Australian Swim School

My 20month old daughter had her first swim lesson with Diana the swim instructor. She was super engaging and had high energy! The class was full but she kept things interesting and educational. The water was warm, the children and parents had a fun time, and my daughter has learned to dip her head in the water with confidence. Amazing to see some of the other children, younger than my daughter, already floating and moving in the water with so much ease. These babies are definitely natural water babies before they are even land babies! We are definitely looking forward to our next lesson. Go check it out! They are currently offering free lessons for 0−3yrs olds til the end of May (with a one-​time $ 35 registration fee). Their safety and your peace of mind is priceless.

They closed the pool so many times due to maintenance that I even l lost counts. And they called us just few hours prior to the schedule. So frustrated! Today the instructor didn’t show up and we were informed after the schedule had past. Besides, adults from LA Fitness swim in the SAME pool. Yuck!

I signed my 15 month old up. We have been going to the parent and me class every Wednesday at 3:30 for 3 months. The front desk is so nice and the swim instructor’s are great.
Not only has my son learned to have fun in the water but he’s learning how to swim. I’ve gain more confidence in the class myself.
The instructor we had was awesome, he made us laugh and kept the class fun.
They have a class plan to follow and it works.

I’ve been taking my five-​month old baby here for the Parent & Me Swim class for a month now. I’ve been very satisfied by the quality of the classes.
Things to know:
1. Inside a LA Fitness– they sublet out of an LA Fitness, so the pool is in the basement of the gym. You have to go down stairs to reach the pool. The pool is a typical fitness gym pool: three lanes, no steps, and about 4.5 feet deep. I don’t mind that I have to walk a flight down stairs to get to the pool and I LIKE that the pool is indoors. Sunblock is one less thing to worry about.
2. Changing area– they have a small two-​stall changing area off the side of the pool area. There is no changing table, so I just change my baby on the bench of one of the stalls. I live so close, that I usually arrive with my baby outfitted in his gear. I only need to change him out of his swim diaper at the end of the class so I can take put him in his car seat.
3. Pool Temperature– the pool is only slightly heated. Most pools are not heated. If you’ve ever done a workout in a gym pool, you appreciate that it’s not heated because you get hot from exercise. However, that means my baby was shivering at my first lesson. Subsequent lessons, I outfitted my baby with a rash guard and baby wet suit. That helped a lot!
4. Young Staff– the staff there are on the young side. They look like teens. But I’ve always had a great and professional experience. All the older kids really love their teachers. I always see them leaving with smiles and joking with the staff. The instructors my baby has had have been wonderful. In particular, Taylor, has been great with my baby.
5. Curriculum– they actually have a curriculum for the Parent & Me classes! We were so surprised! We totally thought we were just splashing around the pool for the entire lesson (lessons are 30 minutes long) to get my kid used to being in the water. But they actually have a routine that the kids go through to help them build skills and confidence in the water. My five-​month old does really well and doesn’t cry when I put his face in the water. The back float… that’s a work in progress. :)
6. Website– actually easy to use to sign up for classes and see the schedule. I like having automatic payments and it just continues the time slot you chose until you change it yourself.
All in all, I’m glad I chose this swim school. Great price and quality people.

This school is so unorganized and the afternoon front desk is the most unfriendly and unhelpful staff. She should not be working in the front. As soon as I come in for a trial class for my 3 year old daughter, I don’t get a smile or even a greeting.
I signed up for the class 2 weeks ago and when I come they changed instructor on me and tried to cram me into a class with already 4 students (class size is no more then 4). No apologies just unfriendly front desk telling me it’s all the same class.
My daughter who was initially excited about swimming got scared — which was why I signed her up for a small class. Owner needs new staff, you lost my business and many more with the kind of service you provide.
Rude rude rude.

