The Hills Swim and Tennis Club

Fabulous swim club!! So many amenities- pool, summer camps, tennis, fitness classes, gym, etc

My sister recently became a member at The Hills Swim and Tennis Club, located on the east side of Oakland. She used to play tennis growing up and is picking it back up again, but mainly, she joined this club so she could take her girls (my two nieces) to the pool. On my last visit to Oakland, I went with them and had a lot of fun. This is a great club.

This club is aptly named because it's located up in the hills and has tremendous, scenic views of the pristine, undeveloped hills towards the city of Orinda and the town of Moraga. There are great views from the pool area and even better views from the patio. It's beautiful.

We visited on a Wednesday afternoon in June. Since school was out, there were a lot of kids at the pool (and a lot of adults too). There were at least two life guards and the majority of the pool was being used by coaches/instructors for laps and swim instruction. One lane was used for recreational swimming (that's where my family mostly swam) and one portion of the pool was used for diving. Kids lined up to dive off the diving board under staff supervision.

There was a second, smaller pool, but it was closed. I'm not sure why. It looked perfectly swimmable. There were two hot tubs - one closer to the clubhouse and one on the other side of the pools closer to the patio and the amazing view. The pools and hot tubs were in excellent condition. They looked super clean and immaculate despite so many people using them. The hot tub near the patio was packed, mostly with kids. There was also a splash pad.

Around the pool was plenty of seating and a variety of seating options including cabana-style "huts," picnic tables, poolside recliners and loungers, and regular tables and chairs with umbrellas. There was also a flat, open grassy area in between the pools and the patio.

The clubhouse has a healthy refreshment bar. Orders are automatically charged to your membership account. The bar offers fresh-made shakes/smoothies, including special versions for kids, with optional add-ins like whey, soy, plant protein, creatine, and chia and flax seeds. 12-oz drinks cost $5.50 and 20-oz drinks cost $6.50.

I tried a couple smoothies:

* Berry, Berry Good - strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and banana with 20 grams of vanilla whey protein
* Mango Crusher - mangoes, strawberries, pineapple, and banana with 20 grams of vanilla whey protein

The smoothies were absolutely delicious. They were made-to-order, cold, refreshing, and really hit the spot. My older niece (five years old) is a big fan of the Mango Crusher. I liked it too. I loved both smoothies actually. They were flavorful and addictive. When you place an order, the staff gives you one of those restaurant-style pagers which you can take out to the pool. It lights up and buzzes when your order is ready.

The inside of the clubhouse has seating with tables. I saw several folks with their laptops out, presumably working remote since it was a weekday afternoon. Free Wi-Fi is available. The men's locker room was fairly spacious and clean with many lockers and various amenities like a sauna. There's a separate building for the gym and I believe there are only two tennis courts. There's also an outdoor basketball court. Plenty of parking is available in two surface lots adjacent to the clubhouse. In general, the property/facilities were clean and in great shape.

The Hills Swim and Tennis Club has been sold out of memberships for quite some time, but it's my understanding that memberships periodically become available from members who leave. That's how my sister got her membership. She bought hers from a departing member.

All of the staff I encountered were nice.

Plusses: Great members for the most part. Some fun classes. Sauna. Café.
Minuses: The rates keep raising with no increase in classes that you don't need to pay extra for, management doesn't listen, heat comes on during hi intensity classes, showers full of mold since new manager, are they ever going to get brighter lighting by mirrors??
Here's an idea: develop lower area near view side for outdoor boot camp -like classes that can be held outside on nice days- this is the Bay Area- take advantage! Put our raised dues to good use.
Overall needs some work on customer service and satisfaction.

Management is not aware of a concept called customer service. If you speak with management, be prepared to be talked down to.

About a third of the lifeguards yell "all day" and are poorly trained in social interaction and can make even capricious CHP officers look good. Kids have more fun after 6PM once they are gone. Nicer staff have a tendency to not be there too long, presumably because they find better places for their aptitudes.

Newborns are allowed into the colder lap pool and presumably contaminate the same water used by senior citizens during hydrotherapy.

Why is it two stars instead of one? Only because there is not much local competition, and the view: the two things management has not ruined yet.

I've been a member here since I was young. The Hills has always been a fun place to spend an afternoon. The pool is a decent size and there are two tennis courts to choose from and a basketball court. The gym itself is rather small, but seems to fit the number of people that are usually partaking.

The facilities look quite good, with the remodel of the front room. There has also recently been a revamp in the cafe, which is serving much healthier choices (a big plus for the fitness aspect here).

All the workers are very friendly and while they may not be able to answer your question right away, they will find someone who can. All in all, a pretty fun place to hangout by the pool.

The Hills Club has a great swim team for talented and committed children. They have a screening process to accept those kids. The coach team run by Shad works with the children who have different learning styles and skill levels, to excel them to the best they could be. All of the coaches are professional, passionate and empathetic. They run one of the best swim teams in the Bay Area hands down.

The Hills also has a wonderful Pilates program, amazing teachers and reformer equipment.

It is a club that's run very well. Many want to join but it's not easy to become members because they have maxed out the membership capacity.

Have been a member here for years. The Hills is such a beautiful family-friendly, full service club. The kind you can enjoy with your family from young children to late in life. We enjoy the pools year round and actually enjoy them even more in the middle of winter - lovely warm pools esp. on cold nights can't be beat for relaxing or fitness swimming, year round! The gym is also great, and the tennis courts are so scenic it's an added pleasure to play. We also love entertaining guests there on occasion, given the scenery and facilities.

I grew up going to this pool. Back in the '80s you could get a family membership for about $200. The pool was simple then and no work out facilities.

They have done a beautiful job on the remodel and adding workout facilities and classes. But it still shocks me that a membership is $5000 - 6000 and monthly dues are $250! The place is nice but the monthly membership dues are equivalent to a nice spa/club. This is not that. The restrooms for one are not kept clean and there are not complimentary towels (unless you count tinny hand towels) the workout room is cramped and the lap pool is actually cold. The kid's pool is very warm though. I've been to Club One several times and the facilities there are much nicer and the pool much more comfortable temperature for general swimming.

The main thing going for the Hills is the beautiful view!

We've been members for over a decade - years of wonderful experiences here - so this review is a recent shout out to Therese Brewitz and her Pilates program. I've enjoyed Yoga, Swimming, Weights, Tennis and many other activities at the Club - but as I age and need to improve my core strength for surfing bigger waves, Therese and Pilates have really helped deal with my injuries and wave training. So thanks to all at this gem of a club for the great services you provide our family and community. Keep up the good work!

Not worth the price.

With the price you pay for your membership, you would think that this is an exclusive club. Not only is parking inadequate, but they continue to sell new memberships and raise dues each year, lessening the value and the overall experience.

With continuous false or premature promises to members, this club continues to raise its dues annually without any improvements. I, along with members have continually gone unheard by the management staff. Please do share your member survey reviews on your next newsletter.

Unprofessional, unethical, rude behavior from staff to top it off. Truly a disappointment.

Raise your STANDARDS, not your salaries.