When Sunshine Swim School suddenly closed in May of 2022, they had taken payments for full multi-week sessions pf swim lessons which they did not make good on. Nor did they give refunds. They stole a couple hundred dollars from us. Multiply that times multiple customers, and they are thieves of thousands of dollars. Even if they did not have the cash in hand still, as can be the case for small businesses, the response of integrity would be to meet families at a city pool for the remainder of the lessons, and provide the services for which payment was received. Instead, Garrett Armstead the young man who owned the swim school decided to not end things well. He become a thief, and is now hiding in his back yard, afraid to show his face in public. He did not treat others as he would want to be treated. He never even apologized. Garrett: It's time to man up to your responsibility. read more

My son enjoyed it the swim lessons very much. He used to be afraid to go under water and now he does it freely. Really the only negative is there is no room for all the parents to sit and enjoy- and the areas there are to sit, are hot. It would be perfect with covering over the sitting areas that aren't just by the door. You can tell when the instructors get frustrated, but I don't hold them to that. Every one has bad days. read more

Sunshine Swim School - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

No response to email and phone - this is very bad.. center closed - please give money back...very unprofessional..

I just posted this inquiry on their FB page and it was taken down. Not a great way to handle the situation. "When will we get refunded for this session? We have attended one class. So far 3 classes have been cancelled and the email this morning gave no indication of classes resuming in the next couple of weeks (there are 2 classes left in this session). There are no responses to emails, website messages or the option to leave a voicemail. A response is appreciated. I'm sure other parents would like the same." read more

This happened over Memorial Weekend. Swim school took a deposit for a private party. We attempted to reach them for over a week to confirm. Never heard anything from them and had to try and find last minute arrangements for her graduation party but were unsuccessful. I added a video in their photo gallery of the empty facility at the time the party was supposed to start. We better get our deposit back. What happened to you guys? Ryin grew up swimming here. What happened? Super disappointing and messed up. Really bad business practices. read more

Great swim school! They are also local. They showed lots of patience and interest. I really liked that they keep their groups small. read more

Sunshine Swim School - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

I took my kids here in June, let me just give the advice don't pay for services ahead of time. I paid for their classes ahead of time. I let them know that the kids wouldn't attend in July that way I could get a refund for the time I didn't end up using. I called a couple of times and never heard back from them after being told that the manager would call me. The swim time is limited and the kids get short sessions. You're better off waiting for the county swim program that does 2 full weeks, way cheaper sometimes free then taking them here. I gave 2 stars because 2 out of the 3 instructors were nice other than that I wouldn't of even had rated them. read more

Great local swim school! After searching everywhere for adult swim lessons and getting nowhere... I found this welcoming gem! All the staff is very nice and the owner went above and beyond to get lessons scheduled. I signed up for private lessons but the teacher to child ratio in the group lessons looked really good. The facility looks like it has been recently updated but is unassuming from the outside. Highly recommend to all my friends kiddos and and any brave adult looking for lessons. read more

I'm not sure if this place is actually open anymore? We paid for a 6-week class series and we are halfway through it, but have yet to have an actual class. Have tried emailing (no response), calling (no one picks up; voicemail is full), messaging through their website (no response), and going in person (always closed, even during the time of the classes we signed up for/paid for). Wish we could get our money back or at least some dips in the pool! read more

