Stromlo Leisure Centre

Positive experience: Too crowded,

Fantastic experience: You can't beat this place. I use the heated pool for lap training and rarely need to share a lane. There is a large seperate pool for water excercise which leads into a large family swimming and entertainment area. Children have loads of fun using the water slides and other features. There is so much more that you really need to have a look too take it all in.

Fantastic experience: Lovely gym. Reception staff are friendly and helpful

Positive experience: Good pool for swimming laps. Also has a reasonably priced gym.

Negative experience: As a casual pool, it's beautiful. Don't waste your money on swimming lessons though. 6+ kids per class. Minimal attention to each child, never the same swim teacher each lesson and be prepared see 0 progression in 12 months for your child because they don't pick up on tiny details that apparently are essential to be moved up. So disappointed and so disheartening for the kids, clearly little regard for the teachers or they'd actually be maintaining regular swim school staff. Looking to move swim schools as a result.

Positive experience: Really great centre. Lost a star (can't do halves sadly) because of the cafe: no atmosphere (chuck some music on?) but please get some fly repellent auto sprays! They are prolific and drive me nutty!!!

Fantastic experience: Cracker of a pool. The little one's favourite pool to visit

Positive experience: Just a lovely pool, however I gave it a 3 star because some of the program pool lanes are reserved for exercising but children and parents are allowed to play in these lanes when there's people trying to workout. Staff don't sat anything. Very difficult to do a workout.

Fantastic experience: I came here once and my child was struggling to stay afloat, but luckily Lauren the lifeguard jumped in to save him. She is extremely dedicated and put her life on the line for my little angel baby Charlie!

Negative experience: I'm paying $50 per week to have my kids in swimming lessons, the lessons go for 30 minutes and there's 5-6 kids in the class per teacher. The kids wait on the side of the pool and only swim one on one with the teacher. I'm paying $50 for my kids to get 5-6 minutes of actual swimming lessons!!!! I'm taking them out and going elsewhere it's definitely not worth it.

Negative experience: Very disappointed. My daughter went up a level in swimming, I booked her into the new class only to find out she had been booked in on the incorrect day by reception. I was then told there were no other available times for her to do swimming lessons so we’ve had no choice but to suspend, possibly cancel!!

Fantastic experience: Reception staff were so lovely and knowledgeable. The facilities are well worth the travel from Belconnen, even if you just want to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Stromlo. The 20m pool was perfect for walking and gentle hydro-physio - I look forward to more visits. As a side note: the wonderful lady on reception when I visited on Sunday afternoon (29/9) deserves a commendation for her amazing customer service ☺️

Negative experience: Ridiculous showers. Air and water fairly cold, so difficult to keep kids warm. Needs a steam room. Crazy showers.

Positive experience: Good place for kids but a bit crowded.

Negative experience: Worst customer service, they only need money first.

Fantastic experience: First time coming with my carer today really enjoyed the food and the pools are amazing couldn't wait to hit the slide as well.

Negative experience: Pay for parking, one star for you.

Fantastic experience: So nice and clean, a place for the whole family to enjoy!

