This is Duke! It's old, prestigious and has a gorgeous campus. My visit was late Summer of 2019 for a swim recruiting visit that my son attended. The Wilson Rec Center is pretty central to campus and has student recreational activities. The pool is in the rear and is the only thing I saw. You can enter in front or rear for the aquatic complex. The building itself looks like "Duke". The brownstones are spectacular. Parking is reserved pretty much all around the building I found the visitors lot which is about a 3/4 mile walk. The area was clean and impeccably maintained. The aquatic complex is not as old as the building dating to possibly turn of the century. However it's no spring chicken either. Possibly built in the late 60's, not ruling out 70's. The pool and deck are maintained. Only faculty, staff and the swim and dive are permitted to use outside of special permission. My son enjoyed the pool. Although not a new pool it has underwent a couple of renovation projects over the decades. The most recent was around 11 years ago. The 25 yard pool with diving well is a nice set up for competition. Duke competes in the ACC Conference. The complex offers a compact spectator area on one side. Most reading this review will never get the opportunity to use the pool and probably never even see it. My son absolutely loved his time on campus and who knows could be a Blue Devil. read more

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This gym has open gym basketball got into a pick up game and i had my career high 61 points

I absolutely love this gym. I work at Duke, where they give us a discount to go to this gym. The exercise classes- particularly the Zumba and cardio-dance classes are intense, very energetic, and with great instructors. There are one or two instructors that are on the less intense side. The gym facility is wonderful with weight lifting room, treadmills, climbing wall, pool, and basketball court- all of the basic gym necessities. The hours are decent, as well. The only words of caution I would add is that during the peak times-after 5pm, it can be very busy. read more

Great gym available to everybody in the Duke and local community. Students, undergrad or grad, can swipe into the gym, but if you are an outside visitor you may have to pay an entry fee and be swiped in by a student. Popular features on the three levels of the gym include the rock climbing wall, Taishoff aquatic pavilion with the Olympic sized pool, the elliptical area, the weight room, a downstairs spin area and finally the group fitness classes. My favorites are high intensity interval training and Zumba, crowded but you get a good workout. Tends to be most busy around the afternoon around 5 pm, but the gym opens at 7 and closes at 11 so there are plenty of other times to come. read more

Membership is mandatory for students (I think? or at least, I've never tried to opt out), so in terms of cost, I'm not really sure what to say. I do really like the variety and quantity of fitness classes available! One of my favorite classes is HIIT, high intensity interval training. The instructors all have their own styles but are generally all very enthusiastic and encouraging. There are indoor basketball courts available, and you can check out basketballs with your Duke ID. There are also the usual treadmills, ellipticals, and a large weight room. There's a climbing wall (you have to pay and take their training class to use it). There's also a swimming pool, but the hours that it's actually open to the public are a little inconvenient. Important: If you forget to bring your Duke ID, there is NO WAY for you to enter u less a stranger wants to pay $5 for you to get in using their Flex points. read more

It's not the best university gym I've been a member of (shout out to Penn State's out of this world's Rec Hall), but it's definitely got its perks. Perks: 1) Climbing Wall (I need to find a new partner) 2) Cool equipment not often seen (Jacob's Ladder, stair climber - in addition to typical stairmaster) 3) Nice lighting & high ceilings 4) Good smoothies from in-gym shop 5) Nice selection of classes with good instructors (but wayyyy packed, be prepared to sweat on and be sweated on) I dislike working out and I'm not athletic, but Wilson Gym makes exercising to combat my decreasing metabolism somewhat less torturous. Along one wall you've got several large flatscreens that usually show the blood-pumping channels of CNN, local news, and ESPN (someone please please change these channels). However, you can only see these awesome TVs from a select range of cardio machines. The bad thing is that they quickly run out of sanitary wipes and the female locker rooms often are out of paper towels, soap, and just not cleaned enough. However, in the gym itself the gym-goers are pretty good about cleaning up after themselves and good about not hogging stuff. I've visited Brodie Gym on the East Campus and I have to say Wilson is far far superior. I've also heard Wilson's indoor pool is pretty nice, but haven't checked it out myself. There's also an indoor track on the 4th floor on those days the treadmills are all full. Duke staff pay around $15/month for access to both Wilson & Brodie. Pretty good deal, no complaints from me! And while it can get really busy, there's always some piece of equipment free if you're willing to do new things. read more

