Yates Field House

Absolutely horrible!!! This is MOST shockingly a reflection on GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY at large and SHAMEFUL!
First, do not go if you are not a «member» which is a laughable term considering the quality of the facility (and a requirement which you would never know as they don’t mention the necessity to be a «member» over the phone), second the complex is gloriously dilapidated and probably most comparable to the top of the line gym in Chechnya, so if you are going to put money into a gym membership please be smart and do a little more research.
If you have time please continue and read my Kafkaesque experience!
I live in New York City and visit Washington D.C. every two to three months with my girlfriend and stay in the Georgetown area. As we recently began taking lessons in the past three months, I did some research and found out that Georgetown University has courts and called three weeks ago to make arrangements to have lessons.
When I called, one of thier employees at the reception answered. I explained I was from out of town and would be in DC and requested 2 hours of court time from 5−7pm for Thursday, Friday, and today, Saturday. She said no problem what is your name? She took down my name and then I explained I needed an instructor to which she replied that I would need to arrange my own instructor as Georgetown did not offer these services. I told her no problem, I will arrange an instructor which I booked for about $ 250 PER DAY.
I confirmed the court booking on Wednesday (3 days ago) and was told I was on the books for court 1 each day… Still no one mentioned the necessity to be a member and as far as I knew, the court was booked AND confirmed, and so was my private instructor for all three days.
On Thursday I entered had my lesson, left no problem, Friday the same, and now on Saturday I was asked for my ID, which I provided and was then asked if I was a member… THE FIRST TIME ANYONE EVER MADE REFERENCE TO A MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT.
Obviously I explained I was not a member and instead of figuring out an intelligent solution to this predicament, they removed me and my girlfriend from the premises, BY FORCE!
I am shocked by Yates athletic department’s horrendously bi-​polar approach to handling gym membership where on one hand they do not even mention membership necessity when making bookings, confirmations, and when entering (at least ²⁄₃ times), and then once the harm has been done and my booking has been made through their staff’s negligence and I am out $ 250, they refuse to let me on the court even though their mismanagement has now cost me money. While trying to get in contact with someone of authority who could give the go ahead to play in order for me not to lose out on the money I had paid for the instructor standing next to me who had drive all the way from Reston, Virginia, the front desk called campus security to have me FORCIBLY REMOVED… The officer was literally in my personal space probably 3 inches from my head screaming at me to leave to premises immediately. Please do remember, I am an innocent guy in tennis whites with his girlfriend who is at Yate’s ONLY because I was told multiple times that this is fine, confirmed bookings and now I have lost $ 250 and have a GEROGETOWN UNIVERSITY POLICE OFFICER 3 inches from my head screaming at me and threatening me yelling things like «Usually we deal with situations like this as humanely as possible». Seriously AMAZING, AMAAAAZING!!!

What a large, nice gym. They have everything you could want, but I wish they had more of some items. The body bars and the light weights in the back by the indoor track are limited, the lightest body bar is 12 lbs and there are no 3lb weights. I mean what about shoulder weights for girls? I guess Georgetown figures their girls are mentally as well as physically strong. The girls locker rooms are definitely dated with pink and grey (think 60s poodle skirts) and vanity mirrors everywhere. There was only one sink that I could find in the very back of the locker room with only a couple bathroom stalls. I wish there was a sink at the front so I could just run in and wash my hands. That being said they do have automatic hand sanitizers around every corner and cleaning wipes to wipe down all of the equipment.
You must purchase the work out classes individually or pay a set amount per number of classes. Currently its $ 65 for unlimited classes per semester. Look for their sign up table the first week of school to get a discount. The entire gym is underground, above it are the soccer fields. When I first went, I didn’t realize that behind the curtains by the cardio machines was the second half of the gym with floor mats, light weights, cycling equipment and an indoor track. No wonder everyone was looking at me funny when I was trying to lift the giant weights by the cardio machines.
When you first walk in you are asked to swipe your GO card. Having just paid my fees they had me fill out a pass to speed up my processing and then let me enter the gym. I had questions for the front desk staff concerning class prices and details about some of the classes. I was met with blank stares and finally after my persistence an offer to call their manager. This happened in the evening after the management office had closed. I came back the next day and was directed to this office. The student who helped me there was a bit more helpful, but still had that blank stare expression. I get the impression they don’t get many new people asking questions.
Yates is located at the back of campus just past the football field in the center of campus. I really like this gym so far and the only reason I’m docking one star is because of the dated appearance inside, some older, limited gym equipment, and front desk staff who have no idea as to the answer to any of my questions.

Yates looks like a former KGB training camp. Unfortunately, all Georgetown students are forced to pay for this dump.
I can’t tell if my hatred of Yates is based on principle — being forced to pay for something I don’t use or if it’s because it just looks so outdated/​dark. For the amount of money Georgetown makes its students pay, they could at least make it look nice.
Come on, state schools in Virginia have nicer gyms!

If you have access to this place, its a great deal.
Nice pool, updated equipment, indoor track, indoor tennis courts.

The judo here is excellent, with world-​class instructors and athletes, as well as a good mixture of beginners up to black belts. You don’t have to be a student to join the dojo, and upon joining you get a free parking pass. Rates are excellent, especially compared to other martial arts, and they have family rates. Expect to gain confidence and learn GOOD judo, all while having fun and getting in an excellent workout.

Serves its purpose. Could use some more machines (treadmills, ellipticals) because a line starts to form at around 6 during the school year. Machines aren’t the most up-​to-​date, but they’re decent. Yates tries out new machines and sees how people like them, and keep the ones that are popular, so that’s good.
Being a lifeguard here, I can say with confidence that the staff does their best to make sure that the pool is safe and clean. Yates staff is always very friendly and helpful. The locker room also features a sauna, nice!
Definitely take advantage of their group fitness classes (spinning, Yoga, pilates, Pump It, Boxing, ButtsnGuts, etc). CardioBox with Lisa is my favorite. It combines cardio with kickboxing; if you love Taebo and high-​energy workouts, you’ll absolutely love her class. And it really gets you into shape! Pump It with Rosemary is also great for strength training, she works all your muscles. Spinning with Ron (he usually teaches Wednesday evening classes) is the best: he’s got the best music, featuring high-​energy techno and hip hop beats. Get there 15 minutes early though, once the class is full you can’t get in. ButtsnGuts works on your core and lower half, and made me unable to sit down and bend at the waist for several days. Even laughing became painful.
Yates also offers Judo and swimming classes, tennis and squash lessons, in addition to personal trainers and a summer camp for little ones. Yates also has a mini-​size track (one time around is ¹⁄₈ mile), squash and tennis courts. Yates is an ok place to work out: could be worse, but could be better.
Oh, and thanks for the AC this swelteringly hot summer!

The old Georgetown gymnasium… the smell of sweat and rubber mats, the sight of freshman girls working off their «fifteen»…the squeaking of basketball shoes on hardwood, a flirtacious encounter at the drinking fountain. Short shorts that say «HOYAS» over the ass…
Last time I was here I snuck in to play ping pong with an old friend and watch the college baseball world series on the big screen by the locker rooms. Not much had changed, except that the place is air-​conditioned now. Still there were no freeweight-​style bench press (Smith machine is the best you can do), but still there was a high-​quality hoops game going on, which is probably the biggest draw of this facility – constant pick-​up games.