Fantastic experience: Stromlo Leisure Centre is a state-of-the-art facility that offers a wide range of activities and amenities for fitness enthusiasts and families alike. Situated in the picturesque Stromlo Forest Park, the centre provides a welcoming environment with modern, well-maintained facilities that cater to various fitness levels and interests. The aquatic facilities are a major highlight, featuring a 50-metre Olympic-sized pool that’s perfect for lap swimming, as well as a dedicated leisure pool with a range of water features for kids. The pool area is clean, spacious, and equipped with comfortable seating for parents and spectators. The inclusion of a hydrotherapy pool is a thoughtful touch, providing a relaxing option for those in need of rehabilitation or just looking to unwind. The gym at Stromlo Leisure Centre is equally impressive, boasting a comprehensive range of modern equipment, from cardio machines to free weights. The layout is spacious, allowing for a comfortable workout without feeling crowded, even during peak hours. The centre also offers a variety of group fitness classes, catering to different fitness levels and preferences, with enthusiastic and knowledgeable instructors leading the sessions. One of the standout features of Stromlo Leisure Centre is the focus on inclusivity and accessibility. The centre is designed to accommodate people of all abilities, with features like accessible changing rooms and ramps ensuring that everyone can enjoy the facilities. The staff at Stromlo Leisure Centre are friendly and professional, always on hand to assist with any queries or provide guidance on how to make the most of the facilities. The overall atmosphere is positive and community-focused, making it a great place to stay active and meet new people. In conclusion, Stromlo Leisure Centre offers a top-notch experience for anyone looking to maintain their fitness, enjoy some recreational swimming, or simply have a fun day out with the family. With its modern facilities, welcoming environment, and stunning location, it’s a fantastic addition to the local community.

Negative experience: Not a great experience ever since we enrolled our kid .. they hardly care if the kids are learning .. they start and half an hour class 5 min late and finish 5 min early.. they hardly care if a kid is learning .. what’s their learning curve .. what can be done to improve there learning .. all they care is the direct debit .. I would recommend parents to look else where

Positive experience: Enjoy my gym class and great coffee afterwards. The views outside are spectacular

Negative experience: Pools not kept warm enough. Bizarrely the baby pool is even colder than the program pool.

Fantastic experience: Simply wonderful

Negative experience: Been using the gym no issues for two months, today was told can't enter on fitness passport and wouldn't let me use the gym. The gym was empty and expected me to pay. I pay a large amount for membership and being turned away after walking to the gym is super frustrating. Clearly a different experience each time you use the facility depending on who's working.

Fantastic experience: This building a work of architectural art. Every time I pass by this location, I get incredibly excited, sometimes scaring my elderly mother in the process. However, I do not really care as I am too busy admiring this work of art.

Fantastic experience: The kids desperately wanted to visit the water park but we didn't realise it had shut by 5pm on a Sunday, (we arrived at 5.30pm). However the very kind lifeguard on duty turned it back on for us so the kids could play for another 45mins. Stromlo Leisure centre is always a highlight when we visit Canberra and the kind staff member made our day. Thank you!

Fantastic experience: A massive and impressive building that houses all sorts of activities from gym, cafe, clothes shop and major pools. 4 pools under the one roof. Children's pool, walking pool, general pool & babies pool. Alot of parking spaces outside. I was very impressed with the building & staff to help you. The pool has lifeguards at each pool. I personally will be back.

Fantastic experience: Nice place to grab a coffee after MTB ride.

Positive experience: Definitely the best gym in Canberra, great space, new machines, always clean, accessible to the pool and outdoor training area. It is worth the drive

Fantastic experience: Excellent area to get yourself refreshed

Negative experience: Be careful to check your account regularly, they may be repeated multiple times! My son learns to swim once a week. Sometimes they charge twice a week, sometimes they charge three times a week!

Fantastic experience: Great for the kids, but it is a shame there’s no access for the public during the day some days.

Fantastic experience: State of the art. Puts the condition of other regional facilities to shame.

Positive experience: Children had fun , nice near clean area

Negative experience: 55 seconds trimmer on the shower. Impossible to was chlorine off after a swim in 55 seconds.

Fantastic experience: I became a member of the Stromlo gym a couple of months back, and I must say it is the best gym I have ever come across in Canberra. It offers all the necessary facilities and much more. The gym manager, Ari, is truly exceptional! He possesses extensive knowledge, provides great support, and is fully committed to running an outstanding gym, paying attention to every single detail. If you are searching for a gym that has it all and an incredibly supportive staff, then this is the perfect gym for you.

Positive experience: Unbeatable view when working out in the gym which is well equipped.

Positive experience: The water is clean and space is large. The only issue that keep me from going there often is, the shower only runs for like 2 mins and then has to wait for a long time to press again. Soooo cold when you are in bubbles waiting for the water to run again!

