My 4 year old son has been coming here for private lessons for about a half year, consistently. The instructors are either high school or college students and depending on the instructor, some are better than others. For the most part, he seems to be adjusting to the lessons, regardless of instructor. The only consistent issue I've been noticing is that whenever there is a schedule adjustment or pool closure which affects the lessons, they are very slow in issuing refunds or credit. In fact, you have to keep on them otherwise you'll probably not receive any compensation back. It has been a week since a recent pool closure affected my son's Saturday lesson, and we still have not received anything. The front desk said that they are "behind." read more

Wow, coming back to Albany Aquatics Center for kiddo swim lessons is full circle. Back in the day I swam here for swim meets in high school and now coming back, such a cool moment to be with the family. They offer Tot Swim (including on Sundays) which is honestly such a fun addition. We called ahead of time with a bunch of questions as newbies and inquired about walk-ins. We received answers to everything we needed to be set up with success for our first swim. There's also a super cool vending machine by the bathrooms/showers/changing areas that offers nutritious pre and post snacks, goggles, sunscreen, and I think swim caps too. The indoor pool is super spacious and everyone was respectful (of lanes, hehe). You're able to utilize pool accessories during the swim hours and there's lifeguards on duty with a stop watch to let you know when Tot time is over. We had around an hour and 15 or so. There's an awesome grass area and epic park next door. Parking is accessible in front of center. Can't wait to return! Definitely check the swim calendar online before heading over. read more

I'm a regular user of this place and it is adequate for my needs. Just saw a sign on the door to the girl's locker room stating that "those with gender identity different than their caregivers will be admitted". Say what? I ditched the Berkeley Y because of unisex locker rooms. I can just see the moms with little girls going ballistic if men appear in there. read more

My son is currently enrolled in swim classes here. The instructions & expectations are clear. At the end of each session we had to be a bit persistent in obtaining a report card, but upon receipt, it's very detailed on what he needs to work on and what he did well. We will continue to enroll him here, especially since they also have an indoor pool for Fall & Winter sessions. read more

Albany Aquatics Center - Swimming Pools Near Me - Albany, California

I enrolled my kid for classes there from October 2023 - May 2024. We also used the pool during family swim time in the summer of 2023. The indoor pool is nice, pool is warmed (but not that warm), and is all enclosed. Going there for family swim is near impossible, they were always short staffed on lifeguards. We always arrived before family swim started and always had to wait for someone in the pool to leave. A couple of times we got 1/2 an hour of swim time or had to leave because they didn't have enough lifeguards. Most instructors aren't very creative in making suggestions or encouraging kids to overcome barriers (face in water), or share tips in performing a skill (back float, dive for a toy, etc). Nice facility, there are a couple of great instructors but most are just ok. read more

Great pool... majority staff is wonderful but some do need some customer service training. Otherwise, I highly recommend this pool

I was at this pool on a Saturday and someone poor kid threw up on the deck. The mother of the child was going back and forth with paper towels and the staff did absolutely nothing to clean it up till some other patron went and fetched them. SO lax about a legitimate biohazard. Swim lessons are also pretty mediocre, only once a week and I just get the sense that my kid isn't ever going to make progress with them. read more

Thank you for offering this sweet slice of heaven in the hood - swimming is one of the best kinds of therapy! I have never been to your indoor pool, by the outdoor pool is fabulous. Is it cold sometimes? Yes, especially after a rain, but still wonderfully refreshing after getting acclimated. I'd say the only thing that needs improvement is folks sticking to the 3 min shower limit and shutting the valves, I usually end up doing this! read more

The WORST pool in East Bay. Sadly not many indoor pool options and they sure take advantage of that. The pool itself is fine but all instructors are High School students who spend more time flirting and talking with each other than teaching. read more

The staff is so unprofessional and rude. This pool always has isuses with staffing and being open when it schedule to be and bc of that I make it a point to call ahead. Whoever answer the phones seem to have no business communication skills. Often short and rude. The staff never quite the screaming kids in the lockerroom down. ( this by far is the worst) . There are much better pools around and you should look to go there. Swim lessions are so-so, much better place would be El Sobrante swim school or Berkeley. The staff needs to be train on how to answers phones, how to greet people unpon entering. I believe this pool is run by the school district and if so this is a direct refection on the district itself. Do better AAC read more

