We wanted this summer to be the one our son finally learned to swim, so bit the bullet and went to Anderson's. After his first series of classes he was pool safe, and now continues to build his skills (see 3rd Con point). I have to say he loves it there. My advice is to give it a try. Good for beginning, but maybe not for progressing. Also get really clear on the policies re cancelations and make-ups. Pros- The water is nice and warm (a previous deterrent at other lessons). The lessons are one on one for 30 minutes each. Full focus on your child. No waiting their turn to practice a skill. Good at the very beginning teaching for pool safety (of course this also depends on the age and temperament of your child). Easy to get to if you are on the south side of the city (Excelsior, Mission, Bernal, Glen Park, Noe) Parking is a piece of cake. Cons- You sign up for a series of 7 classes at a time and the scheduling "system" is archaic. The front desk staff is a bit brusque and can be off putting. I have heard this attributed to it being a family business, so they aren't all about the shiny marketing and customer service their competitors flaunt. I do think they are overly defensive when any question re how things work there is posed, even in the nicest non-confrontational of ways. If so confident in their philosophies, they should look upon it as sharing and educating the inquirer, not as an affront or attack. Your child won't have the same teacher each week, tho if you continue lessons you are bound to get them again at some point. I have to agree with a previous reviewer, I think we are starting to see the impact of the inconsistency. The teachers run thru a list of what the kids need to "master" to pass a level, but with no connection to what they did the previous week. This doesn't actually help build the skills they are weaker in. And the kids are only evaluated (using this list of set skills per level) at the start and end of your paid series, unless you ask for one mid stream. Teachers are hit and miss. Some are definitely stronger than others. One young man we had kept looking at the clock, and no, he wasn't timing anything... just looked bored and ready to end his shift. read more

Anderson's is a fantastic swim school. Last summer our then 3 year old daughter would not dream of putting her face in the water. Enter Anderson's. Not quite a year later, our daughter is now jumping in the deep end, able to swim the length of the pool. She has progressed to learning more advanced swim strokes. Her confidence level, both in and out of the pool has increased. The Management Team has been great with helping us pair our daughter with instructors who work well with her shy personality. The instructors are wonderful, especially Veronica who is magical with our daughter. We credit Veronica with teaching her how to be confident and safe in the water, all while having fun. We love the flexible online booking schedule. Don't be turned off if the classes are full online. People frequently cancel and we have rarely not been able to book our desired 1-2 lessons/week. read more

I have to change my review for this place. Before I gave it a 5 star cause I didn't know any better. But what disappointed me was that I kept going for a while and then came the holiday. I guess they put together a holiday party for the people that does the aerobic...but didn't include me. I heard before from a friend that this place is prejudice towards minorities. But I didn't listen and had to see it for myself. I do have to say the ladies are nice but they all stick to themselves and really don't talk to you unless you are white. Plus, I couldn't believe that they wouldn't tell everyone about the holiday party and when it was closing. So I was completely offended when I showed up one day and no class. The instructor could have told everyone. Anyways, if you are white...This place will accept you with open arms. But minorities, I am not sure. At least for me, I didn't get a good welcome...Go somewhere else..... read more

Initially, I enrolled my five year old daughter in swim classes through the parks and rec program. What a waste - she had a fear of putting her head in the water and after four lessons, she still had that fear. Decided to move her to private lessons as Anderson Swim School in Pacifica. After half way through the first half hour lesson, she was dunking her head as if she's been doing it all along. Private lessons are definitely the way to go to get the one on one attention. You figure that if you're in a class with 5 other people, and it's a half an hour class, each student only gets 6 minutes of the instructor's time. This is definitely not the case here. The instructors are extremely patient. My daughter has been enrolled in this school for a year and a half and she is now diving off the side of the pool and doing breast stroke/freestyle/backstroke. And the big plus is that the pool is heated to 90+ degrees. You definitely get your moneys worth here (as well as individual attention). read more