Fantastic experience: The reception staff are welcoming and friendly. The venue is always clean, and the classes I have attended are well run.

Fantastic experience: Great for play and swimming lessons

Positive experience: Kids love it. They never want to leave the pool

Positive experience: Good pool but always understaffed. Some experienced people in the coffee shop would be really nice too.

Fantastic experience: Very nice and new swimming pool I recommend highly , very friendly staff they took is around to check the facilities . The gym is amazing with new and different machines and the water park in inside not outside so kids can play more

Fantastic experience: Lovely new swimming pools with a 50 metre pool divided in two, outside of events, a smaller graduated pool with three permanent lanes for light exercise or kids learning to swim and a great play area for kids young and old. There is also an inside gym and what looked like an outside ninja warrior/crossfit exercise area and a cafe. Not a local but the price for a 2 adults and 2 kids family ticket was pretty reasonable.

Fantastic experience: Great pool to have fun with the kids. A slide, paddle pool and more.

Fantastic experience: The government got it right! Great pool best i ever seen in canberra

Negative experience: Update 2: This bunch are flat out crooks. Don't sign up here - find another swim school.Their swim school teachers are taking a break over Christmas but we're locked into continuing to pay for 'lessons' they're not delivering and trying to frame it as a positive because we'll still be able to use the pool whenever we want during that time (which we always could - or just go casually for the few times we could). The most concerning aspect is that there’s a 30-day cancellation period, effectively locking us in. Previously, we could have suspended lessons during the break at a reduced fee. However, they introduced a policy earlier this year (obvious in anticipation of implementing this theft), preventing suspensions over the month-long Christmas period. I'm not quite sure how this can be justified given there's no lessons to even suspend. Fancy running a business and expecting to continue receiving the same amount of fees when you're unable to provide the service. Update following new management - the pool seems much the same but sadly, the new management hasn't come anywhere near meeting expectations in terms of how the swim school is being operated. Extremely disappointing to say the least. I'm not sure if the previous teaching staff were retained because ours just disappeared. Are they still there and just suffering from poor morale due to not being listened to/conflict with management or they lost all the old teachers. We'll have to look at driving halfway across town again just to get into decent lessons. Don't do it - your child will be stuck in the same lesson for months and months on end due to the outrageously silly assessment process (which doesn't involve their regular teacher whatsoever/the feedback is completely different each time and demonstrates the lack of any comms between assessors and teachers - teachers boost up the kids while assessors tell them something different - it's soul crushing for the kids!). Stromlo Leisure Centre is a great place for swimming lessons and fun activities for children. My kids enjoy the pool and the splash park, which are well-designed and maintained. The staff are courteous and helpful. However, I have encountered some issues with the changing facilities recently. The shower drain in the family room was so blocked that the water was overflowing and flooding the floor. It was unsanitary and unpleasant, and we had to look for another shower. I reported the problem to the staff, but I was surprised that they had not noticed it earlier. I hope they will improve their hygiene standards and check the facilities more frequently. Another thing that intrigues me is that the YMCA is no longer managing the centre. They have withdrawn from several ACT Government facilities and a new organisation is taking over. I wonder what the reasons behind this decision are and how it will affect the operation and quality of the centre. I hope they will not increase the fees or reduce the services. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Fantastic experience: Great facility - for either doing some laps or playing with the kids

Negative experience: Swimming pool water cold, too many lanes dedicated (therefore closed) for a handful of water walkers. Shower water on the other hand is burning hot. It used to be a good place to go, but not anymore.

Fantastic experience: Great swim centre for us and grandchildren

Negative experience: My son was going to swimming there more than 2 years. Service any support was really good. Staff was also helpful. It seems there is change in management and practices they follow started to go downhill. Initially they didn't mention anything and allowed me to cancel the sessions (this year only) by telling me, you can rebook them later. Now they are talking about cap of make-up session and not allowing me to use them. Access Canberra won't help either on such cases. Please read all their terms and conditions before signing up. They won't tell you all this at the time of sign up.

