I'm not convinced Aquaventures is worth what they charge (4x the cost of community pools' lessons). After many years of lessons at the community pools, my kid was just not getting the hang of crawl with proper breathing. Her school classmates' parents recommended Aquaventures or Atlantis, as they are much more hands-on, so we sucked up the cost and signed her up for Aquaventures. We have liked that the instructors actually touch and manipulate the kids' arms and legs to help them learn -- there's more focus on proper technique. (The community centre approach at her age is to have them jump in and struggle through it -- the instructor often isn't even in the pool with them.) The teachers for the two sets we've done have also seemed good, and my kid has improved, although not in leaps and bounds. Otherwise I don't feel we're getting our money's worth. The pool and facilities are cramped and old (though this may change with a new facility they're building). It's a small pool, and with 5 or 6 classes for all ages going on at once, it's pandemonium. There's no way for the kids to build endurance or swim for more than 5-10 m at a stretch. They also have to close the pool fairly often, on a moment's notice, for issues with filtration, etc. (This has happened twice now, in 13 weeks of classes. You get a refund but your kid loses the instruction / consistency.) The dressing rooms and seating area are all dumpy and crowded. There are not enough chairs for all the parents and grandparents that turn up. There is free parking but the parking lot is generally full. And for all the extra money, the kids don't get any more time with the instructor that at the community centres. Lessons are only 2/3 the length of those at the community centres (30 min, instead of 45) and there are still 4 kids in each class (vs 6). That works out to 7.5 minutes of instructor attention per kid at both. Honestly the only difference is that the attention at Aquaventures is more hands-on. (For babies, there is no difference whatsoever in what you get at the community centres and Aquaventures. And many of the community pools have warm toddler pools. The only difference is the cost.) Registration is not great, but it is better than the community centres. At least those currently in lessons get priority and their servers don't get slammed at 9:00:01 on registration day. Overall: Good, hands-on teaching with a focus on technique. But overpriced. read more

I barely have time to shower in my life but I felt compelled to take a moment to write this review. My son who is 4 just did his first aquaventures class series. 5 days each week for 2 weeks. I want to say that his instructor Sandra was FANTASTIC. She is just so great with kids- gently brushing their hair out of their eyes when they come up from getting their faces wet, adjusting their little goggles, and taking the time to praise them each time they completed a game. My son needs a little bit of encouragement out of his comfort zone in the water, and I feel like she was the first person to achieve that with him. Even on his off days, she somehow got him in the pool! I should also say she was incredibly patient with the kids too when they had trouble listening. My kid went from not being able to get his face wet, to jumping from a platform into the water in 2 weeks!! He is constantly talking about swimming. The registration process was a bit confusing to navigate at first but we figured it out. Facilities were a bit run down but it didn't bother us and they have a new location opening up next year! Hands down, I would recommend this program and Sandra in particular. I feel like my son has developed in leaps and bounds and we have signed up for fall classes even though they are soooo expensive. I pay what it takes because to me, learning to swim is life and death so it's worth the money to have these people teach your kid to swim. 5 stars for sure. read more

I completely agree with the previous reviewer about the "soup nazi" of swim centres for babies and toddlers. It does a great job summarizing the attitude and approach the owners take to running this facility. I have yet to see or meet the owners and think that Aquaventures needs their presence as I too find a real lack of consistency with the swim instructors and customer service. It's obvious that they've tried to set things up to run on autopilot but the sad reality is that there is a vacuum of leadership to direct and inspire the staff and this has created apathy amongst them despite their efforts to mimic and exercise the tyrannical style of management they've been instructed to uphold. They are NOT at all accommodating or understanding, which is ironic given their target audience: young families. For example, if you miss three weeks due to illness or whatever, you need a doctor's note to get a credit; if you have a legitimate reason for missing yet another class, sorry folks, you can't tag on to another day/class. They won't let you even though in my experience, most classes only have half the people show. If you didn't get an email announcing the registration day, too bad, you lose out. I realize they need to run a business but I think they've gone too far over to the other side. The showers and change rooms SUCK. The shower water is either too cold or too hot most of the time; the water runs for about 20 seconds only before you have to push a button. The change rooms haven't changed in 15 years!! It needs a dire makeover as everything is old or dirty. The bins provided to put your clothes are dirty. The change tables are scary. There is barely any seating for adults or children. There is no "swim mate" spinner to dry out your bathing suit.....The floors get hosed but look dirty. There are no mats or benches of any sort -- all the things you would see in a regular swim facility. The registration process is draconian and ridiculous. You have to wake up at 6:30 am, send your email at exactly 7am, and then wait half a day for a call back and you get ranked and first dibs based on how long you've been a customer. The cost for a session is astronomical!! Why do we go, why? We started because we received a gift certificate from the grandparents. Fair enough. Then during that first session, Aquaventures closed due to pool heat issues; and then we got credits for spontaneous shutdowns due to a kid pooping in the pool. Plus, we got one more for something else. So by the time the 2nd session came around, we were getting if for quite a bit less than regular price. That's the other issue I have with Aquaventures, instead of credit back the money to your card, they say we'll "credit" your account and you can apply it to the next session you register for. Well, what if I don't want to? Are you finally going to credit me my money? I have mixed feelings about this place. If you get the right instructor, your child will excel and flourish in the pool. We've had one good one, one crappy one so far. I'd say your odds are 50/50. read more