I am really heartbroken to write this review. But other parents need to hear about our experience and consider carefully your child's needs and comfort level. Let me start by saying I was so excited to start lessons here. I am a Tucson, east-side native, and actually got my own first swim lessons at this very same location 33 years ago. So I was thrilled to start my son here. Best laid plans... I wanted to get him started before he was a year old, but he was plagued for years by recurrent ear infections, plugs. etc. By this time we had Dr. clearance was too old to do the "mommy and me" type parent-child classes. Despite my serious concerns with our experience, those classes with an adult, on the contrary, looked very cute and a lot of fun for both parent and baby. We started with a twice-weekly class for our son. While he enjoys swimming and playing in water, he has expressed a lot of fear about being in deeper water, having water on his face, and most especially going under water. We shared this with the instructor. Despite the fact that our kid screamed the whole way through the first class, we didn't worry. He did that at gymnastics too the first few classes, and now loves it and does everything asked. There was very little done to develop a rapport with my son. The instructor wasn't mean or doing anything to make it worse, but there also wasn't much done to comfort him or make him feel more secure either. I don't want him to be coddled or take him away from other kids to soothe him, but you give a 2 year old to a perfect stranger who promptly dunks him under water--he's going to be stressed. The question is, how does an instructor help a kid to work through that? So trust is developed, and their fear dissipates, not grows. So we decided to add a Saturday class. Unfortunately, this is where things went really sideways. Thanks to the lessons during the week, we were at the point where he would voluntarily go into the pool, play with a toy when it wasn't his turn to practice, and not cry after he had to go under water. The Saturday instructor put all that into reverse. With every lesson, my son began to revert. The instructor was abrupt, would snap at him, and appear frustrated when he wouldn't listen. My son does not respond to fear, and the more she would impatiently snap for him to kick, the more he would frantically look around for me to try to understand why this stranger was yelling at him. The crying began again. Like the other instructor, there wasn't any comforting... and while not ideal I didn't challenge or interfere with that. But this instructor would snap "Stop crying!" over and over again. She would hold him inches from her face and say "stop it! stop crying!" After several weeks of this, he became more and more upset. He was once again fearful to get into the pool. He hated swimming other places that he normally liked to go. The front desk staff, every day of the week I was ever there, is always staffed by young high-school-age looking staff. Their helpfulness ranged from indifferent to flat out rude. I never saw a manager or owner at any time we were there. I tried several times to switch him to a different instructor. I was told by the staff that there were no other available classes in that age group; there was nothing they could do. I looked at the cards on the wall, introducing all the instructors. Save for one instructor (that I hadn't seen in the pool during our days), for every other instructor under the "with sunshine since X year" had 2013 listed. Meaning, only one instructor had more than a few months of experience. Greater than 90% turnover did not inspire me that I would find a better match with another instructor. Finally, in the fourth week, I couldn't take it anymore. We had sat uncomfortably while my son cried. She snapped over and over at his 2 year old whimpers and did nothing to allay his fears, or build any sort of trust or rapport with him. Paired with two other excellent swimmers in a far advanced stage, she apparently grew tired of working with my son and settled for letting him cling to her back like a terrified little monkey. We were done. My husband was livid. I left before the lesson was over, and my husband went inside to ask for the manager or owner to call us as soon as possible. Desk staff asked why, and my husband explained exactly what our concerns were. It will be a full two weeks tomorrow, and we have still gotten no response or follow up. It will make me even more upset if we only get any response AFTER posting our story here. Where was the concern when we left, mid-class, with a terrified toddler and two furious parents? We lost our money for the last 4 weeks/class, but oh well. They lose $ on all our future business. I don't know what has happened to Sunshine in the last 30 years. All I know is they will never get our business again. Ott YMCA has some classes that were recommended to me for next summer. read more

Sunshine Swim School - The pool including sun shade. - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

They stole our money. We enrolled for classes, my son took one class, then afterwards they called us and said no swim class for the rest of the week. They said they would just tack on a week at the end since they were cancelling. That was fine. Then, they emailed the next week saying that they weren't able to get permit clearance for the pool. Weird, but fine. Then the next week, nothing. Just no classes and we didn't have any info. The next week they sent an email saying that the building sold and they were trying to work it out. After that, no answers to phone calls or emails. They literally turned off the phone line, you can't leave a message. They don't respond to emails. We just want our money back. We don't make a lot and set aside this budget for our kid to learn how to swim. I don't know how there isn't a lawsuit yet. I also have three friends who were taken advantage of by this place and between the 5 kids, that's 1000$ that they just stole from us and we have no way of getting back. I can't believe this happened. Edit to say that I contacted the news, and would encourage others who have been scammed to do so also! They still have people enrolling and paying online, and are still stealing from people. read more

Unfortunately, I am an ex-employee of the owner of Sunshine Swim School. I previously worked in his Boba shop located at Arizona State University. After being open for only a short 2 months, the owner, Garrett, began to ignore all requests from our store. Our manager and our employees tried reaching out to Garrett in regards to restocking necessary ingredients to make the Boba drinks. Due to our shortage, the employees couldn't show up to work anymore. We were never contacted by the owner after we stopped showing up. Garrett also failed to pay all of his employees their last two paychecks. We have texted him and called both his personal cell, and his swim school. No reply. This happened in the Winter of 2021. There is something sketchy going on behind the scenes and I do not think the owner has anything but his OWN interest in mind. Scamming people out of their money is NOT right. read more

School got shut down after 3 classes and won't refund us. Their phone number got disconnected and won't return any emails.