Fantastic experience: Amazing walking pool/disabled access. Very low chlorine pool, but always clean and tidy.

Positive experience: I like their new pools, facilities, gym, and classes. Although there is no convenient public transport around, it's a great view from there to overlook the mountains.

Negative experience: Excellent facilities, unfortunately not very well managed. The “family pool” is mostly taken up by swimming lessons for most of the afternoon & evening, leaving very little room for families to swim! Be warned - the family pool has been about 5 degrees cooler than the advertised 27'° for months as the heaters haven’t been working properly, and staff have no idea when it will be fixed… Don’t try to call them either, nobody ever answers the phone

Positive experience: Great pool and slide for kids. The Cafe leaves a bit to be desired-run by kids and out of everything on a weekend

Fantastic experience: Fantastic place. Currently my favourite indoor pool by far. Great for kids

Negative experience: Water temperature has been too cold for little children to swim the past several weeks. Our little one has been refusing to take part in the swim school as they are too cold and nothing has been done about it, at this point we're really spending money and time for nothing. Supervisors claim water is warm enough when even the swim teachers agree that the water is cold.

Positive experience: Nice community pool. The therapy pool was clean but not too warm. Turn up the heat management!!!

Fantastic experience: What an amazing facility. The Crèche and staff who operate it are genuinely wonderful and I highly recommend it for parents who want their kids to be in quality care while they hit the pool or gym. Great swimming instructors and an amazing kids pool play area also.

Fantastic experience: Great location and view (just not from the pool), the kids slides are awesome when they are working, and great options for different ages of swimming and playing

Fantastic experience: Excellent facility, great staff knowledge and friendly

Fantastic experience: I go to this establishment twice a week for circuit training. Plenty of parking, great ammenities, large swimming areas,more than adequate gym equipment and a very good cafe with very polite staff. Well worth a visit for adults and children.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful location, lots of group sessions, spacious and lots of equipment. Loved it

Fantastic experience: Great parking, great facility, really clean and well maintained and good entry prices. Its nice when you have concession. Staff are really nice as well.

Fantastic experience: Staff were absolutely lovely and very helpful when I visited. Particular shout out to Brendan who went above and beyond when assisting with my queries and requests.

Positive experience: Modern and clean. Great gym.

Fantastic experience: My son started his first swimming lesson ever here last year and not only he’s confident in the water now. His swimming skills improved a lot! Thanks to Pat my son’s swimming teacher he's focus on each kid of what to improve.

Positive experience: Facilities are fantastic but management is atrocious. They sell you speedo swimsuits, but refuse to take them back when they fall apart / are not fit for purpose stating they have a no returns policy. The manager then had the audacity to tell me to go directly to Speedo. Australian Consumer Law states that you must return them to the point of sale, therefore Stromlo Leisure Centre. SLC is then supposed to deal with Speedo on my behalf. After speaking to the manager, I have sent two emails explaining the situation and both emails have been ignored.

Negative experience: Ridiculously archaic enrollment system at Stromlo leisure centre. This centre refuses to enroll students for swim classes online and insist that we present physically to sign the form and pay for classes in advance. I have been trying to enroll my son and am interstate at the moment. I requested that they send the form via email and I will fill it up and provide direct debit details in order to reserve a spot for the classes. The management there refused saying they are "very busy and give preference to only people who present in person" . I'm not sure how they expect people to drop everything and come over in person, in today's day and age where everything can happen online. Additionally, they also stated that this is to prevent impersonation in case someone else attends the class instead of my son. I offered to bring in our IDs on the day for confirmation but that was rejected as well. I was advised to send some one physically with the form to reception given we are not in Canberra. This would mean I have to ask a friend to print the form and take it to them because they don't accept forms over email. I am not sure if this is a rule set my upper management or just left to the whims of the staff. I really think the management needs to rethink how ridiculously inconvenient this is. All we ask is to make enrollment online. Review - under new management. This place is running so much better. They have all enrollment online. Glad that the old management is out.

