King’s Swim Academy

I have been taking adult classes with Duc for close to 2 years now. I started from level 0 and now I am at a point where I enjoy swimming and want to practice forever. Duc is awesome, patient and funny. He makes sure you are at the right pace and slowly pushes you out of you comfort zone. He goes above and beyond in teaching different strokes and techniques. This just shows how much he loves doing this. My other sub instructors were also great. I had a good time with my class mates. One cons though — the parking. This place is impossible to park, though you can park in the neighboring streets. Highly recommend this for any adult beginner. Leaving this place as a very satisfied student :)

I bring my 14mo old son here on Saturdays to see Nicole. She’s great! We tried two other instructors and liked Nicole the best. They’re also flexible with switching time slots and OK with make-​up classes as well. The pool was pretty cold for a couple of sessions, but they seemed to have fixed the issue now. I would definitely recommend to other parents!

David DeGuzman is a really great teacher! Totally adore him. Make sure you tell the teachers what your personal goals for your kids.

Awesome swim school. My 2 year started swimming lessons at 16 months at PJCC which is also good but really pricey. We looked into Kings academy after many recommendations from friends so we signed him up. He’s still a bit nervous about the water but after a few sessions he seems to be a little more confident especially with mommy being in the water with him. The only thing that I wish is that they have a better changing/​shower area. During the winter months it can be too cold to run from the pool out to the showers but other than that the instructors are very patient and genuine in teaching the little ones to swim.

My son loved going. He started in the San Carlos location but then we switched to the San Mateo one. The San Mateo one needs an upgrade ! Looks like they need to put a little effort into the upkeep. My son has learned to swim! So that was the goal. He would still like to go but the price is just ridiculous. Almost $ 100 a month! For once a week 30 min classes. The parking at the San Mateo location is super annoying. I’m glad I put my son in these classes but for sure not a long term thing for us.

The experience with King’s in San Mateo was the opposite of the experience in San Carlos. I thought it strange that it varies so much since it’s the same company. First, the facilities are dirty, no showers, and parking is impossible. Second, the teacher my kids had was rude and harsh, and they both said they never want to take lessons from her again. That was a first for us, after having taken lessons at 4 different pools in the area with at least 10 different instructors over the years.

It’s awesome place to teach your child how to swim from the early age. Stephanie is such a joy and been loved by the kids and my girl love her so much and feel so safe with her to learn and she can’t wait for Tuesday to come so she will be her!!!
Big thanks from us to you and your team.
Julia Farajin Daddy

This review is for their customer service. Teachers are great here, but I am completely dissatisfied about the way they handle parent’s requests.
My kids love to swim, but they get attached to their teachers and don’t like to have substitute teachers. I understand that things happen, and we may have sub sometimes. So all I ask is that the school can give me a call, so I can prep the kids on our way to swimming class.
We’ve had subs 3 – 4 times now for my daughter’s class, and I’ve gotten NO CALLS. Each time we had a sub, my daughter would either refuse to swim, or simply dread the whole class with a pout. It’s a waste of time and money, and more importantly it has resulted in a decreased interest in swimming! I have repeatedly asked them to notify me, but they failed each and every single time.
I would take my money somewhere else, a school that would respect parents’ requests and children’s feelings.

My 5 year old daughter has been taking lessons here for about a year, and I can not believe the progress she has had! We had her in swim lessons at the Y for 3 years and were extremely disappointed with the results, so we put her in King’s Swim Academy to try something new and it’s the best move we have made! She was terrified of going underwater, but 1 lesson at King’s (and going down the super fun water slide) changed that quick. She is now not only swimming underwater, but also learning all of her strokes and wants to join a swim team. Her love for swimming is a direct result of the awesome teachers and staff at King’s.
The facilities are great and cannot believe another Unilocaler complained! The pool is indoor and always warm. The changing rooms by the pool have heaters in them to keep the kiddies warm and there is a pond with koi fish that occupies my two year old when she gets restless.
I am very impressed with this swim school and highly recommend it!
Thanks King’s!!!

Teacher Ed is great with my water phobic son. My son hates putting his face in the water but with teacher Ed’s gentle guidance he now floats n swim with face in the water for 5+ seconds. It sounds like it is not long but for my son it is a great improvement. Also the school gives make up classes! It is a life saver when you have bday party to go to.

Why does this place have so many stars!
To be fair, I have been only to one swim school — Kings (both locations), so once I go to the other places I might change my mind!
I think it might be because they allow make-​up classes (others really do not?). We have been taking the Parent and me classes for many months and I see small progress. If a child is perpetually enrolled, they make money — what is the incentive to have them learn swimming!
Rescheduling make-​up classes is not easy. They are closed on Sundays. If both parents are working long hours when do you schedule the make-​up classes?
Run-​down facilities — the curtains in changing rooms are gross, water drips from the ceiling during swim lessons, facility smells funky. You have to go out in the cold (after lessons) to take a shower and then come back in to change in the dressing room (upto six year old can use opposite sex bathrooms). The water pressure in the showers is really bad. Parking is a colossal pain. The teacher starts the class 5 – 8 mins late, we are just floating on the pool, she ends 1 – 2 mins early. How does the hokey-​pokey song help with swimming skills if all you are doing is sticking your right hand in and then your left hand in!!!
See my San Carlos facility review, its better!

