My complaint is with the preschool portion of this YMCA branch. My daughter has been going to Y classes for the past few years and we were excited when we heard there was a preschool & that the new teacher was great. We signed her up for the 25/26 school year and she has been flourishing, making friends, and learning Spanish under the supervision & support of her teacher. This past Friday, we walked into what I can only describe as the most unprofessional & shocking incident. The teacher was no longer employed there and the management was extremely rude and disrespectful. Not to mention there's literally one week of school left....and now the kids cannot graduate with the teacher they have been with since the beginning. I don't understand how the management, Chris Ardent and Hope Delaney, can do something so harmful to our children especially when they decided to do this all on a school day when we were all there to witness the mess they created. They said they were always thinking of the children but then why would they pick a school day to let their teacher go in front of them? Totally unprofessional. I am heartbroken and shocked that this "faith based" organization would do something so hurtful . I'd also like to mention that Chris Ardent stated he would be available to sit down with us parents but he was conveniently at a golf outing.... Needless to say, An email will be sent to Katy Groh who is the executive director of the Southwest YMCA. The way this was handled should never have happened in front of our children. We expect a faith based organization to conduct themselves in a better manner. read more

Workout with a view, great equipment for a getting in exercise on the go, friendly & helpful staff and enjoyed aquatic facilities on prior visit. Located close to downtown Milwaukee makes for ease of travel and getting to places around the city. It did not disappoint. Thanks you!! read more

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So thankful for our local YMCA. We have had good experiences here. The staff is helpful, good variety of equipment, and the hours and cost fit our needs. Is it perfect - no, but after taking a long break from the Y due to Covid, I am just so grateful to have to this facility and the people who keep this place running, so close to home! read more

I have been a member of this YMCA for almost a year now, and have had multiple bad run-ins with a staff member (some older white guy with a white beard) there that seems to bear a lot of hatred towards people based on the basis of race. Recently I had went to play basketball and he entered the gym, and told us something in a very quiet tone that we could not hear, so we did not react. He paused and without warning or prior reminder, exploded suddenly and screamed "DIDNT YOU HEAR ME? GET OUT" which was completely unprecended and uncalled for. Just today I went and waited an entire hour for the upstairs gym to open, which it said it would at 7. My two brothers were in there (to which I am the oldest of) and I went towards there with my two friends, he saw us heading towards the gym and yelled at us "that gym isnt open" to which we asked why, he then responded "its not open its family gym" in a harsh overbearing tone. This was a bit unprofessional coming from an older man towards a college student, especially considering I had not had any prior conversation with him. Since my two brothers were in there we headed in anyway and began to play. A few minutes later he came into the gym and yelled at us "DONT YOU KNOW HOW TO LISTEN? THIS GYM ISNT OPEN" even though the only people in the gym were my friends, my two brothers, and a young girl. Me and my friends got up to leave but we noticed he didnt tell my brothers to leave, which confused us considering they were with us. We then asked him the specifics of the "family gym" as the definition of a "family" is not listed anywhere, to which he responded that me and my two brothers were "not family". After this we left, and I do not know if we will keep our memberships. This man has been incredibly unprofessional and extremely hostile towards specifically me and people that look similar to me, and I cannot in good judgement recommend this organization to anybody that reads this. read more

My family has been a member of the YMCA for nearly 10 yrs. During that time I have consistently used the Y to do my swim workouts. Always a member of the Master's group. My sons took many swim classes there, etc. I am an Aquatics specialist, and even once again in my late 50's took and passed the Lifeguarding class, and was a part time lifeguard for the SW Y. Then Covid hit, I couldn't re-certify (every 2 yrs) and let my charity part time job go. It was charity anyways as it paid $9/hr and I made over $70 at my full tie profession. 3 times my account has been screwed up by the Y staff. I went to swim this morning, and they said there's a problem with my account- AGAIN! I have not only been a paying member of this Y, but I have DONATED over $500 at a time when the Masters programs used to do fund raisers for the Y. This is how they treat their former employees and active members? This place now kinda sucks IMHO. * Update- They have no customer satisfaction skills. On the phone, they are condescending and talk to me like a kid. They keep transferring me to another person, and yet expect me not be irritated by this! This 'Jamie' person told me that her employees stated I was using cuss words repeatedly. this is a fabrication- I used one cuss word once when the whole thing started. I have over 800 Credit score, and earn a six figure salary, and ALWAYS pay my bills, etc. My swim buddies want me to stay at the Y. Oh Lord, please give me another option where I can go and do my swim workouts!h At the SW Y- the customer and history and past donations mean nothing. read more