Paid for lessons for my 3 kids. The session is almost over and we have not had a single class. We have tried calling several times with no response. Emailed and messaged on Facebook and still nothing. They essentially stole over $400 without providing a single lesson. read more

We have not heard from them since they said they had issues with the space being sold. We hadn't even started lessons, its been closed since Memorial Day and we've been getting the run around. I asked for a refund because we have not even started lessons, but have yet to hear from them. So disappointed I signed up two of my children, and payed for the entire session. read more

This place stole our money in may ! We signed up for classes and they just took our money and never refunded us . My daughter has been going here for 6 years swimming . It's sad that Garret has chosen ti handle the situation this way . It's never too late to do the right thing ! Give us our money back ! Not to mention the time my daughter missed swimming . She was good at this and wanted her to pursue it . read more

Currently on third grandchild learning how to swim through this school. All the staff are kind, respectful and fun. The little ones have a great time as they learn. I highly recommend this swim school. read more

Same as other reviews. Prepaid for our daughter to be on swim team which started late, then was on and off due to pool pump issues and then found out closed without contact from owner. Never received services paid for. read more

Similar experience to other recent reviews. Signed my 3 kids up for classes and spent over $400 for the season. They closed the week that the kids were supposed to start without explanation. Can't reach them by phone or email. They basically just stole my money. Reported them to the better business bureau. read more

My son was in swim lessons here for about 4 months and made a lot of progress. At that point my review would have been 5 stars. Class sizes were small, he had a consistent teacher and progress was very well communicated. But since July we have had nothing but issues with staff turnover, progress not being communicated between teachers, issues with the pool, etc. My son is swimming underwater unassisted, and the teachers he would have would be working on blowing bubbles. I don't blame the individual teachers because it seems like there is just not a system in place to keep track of where each child is. Every lesson has been like his first since July. It almost feels like once they opened up their second location they dropped the ball on this one. All Of the teachers have been patient and kind. Office staff nothing but helpful and friendly. I feel like it is management's job to make sure that this kind of thing doesn't happen. Tonight my son and three other swimmers and two teachers were in a freezing cold pool. No notice was given to parents. I felt bad for the staff. They all looked miserable but kept smiles on their faces. This will be our last month at sunshine. read more

My grandson is 3 and 1/2 and taking lessons at Sunshine. We had taken him to another instructor who said "he wasn't ready," My little grandson was crushed.The next week we took him to these swim lessons, and withing a few days he was swimming on his own. The insrtuctors are very kind and work well with small children. We plan to continue sending our grandson here for further lessons. read more

My kids just finished their swim lessons for this season, and we are thrilled with the strides they made at Sunshine Swim School! My youngest is happy jumping in and splashing around like a crazy monkey. The fact that his teacher taught him to sit on the step and wait his darn turn makes him a miracle worker. My oldest did NOT want to get her face wet. At all. Ever. A few months later, she is happily going in, blowing bubbles, and even trying a few strokes on her own. They are well on their way to being much safer near water, which makes it way worth the price! read more

This is the second year that I have taken my kids here and we love it. Staff is very nice, yes they are young instructors like some have mentioned but very knowledgeable. My oldest daughter has been very scared to come to classes since last year and would fake being sick to avoid going, this year she had Ms. Selene and she really worked on making her feel comfortable in the class. After the first week with her I saw great improvement in my daughter, she was excited to go to Ms. Selene's class and learn. We also take a parent and me swimming class with my youngest, its a lot of fun. You work on getting the little ones comfortable in the water, and little ones get to interact with other classmates. Lots of fun. I highly recommend getting Ms. Selene, Ms. Taylor, or Ms. Mia! read more

We have been very happy with Sunshine Swim School. We are finishing our first 4 week session and our little guy has improved so much. His instructor Miss Abby is incredibly patient and so very sweet with him. We can't wait for the next session to see him continue to grow and gain more confidence. read more

Great swim school has shown my daughter a lot and has also shown my daughter a lot of safety tips the staff is very caring and friendly would highly recommend this swim school thank sunshine swim has been worth every penny read more

My children got 8 minutes each with the instructor for each lesson, while others kids got 25 minutes each paying the same amount. I spoke with the owner and it did nothing. read more

Sunshine swim school provides excellent instruction through their small group classes. They allow kids to move at their own pace through the 14 levels, whether it means repeating a level or advancing quickly by skipping levels. Even though there are often 3 kids in each small class, they do provide enough individual instruction for kids to learn the skills they need. My main issue is how expensive these swim lessons are. At around $12 per 25 minutes, this is by far the most expensive activity I have ever enrolled my kids in. Swim lessons are twice as expensive as gymnastics, and far more than seasonal sports. However, it is worth it for the quality of instruction and how quickly my kids became comfortable in the water and learned strokes. My 10 year old is expected to complete the highest level in the program by the end of this summer, and it is only the second season we will have been attending Sunshine Swim School. read more