My son took multiple lessons here and was doing great with all of the instructors until we had to pull him out for ear surgery (not related to the school at all). He loved swimming and his teachers and was really sad to leave. I was not a swimmer and had trouble with my classes at the local park and rec. program. I signed up at Anderson's this year and never looked back. Sandy, the owner, has been my instructor for 90% of my lessons and gives me positive feedback on every lesson. Let's put it this way - I was deathly terrified of the deep water and had refused to take lessons for decades. I have two kids and my wife gave me the guilt trip to learn how to swim for at least our kids' sake. On my very first lesson, Sandy took me to the deep end and taught me how to tread water. It was a defining moment because rather than panic, she actually helped me keep my cool. I've done multiple laps now, going back and forth to the deep end, and I don't give it a second thought anymore. I just finished up another one hour lesson tonight (you can have 30 minute lessons if you want). I chose the weeknights when I could have private lessons because I was embarrased that I couldn't swim at my age. I'm not embarrassed anymore and actually had a class where there were kids also taking lessons and parents watching on. Didn't bother me a bit. I still like the private time though because it's nice and quiet. Had Bonnie for one lesson last week and she is a great instructor as well. Just like the reviewer below me said - Bottom line, this is the school for ANYONE to learn how to swim. It's worth the time and the money. Hands down! Already signed up for another 6 lessons. :) read more

Swim lessons are great, attitude at the desk sucks! I was going to sign my daughter up for another session, but the owner (?) rudely dismissed me saying, "I need to give a lesson. I'm closed." Really? How about, "I'm sorry. I need to help out in the pool. Would you mind coming back in a little bit?" Me and my $235.00 for 7 lessons are going elsewhere. read more

These geniuses allow people to book 6 months in advance! 6 months! Who does that? Try two weeks for a change. They'll never do it, however. They want your money now and know you don't have other options. read more

I started to run the review for Anderson and I had so much to say, that it's just going to be too much. To make a long story short, I used to love them, sent my kid there for more than 3 years. And referred more than 10 families there for kids swimming lessons. Now they're terrible, bad owner, bad managers, all good teachers are gone. 8 of my friend families left them for the same reason. Let's put it this way, I signed up at Yelp just to write their review. read more

oh geez, the first two lessons were like magic, but at $32 bucks a pop, I am sorely disappointed that the next five in the session felt like a complete waste of money. Our first instructor went out of town, and though I am sure the other instructors are all great in their own way, none of them was able to gain my daughter's trust like Shona. The second teacher we had immediately dunked our daughter underwater and completely freaked her out, so she ended up being scared to go to the lessons for a couple of weeks (our kid requires some time to trust someone new and this teacher's approach is aggressive - it was actually a little scary watching how much water she was taking in and seeing how miserable our child was). Instructors 3 and 4 were much more mellow with her because they knew she was scared at this point, but they basically just splashed round with her, so I walked away feeling like she didn't learn anything (to be fair, though, there was a brave 3 year old there swimming on her own the last time we were there). At lesson 7 our daughter was doing less than what I had seen her do at lesson 2. What a bummer. If your kid is slow to warm up to new people, this is not the place for you because they won't give you the same teacher for all of your lessons (in 7 lessons, we went through 4 teachers and for a shy kid who just turned 4, this just didn't work). If I could get my kid in the pool with Shona each time, or with one of the other gals who actually tried to engage our kid, I would happily sign her up for a second set of lessons, and would feel confident that she would be swimming, but the lack of consistency is a dealbreaker for us and the reason I gave only 2 stars. Facilities and all that other stuff are totally nice, but the front desk staff is a little abrupt. Looking into the Y now... read more

Great place, great staff and the lessons really work. Our kids have made leaps and bounds since we stopped going to LPB and started here. Well worth the money. My only complaint is that it can be difficult to get lessons because they are so popular. read more