This review is for the current manager and her poor response. The facility opened 10 minutes late. Upon entering, we were not notified that the indoor pool opening was even more delayed (opened 25 minutes late). Upon asking if anything could be done as a courtesy for the inconvenience to us swimmers who were there at 6am sharp, the manager's response was that the policy did not allow her to do anything to make it up (things like free future passes, etc. ) and that she couldn't control the indoor pool lifeguard not waking up to his alarm! Ummm excuse me... what??? Well, is it the customers' fault? She did not even offer an apology neither for the facility opening late nor for the indoor pool opening even later. We understand things happen, but as a manager your response to something you and your team did wrong that inconveniences customers should first and foremost be apologetic, and then you should make it up one way or another. I doubt she couldn't do anything and used the policy as an excuse. However, if there really is something in the policy that forbids you from making it up to customers in these situations, then there should probably be a modification to the policy. Other swimmers were also disappointed with her response and how she handled this. read more

Clean & well maintained. Great swimming pool for kids and everyone. Worth spending $7 bucks. Loved it.

The outdoor pool is the most beautiful pool to swim in! It is always clean (never foggy) and a good temperature. My favorite pool to swim at! Plus, they have stepped up their game and the front desk is usually staffed, so patrons aren't waiting around to be helped. One thing to note: I've noticed that the patrons here do not like circle swimming, so most will choose to sit out and wait for people to get out of the pool, rather than circle. How crazy! Also, speed signs are not put out so people of random speeds will split a lane - perhaps that is why patrons do not like to circle here. read more

It's really nice in here. There are inside and outside clean pools and clean locker room/shower area. I was here when I was having physical therapy while pregnant so I can not review the front desk or the service. I was here in the ams M, W and F in summer of 2012. They were always friendly in passing when I came by tough. I will have to come back for free swim or to teach my lil one to swim if the classes are at a time that is good for us and update my review. read more

I love this pool! Three stars because the hours suck. I'm recovering from a hip surgery and need warmer water to swim in. Albany is one of the only public indoor pools and one of the only heated pools. I was there today with about 50 women over the age of 65 for the ONE HOUR it was open. There is clearly enough interest to get a few more hours! For the seniors (and me)! I also like that half the pool is divided into lanes and half is for open swim. I have also swum in the outdoor pool and it's nice... standard cooler lap swim pool. read more

I swam for many years at the old Albany pool. It had heated floors in the changing rooms and an interesting mural of dolphins on the pool walls. Unfortunately the new Albany pool is inferior in many ways. 1) it is expensive for a public pool at $6 -- way expensive compared to other states, and the most expensive by $.50 and $1 of the nearest local pools. 2) the changing rooms and showers are small and very crowded when children are swimming 3) unbelievably, there is no place to put soap or shampoo when showering. 4) the outdoor pool has a basketball hoop and children may be in one of the lanes shooting with a full size/weight basketball. several times the ball lands in swimming lanes. good luck if the ball hits you in the head, 5) the staff are not pleasant-- you will need to be persistent in asking questions for any information, and they'll act as if it is a burden to answer. This used to be my first choice local pool, now it is my last choice. Too bad, a lot of money spent for a pool downgrade. Must have been quite a bumbling bureaucracy that thought this one up. read more

