Thornhill Aquatic & Recreation Centre

Fantastic experience: Very clean facility. Awesome staff! Great place to get swimming lessons.

Fantastic experience: First snowing day in CalgaryAB This place is a downtown of Calgary .

Negative experience: No enforcement for special needs shower rooms as everyone uses them and waits in them. Staff unable to control and makes excuses.

Positive experience: 311 directed us here for the full schedule, but public swim is not available for that entire schedule. I don't know how good the venue is, the dropped star is for their lack of integration with the city services desk.

Negative experience: First impression, not worth the price and they should remove a bunch of kids from the front reception for adults who take their jobs seriously

Fantastic experience: the place is so clean and the teachers are amazing.

Negative experience: My sons who has disability always go to this location since Sir Winston Churchil is still closed. Saddest part is my youngest son who has autism was treated badly by one of the employee named COLTON, he was inconsiderate and rude, he shouted and was mad at my son because he is splashing water on some swimmers. He could havs say it nicely but he insist and shouted loud that until now my son, i think still upset and hitting himself because of what happened earlier. Please Thornhill, check your employees if they are fit to work to people with disability.

Negative experience: Most of the staff here are rude and unfriendly. COLTON was extremely rude and inconsiderate of people with disability. The way he approached us with his high tone of voice that made us feel unwelcome. He could've been nicer but he was insisting that we leave right away.

Positive experience: It is good for sure, but can be better.

Negative experience: This place is the worst do now go there because the people who serve are very rude and very bad do not go there thanks

Positive experience: Wonderful place, I love swimming and skating but usually gets a bit busy even on weekdays. The monthly membership is cheap for a family, MUST! There's a woman in the fast lane that doesn't like anyone in her way, WATCH OUT!

Fantastic experience: If have pass it give you a discount it only a 1$

Fantastic experience: Nice fitness and swimming facility for the family.

Positive experience: Not too bad

Fantastic experience: With workplace injury, found a gem of a place- Thornhill pool- clean change rooms, friendly supportive staff, and easy access to 2 pools- for good workout, or relaxing steam room. Thank you Thornhill..

Positive experience: I've been taking my kids to Thornhill Aquatic & Recreation Centre for swimming classes and we've had a fantastic experience! The instructors are knowledgeable, patient, and engaging, making lessons enjoyable and effective for my little ones. The swimming program is well-structured, and I've seen significant progress in my kids' skills and confidence. The staff is friendly and accommodating, making it easy to manage schedules and communicate needs. However the building itself shows its age. While cleanliness is maintained, the facilities could benefit from modernization and renovation. The changing rooms, in particular, could use an update. Despite this, the centre's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. Convenient location, reasonable prices, and excellent swimming instruction make it an excellent choice for families like mine.

Negative experience: Men's locker room is wet and not comfortable. Cabinets are small, suitable only for the summer. Cabinets close for 25 cents, are you serious nowadays? The gym is too small for even 10 people and does not have the necessary minimum for training in my opinion, for example, only one common place for bench press, squats and deadlifts with a barbell! Only one place for 3 groups of exercises! There is no Smith frame for squat or analogue. This should not be the case, it is the temporary option.

Negative experience: The swimming cap is not required so the pool is full of hair and the cleanliness of the place leaves much to be desired.

Fantastic experience: I have to give a five stars to the staff that work on the benefits of the customers . I fell near the entrance of the swimming pool 10 days ago , I filed a report to the management team. The next day a lady called my home and told me my case will be look after . After one day or two there already workers working on the uneven surfaces near the entrance of the pool ! Thornhill management team I gave u a five star . Thank you Kandi Layton for your call regarding the class cancellation. I appreciated your call.

Fantastic experience: Good

Negative experience: The showers are Showable and you can see people showering naked and that is annopropite

Negative experience: Some staff are attentive and knowledgeable. Friendly & approachable instructors in the Deep water workout classes...however the low rating is due to the cleanliness of the showers and dressing rooms. Also there are very few working lockers, only 2 working power outlets, the same outlet has been broken for over 2yrs. Toilets that spray water all over thr floor when flushed...I could list more problems but it's pointless because management basically tells you to use another pool. They have also cut almost all the open swim times for adults that do not want public swim.

Negative experience: Great facility and great staff. Water is cold for my 3 year old. Can someone please address this concern? Few other parents in my parent and toddler class shared the same concern.

Positive experience: We got our recreation passes with the help of the staff. Thank you!

