The Salvation Army Kroc Center

This facility is absolutely beautiful, and the people are absolutely soulless. God help you, if you think the "Salvation Army" is anything but a trademark and a marketing strategy.

If you are homeless, they tell you that you must be homeless for a long time and then maybe you will be picked for help.

If you are struggling and seeking employment, HR Jocelyn will interview you, but pick an existing employee for a front desk position.

If you need support with weight loss, Ops/Program Manager Ashley or A*****e (I can't remember the name, but it starts with an "A") will lie to you about "in person" group activities and then cancel every week, bait-and-switch, to virtual classes at home.

If you want "Salvation", these people can't save themselves, let alone you.

If you want an "Army", this is a rag-tag team of toothless (metaphorically speaking) and judgmental morons.

But what sucks, is that they continue to exist, serving none other than their own mission and their own interests--not yours.

The moral of the story: don't be homeless, don't be seeking employment if you have "sinned", and for God sakes, don't ask for any real help with any aspect of your actual life...

...but, the thrift stores are cool and cheap.

new to area. Was member of Planet Fitness. we wanted a place to bring grandkids in the summer. nice pool ( bit too cold) more than adequate work out equipment. my wife likes yoga so she went to a senior yoga class. Worth the $60 monthly charge for 2 of us.

The Kroc Center ⁣
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The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center (phew, that's a long one ) was finally able to open again just over a week ago, and we're so excited to talk about how great an influence they are in our community! ⁣
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The Kroc has a spacious fitness center with every amenity you could want. They offer group exercise classes, personal training programs & drop in classes. The also offer a Child Watch program for children 3 months - 11 years old. ⁣
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Heard of Camp Kroc? It is such a fun summer day camp that I know so many community members have raved about their children loving, if you're looking for a camp for 2021, make sure to consider The Kroc ⁣
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We can't talk enough about how great their senior program is, (55+) check out their website to learn more about it and so much more (that we didn't have the space to talk about ) the Kroc Center has to offer!⁣
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A few other great things to note:⁣
Outside:⁣
*A beautiful outdoor amphitheater ⁣
*Playground⁣
*Soccer and baseball fields that can be rented⁣
*Basketball courts⁣
*Sand volleyball⁣
*Walking/prayer trail ⁣
Inside:⁣
*An aquatics center⁣
*Worship & performing arts center⁣
*Climbing wall⁣

I am very disappointed that for my kid's swim class, almost every single instructor is wearing a mask WHILE in the pool teaching the kids! How is this even remotely demonstrating water safety to impressionable young children who are learning how to swim?! Had I known this before signing up my kid, I would NOT have chosen the Kroc Center. This is showing the kids that it's good to wear masks while swimming and this is NOT acceptable because the mask could suffocate/drown a child while in the pool!! I know they are not asking my child to wear a mask while in the water but what they are demonstrating is the complete opposite of water safety. We'll be finishing our session... But I'm not happy about it. I will say that there is only one instructor that I've noticed who takes her mask off while in the pool teaching, but she puts her mask on the edge of the pool floor and then puts it back on after the class - which is NOT a proper use of PPE/mask hygiene practices and totally disgusting!
ISR has come highly recommended by friends of mine and I will not be returning to the Kroc Center for swim lessons.
Also, when I asked when their open swim times were, they told me that they only offer open swim for members. That's ridiculous! Anyway, I think you need to educate your staff on proper water safety by NOT wearing masks while in the water. Thank you

I came here this morning for the spring break festivities with my three kids: aged 12,8, and 3. We arrived at 11- in time for my little one to enjoy toddler time in the pool, but my older boys were left to sit on the side of the pool or do nothing- since they had to be with an adult at all times (and I was there alone). My little one enjoyed toddler time, but once open swim started and everyone started showing up, it was too much stimulation for us. Additionally, after an hour in the pool area, our eyes started to burn from the chlorine in the air- at which point the lifeguards popped a door open, but it didn't do much to help burning eyes; it only made the cold water and colder air even colder. All four of us left with purple lips.

There are only three family restrooms. Waiting for those took forever, and the doors in and out were propped open which added to the chill. But the restrooms were always clean and there was plenty of hot water in the shower. (Forever Thankful for that!). My boys enjoyed playing basketball in the gym and climbing the rock wall while we waited for a free family restroom (we waited 35 minutes). We decided after getting dried off that we were done for the day.

Overall, we did enjoy our experience. The pool was at capacity as were most of the attractions, but the staff were friendly, attentive and courteous. I do believe we will be back, but not during spring break.

the facilities here seem really nice. All top notch and brand new for the most part from what I can see. I have no complaint on that.

I would however suggest that if you think about renting a room there you reconsider not renting from here.

The event staff is all part time, they rarely respond to emails and if you leave them a voice mail don't expect to get a call back.

I had a bad experience for my sons birthday party where everything finally fell into place less than a week before the party after more than 2 months of planning because their lack of communication. We ordered catering and the staff removed the food from my party almost a full hour before our rental was up and did so without talking to myself or my wife about them taking it.

we also purchased day passes and I informed the event coordinator that we would use them after our party. She failed to inform us that the center is only open till 5 on Sundays and our party went till 4:30. We were also never told how to redeem our day passes (even though the hostess claims she told us)

getting a refund for the unused day passes is another ordeal. The events manager and her support staff have been nothing but rude to my wife and I.

I personally will never be back because of this.

A great facility for Grand Rapids that looks great, has friendly staff, and is affordable even without membership.
I came here over the weekend to play basketball inside and to my surprise it was pretty quiet on the courts. There were about a dozen others playing while I was there for a few hours, but still managed to have a hoop to myself, which was an added bonus. I paid $7.50 as a non-member to get in, and was impressed with how nice it was. I had to fill out some paperwork before getting in, but wasn't a big deal.
Overall, would definitely come back, as nice as the facilities are, with easy parking, and how few people were here.
I would definitely tell people as this seems to be a well kept secret gym!

Swimmers, beware.

Their lap swim hours are limited, especially during the summer. If weekday mornings aren't good for you, then you have just 45 minutes of lap lanes in the evening. Saturday and Sunday the lanes are only open for one hour - completely inhospitable to folks like me who usually swim for more than an hour.

You can never be sure when you'll actually be able to swim without having to deal with either (a) a lot of swimmers or (b) a class that they didn't post on the schedule. I've gone there many times without knowing about a class (that they didn't announce) or not realizing that the pool would be crowded with lap swimmers. A significant waste of time and energy on my part!

I give it 2 stars instead of 1 because the staff are friendly and much of the facility is decent.

That said, I am considering other options.

The center is huge and offers a lot to the community at large. I think it's a bit much to pay for a membership and still have to pay for exercise classes on top of the monthly membership. Ie: Group fitness like yoga, zumba, spinning cost additional. The pool area is pretty clean for the number of users. Open pool hours are pretty packed. Clean changing rooms which is nice. I didn't opt for the membership because of the added costs of the classes I'd like to take. Instead I'll pay the drop in fee when I decide to go.

We have been a member for about six months and I have zero complaints. There are so many different things to do here and we love it. The times are flexible and the biggest plus is they have daycare! We drop our daughter off and can go workout. Best place for the price.