The Valley Athletic Club

4833 Tumwater Valley Dr SE, Olympia, WA 98501, USA

Address:	4833 Tumwater Valley Dr SE, Olympia, WA 98501, USA
Phone:	+1 360-352-3400
Site:	valleyac.com
Rating:	4.1
Working:	5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 7AM–8PM 8AM–8PM

Location

Photos 65

Reviews 5

Steve Dodge

Eight years ago, I moved out of the Olympia area and had to leave my membership behind. I actually really enjoyed the gym. It was clean, well maintained, and offered a lot of different activities for everyone in our family. When I went to cancel it, I was told I needed to bring my lease. So I made another trip to Tumwater (60 round trip miles) and brought a copy of my lease. I was never told at the time that I had a balance due, nothing. They said thanks and that was that. Eight years later, try to join again and they have sent me to full collections. They did not change the billing address to the new one in 2007 when I provided the lease, sent notices to our old address and I never received them. Now, they refuse to take away the collection charges, wont "take the risk (yes, this is what the manager said. what risk? Its a membership to a gym, not a new car.)" that we wont pay our membership. I even offered to pay the $133 that we originally owed if they would erase the other $91 because of their mistake. They pulled out the "policy" word several times and said they no longer own the account and there was nothing they could do. Well, that is just not the case. They are a privately owned business. This manager even spoke with the owner and he refused because of policy. Terrible business decision. My husband was actually going to give them the joining fee today ($90) which would have cancelled out the amount we actually owe in fines and interest. They could have even offered to waive the sign up fee, but no compromise was even suggested. Never again will they get a single dime of our money. Greedy, lacking in customer service skills--horrible. Please spread the word that if you join, your financial future is at risk. I thought these were only tactics companies like Ballys used, not the Valley. I expected better from them.

gaaslaj

Im very annoyed with the Tumwater Valley Athletic Club and its owner Dan Sandy. Angry actually. Ive been a member for many years. My wife joined a couple of months ago so she could swim in the pool and work with a trainer on the weights. Shes disabled but shes still a pretty good swimmer once shes in the water. We were told, after my wife rode her mobility scooter to the pool with her bathing suit on today, that they could not put the ladder in the pool for her to get in like before, that she would have to come back at 6:30-9:30 pm for the "therapeutic" swim. My wife doesnt need or want a therapeutic swim, she wants to do laps. Since we live out of town, we didnt want to wait around that long. We complained to the manager, who was apologetic but whos only solution was to repeat over and over that Joan could come back for the "therapeutic swim" later that day. She mentioned that the pool was too busy with swimmers to warrant putting the ladder in. We tried to reason that the ladder only needs to be in the pool for a few minutes for my wife to enter, and then it could be taken out. No luck. I mentioned that a portable pool lift would solve the problem. Ive seen them at many other pools. The manager responded that the pool deck could not take the weight, and that they were expensive. Ive seen the lifts, they are quite light, and they can be far away from the edge. How many expensive work out machines does the Valley have? Anyway, the Valley is definitely not friendly to people with disability, despite the 7+ disabled parking spaces. We are going to try the Evergreen State College recreation center and pool this week, perhaps they will be a little friendlier. And canceling our Valley membership.

Anonymous User

HORRIBLE MANAGMENT, EXPENSIVE, etc... Where do I begin? I am so disillusioned on how this club is ran. The prices are outrageously expensive for the services they are providing. They have very poor managment, and their staff never seems to know anything about their programs/prices or promotions. Excuse my language, but its ran by a bunch of inadequate, ignorant fools. THE ONLY reason why Ive kept my membership this long has been because of the tennis department (it is currently the only only club in Olympia with indoor tennis courts, Ballys closed their club). The Valley recently made ridiculous changes and implemented some stupid rules to favor ONLY tennis players who are actual Gold Members (the most expensive, highest membership for the club.) Not to mention they have a cap where "so many" members can be "Gold" and the rest will have to sit on a wait-list, and are NOT allowed to book courts if theyre not Gold. And apparently theyve made a NEW rule where someone cannot be on a USTA tennis league without being a Gold Member, what kind of rule is that? These changes have brought out a lot of anger in individuals, me being one. I am a dissatisfied customer, I understand the meaning of innovation and change, but these changes are very constant, never stay on track, and only benefit a very small few. First of all, what about all other members who want to try out tennis? new talent? There are eliminating diveristy and new talent with these messed up rules. I am so dissatisfied with this club, its outrageous. The reviewer "olyDawg" is correct when they state; "A monopoly creates exclusivity and a "better than you" disease. Unfortunately, those are issues here." Well put.

megan hart

Fair warning, I just joined VAC yesterday. I believe this place suffers from reviewers who are obviously upset about particular issues (its well-known that people are more likely to review after a bad experience than after a good experience.) As well, I would probably rate "Very Good" if it werent for so many terrible reviews. So I chose "Excellent" to help boost the overall score. All that being said, I have belonged to several gyms in South Puget Sound area and VAC is hands-down the largest and most diverse in equipment, classes and facilities. If you want a lot of choices for activities this place is wonderful! Yes, there are 3 levels of membership, each of which include/exclude certain amenities, and the enrollment is not cheap. However I benefited from a half-off enrollment special and signed up with my boyfriend for the Silver (mid-level) membership (since neither of us play Tennis we did not need the Gold). $50/month each! Even for the basic membership at $61 this place is a steal - IF you utilize the facilities. I agree with the others whove said if youre just looking for a basic gym there are cheaper options, no doubt. The hours are very good in my opinion, the staff helpful, the classes so far have been good - not too crowded. And the outdoor pools are a wonderful asset during the summer (As well as two indoor pools!) - This is what initially drew us to VAC. Every other pool in the area is so overcrowded with screaming kids. There is an entirely separate lap-pool from the regular pool for those who simply want to swim! I will certainly update my review if anything glaringly bad arises but so far I am very happy that Ive joined VAC!

Anonymous User

Pros: --Staff are really friendly and pleasant. --Facility is clean and well-kept. --Pool is awesome. --Size of facility means you can usually find free equipment even at busy times. Cons: --Very expensive compared to other options in town ($66/mo as of 1/2010 for basic membership). --Also, you have to pay extra for a lot of the classes, which seems really chintzy considering how much membership costs. --Although there is a lot of equipment, its scattered among several rooms which are a distance apart. It can be annoying hiking up and down stairs and from one room to another when youre just trying to get your workout in. --A lot of the weight machines are old and not terribly well-maintained. --Lots of kids. (This could be a plus for people looking for a "family-friendly" gym.) Bottom line: This could be a good option for people who dont mind paying a premium price, and who would use the pool, racquetball courts, basketball court, etc. For someone just looking for a basic gym with weight machines, free weights and aerobic machines, along with some classes, you could certainly do just as well, for less money, elsewhere.