First let me say, I only gave Sunshine Swim School a one because Yelp doesn't allow a zero. Secondly, if you take anything away from this, just know I would never bring a child back to this swim school. From the beginning, the staff were unhelpful, unprofessional, and uncomforting. My three year old son has grown up around water and enjoys swimming in our own backyard pool. Wanting to get him formal lessons, we decided to take him to Sunshine based on a friends recommendation. After the first three weeks of my son fearing for his life and stressing about even going to lessons, my wife and I took him out of class and never returned. Did I mention like other posts on here, I never saw staff over 20 years old. When asking questions to the staff that were there, I always received answers that were very defensive and rude. When asked to talk to a manager or an owner, I was told they do the best they can and there was no one to talk to or I would get the same answers. Overall, this wasn't the school for us and I hope that you reconsider or look at other options before taking your kid here. read more

My daughter went to DeMont Family Swim for a few months before we found this school. It was everything I hoped it would be. They started immediately working with my daughter and water safety! My biggest let down over at DeMont was that our daughter made no progress. It was more of a play date at the pool. At Sunshine, our instructor was so patient. My daughter screamed as she is cutting molars and still the instructor was patient and calm. They actually started working with her to roll on her back in the event she falls into the pool. This is everything and more that I hoped swim lessons would be. I am very pleased! read more

Sorry, it's been 5 years but I'm still upset that my 9 year old boy almost drowned at swim lessons on the east side pool. He was told to swim the length of the pool by himself, by his instructor. He could not. He struggled, swallowed water, I panicked. I should of intervened when I noticed his teacher was NOT watching him AT ALL. He was talking with other teachers in the pool. He made it to the side, coughing and scared. They NEVER even noticed. I complained big time but they really did not care how upset we both were. We never went back. He is still not a great swimmer. read more

This place was great until they canceled several classes back to back on us and only offered us a credit toward the NEXT sessions of classes which we had no chance of attending. When I reached out to the company they promised to get back to me with a way to reimburse me. They never responded. After numerous voicemails and a couple emails I realize this is just the way they do business. Our instructor was great but unfortunately I would not recommend this company to anyone based on our experience! read more

We spent over $400 on private lessons for my son with a physical disability because the manager Garrett swore they could help with special needs during private lessons. Well they don't. They have a bunch of high school and college swimmer "teaching" swim. They placed my son with a fist time time instructor who had no experience. After 4 useless lessons of him playing with toys on the step they changed the instructor, TWICE. We have made well over 30 phone calls to Garrett and he does not return them. I asked to speak to the owners John and Deb...nothing. I have taken to driving there in hopes someone with some authority might be present. Saturday was the last straw, another mother had to rescue her own child from drowning while staff had back turned to the child. "Lifeguard" was inside having lunch and hanging out. I really don't know how they are getting away with this, it's just a scam and it's dangerous. We are reporting to the BBB and health department. read more

This swim school used to be great until the new management took over. They went from offering twice a week lessons to once a week for the same price I was charged for the twice a week lessons. Paid a little extra to have private lessons for both my girls and was told they would have the same instructor (unless out for illness) to maintain consistency. So far we have had 3 different instructors in the 3 weeks we have been going there. No consistency whatsoever in teaching and my kids are not learning. Their automatic billing is also a headache being charged twice for the month of June. Although this was finally rectified it took several emails and multiple calls to my bank to clear this up. I was hoping for a better outcome after the change in management but a new coat of paint does not make a business great. Disappointed because we have been with this school the last three summers but I'm so unhappy that we will be taking our business to Squaro Aguatics for the remainder of the summer where we can get twice a week lessons for the same price as what they are charging at Sunshine. read more

This is actually my first ever review I've written about any facility, but I feel it's important to discuss my experience to other parents who are unfamiliar with this swim school. I enrolled my 6 year old son to this place only because Saguaro Aquatics' new location was too far (over 40 minutes away). I had no idea the chaos I was signing up for. The pool is small, way too small for 4 classes to be going at the same time. Tonight there were 5 classes going on at once and my son's group spent way too much time shuffling around the pool; he only practiced 3 skills during the 25 minute class! Sorry, 4 skills if you include the toddler slide. So glad the instructor had the good sense to waste even more time having the class line up for a slide that has NOTHING to do with making them stronger swimmers! Extremely unimpressed, especially after experiencing the quality and structure from Saguaro Aquatics! Saguaro Aquatics is well worth the time and money, while Sunshine Swim school is a complete waste of money. I hope any newcomers to this facility don't waste the $132 that I did. My advice to anyone considering this place, KEEP LOOKING ELSEWHERE!!! read more