Outdoor Pool: new, clean, beautiful, swimmable Staff: They don't give correct information on hours and don't have enough printable schedules anyhow. Changing/shower rooms: tiny, no clothes baskets, no bars or anything to hold onto, except tiny 1" hooks for your clothes. I got mixed stories on the lack of AIR in the changing rooms: "we don't use fans, we use dehumidifiers"-- ??? huh? Update: the air has been improved as of 2016, but it is still not good enough. Why swim here? It's closest to my home and has more lap swim hours than other pools nearby, such as E.C. and Berkeley, making it more possible to get a swim in, and because the pool itself is truly wonderful, being new. Feel: Do not expect a community feel here, except if you happen to swim in the indoor pool with others who are exercising, who all know each other. I have made a concerted effort to be friendly to the lifeguards and some are indeed nice. The managing staff are the distinctly cold personalities. I know--it's a pool--but we are people too. Concerns: 1) 2016: The staff can't seem to figure out how to keep the correct ph level in the outdoor pool. Thus, many, many emails are sent of the pools closure. I have never seen this happen at any other pool. The Berkeley pools don't have this problem. Now I just call every time before going swimming, because the situation is so unreliable. 2) With vandalism of the outdoor pool, where some people threw glass bottles over the fence into the pool, where they shattered, my initial concerns of how open the outdoor pool is to the public. Sure they built the kind of fence that people can't climb over, but with the wide swath of pathway on the other side of it completely open to anyone walking through the high school campus, who is to stop future vandals? read more

This is the worst pool I have ever been to. The people working there are rude. No one can get the rules straight. The rules are ridiculous. No air or ventilation inside. I gave it 2 stars instead of one because at least there IS a pool. If they ever read these reviews - try and make it fun for people to come there. It is a pool after all. read more

D'oh! Didn't follow my own advice, and signed up for another Mommy & Me class without asking more questions about the setup. This time (back in Jan/Feb) the baby class was sharing space in the pool with a LOUD water aerobics class, and I couldn't hear a thing our instructor was saying. I requested, and got, a refund after that first class, and now I am much happier in the swim class at the Berkeley Y where the baby class is the only activity going on in the pool. Let me emphasize again, if you want to take a class here, find out what other classes or lessons will be in the pool at the same time 'cause they like to jam 'em in! read more

Incompetent teenaged lifeguards on a power trip. Hostile unfriendly staff. Dirty, wet locker room with insufficient trash cans so there's trash all over the benches and floor. Hours constantly posted wrong and/or changed without warning. A disaster from every angle except the outdoor pool itself, which is pretty and deep. (Be warned, though, re the outdoor pool: The young, poorly trained lifeguard will try to "wake you up" if you try to take a nap in the sun, so don't bother...WTF? Asked a manager at the desk about this. He lied to me and said "by law" they're required to wake people up. I said "what law" and he said "the Red Cross." I informed him that the Red Cross is not a legislative body and he just said, "Try to have a nice day." LOL Been swimming 30+ years at outdoor pools throughout the country and never been rudely hassled by a lifeguard when lying peacefully OUTSIDE of the pool ... they should pay better attention to people IN the water...) p.s. I've now read the negative reviews below and agree with all of them. Unbelievable that a pool can be so mismanaged. And it's a community resource. Avoid, at all costs, go to El Cerrito pool if you can. I always come back from Albany pool mad at the world. If you go to El Cerrito pool instead you will have a friendly, positive experience and come home happier than when you left. read more

We went there today and had a nice 2k swim. Albany pool has an indoor and an outdoor pool. They use a fixed schedule and you might want to check the website when the pool is open to the public. We just went to the outdoor pool as the indoor pool was closed (actually nobody was in there). The outdoor pool was at a nice temperature - in contrast to the outside temperature which was kind of too cold to feel good in a swim suit. The changing rooms are clean but there are no lockers inside the changing room and only a handful of (very small) lockers outside. Remember to bring your own lock! One of the things I did not like was the price: 6$ per person seems to be a bit high if they only offer lap swimming (there is no hot tub or anything like that). read more

Poor management. Pool hours are changing, I'm an active lap swimmer and didn't get any update email from the pool that I get used to get.We had conflict with the manager couple years ago and she is keeping up that and being personal with me. Keeping me out of email loop for any updates pool has for every patron is NOT A GOOD MANAGEMENT OR PROFESSIONAL. Who will stop the manager being mean to me personally and who can help me, someone tell me ? If there was an email why I left out ? I just bought 15 pass last Friday -October 30th - and there wasn't any warning or email or note at the front desk for patrons. Lifeguards didn't mention at all any of changes is coming while I was buying my pass. Is she really being personal with me ? Who can help to stop that if this is really happening ? read more