I was afraid and embarrass about taking adult swimming lessons but I promise my daughter that I was going to do it this summer so my fried told me about king’s swim academic and I gave it a tried. And love the way Duc and Cinthia coach the group. I tried a different day but really feel countable with them they know what they doing and do a great job. :-)

I am taking adult swimming clases and have Cinthia and Duc as instructors. Both of them are profesional, patient, and fun.

This place is THE best. My kids, 4 and 7, have been in the «Summer Blitz» program for a few weeks this summer and this has been our first experience with Kings. My 4 yr old could not even hold his breath on week 1 and after 3 weeks he is doing torpedo dives, pop-​up breathing, and kicking to the wall. My 7 yr old hated swimming before this summer but after only 2 weeks of classes, she passed Level 2 and has told me that she wants to keep swimming at Kings all year-​round and pass all the levels!
My kids have taken lessons at the YMCA and the PJCC with some success but nothing even remotely compared to the growth this summer at Kings. The difference are the WONDERFUL instructors at Kings (Duc, Miranda, and Tina) who push the kids but are also super nurturing, kind, and sweet. Also, their method of teaching with the «pop-​up breathing» is super intuitive for the kids and leads naturally into side-​breathing. They also work on basic water safety skills like treading water, safety swims, and climbing out of the pool.
We will continue lessons all year for both my kids since not only have their skills improved by leaps and bounds but they also both love swimming now.
Thank you Kings!!!

What a great school! Excellent teachers and environment for kids to be comfortable. They manage their classes in such a way that I never feel like it is crowded in the pool. The teachers are great and give my 3 year old son enough attention during the group classes. We even enrolled him in one-​on-​one lessons which are a full 30 minutes long, and he just LOVED it. I thought he would get bored being the only one with the teacher but it was actually great and it gave him more time to focus on what was being asked of him. I highly recommend the private classes. He has learned so much from the past two months of coming here once a week. I highly recommend it!!! Also there is a nice area for adults to sit and wait or watch their kids, a changing room, a nice clean shower area, and an outdoor fish pond.

THIS IS a LITTLE GEM hidden on a residential street. I like how it’s an indoor pool and the class size is small, and the supervisor is nice forgot his name (ooops) and the price is reasonable too. (also the owners are christian too awesome) KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

King’s Swim Academy rocks! Our daughter was literally terrified of water touching any part of her face. We took her to a few places with over enthusiastic instructors that just made things worse. Finally, looked for a highly rated place on Unilocal and went with the «highest rated» swim class. Turned out to be a 20 mile drive for us, but hey, swimming is a life skill.
The instructors were phenomenal. Super mature, super patient, had a plan and executed on it really nicely. Within a few weeks, our daughter was comfortable with some floating on the back, which by itself was a huge milestone and success for us. It was as if she discovered the joy of being in water for the first time.
We are now transitioning her to a school closer to our home but would highly recommend King’s Swim for anyone looking to help their lil one get over some fear.
They could use some sanity with their parking. It’s fairly crazy street parking situation.

I have been a big fan of King’s Swim Academy since I started a Baby & Me class there with my oldest daughter in 2008. She is now in level 2 and LOVES being in the pool. Just this week, we returned to the San Mateo location for a Swim Blitz session, after going to the San Carlos location for weekly lessons over the last couple years. I was happy to see all of the updates they’ve made to the facility; parking was easy and there was plenty of seating available for those of us watching the lessons.
Due to some kind of mix-​up (very possibly mommy brain on overload), my daughter wasn’t actually enrolled when we showed up for what I thought was her Swim Blitz session. Even though it was likely my fault, Kopo T (one of the managers) quickly and kindly made accommodations that not only allowed my daughter to have a lesson that day, but also secured her a place in another session for the rest of the week. Kopo went above and beyond, salvaging our swim week. The office staff (at the San Carlos location) were also very helpful in working out the situation.
I highly recommend KSA.

I started my son in swim lessons last spring at the age of four. He was scared of the water but the teachers won his trust and confidence and by the end of the twelve-​month period, he was swimming across the width of the pool and floating on his front and back and had gained a true enjoyment of the water. (Thanks, Teacher Stephanie!) I truly appreciated her ‘tough love’ approach with my son since he could be tentative in the water and yet she still challenged him to reach for his potential.
The administration was very helpful and willing to accommodate any changes to our schedule as needed and the once-​a-​month make-​up was gracious. Other swim schools can charge $ 10 to switch classes and often no make-​up classes are offered. The ‘open swims’ on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons are also an enjoyment as it allows the family and the child to have fun in the water together.
I highly recommend this swim school for your child. The ability to swim is a must in the state of California and it could save your child’s life someday.

Shortly after my last update, our 3-​year-​old son…
* tears of joy *
started SWIMMING on his own.
Without any help from us — no floaties, nothing! Imagine how happy we were to see him start motoring across the pool powered by his own little legs.
Upgrade — 5 stars!
I give lots of credit to Teacher Steven for his amazing way with kids and immense skill at teaching swimming.
I also applaud the efforts the school is making to improve the facility (new koi pond outside, securing the wall panels in the dressing rooms, and beautifying the place in general).