I am extremely disappointed in the service I have received from Sunshine Swim School's manager, Garrett, and the owner, John Jugin. My son is 6 years old and I enrolled him this summer in lessons at the school. There were three students total in his class with his first instructor, Shelby. She was rude to the other two children, yelling at them to stay seated on the step. While staying on the step is important for safety, so is creating a relationship with the children. In order to feel comfortable in the water, children need to feel safe. Yelling at the children did not accomplish either objective, as the other children continued to play around while not sitting on the step. I spoke with the receptionist in the office area and asked that my son be switched to a different class. When asked why, I told them I did not like the way the instructor treated the students. I do not know if that was noted in the computer in order for the manager or owner to speak with Shelby, but I doubt it. During the time my son was with Shelby, I noticed a mother dive from her seat down to the cement to retrieve her son out of the water as he went under and the instructor did not notice. She pulled him out of the water and he was choking on the water for a few minutes. The instructor did not seem to be very concerned. The mom was covered with water and understandably shaken up. The instructor then made him get back in the water and continue with his lessons. I could not understand how that could have happened as there were only two students in her son's class. The instructor failed to keep her child safe. When my son was moved to a new instructor's class, Seneca, things seemed to be looking up. He was receiving more instructional time with the instructor, and there were still three students total in his class. On Monday 6/23, one of the other students in his class pushed my son's head under while the three students were racing each other across the pool, as the teacher instructed them to do. The other child did this in order to reach the finish line first. The instructor was swimming backwards and did not even notice this happening. The parent of the third child and I both got up and informed the instructor of this event. She did not address the child and did not sit him out or provide another mode of discipline. She did not address the parent and did not offer an apology to my son or me. I addressed the parent of the child and was very upset by this act of assault. I fear that if myself and the third parent were not there to witness this, it could have resulted in further danger. I truly feel that this event was not addressed properly. The following day, Tuesday 6/24, I returned to the school and asked to speak to a manager. The receptionist and another teacher were sitting in the office and told me that no manager is on site and they would have to call him. I told them that I was not interested in speaking with them, and would like to speak with the manager. They said that it was not possible. With no other choice, I told them of the incident with the mother diving in after her son, with my son and having to change instructors, and with the lack of discipline and action taken by the instructor against the child who assaulted my son. I told them that I was pulling my son from the class and wanted a refund for the session. The receptionist immediately got on the phone and told me she was calling the manager and I would receive a call that day from him. I called on Friday, 6/27 and left another message and explained how dissatisfied I was with the service and how upset I was that this was not being dealt with. Still nothing. I left another message on Sunday, 6/29 telling how I expected a phone call from the manager. It was not until Sunday night that I received a message and was unable to call back until Monday morning. On Monday, June 30, I finally spoke with the manager and when I explained all of the events that happened and how extremely dissatisfied with the service I was receiving and that I did not receive any phone call back and would like a refund of the full amount, he said he did not deal with the money and he would need to contact the owner. I explained to the manager that I would expect a call within the day as I will not wait another week to speak with someone. I need the money to enroll my son elsewhere and receive excellent service with an instructor whom I trust with my son in the water. He said that he would have to call the owner and he did not know when he would get back with me. The owner did call me today 7/1 and told me that I would not be receiving a refund, that he felt that the incident was properly taken care of, that I attended 80% of the sessions (incorrect, only 50%) and was offered two private lessons. I refused them and asked for the money as a refund. I was refused over and over and spoken to very rudely. I will be contacting my lawyer for a refund now. read more

Boo to Sunshine Swim School! My two boys, almost 3 years and 4.5 years, were taking swimming lessons in the same class (there was one other child in the class). My husband and I were both there watching and all of a sudden I look up and my youngest is struggling out in the pool with water over his head and both instructors (the regular instructor and a trainee) have their backs to him about 10 feet away with no idea what is going on...they were both focused on my older son and seemed to have forgotten they had two boys sitting on the steps behind them. So, I run to the edge of the pool and am in the pool up to my knees in jeans ready to dive in (with my husband behind me screaming) when one of the instructors hears, turns around, and dives under and pulls my son out. So, at the time, we were both in such shock that we are nice about it...just relieved that everything was okay...and we let the boys finish out the class time. However, on the way home as we talked about it, we got madder and madder and madder...feeling that basically nothing justifies that situation. We are currently waiting to get a call back from management. We would like to get a refund as obviously we are NOT wanting to go back! I should also mention that when I started talking to other parents about this that no less than 4 other moms reported seeing this same thing occur at Sunshine! I would suggest being extremely vigilant anywhere you take your children for swim lessons...and picking somewhere other than Sunshine! At least 10 parents have suggested Demont to us, although I can't yet personally recommend as I have not been there. read more