mateo. The pool is heated year-round, which means you can swim in any season--something you quickly get spoiled by. They even provide sunscreen from Supergoop!, along with full towel service. It's those little details that make the experience feel elevated. Classes, Spa & Services The class offerings are extensive and easy to manage through the app. Signing in is seamless--just scan your phone and go. Highlights include: * Yoga in a beautiful bamboo studio with HEPA filtration and ceiling fans * Pilates (available as private, duo, or small-group sessions) * A full-service spa on the upper level * A juice bar and retail shop featuring premium fitness apparel Everything feels intentional, polished, and well-maintained. Location & Convenience The club is located right in the heart of downtown San Mateo, making it incredibly walkable. There are restaurants, grocery stores, and cafés nearby, including one of my favorite bakeries and specialty markets. Parking is also surprisingly easy for a downtown location: * Two-hour validation * Surface lot, garage, and rooftop parking options That convenience makes a big difference in daily use. Value & Membership Yes, membership can be expensive. However, many employers offer corporate discounts, which can make the cost more manageable. In my case, the value absolutely justified the price because I used the facility regularly and took advantage of the amenities. Even when I relocated, canceling my membership was straightforward and professional--no pressure, no hassle. Bottom Line Equinox San Mateo set the standard for what a fitness club should be: clean, thoughtfully designed, service-oriented, and genuinely enjoyable to use. If I ever move to another city with an Equinox, I will join again without hesitation. Because at the end of the day-- life is short, and you should live well.

I've been a member at Equinox for quite some time and have always had a great experience there…read more Will, my trainer, understood my needs and tailored my training to match my goals. Recently they went above and beyond. I had an injury early last year and couldn't work out. I kept telling myself that I'll be back Equinox next month. After six months I realized it would be a while till I could come back and wished I had put my membership on hold as I had paid dues for about six months and not used the club. I called the club and spoke to Ethan, the manager, and explained I wanted to put my membership on hold till I could come back. He took a look at my account and saw that I hadn't been at the club in six months and, after getting a doctors letter, gave SIX MONTHS CREDIT. I was flabbergasted. Who does nice things like this any more. I started in early January and won't have to pay dues until July. Ethan, Will and all the other staff are amazing as are the members I have met there. 2026 is off to a great start!!!

Love this local outdoor pool. Heated, separate deep end from kiddie pool. Usually not crowded…read moreduring fam swim for the bigger pool. When kids camp is there, it can be loud. Annoying that women's showers are freezing cold, but the hack is use the outside showers next to the men's locker room. $6 for adults. I love to get my swim in. Yes there are some annoying rules, but it still is a pleasant experience overall.

Lots of unreasonable rules like ONLY white reef shirts and NO goggles covering nose. Even For the…read moredeep end EACH child needs their OWN adult or you have to swim in a 2 FEET DEEP POOL. Showers are FREEZING COLD swimsuit dryer broken so we had to use the hand dryers which took AGES. TRASH IN POOL HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. SAVE YOURSELF AND GO TO A BETTER POOL!!!

I cannot say enough amazing things about this swim school! My 3 year old started with zero swim…read moreexperience when she started this summer. In less than three months, she is able to swim underwater. Teacher Mike is so good with little ones. He sings while he teaches the whole time and makes her feel at ease in the water. In fact, every morning when we wake up on swim lesson days, my daughter jumps up and down saying how excited she is to go to swim. I would recommend this swim school to anyone!

Angel is a fantastic instructor who is terrific with small children. Our daughter started lessons…read morewith Angel just after turning 2, and she is already confident and knowledgeable about safety in the water after just a few months. Angel takes care to be friendly with our daughter but also emphasizes the importance of water safety. Angel teaches through examples, songs, and games and strikes a difficult balance between challenging our daughter and supporting her. Thank you Angel!

Informed staff Top notch facilities…read more Best pools in northern CA (excluding Novato) Extensive yoga Pilates y cycling classes

Nice gym but they have decided to build residence dorms on the main parking lot so you will have to…read morewalk much farther to get to the gym. Parking B will be closed and parking lot A is what we are being told to use. It is about 5 minutes further away, a pain if it was raining or you are carrying anything heavy. You can park in lot c but it is usually full due to 2/3 being used for staff parking. It would be useful if they would due occupancy surveys to determine if Staff parking and handicapped spaces could be reduced. Right now there are 10 handicapped spaces. Even charging extra to secure a spot in that lot might be a good option. I think they are trying to reduce membership and make it more student oriented.Before you join, be sure you understand the parking challenges along with probably endless construction.

