Samantha is an excellent swimming coach. While awaiting my beginner's adult swimming class lesson,…read moreI watched her teach the kids in her beginner's children swim class at York College. The patience and care that she showed the children was inspirational! As for my experience, I looked forward to every Saturday as not only my chance to be a kid for an hour, but to learn to be a better and stronger swimmer under Samantha's tutelage. Parents, feel comfortable with your children in her class. Adults, go for it; you won't regret it!

From the owner: Strongwater Swim Academy specializes in swimming lessons for children and adults of all ages and…read moreabilities.

We were upset that we could not find a school in NYC that would take our 4 month old, a few months…read moreback. We had just moved from California where they allow children from 3 months old to take lessons. Our son was very advanced, so we weren't looking forward to the classes here, but we were wrong. His instructor, Emma, is awesome. She takes her time with all the kids, and the class is fun. Our baby enjoys it, we only wish it were longer. The staff has been amazing with us. They have been very accommodating and we're looking forward to signing him up again. We love the way Emma is with Greysen and the other kids.

Excellent learn to swim school. They taught this 55 year old not only how to swim but to not be…read moreafraid of the water. I've been with them for a year without any regrets.

Pool has really stepped up their game this year. Helpful staff, friendly, pool always clean and…read morestaff very friendly. Enjoying the summer.

Extremely unprofessional establishment…read more They lack consistency when it comes to pricing, rules, and openings hours. Everyone who works there thrives in toxicity, they're no such thing as an authority figure handling concerns or ensuring the facility is run properly It seems like there's no supervisors at all, there's no one available who genuinely seems interested in helping if you have any issues and concerns. The pool itself is often dirty, which is disappointing considering the number of people paying to be there. The check in process is also extremely slow. It shouldn't take 15 minutes or more to check in each guest, especially when people are standing outside in 100 degree NYC heat. The staff and lifeguards are another major issue. While I understand many of them are HighSchoolers, that doesn't excuse rude behavior or a lack of professionalism. Many of them come across as disrespectful for no reason Another frustrating issue is the inconsistent rules. They seem to change from day to day, sometimes even within the same week. I understand the purpose of adult swim at a crowded pool, but constantly changing the age requirement without clear communication only creates confusion and unnecessary frustration for guests. Overall, the management, cleanliness, customer service, and inconsistent policies make this a disappointing experience. They don't have any respect for anyone they are just rude and act based on their mood would give zero starts if i could!!!!!

I do not usually write review but my experience at this Gateway has been horrible that I feel I…read moreshould write review. This place do not deserve even one star, I wish there is negative star to rate! I enrolled my daughter who is 5 yrs old for swim lesson at Hillcrest so she would not be afraid of water. She drown during one of the class and there is NO LIFEGUARD or any instructors around that I had to jump in water to safe her. I was so scared to the point my stomach turned inside out and I was shaking. I don't know how to describe it but I wouldn't want any parents feel that way. My daughter was crying and scared. Gateway did not handle this situation well at all. The manager at the time just came over to ask if we would like to go home. I did not. Only because that would only give negative feeling to my daughter so I stayed. After the class we were leaving, NO One came and checked if everything ok with her or I (only because that day was the coldest day in December and I was soak head to toes!) I felt so wrong to just leave without saying anything so I went to talk to the manager, only then she said "sorry...this wouldn't happen again and we are shorthanded. We usually have lifeguard there." That was it! No follow up nothing. I am not comfortable with this place Hillcrest anymore. For a couple week, my daughter keeps saying I drowned in water. We still have classes left and I still want her to learn and thought I'll give another try so moved the location to Bayside. My friend who registered with us moved together to Bayside. They passed first level so we put them to 2nd level. Out of 6 kids only 1 pass and the rest fail. We enrolled again for 2nd level again and they all fail again. Some instructors are better than the other and if you get the bad one you're stuck. They do not correct bad position how they swim and they just let them fail and retake. At this point, they just keep taking your money but no concern of anything. I will not be ever coming back and would not ever recommend any of my friends' kid to enroll here! Also when we registered for the last time they had the first class date removed after we registered and extended to following week of last class. I called them to cancel since this schedule wouldn't work they refuse to refund. They said they will only refund the last class if we can't make that one since it's their fault. Wow so basically only they can make mistake and make it exception but not for anyone convenience but theirs. With this 8 classes and with the instructor who doesn't correct or teach the wrong form majority of the kids in class fail AGAIN! We would never go back or recommend this place to anyone. Stay away from this place. Not only they don't care about you they only going to keep taking money. Who teach to fail just so they keep taking money! To response to your reply: I had address all this issue with whoever I spoke to on the phone. The person had even said that "I'll address that to the manager!" But that was it no of follow up whoever always say they will call me back. Also after we give up and look for another place to enroll my daughter, a friend of mine told me wherever u choose make sure not to go gateway. Her friend's kid had a drowning experience! So obviously my daughter incident is not only one and you guys handle it very poorly. We trust and put our kids to learn swim so they wouldn't have to go through this but right off the bet they were traumatized. SAFETY SHOULD BE NUMBER ONE! Right now you are not even addressing on safety!