Positive experience: Great facilities, staff are always friendly

Positive experience: I was there with my 2 grandchildren, 8 & 11 years. Both have a very high level swimming certificate. I got approached by Holly, deputy manager and got told so supervise my children. As I told here their swimming ability, she answered this is the policy - I thought it is a kindergarten. In my age I know what responsibility means and I definitely don't need to be lectured by a 50 years younger person. By the way: at the time I was reading but my spouse was with the girls.

Negative experience: Unfortunately this centre has joined the ranks of the risk adverse and over sensitive to the point playing with your children in a pool is something that gets stopped. When I first came here activities and games were supported and encouraged, whereas now any activity apart from ‘floating’ or apparently sitting on your iPhone while your kid swims is frowned upon, this of course being juxtaposed by the signage telling parents to look up from their phones and engage with their children. On a recent visit a game I was playing with my children, who were learning skills like risk assessment, personal space, fair play and a range of swimming skills was stopped by a life guard, with the reason being “it might annoy other parents”. The game in question involved performing rolls out of my arms or over my shoulder and assessing the depth of water needed to do this safely. The ‘other parents’ were all sitting out of the water staring blankly at screens, alas a sad reality seen too often at swim centres nowadays. Centre have their rules and risk assessments and I’m sure there’s a level of compliance that oversees Stromlo management that tells them what they feel must and must not be stopped. The reality is we live in an island nation surrounded by water, the ACT is full of river and lake corridors with swimming areas requiring accurate risk assessment and we live in a time of childhood obesity and health issues. Whilst I’m sure that the centres intention is to lower risk to its users it sadly is only contributing to this culture of risk avoidance and risk anxiety that pervades multiple levels of our society. It is sad that a place that was once so welcoming and open is now actively shutting down parents playing with kids, teaching them life skills and contributing to a culture that promotes risk avoidance. But that’s ok because I’m sure their signs about parents engaging with their kids and looking away from screens will counteract this…

Fantastic experience: Love this swimming complex, busy but great place for adults and kids

Fantastic experience: Brilliant and suitable for different age groups

Negative experience: Great facility. The cafe needs to review its cleaning policy. The tables and floor are not cleaned all day. Looks awful and is unhygienic. Bins not emptied until end of day, food all over table and chairs… gross

Negative experience: Management issues.... We called regarding swimming lessons for my son and were told to come in that day for a trial swim first, despite me advising them of his level. Molly, the manager, assessed him and asked me to talk to the desk regarding time for swimming lesson based on the proficiency i said he was at. They said they had no room for him and that I had to call every week to see if I could get him in. I asked to speak to the manager (Molly) as i should have been advised of this before taking 3 hours out of my working day. They said she wasnt available and would leave a message for her to contact me. She didn't call so I called again the next day. I understand centre outsourced my complaint to an external company who addressed the issue on behalf of molly which is unprofessional. . This is a real problem for anyone wanting to send their child tto this centre as you need staff, especially managers,to be accountable to you and your child. Not cool guys!!!

Negative experience: What an absolute joke having the whole pool closed to the public for weeks for the school carnival thing. Just driven 40 minutes to get here - now in the car park with an inconsolable 2 year old. The very least you could do is update your opening hours to save countless people driving there only to be disappointed.

Fantastic experience: Great experience using the splash pad, water slides, and smaller pools with our little ones. Will be back as even on busy days due to the size of the venue it did not feel packed.

Positive experience: I take my daughter there for swimming lessons. Beautiful place

Positive experience: Jim and pool is the main attraction. Jim facilities are more than average other than it could get thickly populated at times. Pool space is not enough, especially the warm water area as most of its areas would be blocked for training during peak hours and only small area left for the rest of Canberra to swim!!! Chlorination is high mostly, never watched authorities using pool vacuum post accidents (which happens every other day). Cleanliness is average, nice and cooperative staff although strict swim school teachers with high regards to safety. Kids love the slide and a good option to hoist kids birthday parties with plenty of parking space.