I can't say enough great things about Tammy. She's not just an incredible trainer--she's truly…read morebecome a friend. She takes the time to listen to my needs and thoughtfully adjusts our workouts to match, which makes all the difference. Tammy is also my biggest cheerleader, always encouraging me and pushing me to do my best in the most positive way. Her support and energy make every session something I look forward to. I highly recommend Tammy to anyone looking for a personal trainer who genuinely cares and is fully invested in your success.

I've taken some time to process what happened before writing this, but I feel it's important to…read moreshare so others -- especially those with disabilities -- know what to expect. I'm a wheelchair user and had been a member at Primetime for a couple of years. The equipment suited my needs well enough. However, the elevator began malfunctioning with increasing frequency -- breaking down multiple times a month -- to the point where I was once stuck inside it. On other occasions, I made the trip to the gym only to be turned away because it was out of service. Since all the equipment I rely on is on the second floor, a broken elevator effectively meant no access for me. The real issue wasn't the maintenance failures -- it was how management handled them. After several days of trying to reach the club manager, I finally got him on the phone. I made a simple, reasonable request: could they notify me when the elevator was down so I wouldn't make an unnecessary trip? Without any hesitation, he told me this was a "liability" for them, cancelled my membership effective immediately, and hung up. No acknowledgment, no apology, no discussion. I understand that equipment breaks down. What I don't understand is treating a paying member's accessibility concern as something to be discarded rather than addressed. I'll let you draw your own conclusions -- I just wanted to make sure this experience was on the record.

My daughter has been going to Kings Swim for since she was a baby and she's 6 years now and in…read morelevel 3. We did some parent-and-me classes with teacher Jerusha when she was about 1+ years - it was cute she got comfortable in the water. Then we stopped for a couple years life got busy. We restarted 2018 and used to take a single group class once a week - I felt like she literally never progressed there. Even after I started taking her to the ymca for practice outside lessons - still no progress. It was very frustrating. Covid-19 was a blessing in disguise for us. Kings opened for private lessons only and you had to register in 3-lesson blocks. We got teacher Juliet Lopez with whom my daughter really connected and she was doing 3 days a week private. Within months she moved from level 1A to level IB and then to level 2. Just amazing progress. No outside swimming since gyms were closed and we had no pool access. Still she progressed in her swimming. One thing I realized when that happened is that in a 30 minute group class consisting of 3 students with start/stop/transitions your kid gets a max of about 8 minutes in the water. That's really a tiny amount of time vs. a private class. However private classes are crazy expensive and Kings started phasing them out after Covid-19 restrictions eased up. Also teacher Juliet left. So then we switched to just 1 private and 1 group class - 2 classes total per week. We really liked teacher Laura I feel like my daughter progressed to level 3 with her. Sadly teacher Laura also left for family reasons. Currently we really like teacher David R. My daughter has been progressing in her swimming with him - he taught her to do somersaults like a pro and is working on getting her strokes right. She's a kid who is more interested in water-play than learning so not the easiest to teach. (Along the way we've had a couple pushy teachers. I will not malign them here - I'm sure they had good intensions. My opinion is it's better to reschedule with someone your child connects with.) Anyways - this long review is mostly to offer parents some advice on group classes from a mom who's been there. If you want your kid to progress once a week is not enough - try to do back-to-back classes, drop-ins or a private lesson can really be worth it. Also I see reviews of parents criticizing teachers for "playing" with the kids last 5 mins of time. I disagree - connections/fun are important they motivate the kids so kids are more willing to do hard things the teachers want them to do next time in class. Kings Swim itself has been pretty reliable for me. I've never felt like they were unprofessional - classes start on time, instructors are nice, and the water is warm. One thing that irritates is they've updated their terms so it feels like they're trying to nickel and dime me more (like make-ups expire in a 30 days, 48 vs. 24 hr notice for absences and everything seems to have expiration dates and fees attached). But really they don't have a lot of competition for what they provide - so perhaps it's warranted to grow their business. Thank you Kings Swim!

An awful place. We have enrolled for courses in the middle…read moreof June. First of all we were charged for the half of month. That sounds good. But the first lesson was cancelled. Then we were charged for the next month. And the second lesson on the June was cancelled. And first two lessons in July are cancelled. And they have no return. We'll receive "tokens" which we have to spend during the month. But I have no another time for lessons. So, they just took money and gave nothing back. Where good business.