The "soup nazi" of swim classes. After enduring their strict multi-step sign up process, they didn't even sign us up for the class we requested. Instead they randomly stuck us into a class and we didn't find out until the first class. They then refused to change classes or let us de-register because they had sent back a confirmation email with the wrong class time. Then last semester with 1 days notice, they canceled classes so they could "deal" with registration. We'll apparently they need better processes as they screwed up registration even after having canceled classes to free up resources to process it. Why 2 stars, because some of their instructors are pretty good, however it is a mixed bag. Combine this with the their customer service and registration process, we're not coming back. I guess no soup for us. read more

Our daughter's been going to Aquaventures since she was 9 months old, she's 4 and a half now. The instructors really care about each individual student's development. They know all the kids' strengths and will place them with groups that complement their skill level to ensure they are always challenged. Awesome school! The teachers are amazing with the kids, they make learning to swim so fun. My daughter loves that the pool water and showers are warm and the entire facility is heated so your kid is never cold, which helps enormously while learning to swim year round. The facility is a little dated but not worse than your local community centre. I also disagree that they are a "cash cow" establishment. If your kid has not improved to the level required your kid will not be moved up the next level and it would be unsafe to do so. Our kid did starfish twice, but moved through Turtle - Otter with only one class required for each level. We wouldn't bring our daughter anywhere else. Aquaventures is hands down the best swim school in Vancouver. read more

We're half way through a 10 day intensive program and couldn't be happier. The pool is extremely easy to access (MAJOR PLUS!). The water is warm and our teacher is professional and encouraging. We do hope that the new facility will be as accessible as the current facility. read more

I have a background in competitive swimming and life guarding/teaching swim lessons myself and I really think the lesson program at Aquaventures is excellent. It is more than double the price of the community programs but absolutely worth it. My daughter has had 2 sessions with them starting at 6 months old. No one can believe it at the public pool when I give her the "ready, swim!" cue and she closes her eyes, and will tip headfirst into the pool from the side on her own. At 9 months no less! Instructors, very warm pool temperature and program are great. The initial sign up and website is a bit convoluted and unnecessarily complicated but I got my first choice of times and day of the week with some planning. Change rooms are dated and need upgrades - cubbies are always full, there is only 1 packnplay and 5-6 babies per class. Showers need improvements - very tricky to hold a handheld shower head and a wet slippery baby and apply shampoo. Policy of not allowing make ups for illness or vacation is not right in my opinion. They also need more than 1 toilet in the change rooms. Before class, 4 potty training toddlers trying to use the bathroom before the lesson means no one else can. All together I would recommend this program but I hope management reads this and chooses to make some improvements. read more

Nice warm pool. Great instructors. A big downside is that the price for lessons is triple that of public pools.

