Took the cycling classes yesterday with Gregg.Honestly, I’ve gone to many cycle classes in different studios in New York and Miami, and this class was top notch. Your equipment is awesome, the instructor was very motivating and helpful in keeping our alignment correct throughout the class, the big fans were amazing (someone get the instructor a fan too), and the structure of the class was perfect

Clean and well-maintained, with a large assortment of machines and weights. Pricing scales with income. Can get very busy during peak hours, but about an hour or two before closing it dies down fast; thats when I usually go.

I just finished my last shift as a lifeguard at the Dowds aquatics center. I have never worked anywhere with a friendlier staff or friendlier members. The sense of community among the staff and members at this branch is incredible. I will cherish my experience here for years to come!

Wow, this place is incredible. The people here are wonderful too.

This gym is amazing and has so many amenities. It is one of the best family gyms to go to. It offers so many activities, clubs and other exciting things to do for the children. It also has so many great workout areas for any type of training, crossfit, cardio or meditation you would like to do. This location also provides the food and drink and their cafeteria and the staff is amazing

There’s this guy named Jason who’s totally disrespectful and rude at the receptionist desk, probably acted that way cause i’m asian and he felt powerful discriminating, or he’s just a person bitter at life. Sad that YMCA which should embody and preach the Christian spirit would employ someone like that, especially at the front desk.

This is not an Inclusive and equitable YMCA location. I was told by staff that it is Adult only. Families and children are not welcome here. Very poor experience given the fact it’s the closest to my home and has an on-site children facility that is supposed to be temporarily closed. Figure out the messaging you are sending to local professional families like myself. not acceptable!!!

The good - great facility, beautifully renovated, clean, doesnt smell sweaty like some gyms, lots of variety of classes, towels are provided, all props/equipment for classes provided (except yoga mats), two indoor pools, convenient app to check class schedules, child care provided, most employees are very niceThe bad - traffic, parking, how crowded it gets, some employees have a lot of attitude and cant be bothered to be niceThey are putting in a cafe soon (spring 2020)

Great facility. Lots of fitness equipment for various types of workouts and exercises. Swimming pool, CrossFit, group exercise, free weights, machines, complete cardio area. Basketball courts, racquetball and more.

Great place to work out, multiple weight rooms, basketball courts, indoor and outdoor tracks

Love this place is such amazing 👏

Been years since I have been to the Dowd Y. The new addition is nice and open and feels very modern compared to what it used to be. I definitely like it. I was a little disappointed though in the weight machine offerings. I just came back from Planet Fitness uptown and they have more redundancy for the equipment than the Y, so you dont have to wait. I found myself waiting alot at the Y for that reason. Also the layout is very discombobulated so you have to walk around alot to find equipment for the same muscle group. Other than that it is a fantastic facility and I am glad to be back.

Its a beautiful gym but the staff there are rude and feel like they own the place. My account was charged for many months when they were closed during the pandemic but I still got charged. No help with a refund so I canceled my card.I started to come back but not that often since of having to wear a mask and was paying month by month. Today is March 24th and they want to charge me for the full month and not from todays date.I asked to talk to a manager and a girl name Dana came to help. She was not helpful at all and felt like she owned the place she did not care that I canceled my membership from her lack of empathy,understanding, and mostly help/support. She was mean/rude and when I said I would leave a review she said thats okay and bye bye.Terrible customer service and manners as a person. After a full year of a pandemic this is how you treat loyal customers for more than 15+ years.

One of the best gym I been in very nice all the remodeling was worth it👍👍👍👍

YMCA IS MY HAPPY PLACE THANK YOU FOR COMING ALIVE ☺ 💕

I can only speak for pre COVID experience. I feel like this is without a doubt the best gym in Charlotte. The equipment is top knotch. It’s is fairly busy at times but never to the point where you’re just waiting around forever. I do wish they had more ropes as the ones they have are bulkier than typical ropes. That’s about the only Complaint. After being in many other YMCAs, I now can only wish they had the equipment that DOWD has.