Fantastic experience: I took swimming lessons here and I had 3 instructors during the 8 weeks. The first instructor took us for 3 weeks. Then we had MELISSA & SOLOMON. Both of them were kind, amazing, and super supportive. They celebrated our small wins and taught us skills to practice during our private time. I 100% recommend the learn to swim class here. The lifeguards also gave us tips during lessons. The facility is clean and well maintained.

Positive experience: Staff was friendly and very helpful.

Fantastic experience: I had my swim lessons here and I had remarkable progress after the lesson. I highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: Good viewing area to watch swimming lessons

Positive experience: I really enjoy this pool. It is always clean which is a definite bonus. Some classes are so popular it is hard to get into them. In light of that it would be nice if the pool offered more of those classes. Another thing I don't like is they refuse to hand out a paper schedule. Overall, though, I would recommend this Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Negative experience: Very rude staff. The public toilets look like they have not been cleaned. Walked into a bathroom stall to find poop on the floor.

Positive experience: Great place to go for a decent price. Friendly staff, clean areas and decent gym equipment

Fantastic experience: The staff was very helpful and nice

Fantastic experience: You should try it on your phone

Fantastic experience: Very nice facility.

Negative experience: This place is disgusting I have been to swamps with better facilities. Why is this place still open ? Is calgary that stuck for pools that they keep a unhygienic place like this open . The ♿️ toilets are disgusting with showers that don't work properly. The poll water is far too cold for the toddlers lessons . My toddler wanted to get out after 5 mins because she was cold and she loves the water . This place needs to be shut down and some major renovations done . Whoever is in charge needs to be made clean the place maybe that would open there eyes . I bet they don't bring there own kids to this pool . DISGUSTING!!!

Negative experience: Signed daughter up for preschool 1 classes- first level unparented. Due to the size of the space they kick parents out of the pool area and we have to sit in a viewing area where we can not properly supervise, on the 2nd floor with glass between so you can barely see and cannot hear at all what’s going on. Lifeguards are visibly annoyed with the clientele. It’s overcrowded and dirty. Worst place I’ve gone to for swim lessons. Maybe it’s fine for a public swim but don’t take your kiddos, especially ones for their first unparented lesson, here. In addition there was no parking last time we went, likely due to the attached arena. This area is in dire need of an upgraded facility. Disappointed and will be going to others in the nw which are more of a drive but worth it.

Positive experience: Awesome group of people and excellent deep water aquasize instructor.

Fantastic experience: Love the hot tub here

Positive experience: Pretty good, nothing special but everything is as advertised. Place is clean, if a bit old. No dryers for wet clothing though, and the lockers don't give your quarters back.

Negative experience: Pool water dirty. Life guard all time talk

Fantastic experience: A great place to relax after work and have a good time on the weekend

Positive experience: Nice place and excellent service

Fantastic experience: Nice pool Friendly staff

Positive experience: My boy has swimming lessons here, it is a 30 minutes class, we came on time but the instructor is not here, when she got here she admitted she is late, no sorry, n she didn't start right away, did some paper work, made her hair nicer, chatted with staff, then slowly she started. And they normally finish early, so a 30 minutes class, you normally only have 20-25 minutes.

Negative experience: Extremely disappointed. Water was cold. Edmonton recreation center pools have warm water.

Negative experience: I dont review community centers really because you dont really expect much, but do yourself a favor and avoid this one. Definitely the worst experience I have ever had at a community center. Service desk was worthless, everyone was extremely rude and there were not enough spray bottles to accommodate the gym which was not even half full. The equipment was nice and new but the experience overall was terrible. I'd recommend going somewhere else.

Negative experience: First time there. Felt like I went back in time to the 70s, very old delapidated facility that needs a much needed makeover. Took my son swimming, water was cold, not really anything positive to say about this place at all. City needs to invest in refurbs urgently.

Negative experience: I just went there to see if they had recreation program booklet but they didn't they told me go online.

Positive experience: This place has gone down over the years. Still a good facility for the pool, gym and fitness centre. But the cleanliness and vibe isn’t great and the gym equipment isn’t great to use. There is lots of parking and staff are helpful. But the place needs some maintenance and updating to keep up with competitors. Overall, for someone looking for a low commitment to start exercising or swimming this place can work. But not my first choice for fitness.

Fantastic experience: The staff is very friendly, they are always on the lookout. The place in general is clean and tidy.

Positive experience: Great place for a swim. Be aware. In the AM there are a lot of people lining up but they don’t respect line etiquette. Very rude at times lol

Fantastic experience: Nice pool here, decent facilities and changing rooms for all. Great deal on swimming lessons for kids!