Albany Aquatics Center - Swimming Pools Near Me - Albany, California

Nice, clean, and newly remodeled. Indoor and outdoor pools. Crowded, at least for the children's swimming classes (baby's in the guppies class). Bathrooms & showers are clean, but no amenities, like lockers or soap. read more

Albany Aquatic Center happens to be amazing! The facility itself is brand new, the pool has been open since this past February, which means there maybe be some kinks that need to be ironed out, but that definitely does not change the fact that the water at the facility is super clean and very inviting. IF you have not been to the Aquatic Center for a swim yet, you must go and experience it for yourself. read more

Albany Aquatics Center - Outdoor pool! - Swimming Pools Near Me - Albany, California

My kids are taking swim classes this summer and so far so good. My older kid has five kids in his class with two instructors. My younger kid has four kids in his class with one instructor. It appears that both classes are well structured and the kids are gradually learning. If I were to post this a few months ago I would have given a lower score because I wasn't thrilled with my kid's instructor and they had classes inside. It is hot and stuffy inside. But classes now are held outside, the instructors are good, they have a fantastic kid to instructor ration, and overall we are happy. read more

This newer 2 pool facility boasts indoor (warmer) and outdoor (cooler) swimming with lots of classes and swim team opportunities, including the very inclusive, friendly and diverse Albany Masters Swimming for adults. My only wish is that the pool didn't close for every holiday, frequent maintenance and sometimes, it seems, just because. read more

My kids and I loved it! Staff is friendly and the people who come are too. Plenty of items for kids to swim with as well.

The outdoor pool is fine. The indoor pool is muggy and the air is stuffy. The locker rooms are the absolute WORST! Stuffy, disgustingly dirty with mud and hair everywhere. The actual shower heads have zero pressure and its so darn warm in there you're sweating before you even get out of the shower. Nee more ventilation and cool air in there! If you want an outdoor pool, I recommend El Cerrito. If you want an indoor pool, I recommend Richmond Swim Center. RSC has limited hours but the facility is so beautiful, open and airy! If you're looking for a non-compacted age-group swim team, go to Future Aquatic Swim Team at RSC. read more

This is a great public swimming pool in the city of Albany. They did a major remodel the place which looks 100x better than it did before. They have an indoor pool as well as an outdoor pool. Both of the pools are heated which is great. They have private locker rooms which are always kept clean for guests. They do have private lessons, family lessons and lessons for all ages. The teachers here do a very good job of teaching and of course there is always a life guard on duty. The prices for these are pretty fair and reasonable. I just wish that the website did a better job of staying their hours, days and how much they charge for classes. Parking here is hit or miss but can be found since this facility is located in a neighborhood and near a high school. Check this place out and come from a swim! read more

Update this morning (6/15/12): There were some showerheards not functioning in the women's locker room. I heard one woman say, "I've told them about it a number of times and they don't seem to do anything." The second one said, "They don't seem to have any maintenance at all here." ------------- Today I discovered two more things about Albany pool: (1) The outdoor pool's marked depths are completely out of whack (several lanes say 7' when they're actually 4') and (2) The schedule is still wrong, saying lap swimming ends in the indoor pool in the morning at 8:30 on a couple of days when it really ends at 9:30 This place can't seem to get anything right. I am taking the liberty of copying and pasting wholesale a review that, for some inexplicable reason, was filtered. It is the most accurate review of this place (besides mine, lol) that I've seen so far. Here it is: Having the option to swim in or outside is priceless. Both pools are great. With that being said the looker rooms have no hooks to hang your belonging and they should bring back the old green mesh bags. The hallway is very slippery with signs that say "slippery when wet" this is a pool it will always be wet. I have swam here a few times now the 1st time I asked for the current schedule and was given one that started in a week. The next time I had questions about lessons,lapswims,pool rentals and the staff was clueless. Another time swimming in the outside pool the person I assumed to be the guard not wearing any guard clothing identifying himself drags his tub across the pool deck to his car and sat on the top step of guarding chair. He was not active guarding he would glance at the pool and then watch the kids playing basketball outside the fence having been a guard myself this was sloppy and unprofessional. On my way out I asked if that guard was new I was told he was a head head lifeguard .I hope they are kidding. read more