With three floors, a swimming pool, cardio and weight equipment, a rock climbing wall, a sauna, basketball courts, and a wrestling room, Wilson Recreation Center is among the most expansive gyms that I've been to. However, among university gyms, it doesn't do the best job in accommodating the needs of its students. For example, there is often a shortage of treadmills and squat racks (though the treadmill shortage has recently been addressed). Duke students are automatically signed up for a gym membership, though I'm not sure how much membership fees are for non-Duke related members. The main reason why I'm giving the Wilson Recreation Center a 4 instead of a 5 is because of the hours. On weekends the gym opens at 9 AM and closes at 10 PM. In addition, the Wilson Recreation Center completely closes when there are home Duke football games, which is an inconvenience for gym enthusiasts who like to keep a consistent schedule. read more

Best gym ever. Big and has almost everything. A swimming pool, weights and lots of running machines. Very nice place to work out. Avoid the 5-7pm slot when it's the busiest. Also, enjoy the climbing wall. read more

Rude management and unnacommodating personnel. Handled my situation poorly and immaturely.

As a Duke Alum who bleeds Duke blue, it pains me to write a negative review. Please understand that I would not be compelled to write such a review without multiple visits that resulted in a negative experience. I'll start with the positives. Wilson Rec Center is a fantastic facility and has everything that you need for a solid workout. Students, for the most part, have very good gym etiquette and are reasonable about cleaning the equipment. Also... while the gym gets very busy in September during the start of the school year, you don't get a massive influx of inexperienced seasonal gym members in January who try to make good on New Year's resolutions but ultimately just interrupt your routine. Finally, Wilson Rec is right in the middle of campus and is a gorgeous environment. Summer time, when Camps aren't going on, means that there are very few people and you can get through your work out very quickly. My number one issue with Wilson Rec is the staff. 9 times out of 10 they are surfing the Internet on their phones, watching Youtube videos on the computers, and in one instance, there was a staff member filling out a coloring book while manning the front desk. I would not have such an issue with this behavior if the staff made an effort to say hello, be friendly or even MAKE EYE CONTACT! If the staff's job is just to ward off boredom while swiping people's cards, why not just have card kiosks to let people into the gym? I've been going to Wilson for years, and have yet to know a staff member by name, something that is not the case at the YMCA. The other issue I have with the staff is just their general attitude that gives off the impression that their job of manning a desk is a frustrating challenge. If you want to be a robotic grimacing curmudgeon, why not just go work at the DMV where people expect such behavior? You are ultimately in the service industry here, so service your customers accordingly. Finally, Wilson "Rec" Center stands for "Recreation" which implies leisure and play. The staff members at the YMCA, for instance, make an effort of learning people's names and going out of their way to be helpful and foster an environment of play and enjoyment. I've never had such interactions at Wilson. Any interaction that I have had has involved scolding me for not following a rule that I was unaware of or stopping a basketball game because not everyone had a wrist-band on. Advice to Management: Understand that all gyms have rules, but not all people (particularly out of town Alumni) are aware of said rules - for instance the number of guests one can bring into the gym on a given visit. Empower your staff to make common sense decisions that respect your policies but also ensure that Alumni, Staff and Students can ultimately enjoy their visits, i.e., if an Alum from out-of-town wants to pay for 3 visiting guests to enjoy the gym, make a one-time concession with the understanding that next time, the Alum can only have two guests. If you do, however, plan to always enforce your policies, encourage your staff to be more professional. Don't just surf the Internet, swipe cards and tell people what they CAN'T do. Set an example and be friendly. Otherwise, it just leaves a bad taste in the mouth of current and potential donors who don't want to come back to campus or continue to support the organization when donor solicitations ultimately come through. read more

This recreation center has so much to offer to the students and affiliates of Duke University. There's so many different ways to improve your physical health, mental health, and emotional well-being. read more