We have been sending our son for swim lessons at Swim Tank since he turned 1 (he is now 3 years old). We absolutely love the facility, the staff and the progress our son has made these past 2 years in the water. We are so pleased with his confidence - he swims without a bubble or inflatable assistance for most of the class. He knows how to safely get in and out of the water/pool, which for us is just as important (if not, even more so) as the swimming itself. He is so happy to go to swim class - the 30 minutes just flies by.
Even during these difficult times with COVID still very much a concern (we have an infant as well and are particularly mindful of our exposure outside our bubble) we feel comfortable with all of the precautions taken by the facility to ensure the safety of the students and staff.
Pros:
- staff is attentive
- ownership is responsive
- facility is clean and the learning environment is comfortable (the water is warm and the temperature in the pool area is balmy - I've heard of other facilities with less comfortable settings)
- weekend and evening slots available (though priority goes to children all ready enrolled in the program) when we enrolled two years ago we had to take a weekday spot as it was all that was available given we were new to the program.
- communication is clear as are the instructions for enrollment and attendance
- makeup offerings and notice to cancel are more than fair (I've read other reviews for Swim Tank of parents complaining about the make up policy. Just know that the policies that are in-place allow for the program to run smoothly as possible and designed to be fair to the business operator and client/customer)
- enrollment/coordination for sibling swim lessons is taken into consideration (though I don't have first hand experience as I've not yet gone through this process myself)
- class size is small - pre-COVID the infant classes were 4max (to 1 teacher) and parent participation was required though in the years we've been at Swim Tank there have only been a few classes with 4 children in attendance - more often than not it was 3 (now with COVID only private lessons are available)
- Swim Tank has a unique teaching style and first and foremost is safety first - which above all is the most important skill.
Cons:
- particularly now with COVID spots for weekends are limited (as of the date of this review only private and semi private lessons (maybe?) are being offered)
- while I fully believe the costs are very fair for the level of service being provided, the tuition may be cost prohibitive for some
I strongly recommend Swim Tank if you want your child to learn the important skill of knowing how to swim in a safe environment that fosters confidence in the water.
PS. My brother-in-law was enrolled in another program. His son was 4 at the time. It was cheaper and the classes were a little larger. There was an incident that made him question the safety of the program, additionally the instructor sometimes allowed the children to sit on noodles during the entire lesson (not really learning a swimming skill?!?). We recommended they transfer to Swim Tank and they finally did and haven't looked back! read more