I have tried numerous times to speak to Jaime Director with no luck. Have now paid 2 months more for service i have been trying to cancel but because we had our daughter in Volleyball class we were going to have to pay extra for her class which i did not agree. Main reason to cancel membership is more because of facility for swimming never being available, our kids who have taken numerous swimming lessons at the Y continue getting kicked out by the instructors because of classes. When we became members we were sold because we were told are kids could come and swim anytime during pool hours but that doesn't seem to be the case. So today I called once again to speak to Jaime and once again sent to Voicemail, but or course the one thing the receptionist does tell me is that i will get charged yet another month for a service i have been trying to cancel. Seems like the Y is just great at taking peoples money but not great on helping members solve problems. Customer Service is terrible. seem willing to help before you become a member, but once a member don't run into any issues because they don't care. read more

The day camp is unorganized. Kids are bullied. The staff is not trained. The director of the camp is inexperienced and my kids were constantly hit and yelled at by kids. I am very disappointed. read more

Love the Southwest YMCA. As a new member I love the child care aspect for all my other moms, working/ busy moms their child watch service allows you to get a workout in and the variety of classes is always and added benefit. Staff is very nice and helpful!!! read more

Counselors are teenagers, and there's WAY too many kids per adult for adequate supervision. The tipping point for us was when the bullying situation did not improve immediately when brought to the staff's attention. In fact, the opposite occurred, my 7yo son was blamed on the same day for kicking a 10yo. I was forced to leave work early to pick him up. There was NO incident report or details, just my son on a picnic bench, alone... frightened and confused as to why he was going home early. read more

First off, do not come in the after work hours (4-6). It is crazy busy and full. Early mornings before work might be the same (I wouldn't know as I've never made it there before 9 a.m.). Of course, I'm not deducting stars because I'm sure that's the case at any gym. I come during midday or after 7 p.m. The cardio room is big, filled with tons of machines. If ti's especially busy, sometimes I don't get my first choice, but I will get my second. The pool is big and nice, and this Y is conveniently located next to hiking/biking trails, so a jaunt outside to break things up (when it's nice out, of course), is a great diversion. Because this location is near the woods, be very careful driving at dusk-- there are tons of deer. But the best thing about the Y has to be the trainers. My favorites are Karen and Lydia. When I first joined, Lydia set me up on the weight machines and is always willing to help out. When I haven't been in a while, she says it's nice to see me (but spares me the lecture). They have this cool computer system where you log your cardio workouts and 10 weight machines are connected, which record your settings (where the seat goes, what your last weights were), and then once a month you get emails that show you how many elephants you lifted and hot fudge sundaes you've burned off. It's a big encouragement. read more

The Milwaukee area YMCA's declared bankruptcy June 2014 jsonline.com/news/milwau... and as a member I have been watching the YMCA go through a slow death during this bankruptcy as employees quit or are let go and services and cleanliness decline. Do you think that they have money to pay for someone to clean the showers during the bankruptcy or fish out the floaters after the kiddies have been in the pool? So you want to join a health club going through bankruptcy? Seriously? read more

I've been a part of many years of childhood mischief at this place. Fun times. However, after growing up a little and going here as a serious adult trying to workout, I was somewhat disappointed. This location has a great pool, many basketball courts (unfortunately they are almost always packed), and many many cardio machines. What was lacking, however, was the free weight section. Stuck down in a dark dungeon is a small area for the heavy lifters. If you are looking for a good atmosphere to pound the weights, I'd check elsewhere. They have so many programs for children that, if you have children this is a great place to take them, but if you hate children, this is not a place for you as there are always crowds of them. read more

The good parts: Great place for the kids to take classes. Nice big pool, two nice size gyms (four full size basketball courts). The bad side: you can't play basketball with the kids, because the adult games don't care about kids and will run them over without thinking twice. If the kids aren't in a class, not a whole lot they can do. The fix: make the upper gym for families and kids. The downstairs for adult pickup basketball games. read more

I have not used the facility since 2006. Maybe conditions improved since then, you be the judge. I will not use the facility. I am a swimmer. Using the pool through seven years of experience I can say that I picked up 15 ear infections from the use of the pool. I had brought it to the attention of the management and aquatic director repeatably, to no avail. The last time I was there I was in the pool area speaking to the aquatic director ( One of many times I brought up the situation with her ) of the lack of enforcement of the state laws requiring a "nude soapy shower" prior to entry to the pool. There was a women who left the locker area without bathing. The director told the offender that she needed to bathe before entering. The women did not stop, kept walking by declaring "I did" and proceeded into the pool. I asked the Aquatics director, Jenna Lendowski, why she allowed the person into the pool without bathing. Jenna said she would not allow her tot do it next time. Is it any wonder why I received so many ear infecections.???? read more

Great place for athletics of all ages. Friendly staff, generally well-kept equipment. It was taken over by Waukesha Y M C A in 2015. Not much changed. Good summer programs for kids. read more

Very friendly staff. Great classes. Many machines. No complaints. Parking is a bit annoying and adds up over time, but other than that I'd give it 5 stars. read more