YMCA

General information

We’ve come a long way since 1846. Originally the YMCA was a Christian organisation that provided accommodation and activities for young men.

Today, we are open to everyone. It took a long time to break down the all male barrier, but in 1979 we opened the doors to both sexes and in 1983 our constitution was changed to give women equal status.

Today we are open to people of all faiths and none and consider ourselves a great place to enhance the mind, body and spirit.

Today the Manchester YMCA is both a social enterprise and a charity; it is managed by a volunteer board of trustees and many of its activities are led by volunteers. The organisation has three distinct but interrelated parts: -

The Castlefield Hotel

Our move to Castlefield Basin in 1990 enabled us to go back to one of our original founding principles and provide accommodation for the first time in many years. The Castlefield Hotel is a place that couldn’t have been imagined back in the early days.

It’s 48 ensuite rooms provide great value accommodation in a really great city centre location oozing with history. There are too many firsts to mention in the Castlefield area, suffice it to say that the hotel sits at the terminus of the world’s first industrial canal, the famous Bridgewater Canal.

It’s been a great year for the hotel with occupancy rates touching 80% and the corporate events and private parties boosting the income.

Of course one of the great benefits of staying at the Castlefield Hotel is that guests get free access to one of the biggest and best health and spa facilities anywhere – The Y Club.

The Y Club

Without doubt the Y Club is the biggest and most extensive health and leisure facilities in the city centre. With its full size sports hall; suspended running track; dance studio; large open plan weights and cardio spaces; the Castlefield Beauty rooms; and an 18m swimming pool, it really takes some beating. What more could we add? Well we should mention our two Rugby Fives courts which mean we are one of only ten places in the whole country where the game can be played or the 70 or more of Manchester's most innovative exercise classes each week including Insanity®, Metafit®, Zumba®, Kettlebells and old favourites such as circuit and spin.

Our 1500 members come from all walks of life, from people who live locally, through office workers to international sports stars, all rubbing shoulders together.

So with great facilities, great people and a great ethos we do much more than your typical health and leisure club. Things like opening our facilities to local schools for their PE sessions; like running a Junior Y Club so that under 16’s can develop a passion for whatever sport interests them; running well established and volunteer led activity clubs to ensuring we have an experienced, highly trained and enthusiastic staff team.
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Youth and Community

We’ve always been about more than just providing places to stay and access to facilities. Making a social contribution, helping to improve and knit together the world around us is in our DNA.

Having a successful hotel and a vibrant and profitable Y Club will in time help us to enhance and extend the things that we do with young people and across the wider community that we serve.

We are doing a lot already – more about this later – and we have plans to do a lot more. From opening up access to facilities for those in need; through work experience and qualifications through community health initiatives; we are out there. Active. Working outside-in as well as inside-out. Being where the people are. Making a difference to those who really need help.