I love the ymca I grew up at the yHowever my membership will be canceled permanently due to their discrimination against people with medical conditions due to covid mask mandateOur governor has made a mask MANDATE not a LAW and I have a medical exemption and I am exempt from this order. Most places see my doctors note and they move on however when asking WHY I was all the sudden made to wear a mask after weeks and months of a pandemic because “too many people were saying they have a medical condition” that’s not my problem nor is it my fault and I shouldn’t have to suffer when I ACTUALLY have a condition

Love it here! Dr. TL is cool as hell! The staff is amazing as well!

Mostly a good experience. Some staff has gone back to their cold, unfriendly, no customer service skills. During Covid they were providing the best customer service, now the paid members are back in full swing, they are back to business as usual. That was the best thing about covid, it leveled the playing field for big business vs small..its amazing what money changes will do.

So this YMCA is flush with cash from local corporations and is nicer than many athletic facilities at large college campuses (ie LSU, Bama, Uga). It has everything youd expect to find in those gyms including multiple weight rooms, a track, basketball courts, fitness classes, dance studios.The only thing is the gym does get crowded and some (not all) staff are rude. The gym is also the only traditional gym in Southend and not some specialized fitness class like orange theory fitness they are strict about social distance and the crowd ranges from fresh out of college to older adults. One thing that is clear is that there is a heavy number of obvious steroid users at this gym.

Best place to lift big

I’m very familiar with the Dowd. I haven’t been there for years and I just invited a friend to take a look at it and maybe signed up. I was sitting very distant from everybody else and one of the members just came up to me being without saying good morning very rudely asked me to put on my mask. I completely understand the importance of wearing your PPE but it was embarrassing just the way he approach. I decided not to show my friend that day. We are all going through this hardship and trust me I’m very cautious. But I think better customer service needs to be practice.

My husband and I would use the rooftop to workout, away from everyone except maybe 2 other people many feet away (far beyond the 6ft requirement NC has given). One day we were told we needed to stay 6 ft away from each other (yes, away from my husband, whom I live with), but it was okay to not wear a mask outside if we were at least away from other people. Her exact words when we told her we lived together were they dont care. Weird, but simple enough, no one was near us and we already had our own squares. We joked that he needed to stay 6 ft away from me, and moved on.The next time we were there, exact same scenario: 4 people total on rooftop, no one near us. A woman comes up to tell us we need to wear our mask outside. We ask her why being the NC executive order says if youre outside and only near people in your household you dont need to wear it. We also tell her what the last person told us. She got on some walkie talkie and said they want you to wear it 100% of the time, even when youre outside and not near anyone. We find this ridiculous and dont think it makes sense.We cancelled our memberships immediately and will wait until COVID dies down to join another gym - which WONT be the Y, who hasnt financially helped anyone with their membership fees, but has definitely altered the value of their service.

Recently renovated the facilities, everything looks and feels excellent.

Ive been going to the Dowd for a few years now and love it there everyone is friendly and they have done an Amazing job keeping the gym safe during covid.

Best gym in Charlotte but with the cost and limited amount of staff I dont see why they cant go back to their original hours.

Very nice facility with great equipment, but it is always packed full of people, enough that it can be hard to access the equipment you want to use

12-4 Sunday hours...Since when and why did the Y decide to close so early? Being open 4 hours on a Sunday is simply not sufficient for the amount of members in the Charlotte Metro area. I have been coming here for years, and have seen the Y do less and less to accommodate the ever-increasing membership numbers.This place is not what it was in early 2020. Lacking in quality staff that they had before COVID. Weights are never re-racked correctly. Constantly weights are in the wrong places. Also missing several attachments and pieces of equipment. One of them being missing for several months now, the rope attachment for the cable machine which is an important piece of equipment, and used by majority of people at some point in their workout is nowhere to be found.It just seems like the gym is missing and lacking a lot of pieces of equipment/cable attachments. Gym staff is nowhere to be seen for oversight on the equipment and weights. On top of all this, it’s just crowded due to shutdown of certain machines and an overall letdown since reopening during COVID.

It stinks that they will not let kids workout under 16yr old very bad policy

Always love the Ymca

GO BACK TO NORMAL HOURS!!! The mask mandate is lifted. It does not make sense to condense the hours. The condensed hours makes the gym more crowded.

