Campbell County YMCA

Small. Overcrowded outdoor pool where its swimmers flood into the small noisy locker room. No locks available to borrow. No towels available to rent. The girl at front desk was not welcoming or helpful. The visitor sign-​in process seemed really disorganized so my guess is anybody could come anytime without a membership. There are so many kids here. It definitely seems like a place for families, especially in the summertime. It also seems like young boys in the women’s locker room is commonplace here. So yea…
The machine/​weight room was also tight. Definitely not my fave.

It’s not one of the nicer facilities in Cincinnati (Anderson and Burlington both nicer), but it gets the job done.
For our family, the childcare can’t be beat! Our boys love going to the y. The child watch helpers are friendly and competent and offer an amazing respite to work out or get some work done via the wifi.
Pools are great, including the sloped splash pool.

I’m a fan of the YMCA overall and think they have amazing programs and do a lot of good. This is a nice facility, but it is a bit of a rabbit warren (multiple levels, stairs and lots of smaller rooms vs. huge open spaces). From what I’ve experienced, the indoor and outdoor pool areas are some of the biggest highlights, particularly the outdoor kid’s pool area. The kid’s pool is fairly large and good for a range of ages with fun, interactive elements (a slide, various fountains, etc.). Unfortunately, membership is very pricey, especially family memberships. The family memberships do include free childcare and discounts on kids’ programs/​classes, so it can be a good value if you really use it frequently and consistently.
The balance of this review (and the main driver of the rating) is a recent experience with a kid’s swimming class. We signed up as non-​members for a «skip» class for our 18-​month old son ($ 75/​session for 8 classes total). The «skip» class is the entry-​level where a parent must swim with the child. We’ve never done a swim class with him before so I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was a little disappointed with our instructor. She seemed very novice and like she wasn’t really sure what to do, especially after the first few classes. It’s tough to really do a lot of structure with this age, but I was looking for a bit more direct guidance from her.
If you’ve never done a class at the YMCA, be sure to carefully check the exact dates because our session was actually over 2 mini-​session time periods so it was 4 weeks on, 1 week break, and then 4 weeks on. I didn’t realize this and came on the off week, which was a little annoying. Much more annoying was that we didn’t have an instructor at all for 2 of the actual 8 classes – one time the teacher’s substitute didn’t show up (with no advance notification to us) and one time we were notified in advance that the teacher couldn’t be there, so we just came and swam with him on our own.
Overall, I still have a positive impression of this YMCA, but if I took another class there, would hope for better communication next time.

My family joined the Y in February of 2013. I have 3 children and needed a way to be able to exercise at my own pace (ie walks around the neighborhood do not work).
I was hesitant to use a child care service, as I take it very seriously who I leave my kids with. I asked to spend an hour in the child care room with my kids to see how they liked it and be able to talk to the staff.
I recommend doing this for anyone looking into using childcare. I asked about their interview process and their CPR certifications, etc. As I should have expected, they are very on top of everything. The Y is, after all, a very reputable national non-​profit.
But I still wanted to be sure that their policies and practices trickled all the way down to the individual child care worker.
I am really happy with the fact that all of my children share the same space– from newborn up to 9 year olds (I don’t have those age children, but they fit within those parameters). They newborn/​non-​walking children have an enclosed space, though, so they’re not in danger of getting caught under foot by one of the older kids.
The room is kept well organized and clean.
The lady who runs the morning routine is WONDERFUL, and all of the (female) child care staff know my kids names and are super friendly with us all. They also aren’t shy around me about telling my kids what to do («Please pick up your toys before you leave with your mom!») which I really appreciate.
So now I exercise in peace and quiet, enjoying some alone time, while I know my kids are having fun and well watched over. :-)
I enjoy taking showers in the locker room for the same reason. The facilities themselves are not state-​of-​the-​art, but they are CLEAN, and the entire service is affordable and safe, I really cannot ask for more!
But there is more… free wi-​fi that I use to watch a show while I’m working out (on my phone) as well as access to TV’s in the gym.
There is a meeting room/​lunch room where I can set up my laptop and use the internet if I really want some undivided time.
There is free coffee in the lobby.
The outdoor pool is AWESOME. Lifeguards everywhere, and the kiddie splash pool is PERFECT. We go there 2 to 3 times a week throughout the summer.
But don’t forget, because of child care service, you could technically put your children in there and spend a little alone time in the sun! Reading alone by the pool? That alone is worth the membership fee for the summer. :-)

I have been going to the Fort Thomas YMCA for a few years. In general, I spend my time on the treadmills. I have found they keep the equipment up to date and the ability to have an individual TV with full cable channel line up to distract me during my workouts is a bonus.
The Y also has a number of classes. In the past I have attended water aerobics classes and felt I got a really good workout. My only complaint was that the schedule changed on a regular basis and found myself several showing up several times to find the class time moved or canceled. Before I attend a class now, I just call ahead and check to ensure I am working off of the correct schedule.
In the summer, the outside pool is so popular on the weekends that I find myself heading north to Blue Ash YMCA for a more relaxed atmosphere.

We took a tour of the Campbell County Y a few months ago. As a part-​time tutor for the YMCA in Cincinnati, I am eligible for a free membership. The front desk employees were friendly and one took us on a tour where we saw the gym area, indoor pool, cardio area, and more. There was plenty of space and equipment, but I found it a little confusing with the stairways.
They also provided us with a monthly fitness class schedule. I had good intentions of taking a yoga class or going to use the cardio equipment, but it’s on the other side of Ft. Thomas from where I live, so I continue to use the small workout facility in the condo complex where we live. I think it would be a great place for families.