Facility updated, clean. Not suited for babies or small children. I’m appalled they even run parent/​me classes here! Small check in/​desk area on main floor, pool below. Took a parent/​me class there recently. Despite being told before I booked, there were no changing tables to change my baby. You have to take one slippery staircase down to pool area from the desk area. There’s another slippery staircase up to the gym’s locker rooms. Either way walking up/​down while carrying a baby is very unsafe. It’s a lap pool 3 ½ feet deep without any kind of wide steps in/​out, again totally unsafe for carrying baby in/​out of pool. Teacher was nice, but instructions just ok. Pool is indoors but I felt it was too cold, my baby was shivering towards the end. Look elsewhere if you’re looking for instruction for your baby.

The Older reviews differ from our more recent experience (s). My wife and I take our 22month toddler to Baby & Me: Thurs & Sun Classes and Instruction has been as Professional and as Individualized as one could expect from a Group Class. Our child has gone from clinging and crying to an Independent lil Tadpole in little over a months time of 30min Classes. Contrary to previous Reviews our Instructor is keen on the possible advancement of our child to the next level of Instruction based on the progress shown.
Reviewers have to keep in mind this School sublets space in an Older LA Fitness location and does not have complete control of the facility, Lets be fair. Having said that, the areas that ASS has direct oversight of have been in good, clean, working order albeit a bit tired and old. I arrived early one fine day and found them actually scrubbing and disinfecting the changing room…
If this was a brand new facility the value at the current prices would be ten fold.
In addition my dealing with the front office regarding scheduling, rescheduling and payment has been seamless with a Smile.

Our first couple of classes for our 8 month old were great — the lead instructor was clearly experienced in working with babies. However, when the «new» instructor completed his training and the lead instructor stopped coming, our experience wasn’t very good. It went from us having good coaching and instruction and explanation of what was good for our baby to a «check in the box» very expensive 30 minutes with no value. You’re better off going to open swim/​family day with your little one for $ 2 at the local pool.

i have to disagree with all the one star reviews. i just signed my 3.5 yr old son for his first swim lesson a few weeks ago. we’ve been very happy. our instructor Alex is super sweet and very engaging with the children. i was thrilled to see my son smiling the entire class. one week he was sick and the staff on the phone was friendly and accommodating with rescheduling. i did decide to sign up for the direct deposit which allows for rescheduling without any penalty. the swim school is using the indoor pool of LA fitness. i used to be a member several years ago and never thought it was dirty. Since the swim school is separate from the LA fitness gym members they do have a separate pool entrance and are restricted from using the main gym restrooms which makes sense to me. I like that the groups are small. It seems very organized and safe. At the end of every lesson my son looks forward to playing with a toy from the bucket.

This swim school is atrocious. There are literally cockroaches in the changing room. The changing rooms always smell like pee. The customer service is what they claim to take pride in, yet when a client has issues the response is «sorry there is nothing I can do.» Only a few of the instructors have any prior swim experience. The staff sits in the pool talking about their parties and social activities from the weekend in front of the kids. The bottom of the pool they use is cracked and could cut easily injure a child. Additionally, their make up policy is continually changing. Overall, this facility appears to be in horrible shape compared to others and myself and my child endured an awful experience with the actual lesson and staff. STAY AWAY!!! I would not recommend to anyone!!!

This place is one of the worst swim schools in town. I signed up for the Parent and Me and was never told about the refund policy, which states they NEVER give refunds. Showed up for our class after having taken swim lessons for a few months before hand at another swim school that offered for free. Thought paying for lessons would equal a better lesson, NOT TRUE. There were at least 40 kids in the pool and instructors yelling out BEEP so many times, my 1.5 year old could never focus on swimming. The instructor never engaged my child, and the teaching was very poor. Upper management is HORRIFIC to talk to and completely rude when I asked for a refund. If you are looking for swim lessons, check out the Y in Newport Mesa its FREE!

Good, caring teachers. Very slow to progress children through levels. Management tends to be disorganized and make-​up/​canceled class policies are poor.