Anderson Swim school was a waste of money!!!!! The staff is RUDE! The swimming pool is SALT WATER! The swimming lessons are VERY EXPENSIVE! The swim teachers are inconsistant and not experienced. One day they are good and the next day they would be terrible. The people that own and run Anderson Swim are NOT professional. My advise to you is, save your money and send your children to la petite baleen! read more

I am so glad I picked this swim school . Each time I called another school, they would ask me to call back each month to check the waitlist . I eventually gave up and I am glad I did. While other schools have one instructor and several kids, Anderson is one teacher to one student which enables the instructor to concentrate on one student. The instructors never leaves thstay next to the child throughout the entire lesson of 30 minutes ensuring their safety and a parents peace of mind. They are every friendly and you pay the package and book the appts online. Although it may be Alittle more expensive than paying $78 per month at the school I was having my daughters waitlist, I am willing to pay Alittle more for the personal attention given to my girls. The locker rooms are clean and the instructors are great. The last few minutes at the end of the lesson, the instructor gives the child a choice of what watergame they would like to play. Overall I really say this school and instructors are exceptional! I would recommend them to anyone. read more

Some instructors are horrible with kids others are ok. Not worth the time or money.

Great swim school. It's pricey but the 1 student to 1 instructor is awesome. Love the online booking calendar so you can go as often or infrequent as you'd like. We've been able to get slots that people cancel so we get appointments for two kids at the same time for the weekend. We're 6 lessons in and both kids are making improvements but of course at different rates. My older child has learned to swim after just 4 lessons and is really thriving with the individualized attention. They start and end 5 minutes after scheduled time. The pool is warm at 90 degrees and the room is warm as well. Goggles and swim caps for children that have longer hair are required. Parents can watch from benches inside. Showers could be upgraded. You have to keep pressing hard to get water on and the water is often cold / takes time to warm up. The area is small but works since there usually isn't many kids in there at the same time. read more

I was impressed on how fast my daughter felt in the water. The owner gave her her 1st guppy lesson and she was swimming with no floatees within 10 minutes! Each day got better and better. She got more and more comfortable with being in the water and attempting to do more things which I was thrilled to observe first hand. Treading was a scaring thing for her but before her last session was done, she was able to tread for 30 seconds in 12 feet of water! Amazing, and I loved to see her face knowing, "I did it mom! All by myself!" It was very rewarding...my child did good based on who she was paired with that day. Out of the 1st 7 lessons, 5 were great, with 3 being outstanding swimming instructors, but 2 seems they needed more swimming lessons themselves. My child didn't excel at all during those times, and those instructors repeated drills with her she was already efficient at, which was a waste of time. I saw that with those particular ones, my kid had no drive, no energy and no trust in the person, the teacher had to switch with another teacher to make sure she could swim. My suggestion is if your' child pairs with someone that they do well with and you see also, mention it to the front desk and request to have them again. Otherwise I am quite impressed with this swim school and wouldn't hesistate to recommend to someone looking for a place that offers private lessons. Kinda pricy tho, but worth it! read more

Love the flexible scheduling! It's become very busy and filled for months in advance though, when I asked if there were plans to add more teachers or times, I was told to just check back frequently for cancellations. read more

excellent place to have your kids learn how to swim. One on one attention is what they need, to go at their own pace, this place has great staff, very friendly and helpful read more

Anyone who is serious about having their kid learn how to swim should come here. It's 1:1 ratio, the water is warm all year around, salt water so your kids do not smell like chlorin or irate their sensitive skin, you book and cancel as the swimming lessons fit your schedule. I bought my kid here when she was 4 and a half. She cried a little during her first lesson, and has been loving it every since. read more

My son (3.5) has had 10+ lessons here. He started as a complete beginner and has progressed amazingly. The teachers are super skilled. They bring so much fun to each class yet maintain a very consistent and effective methodology. As a bonus booking on-line is super easy and convenient. They really have things down to a T here! I would highly recommend the program to anyone! read more