I cannot recommend this place highly enough. The quality of lessons cannot be beat. My 3 year old daughter was pushing off under the water after only 3 or 4 lessons. She was very nervous the first day and the teacher approached her with confidence and lots of reassurance and she was dying to get in the water the next time. After 2 rounds she swims better than her 6 year old cousins (although she's of course not as strong or coordinated) and enjoys the pool much more. We've had two rounds of swimming lessons at this facility. As others have pointed out it costs significantly more than lessons at the public pool I'm not sure exactly how much as the sessions at Aquaventures are longer (12 lessons compared to 8?). There is a ratio of 4 students to one teacher. Registering is complicated as there is a high demand. Instructions and dates are available on their website. They register existing students first, previous students second and new students last. read more

The facilities are awful and the cost is just way to high for what you get. We had previously been going to the community centers for lessons but decided to try these guys out based on a recommendation. We did not think it was worth it at all. We much prefer the community center for the cost. They are supposedly moving soon and are getting better facilities. Maybe that will make things better? read more

If I could give this zero I would. Don't bother. The registration process is so arduous I've never managed to get a class booked. What a waste. read more

Excellent quality of instruction. Good teacher:student ratio. They are very thorough and don't move kids along faster than they should just to satisfy parents need for 'progress'. The criticisms would be the archaic process they use for signing up: if you have classes on Wednesday afternoons then on specified Wednesday at a certain time you can start emailing or phoning in to get that day. Just a strange system with SO MANY better ways to handle. The price is not cheap. As a consequence, there's the obnoxious number of Range Rovers, Mercedes/BMW/Audi SUV's in the parking lot. But then such is Vancouver... Sorry, I digress. Overall, a fantastic spot to have your kids learn to swim! read more

Great teachers, pool and overall environment. Our daughter has learned so much and is a much stronger swimmer than the kids who have gone to other pools to learn. The registration process has vastly improved (showing they take feedback seriously) and they continue to innovate the lessons. Wish they had this place where I lived when I was a kid. read more

Very cute little place, good student teacher ratio. The only issue that I have is the timing of the classes, it's very hard to get a schedule that works with schooling unless you want your kid up at 8pm. I guess it's a problem with the size of the pool, which can't support that many people at once. All in all, it's great if you can get in but if you have a good spot you better hold on to it. read more

We have been coming since my daughter was 6. She is now 8 & this will be the last time we come. Initially it was good, but now find there is no progress. Some teachers have been great, but others are just going through motion ("next") and don't seem to care. It's hit and miss. Too expensive- time and $- not to see our child not increase her swim competencies. read more

First sign up was fantastic. Excellent teacher that really helped our child learn to swim. 2nd sign up the teacher was not do great. We're moving to another school after the instructor pulled the goggles off our child to get her to leave the pool. Even the receptionist was shocked at the way it was done. Real shame read more

I agree with the soup nazi comment. The teachers are great, the swimming pool is great - nice warm water for the kids but their registration process is pathetic. Students can get bumped off if they don't register at a certain time on a certain day. The demand for this pool is so much that they can afford to do this. There is no loyalty to students. Imagine a school or a university kicking the students out of a program because they did not register at a particular time on a particular day - never heard of this happening. They don't even remind/warn you of any impending deadlines for registration etc. It is so simple to design a registration process that keeps their business going well and also shows some loyalty to students. Wonder why they can't put some thought into this! read more

Great instructor to student ratio that make the kids feel comfortable. They give little report cards at the end that make the kids feel good. Nice staff. read more

This place offers great classes in a very warm pool with lots of toys and equipment. But I will not sign up my son for lessons here again because the wi-fi in the building gives me a headache. All of the parents are on cell phones almost the whole time the children are in the pool. The RF radiation in the building (probably because of the concrete walls and water) is unbearable for me, and is probably bad for the little ones as well. read more

There's a reason this is triple the price of public swimming pools, because the quality of lessons is several ranks higher than that of any park board pool. In fact you can't even put them on the same scale. I have done both with my baby/toddler (who is now three and a half), and trying to compare the lessons at the Aquatic Centre to the quality and attention you get at Aquaventures is like trying to compare chalk and cheese. The classes are much smaller, and the teachers really give quality attention to each child/parent in the water. They are so helpful from the early stages (parent and tot in the water pre-three years old) not only with building confidence in the child, but also teaching the parent the proper techniques for handling your baby in the water. Whereas public swim lessons in my experience (for babies) is about games and familiarizing your baby with the water, once you're bored with that and ready for your child to start learning technique, skip the public lessons and go to Aquaventures. I was skeptical of the price at first too, but now I've experienced the care and attention to detail the teacher's give, I would never go back to public lessons. There's a reason it's so popular! read more