Positive experience: The staff are great! Showers and change rooms need cleaning regularly

Positive experience: The staff are great Price is good

Positive experience: Mostly okay facility. Staff are good and the pool is decent. Only complaint is the weight room fills up quickly depending on the time of day and a lot of the younger kids have little to no gym etiquette.

Negative experience: The facility is not kept clean...gym equipment not cleaned regularly , the water fountain and shoe shelves in the hallway appear very very dirty. The floor needs more thorough and regular cleaning. I would have expected a city run facility to be a lot cleaner.

Positive experience: Reasonable city facility. It has a pool with an ice rink attached. I used the gym facility and it has a fair selection of machines but i notice the Bob Bahan facility has a few more. This facility has a lot more free weights than Bob Bahan and a separate room with cardio machines

Fantastic experience: Swam in their swimming pool. The pool is clean and spacious. They have different lanes for people swimming at different speeds. They have small lockers for storing your phones and wallets which is free. In the change room, they have lockers where you can use your own lock or there are lockers which can be locked using quarters.

Positive experience: Parking lot was busy but the users were well distributed. Allowed access to the workout I was looking for.

Fantastic experience: Good facility. Swim lessons are very affordable here. Uses coin lockers and has a limited number of lockers where you can bring your own lock.

Positive experience: I've been a regular at Thornhill for decades with the exception of the time they were closed during the pandemic, of course. It's close and convenient but, unfortunately, they close early at 3:30pm on weekends. Although it may not be economically feasible for them to stay open till 9pm as they do on weekdays. It would be great if they could stay open until at least 5:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Negative experience: Staff rude to older people, swimming pool and changing room dirty. An old woman with low mobility was yelled at because she was taking some time to get out of pool. If people try to complain, they are yelled at. I have been coming here for years, but after seeing band-aid, hair and other gross things floating in the pool, I will suggest everyone to avoid.

Positive experience: Good DWW nice pool, and hot tub. Well planned change room.

Fantastic experience: I like Thornhill Aquatics is a great place to work out and the staff are really kind and friendly :-)

Fantastic experience: I just had the most wonderful Xmas gift. After our aqua fit class today a with an excellent baritone, (cleverly disguised as a life guard) sang Silent Night in Latin to all of us pool users. Most amazing experience and set the season right. Thank you mystery caroler!! Thornhill pool

Fantastic experience: Great place to use a pool or rink. Nice fitness centre

Negative experience: Some of the stuff are very very rude, I have no idea how they got the job there. they have no customer service at all. Please train them how to talk with the customers

Fantastic experience: Great place, hot tub could be hotter but in all fairness all the rec centres hot tubs could be.

Negative experience: Swimming classes for kids sucks. The instructors are so relaxed and less focused. It’s just waste of time. I don’t think kids get to learn anything here and move to next level. All the life guards are from same community and are biased. I can clearly see the ill treatment targeting specific people. Absolutely rude staff and almost threatens the visitors

Positive experience: Good pool for laps, not very busy mid-morning on weekdays. Gym lacking in bars and racks.

Positive experience: Love the pool plus a ice skating/hockey rink and a gym really fun

Negative experience: I don't usually go here It's nice that they offer swimming and I will take my child for that purpose exactly however if I have a choice, I'll take him literally anywhere else. This place is gross. The change areas are small, it's dirty, there's hair literally everywhere.. I can't stand walking through and will wear my shoes. The general staff are good and very helpful so there's that but they seriously have to do something about the hygiene issues.. Mind you I haven't been to this location in quite some time, that's how it was everytime we showed up, I will.update this next time I go

Positive experience: Water temperature is on the colder side. Showers are not consistent in temperature. Staff are fabulous, friendly. Drop in classes are good. Decent parking. Downside, swimming lessons start at the same time aquasize is finished. Wish there was a 15 or 30 minute gap. It's loud and crowded

Negative experience: The water is so cold and my son shivers every time he goes for his swimming lessons. When I talks to a lifeguard about it, she said that the water temperature is good and they can’t consider just kids and the temperature is not gonna change and I have to look for another pool for my son. This response is rude. The water is so cold even for adults. In my swimming lesson all adults were complaining about the cold water. Also it’s not clean. That’s disappointing that they don’t listen. We pay for using the pool and except proper service. I hope the city of Calgary make some changes to this swimming pool.