Was considering getting a membership here but they make you wear a mask while working out. Yikes.

Love the location and facilityWish hot yoga was back and more machines available now that were required to wear masks even during exercise

I love the staff, really sweet.

Glad to know the Dowd is open! Check Google for accurate hours.

I really enjoy the water aerobics classes they offer! Everyone in the class is so nice and accommodating!

The dowd is great, best YMCA in Charlotte. Only negative thing about it is. It has kids league games in the gym or practices. The dowd is suppose to be an adult gym.. this is one of the reasons i left the YMCA.

Excellent equipment and helpful staff

Clean environment. They made sure that everyone was safe by sanitizing the stations and keeping mask as a requirement.

They never answer the phone. They tried to charge me the months of Covid they were closed. There’s never parking at the Dowd. And this is the most expensive gym around. If I pay $50 a month, you should have enough staff to answer the phone. No excuse for 30 minute wait times.

The Dowd was renovated last year and has some amazing equipment and in some cases, a lot of equipment to use. There are multiple floors with different equipment and many classes to choose. They even have a swimming poo, basketballl and racquetball. I wish they updated their accessories, like mats, ab roller as they either get lost or break. However what makes the Dowd is its awesome members

I really like this ymca. It’s friendly big enough and feels safe! Pretty good location wise also

Great place to workout. State of the art equipment.

Never disappointed. Clean facility.top notch equipments. Friendly staff.

Amazing place. About Everything youll need in a gym

The renovations are amazing. I mostly swim laps and the cold pools a nice temperature for laps, also really clean. The workout equipment is great too and the new barre/yoga rooms are really nice. Great gym for the price and what they offer.

Good atmosphere and good equipment.

Great gym for a good price. Free towels, water fountains, clean locker rooms, and good equipment. Amazing place for the price. I recommend going around 9am-10am, 1:30-2pm, or 8-10pm. Those are the best times to show up bc the crowds are small.

Nice n clean and everyone wearing their Mask!

They are doing a good job re-opening. I enjoyed my swim.

Enjoying the outside workout equipment...plus the staff is doing everything they can to keep us safe during pandemic....equipment spaced out...hand sanitizer and clorox wipes ready clean equipment before. And after use....thank you ymca team

This gym is the best in Charlotte. It is of course busy after 4:30pm most days (as is every other gym), but it has everything anyone could ever need and more. Plenty of bench racks, squat racks and deadlifting platforms. Sauna, steam room, pool and hot tub. I am very satisfied.

Whoever orders the equipment obviously doesn’t not work out and is extremely unaware of what goes on at the gym and the equipment that is in high demand. the adductor and abductor machines (1 of each) was not enough for the volume of people that use that machine. The lines for them were always so long. Instead of ordering more of each... they took them both away and replaced it with ONE machine that does both. I do not understand the logic behind that decision and obviously whoever made that decision has no clue about what they are doing and how this gym runs and operates. We already don’t have enough equipment for the amount of members and now they are making it even worse my REMOVING extremely popular machines when we needed more of them!! I don’t get it. Put someone else in charge please.

Great people and a great sense of community!

Well maintained. Safe environment and Programs

So many reasons. Dealt with the rebuild only to have the extra space take by a pay for crossfit class. Membership fee based on your W-2 is ridiculous. Always crowded if not packed. Can’t cancel over the phone and when you go in or fill in the form takes 15 days so I’ll be charged one last time. Talk about not being aligned with your so-called principles.

A wonderful place to work out! There is a large range of equipment to exercise with. There are also a range of classes to take. Check their weekly schedule. Locker rooms are spacious and equipped with changing booths, a shower room, steam room, sauna, and jetted tub. Basketball is frequently played in the court here. A small essentials store is inside the building.They are currently undergoing a major remodel both inside the building and outside in their parking lot. Youd have to park in the parking deck across the street. Unfortunately, their child daycare is unavailable because of the construction.

Best receptionist ever...

Dowd YMCA is amazing place to work out and exercise.

The membership sales person basically told me not to bother because its too busy, and felt the need to talk about how people get the police called because they dont pick up their kids from daycare. Really awkward.