Prior to discovering Anderson's, my daughter had always taken group lessons and after years, was still unable to truly swim -- once a week and in a group had been a waste of time and money as far as improving swim skills although she always had a fun time. Two months after discovering Anderson's, my daughter is amazing. She can swim so fluidly and with such grace. She glides through the water and is unafraid. We did not sign up for once-a-week lessons but signed up for 14 lessons and then crammed them in as much as we had time for prior to the beginning of summer, sometimes two to three times a week. My daughter was motivated to learn as she really wants to pass Camp Mather's swim test this year, the lessons are one-on-one so there was no goofing off with friends, and the staff kept careful records of her progress so that each instructor knew what she had accomplished thus far and what she needed to work on. Unlike another reviewer's experience, I have always been treated very respectfully and I especially enjoy Lorie at the front desk who is so very accommodating and was very helpful in helping us meet our goals. When my younger kids are as motivated, they will also be at Anderson's. read more

i dont get it. the more lessons you buy the more expensive it gets. 7 lessons $269 = $38.42/ class, okay 10 lessons $ 359 = 35.90/class, okay you save $ 25.20 15 lessons $ 539 = $ 35.93/class, a little more than the one above. 20 lessons $ 739 = $ 36.95/class, which is more expensive then the second package. this last package does not make sense, the 10 lesson package is $359 and if you add another $359 that equals $ 718. why are they charging $21 more for the 20 lesson package. and they claim to give you a free class. read more

This place is fantastic. It is virtually impossible to find reasonably priced, private swim lessons in the Bay Area. At the "Y", you may wait a year, perhaps more, just to begin. We were able to start our son immediately, and at a very reasonable price. The instructors are great, our son thoroughly enjoys his lessons and he is progressing at just the pace we expected. Highly recommended! read more

My son has been student at Anderson's for a few months. After 5 lessons, he is already swimming. I have never had a problem with the front staff. They have always been helpful to me and answer my questions. Bottom Line Parents: If you want your kids to learn how to swim, you take them to Anderson's read more

My daughter has been having swim lessons at Anderson's for a year and a half so I would say I know the place pretty well. For the first 6 months I was really happy with it. The facilities are nice and clean, and she was able to learn the basics and pass the guppy level fairly quickly. However she has been stuck on level 1 for over a year and instead of getting better, has even regressed. I think partially it is because my daughter sometimes likes to goof around and not follow instructions, but I paid close attention the last few months and noticed that instead of focusing on her weaknesses, the instructors just follow the list of 'things' that need to be done each week. This is because every week there is a different instructor so they don't have time to get to know the student's well. I asked the front desk if it was possible to schedule the same instructor every week, but was told "NO, we don't do that, and it wouldn't affect the outcome". But how would they know if it doesn't improve the outcome if they don't allow this? Common sense would tell you that having the same teacher would be more effective. You don't have piano lessons with a different teacher every week. Anyway, after mentioning this again to the front desk (Bonnie) and being ignored, I have decided to stop my daughter's lessons there. Maybe some kids are fine having different teachers, but I can imagine they could learn much faster with the same teacher. read more

My daughter did fine here although after paying for 4 - 14 lessons ($4,000+), I would have expected she would be a bit more advanced. The big problem with this school is there is very little continuity with the teachers. My son had a different teacher almost every time we came in even after requesting the same teacher each time I booked an appointment. I had to jump up at least 2 times when some clueless teacher was allowing my son to jump in the pool way too close to the edge of the pool. She didn't bother to take the time to be sure he was set up properly (toes curled around the edge of the pool) before jumping in. And this happened over and over again until I took the video to the front desk who agreed and would address it. The next time, with again a different teacher, my son was struggling to stay afloat and she did nothing for what seemed like an eternity. It made my stomach turn and when I took my concern to the front desk, she essentially rolled her eyes. After two 14 lesson packages, my son was not even able to graduate the guppy level. I felt then that their interests were not in getting these kids trained to swim but getting you to buy more lessons. You would hope that after 28 - 30 minute lessons (and $2,200 later), my son should have been able to get past the guppy level. Some of swim instructors are great and others, not so much. read more