Athletics & Recreation Fitness Center - Santa Cruz, California

Caius P.

Nice, clean gym with great views from the second floor. Only problem is that its max capacity is 150 people, and even when it’s not at max capacity it’s usually super crowded and there’s a wait for most machines. Could do with about 50% less cardio equipment and that much more strength training equipment.

Carlos D. C.

I had a terrible experience with the UCSC Athletic Rec Center’s hiring process. I was offered a job as a "Building Operations Attendant" in October 2023, but the process was a mess from the start. My initial interview took place via a zoom call. I had to interview infront of 200 other applicants. The hiring manager gave all applicants 5 minutes to answer some "ice breakers". I was told that I got the job a few days later. After I accepted the position, I waited over 20 days without any communication regarding my LiveScan background check, even though I had completed the necessary paperwork. When I reached out for updates, the responses were vague and unhelpful, including being told to "check my spam folder" for important information that never came.

Despite following up multiple times, I never received my blue card, and communication just stopped. By November, it became clear that I wasn’t getting any further updates. I ended up losing the job opportunity and had to look for employment elsewhere.

When I finally addressed the issue via email with the hiring manager, I was accused of not completing my background check, even though it was the department's responsibility to schedule it. Only then was it admitted by the hiring manager to me that the process was flawed and that this is not an uncommon mistake. This whole experience was incredibly frustrating, and I hope no one else has to deal with such unprofessionalism and disorganization.

Wil M.

A great center it gets a little full during classes but otherwise is great. The views from the second floor are amazing during a workout.

sub Z.

Everyone's friendly but the limited gym space is under utilized. Get rid of (at least) half of the treadmills that aren't being used, and double up on machines that always have lines of students waiting. This is a relatively quick solution, no new construction is required, just good planing of space and resource allocation, given the funds exist. With more students than ever before, the funds should be available.

Jack H.

It's a nice gym, it gets very busy though as it is not large enough to accommodate all the UCSC students adequately.

Ebrahman E.

Beautiful views. Usually overcrowded all through the day. Ameturish undergrads hog the machines and specially the weight racks. Some of the ways people swing or drop the weights are down right dangerous. The more novice the user the less respect they have for the fellow users of the facility. The strange thing is, the floors are not monitored with eyes for health and safety issues. During the busy hours acquiring a locker space might be an issue. There's no change or locker room and you can not take a shower. Only 2 bathrooms downstairs that are always already occupied.

Danielle N.

Good gym. Broken equipment is fixed quickly. Beautiful view from the cardio machines upstairs. Usually busy but everyone is pretty courteous. Makes it easy to work out.

EDIT: A few issues have made me lower my rating.
- The windows are closed and TVs turned off 30 minutes before close. Why? A lot of people are still in the gym at that time and it gets stuffy quickly.
- Equipment seems rundown lately. Many of the treadmills and ellipticals creak constantly.
- The hours keep changing (shrinking) but the price (at least for community members) doesn't change in response. Classic UCSC.

Briam L.

the facility is absolutely beautiful, the machines and weights are more than satisfactory (besides the lack of a decent cable row machine) but the facility suffers from one fatal flaw, the attendees. By no means am I a body builder, but I understand basic gym etiquette. In contrast, some of the huge number of people who perpetually fill this gym do not. Many benches are left sweaty and unwiped after use, people rack their weights incorrectly and leave bars and attachments around the cable machines. There seems to be a general lack of respect for the facility by the users and the floor goes largely unsupervised, which does not help. If you come here, get used to waiting and "how many sets you got left".