Ok - so the last review on here is from last year and I guess things have changed since then. We…read moreenrolled our 6 month old after a recommendation from our good friends who've been attending with their 2 year old. The pool and dressing areas are clean, the staff are helpful and the children at the pool all seem to be having tons of fun. It's not Olympics level coaching (obviously) but it's a wonderful weekend activity for the little ones. Our instructor is Manny and he's fantastic. The mommy and me class 6m+ is really meant for parents. Babies are acting mainly on their instincts and having fun catching toys, playing ring-around-the-rosie and spending time with mommy/daddy. Our baby isn't going to learn to do a breaststroke, BUT he is building core strength and coordination, is now really comfortable in water and has improved motor skills. Because he's so much more mobile in the water (even with daddy holding him at all times) he's got a new found sense of independence. I'm really happy with the outcomes so far and we have a few more weeks to go. I have three small complaints, which have nothing to do with the instruction, safety or the staff. (1) the changing area for babies post-class is rather cramped, but I can live with it for 10 mins on a Saturday. (2) the viewing area is quite small - anyone NOT going into the pool is required to sit outside and watch through a glass wall - but there are limited seats and it's first-come first-serve or you stand. (3) when other parents miss a class, they can make up the session - which is great - but if the make up class is on Saturday - and this has only happened once - the 3ft end of the pool becomes quite crowded so babies don't get a whole lot of space for their activities.

The facilities are very poorly maintained. We regularly saw roaches, and in general the space often…read morefelt unclean. We were willing to overlook that because the location was convenient, our daughter was learning, and she was in the same class as a friend. Today was her last lesson, and unfortunately it ended on a really disappointing note. Our daughter is 5 and has been working with Manny for about three months. She genuinely really liked him and had always had a positive experience with him before today. He had a student immediately before her whose mother was very involved in the lesson, repeatedly calling out instructions and corrections from the sidelines. Manny seemed visibly frustrated by the situation. When it was our daughter's turn, he still seemed to be in a bad mood. About 10 minutes into her lesson, he snapped at her. She immediately shut down, looked like she was about to cry, and stopped participating. She kept telling me she had a headache, so I pulled her out of the pool to figure out what was wrong. She finally told me, "Mr. Manny got angry at me and made a scary face." Because she has liked him so much over the last few months, I assumed this was simply a bad moment. I went over and quietly told him that she thought he was angry with her and had become frightened. I genuinely expected him to reassure her, even just something simple like, "I'm not angry with you, I'm just trying to help you. Let's try again." Instead, he snapped at me too. Without really looking at either of us, he dismissively said, "I'm not angry at her. I gotta push these kids," shook his head, and continued on. That response bothered me much more than the original interaction. Adults have bad days. People get frustrated. Mistakes happen. But when you're working with a 5-year-old, I think you also have a responsibility to regulate yourself and, if you realize you've frightened a child, make an effort to repair that interaction. I spoke with the office afterward. One staff member seemed fairly unconcerned and offered to place our daughter with another instructor if we re-enrolled. A second woman was much warmer and showed genuine empathy, which I appreciated, but again the solution offered was another make-up class or a different instructor. That wasn't really what I was asking for. Our daughter has spent three months building a relationship with Manny and really liked him. I didn't want a replacement instructor. I wanted some acknowledgment of what happened and, ideally, for him to care enough about his relationship with a 5-year-old student to try to make it right. It was a really sad way to end our time here, especially considering how many concessions we were already making regarding the cleanliness and condition of the facility.

Saw an ad on Instagram about Daddy & Me lessons for swimming, and we couldn't pass up the chance…read more We ended up taking our 3 month old to Rafe & Co Sports Club in Bellmore and were definitely not disappointed. The level of care and professionalism far exceeded my expectations, and we can't wait to continue our swim lessons. Getting our son comfortable with the water is high priority for us, and Rafe & Co was able to help us achieve that. Thanks to Joey and team!

Our kids loved swim lessons with Rafe & Co! Coach Joey met our kids where they were at - and…read morefocused on age appropriate milestones and instruction. Our kids were 2.5 years old and 8-9 months at the time of our lessons. We will definitely be using what we learned this summer and are recommending Rafe & Co to all our friends. I see more lessons in our future - they do surf too!

When it comes to such an important life- saving skill like swimming, I was looking only for the…read morebest options for my toddler. The coaches are kind and patient with kids, they know lots of engaging methods of teaching in this age group. Our coach Artem immediately established rapport with my son. I can see progress in my child's skills and we look forward to each class.

I enrolled this winter to learn to swim first time as an adult. The classes with Physique Swimming…read morewere really amazing. I not only learned to swim but really developed skills to become a swimmer for exercise. I'm so glad I signed up and I so enjoyed coming to class every week. Thank you guys so much!

I don't have to tell anyone here that St. John's is a powerhouse University in the New York Metro…read moreArea. There are just so many successful graduates. But the true strength of St. John's is in their Alums. When I graduated during a rough time in the economy, I reached out to some Alums not for direct employment but for input on how to network to get employment in my field. But some Alums went out of their way to connect me with folks they knew were hiring and then I had multiple job opportunities and I was forever thankful. One Alum even contacted me a couple of times over the years to make sure that I was on track or if I needed more contacts. I have asked grads of other schools if they have had similar experiences and I don't hear it from them. My undergrad university does not have the connections as St. John's. I also extended the thanks and brought grads up to my office to see what a day in the work life was like and meet others. Many years later, I even had Alums I met at school events invite me to contact them if I was inclined to make a change. I see St. John's as a place to go to get a serious education and take advantage of all the great connections you can make in the NYC area. It's critical to attend a university in a major city center and start networking early. Thanks again to everyone that did not have to, but reached out to help me like I was family.

Spend the morning here with little niece for her Moot court appointment. Very clean and spacious…read morecampus. Very helpful staff members on site. Near the highway and many shops.