Positive experience: Needs better road signage to get to the car park entrance. Pool was good, kids enjoyed the slides and buckets.

Fantastic experience: Great space, very busy but room for lots of people on a hot day

Negative experience: Nice pool but gee all the showers are way too hot. No way to control the temp either. It’s just hot water. Awful after a swim - we’re here for exercise right?

Fantastic experience: Great place to take the kids, has a water play area with a slide, gets very busy however and not alot of space for kids and adults to swim in the same area.

Positive experience: Heat Wave Swim! We spent the afternoon at the Stromlo Leisure Centre today, we were advised by a school parent this is a great choice for a swim and for the most part it was. It is a massive place holding an olympic size pool along with a kids water play area with slides and a mixed swimming area from small kids to bigger. As i said for the most part it is a good place to swim, the issues we found were left over food left around in the toilets or under the play areas, the water not being that clean with bandaids and other floaties, most pools would have this but this was many more. One star was taken off due to the dirty conditions and the other due to the showers having a timer set to go off and not go back on for 30 seconds or so, this left me covered in soap waiting for the time to run out. I would go again and i even liked there pricing for membership, i just hope they look into more cleaning and shower issues.

Positive experience: Stromlo is a well equipped facility, what lost stars for me is the bandaids, and food waste all around the place and in the pool. I did overhear some people commenting that it was the busiest they have ever seen it, but from other pools I have been to definitely a rude bunch of patrons while we were there. The other star loss was the showers, yes there was food on the floor here too but the showers had a timer on them which is fine but the timer to not allow it to be turned back on for about a minute, which if you have shampoo in kids hair is not helpful! There could probably be some more seating however it was a hot day and there may have been more people than usual. The staff were friendly and easy to talk to making a quick entry.

Positive experience: Fantastic pool and facilities. The splash pad and slides are great for both younger and older children and the different pools are great for everyone. The only negative is the cafe... I waited an hour for a bowl of chips and two milkshakes on a Thursday afternoon. My order was forgotten twice and I had to keep reminding the staff that I was still waiting. They weren't even busy... Just busy chatting and playing on their phones.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic place to take the kids, especially little ones. Best indoor water splash area in Canberra. Warm water and surrounds. Also recommend the banana bread and coffee at the cafe. Lovely staff too :)

Fantastic experience: Good pool for younger kids as it is heated and has the splash park

Fantastic experience: Lovely new community based leisure centre. Beautiful location and range of different facilities.

Fantastic experience: Nice pool! Well maintained facilities. The gym is great too, but price wise not very competitive with other gyms on Canberra when you consider you can access multiple locations with the other gyms.

Positive experience: Love that its indoors + splash park. Easy free parking. Cafe and gym also there. Multiple family change rooms available. 3 pools at different depths.

Fantastic experience: Had a wonderful time in the warm water, parking was easy, outdoor area was well kept and beautiful space to have lunch

Positive experience: Gym and nice sized swimming pool. The lap pool is always busy with swimming clubs and water polo.

Fantastic experience: Awesome pool and amazing restaurant with great food! My little ones had an awesome time!

Positive experience: Bad wifi, but great swim and gym!

Fantastic experience: Incredible swimming pool. Perfect warm water, and the water park section is great for the kids to enjoy. It cost my daughter and I 8 dollars and we spend hours there! Very cheap, high quality. I recommend everyone checks this place out.

Fantastic experience: New building in beautiful bush setting. Clean. Staff super helpful! A treasure!

Fantastic experience: My son dose swimming lessons here i have found the facilities to be amazing and staff to be more than helpful to our needs

Positive experience: Clean, convenient, wide space for changing clothes and shower. Plenty of Water equipments for little children such as water slide and shallow pool. Helpful staff.