Positive experience: I do enjoy this place. I go here at least four times a week to Aqua Fitness. It is an older crowd I just wish they would play age appropriate music. Believe me when I say I was a bartender for 25 plus years so I appreciate all genres of music. Us people over 50 don't really want to hear techno music LOL. Recently I found out that the facility actually pays for music, you guys got ripped off. It's all the songs that we love and they wrecked it with a remix. Myself and probably most of the class would love to hear music that would actually get us going not give us a headache. If I wanted to listen to techno I would find some psychedelic drugs and go to a rave not the Aquatic Center. Just saying Aqua Fitness instructors at Thornhill

Fantastic experience: Very good stuff

Fantastic experience: Such a helpful staff and a nice recreation center. Sheila helped us a lot.

Fantastic experience: Very helpful and knowledgeable. If they don't know the help you find the resources to get the answer

Positive experience: Pools didn't seem like they've changed in decades, (why fix what's working). Lane swim is perfect for doing laps for novice swimmers, (you can reach the bottom the full length of the pool, 1.5m deep end). Steps were added for accessibility into the pool. Steam room is a bit small, (I wouldn't want more than 2-3 people in it). No personal / disability accessible shower rooms like newer facilities, (detachable shower head).

Negative experience: It's dirty and some of the staff is not good fit for this place Thank you

Fantastic experience: Nice facility and very caring and helpful staffs and instructors...

Fantastic experience: Tatted brown guy was really nice , completely changed my day

Fantastic experience: Excellent service from staff!

Fantastic experience: Very nice place and clean. Staff are very friendly and helpful

Fantastic experience: It's a decent pool and wasn't too crowded at the time.

Fantastic experience: Pretty good! Not too busy been going here for several months.

Fantastic experience: I like it! Friendly staff, clean facility, a deep dive pool, weight room, steam room and regular pool.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely love it, the covid coordination is done well. The only things that are desperately needed is an ab bench. The one with the handles to raise the head. Also an abductor and adductor machine. Please put these things in that way women can get a full body workout. Thank uou

Fantastic experience: Lovely place!

Positive experience: Usually not too busy during public swims

Fantastic experience: This facility is very family friendly and has great free drop in classes that I enjoyed. Staffs are friendly and helpful. The building is a little old but gym equipment was good

Fantastic experience: I found this place clean,tidy, weight room everything for a good work out,busy at time, hot tub is perfect temperature all the time ,steam room is nice as well.i see alot negative reviews about the staff here, my experience with them have been nothing but pleasant ,a smile goes along way !

Positive experience: Update: I sent this feedback to the city's recreation department, and they responded with some positive action steps they would take (like turning off some speakers), so I'll go back again to see the difference. Impressed with their response! The lows outweigh the highs, so we probably won't come back. Good: the hot tub is a lovely temperature and quite big. The female change room is very well laid out, and clean. Bad: the deep water class started after we arrived so we couldn't use the diving board or dive tank. My family had come for public swim and that took half the fun away. The music and instructor were so loud, it was hard to hear each other - leading to a loud political argument in the hot tub. Not fun for my kids. Lastly, the lane pool had 3 lanes set up, but no sign indicating that one lane was reserved for public swim (like they do at Churchill pool). This meant that we were playing and splashing In a space where 6 other people were trying to swim laps, and I felt like we were an inconvenience to them. Inglewood is much more fun for families, and quieter.

Positive experience: Welcomes merfolks ‍♀️ had a nice swim with the Merfolk of the Mountains pod

Negative experience: The pool is not heated. My toddler was shivering and screaming the entire time during the swim lesson. The water is cold even for adults.

Fantastic experience: The showers are so clean ! Thanks Amanda for your hard work ! ????????

Positive experience: Everything is great here but it is so busy at night after 6 and in the morning before 10. The pool is always busy and extremely dirty. Couple of ladies mentioned that they had problems with the pool not being clean. It is nice to see many signs to make sure everyone stays safe and very accessible for anyone with disabilities.

Fantastic experience: Pool is good.Stream room is terrible. No Sauna. Old facilities. Serves the purpose. Good prices for seniors.

Fantastic experience: Well kept clean. Freindly staff wheelchair accessible

Negative experience: I would like to say something concerning the overall maintenance issues of this facility. Firstly,there are uncomfortable levels of stains ,residue and mildew buildup in the showers that appear to not be cleaned on a regular basis .These may release particles into the air which greatly compromise the air quality and can cause long term issues when inhaled by children. In addition some of the padlock lockers are non-functioning and need maintenance. I hope that these issues can be solved soon,as a community Recreation center is an important part of this neighborhood!Thank you for your time.