My personal favorite YMCA gym. They have everything you could want: cardio equipment, weights, pools, and lots if classes. The ongoing remodel has included a new primary health clinic in it as well! Locket room has towel services, sauna and a hot tub.

You are not allowed to cancel online or by phone. You have to go in to cancel. You also have to give 15 days notice or you will be charged the next month. This is ridiculous. This location is also very crowded no matter when you go.

This Dowd has always been top notch. Staff has been friendly. Facility has been clean and safe. Equipment is up-to-date!

Great service. awesome facilities and one the best gyms ever. Love itAny YMCA around Charlotte are amazing.

Excellent Yoga, Barre, and Pilates classes! Love the sauna, hate the steam room. Locker rooms are clean. Towels provided. Warm water pool is perfect. I don’t use much else bc it’s always so crowded and I’m not a fan of the gym setup. Parking is a pain. Makes me late for classes. Easier to use the parking deck. I use the Childress Klein YMCA for cardio, weight, and strength training, etc.

Beautiful gym, extremely clean and great customer service. If you plan on joining ask for Tiffany, she is awesome!

The nicest YMCA on the planet.

The absolute best YMCA I have ever been to!Charlotte people, you really don’t know how good you have it, until you try to go to any other YMCA in the country. They’re typically dirty, way out of date on EVERYTHING! The only thing they’re current on is the pricing at the other YMCA’s.It’s obviously not a policy throughout the YMCA to uphold any basic standards. Charlotte, you sure are lucky to have the Dowd.

The dowd is amazing! For what I think is a pretty low price of $50 they have amazing cycling and yoga classes, all the weights you could ever need, personal training, and awesome locker rooms. Sometimes even when I dont want to workout I will go just to sit in the steamroom for 15 minutes. One of the nicest YMCAs ive seen in the country. Happy it is in my hometown!

This branch has helped me get in shape so many times. I live farther away but I think it will always be my favorite YMCA and gym.

I find it to be very unfair to be taking funds out of peoples accounts that have not been there since cov-19 and to be a Christian Organization.# really

There is a toddler area for the age of 12 months to 23 months. There is a preschool area for 2 year olds. There is a school age area for the age of 3 years old to 10. I arrived on time to check in my 3 year old and my 10 year old. To my surprise, I was turned away because apparently my 10 year old was too old. I could understand if the age limit was from 3 to 9 and the child could no longer be checked in after the day of their 10th birthday. But the website said age 3 to 10. So wouldnt it make more sense to be turned away if my child was 11? The lady in the childcare area acted as if she couldnt be bothered and mentioned a family center that was supposed to be 2 minutes away. But, I specifically came to the Dowd location to do CrossFit. I would give this place 0 stars if that was an option.

These two millenial bimbettes were monopolizing the hyperextion bench at 6:30 am today..I wanted to do ONE set...they gave me an attitude..like HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT OUR WORKOUT...Ill be remembering them for future reference.

If this really is the best gym in Charlotte, I will stick to my home studio. Nasty, rude, two faced staff and a gross facility, mold in the showers and old equipment.

Excellent facilities, great staff, and amazing classes of many activites including cycling, yoga, swimming and many more.

If your thinking you won’t your child to play rec don’t. My child hurt is tail bone so much he couldn’t walk for 10 days so he had to gowith help everyway even at school and after all of that the refs didn’t call any thing so don’t enroll your child here but otherwise it’s really new and nice

Excellent facility. Pull up bars everywhere.

This is the Mecca of all gyms they have a private room for every exercise endeavor, towels pools steam room, saunas all times of day, Ive tried over gyms around Charlotte & keep coming back here. This time Im here to stay!

Since the needed addition of the parking garage, its no longer safe to walk into the gym. The crosswalk is extremely poorly lit. There needs to be a bridge in order to cross the street.

They crank the heat up to about 80 degrees in the winter, makes it very difficult to exercise.

Top of the line facility!

Extremely bad customer service.

Very nice place!

Love this place.

My second home!

Fantastic facility

Very friendly staff.Very clean and pleasant establishment.

Beautiful place and very good hygiene

Kewl