Hands down the BEST swim program in the Birmingham area!…read more After trying several other swim options, I can confidently say nothing compares to this one in Birmingham. Katie is truly a gem--so loving, patient, and gifted at what she does. My kids look forward to swim lessons every year because of the joyful, confidence-building experience she creates. From the start, Katie clearly communicates expectations and guidelines via email, so you always know what to expect. She's amazing with kids--gentle yet effective--and by the end of the week, they're swimming! Most importantly, Katie genuinely cares about each child's safety and progress. I'm incredibly grateful for the way she's taught my kids to swim and for the peace of mind that comes with knowing they're in such good hands.

I signed up for private lessons with the owner. I paid $150 for 5 lessons upfront. This was a big…read moremistake. I recommend to pay as you go. I pre-paid for 5 lessons and for 4 out of the 5 lessons there was always an issue with time. One lesson was totally forgotten by the owner and I was left sitting next to the pool calling and texting. Finally, I received a call saying he turned off his phone and forgot about me. He apologized when he called me 30 minutes after the appointment once he read my email. Which was my last attempt at reaching out to him that day. The lessons were fine once we started each time. I learned a lot of the basic concepts of swimming. However, I felt stressed out after each lesson. Sometimes there were words of encouragement along with great criticism. I had to ignore the critical negative tone to allow myself to learn which was stressful at times. Outside of the pool I did not receive professionalism or good customer service. For the 5th lesson I called and texted the owner to make sure he would show up. He never called me back. Our lesson was at 10 a.m. and at 10:45 a.m. he texted me saying he didn't see me so he left. I asked for a refund because I was tired of all of the miscommunication with meeting times. I was told that I would not be receiving my refund for the last time. I told him to just keep it even though he said we can try next time. I didn't want to argue over $50 and this whole experience was about to become something I didn't want--drama. This last interaction has depleted my trust with him in the pool. If you choose to work with this person, don't pay up front, expect timeliness issues with lessons and the lack of professional courtesy. You will learn how to swim but will feel stressed out in the process. It was not a great experience interacting with the instructor. However it was awesome learning how to swim. I recommend using a different instructor if possible.

Absolutely amazing instructor who is perfect with the kiddos. This is definitely an advanced swim…read moreclass and believes he starts are 12 months. My little girl is 2 years old and was at gold fish but she has clearly grown more skills and comfort in the water after being in this class. I HIGHLY Recommend him! Plus he has been doing it for 40 years and so fun to watch!

My daughter began Alabama Swim School at two years old. She was trained for safety and swim basics!…read moreIt was a relief to be at a pool and know she could swim to the side when necessary. We kept her swimming as she started swimming competitively on her community summer swim and branched into year round swimming. she learned to be competitive and confident in her strokes-became a regional swimmer at 8 years old! She is now a Division I College athlete in another sport. She feels like the discipline and training she learned at a young age gave her more opportunities to develop as an athlete. She is a lifeguard and coaches summer swim when she is on summer break. I am thankful for the decision we made to start her in a swim class at a young age. It has benefited our family in building a good foundation for our daughter.

Aqua tots is in the business of making money and not actually teaching your kids to swim. We went…read moreto the Hoover location and we talked to parents that their kids had stayed in level 3 for 5 months and never progressed even though they looked like they should of been in level 4 or level 5. Also they can cancel appointments and not give you your money back. If you dont want to come back for example and you signed up for the buy 5 months and get one free and you say dont want to come back and only did one month and you dont want to get anymore lessons because it isnt adequate for you or they cancel too much, well you cant cancel and get your money back. If you sign up for 5 months and only do one month then youll still pay for 4 months of the lessons even if your not want to get lessons any longer. Just not good business. Also when we signed up I thought that ONLY certified instructors with 40 plus hours were going to instruct the kids, one of our lessons was instructed by someone that wasnt certified and only had 10 hours of training.

From the owner: Aqua-Tots Swim Schools is the industry leader in swimming instruction because of its world-class…read morecurriculum, highly trained swim instructors, family friendly environment, and state-of-the-art year-round facilities. Our motto, "Safety First, Fun Every Second" embodies our guiding philosophy that learning to swim is an essential life skill - one that can save a life and be enjoyed over a lifetime! Our mission is to prevent drownings by working with the community to provide a standard of excellence in teaching children water safety. At Aqua-Tots Swim Schools, we teach swimming techniques that provide a safe and fun experience for everyone.

This place is actually pretty awesome. I was browsing online and looking for some local honey, and…read moreI had no idea that there was a beekeeping shop right here in Birmingham and then I found them. AND they had the honey from bees right here in the city. Incredible. Aside from that, they are basically a full blown, full service, one stop shop for any and all of your beekeeping needs. I don't actually keep bees, but I found their shop to be really interesting, and the people to be really friendly and informative. They also offer beekeeping classes if you want to go and learn a bit about that. Overall this is a pretty interesting place that's worth a visit if for no reason other than to pick up some honey made right here in Bham. Definitely stop in and check it out.

We hat a cool and interesting place to visit! I read online that the company had recently moved to…read morea new building in Irondale after outgrowing their previous space. I live in the area, so I decided to stop by for some local honey. Boy, was I in for a treat. The female staff member, who is also a beekeeper, was very knowledgeable and helpful as we toured the new spacing. She tried to show us the queen but she was hiding but we did get to see her before we left. They sell items to help beekeepers with their projects. There's bottles to store your honey, large silver containers, protective suits to keep from being stung, and they even offer samples of different types of honey. I never knew honey tasted different so that was pretty interesting to me. They have a large classroom set up for learning opportunities for students and adults who are interested in learning more about these pollinators. The coolest part was the bees themselves. I really enjoyed my visit here and welcome them to the Irondale community.