About
The Melrose Family YMCA, located at 497 Main St, Melrose, MA, is a community-focused facility offering a wide range of programs and amenities for all ages. It typically provides a fitness center, gymnasium, and swimming pools, hosting activities such as group exercise classes, youth sports, swim lessons, and family programs.
The main swimming pools at the Melrose Family YMCA are generally maintained between 80-82°F (approximately 26.7-27.8°C). Additionally, the facility includes a warmer teaching pool, which is typically kept at a higher temperature, often in the range of 86-88°F (approximately 30-31.1°C), suitable for lessons and therapeutic use.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? Reviews for the YMCA offer a mixed but strong sentiment. Many members praise the facility for its diverse and inclusive programs, high-quality offerings (especially aquatics and the pool), cleanliness, and convenient child watch hours. Staff are frequently described as excellent, friendly, and helpful, with management noted for being responsive to community needs and valuing diversity. The YMCA is appreciated as a valuable resource for both physical and social well-being, particularly for seniors, and recent renovations have been well-received. However, significant negative feedback highlights concerns about poor schedule management, leading to the main gym being frequently inaccessible for certain activities like basketball due to other events. More seriously, there are serious accusations of staff exhibiting 'weird behavior' and threatening members, specifically involving a staff member named Jay Berger. A major point of contention is racial bias and discrimination, with one detailed account describing an instructor (Cynthia Berger) as unprofessional and seemingly discriminatory towards a person of color, an experience reportedly shared by other non-white members. Concerns about the YMCA's practices potentially prioritizing white adults over others and inconsistencies regarding membership status were also raised.
Location
Gallery
Amenities
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Accessible Entrance
Reviews
Listing Reviews
July 25th, 2025Seamus Mcavoy
As a member for more than 20 years I have always been impressed by the quality, quantity and convenience of the programs offered for the entire community. The staff is excellent and the management listens to their staff and to the community about their needs. I am so grateful the YMCA celebrates and protects diversity and inclusion and always strives to meet the needs of everyone in our community.
June 13th, 2025Rebecca Coluntino
Joining the YMCA has been awesome so far. The Child watch hours have been great. I really appreciate how clean they keep the gym, bathrooms and showers. .and all the staff have been so friendly and helpful!
September 4th, 2025Bean Town
One of the worse ymca ive stepped foot in, they dont understand what a schedule is and how to follow it. On top of that instead of having the gym be accessible they constantly have dumb shit going on in there, pickleball, baseball or just random bullshit. Would love to be able to play basketball in my own town and not have to drive mulitple towns away to due poor management and just stupid shit like having pickleball take up 4-5 hours of the gym.
March 25th, 2025Dot Corbett
I like the pool & take the aquatics classes, especially the aqua stretch twice a week. I have arthritis & the water really helps me to stretch/do aerobics. The class is made up of really nice/fun older adults mostly (but anyone can join!). We are like a community & I included a photo from our 2024 Holiday Party! The YMCA provides my social as well as physical needs as a senior! The facility is great with the new renovations; I also use the sauna & women's showers/dressing area.
August 27th, 2025Maxwell Sato
This is THE THIRD TIME that this comment was hidden from the reviews for no reason. Repost for visibility. Updated: I am being threatened by their staffs' weird behavior especially Jay Berger, who works at the 2nd-floor front desk and is the son of Cynthia Berger, the instructor here. At Aug 11 2025, he already had been speaking to a lot he knows within his inner circle at this facility, which made me feel unsafe to reenter the facility despite I'm still paying my membership. We have direct email correspondence from the CEO of YMCA Metro North confirming my status. So it is unclear why YMCA Melrose would previously deny my membership in their comments—this inconsistency is deeply concerning. Also worth noting: Most of the Glowing Reviews seem to come from white members. So, the nickname does not only represent myself—it also speaks for several other POC members at Melrose YMCA. We share the same concern that certain practices here seem to prioritize white adults over others, which goes against the values and principles that a local YMCA should uphold. [I don’t know how my previous post disappeared from public view, but Google’s system allows me to re-edit it using the post history. ] Repost it below: --------------------- I’ve always had great experiences with YMCA instructors—except for Cynthia Berger. I was the only Asian in her recent mat Pilates class. When I asked what equipment we needed before class, she responded with ignorance while smiling chat with others about her son, someone named Jay (I am not sure but heard from others that might be someone who also works part-time at YMCA Melrose). As an instructor, her repeated refers to her son (Jay) during class felt both unnecessary and unprofessional. I couldn’t understand why personal matters were being prioritized over the actual session. During class, she stepped directly on me. She clearly realized it, acted surprised, and just awkwardly laughed without offering any apology. It felt deliberate, since the two people practicing on either side of me in the same row were actually closer to her, but she avoided both and stepped only on me. I’ve taken her class months ago, but this time I was definitely treated differently as the only people of color at that class. It made me feel singled out and uncomfortable. I don’t feel safe taking her classes anymore. I don’t know if she had a bad experience with other non-white people before and took it out on me, but the change in her as an adult instructor is hard to understand. Not sure what happened during this summer here. Several other members have also mentioned issues with Cynthia and one front desk staff’s cold attitude towards non-white adults. Cynthia Berger also stumbled after stepping on me, if cameras installed in the studio is on, it should be clear that what happened was completely out of line. ------
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Opening Hours
| Sunday | 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | 5:00 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 5:00 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 5:00 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Thursday | 5:00 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Friday | 5:00 AM – 9:00 PM |
| Saturday | 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
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