It's really unfortunate that the indoor pool is not a true therapeutic pool (heated to 92 degrees or so). It's also somewhat unfathomable that there are only 2 disabled parking spots, considering how many physical therapy, arthritis exercise, senior classes, etc. they have. Despite not being therapeutic, I'd love to go back to the Albany Pool if I could find disabled parking. But it's too hard to come by, so I've given up. I LOVE that there is a single-stall, gender-neutral, disability-accessible shower/locker room available (there may even be 2?). read more

This is a great facility with both an indoor and outdoor pool. My kids have had swim lessons here and the staff is great with kids. It gets 1 star because the family swim times aren't well planned. On the weekends, the family open swim times are in the afternoon during nap time and during the week, the family open swim times overlap during work hours. We have a great pool right in our neighborhood that we can't use. Very frustrating. read more

Don't swim here until they change the followings. - the receptionist is super strict and arrogant. She speaks as if we are asking for help and she is giving it all the time. - hours are super bad for family. They allocate good time for where they can make money with various programs. They don't operate for community service but just for profit. Recommend: go to the El Cerrito one. It is way nicer from people to the pool and it is outdoor. Who would need swimming indoor like this worst swimming center in this area? read more

This review is for the lessons. My daughter never learned anything new after almost a year of attending. The instructors don't seems to care. They have them do the same drills without any really instruction or suggestions for improvement. Since we moved to another swim center my daughter has improved greatly in a short time. I can not help but feel I wasted way too much money here. Also they don't regulate who is in the women's locker room. On many occasions there are 9-10 year old boys sitting in the locker room starring at the young girls getting dressed. I found it a little creepy a mom would allow this but it is even more weird Albany Pool does not do anything about it. read more

There is a particular lifeguard at the Albany pool that pressures lap swimmers to end their lap sessions 4-6 minutes minutes before the pools closes. He is rude and demanding and it is not a pleasant experience to swim when he is life guarding. His excuse is the clocks are different. A fellow swimmer discussed this fact and said all the clocks are set at the same time. I have swam when other lifeguards are present and they are very easy going about closing the pool, when the lap session is about to be over. I hope all the lifeguards at the Albany pool read this blog and realize that swimming is suppose to be a relaxing experience. read more

I called during business hours to ask if there was still space in a class for which the online registration deadline had passed. No one answered & so I left a message. I called at least a couple more times after that, always during business hours and no one ever answered. No one returned my calls. I dropped in on the morning of the day the class was to start (it was a 5:30 pm class). The man at the front desk couldn't give me any information about available space as their system was down. I get these things happen but the guy was kind of a jerk about the situation and completely unhelpful. My husband & two sons showed up about 15 minutes before the class was to start and found out that there was in fact no space. My husband decided to register our two boys for a future class for about $200. We talked about it that evening and decided to cancel the registration and sign them up at a later time. The very next day, he went in & requested the cancellation & a refund. They canceled it with no hassle. I allowed some time for the refund to process but after a full week & a couple of days we still had not been refunded. My husband went in to ask about it today. When he walked in they immediately informed him that all classes were canceled because of a chemical imbalance. When he told the lady at the desk he was actually there to see what was going on with the refund we've been waiting for she looked into it and told him that they had canceled the class as he requested but issued an account credit rather than a refund. She refused to refund us instead and told us we could have been refunded only within 5 days of registering. Like I said, we canceled the very next day. They messed up & issued a credit and not a refund! So I guess we were supposed to assume their incompetence & predict they'd mess our refund up in a timely manner so we wouldn't miss the window of time allotted for a refund when we called to inform them they screwed up. I'm shocked at the way they run their business. read more

I've been going to aquatic aerobics for the past 3 months and can't tell you how happy I am. I started the aerobics for my pregnancy and honestly if you are preggers you should totally do it. The prenatal water aerobics (okay I'm the only one that's prenatal but whatever I recruited more preggers it's a cult) is great, you can work out at your own pace, speed and intensity. The facility is uber new and clean and the classes are indoors. Not sure how the outside would be but I'm happy with my experiences there. The locker room is clean and well maintained and the showers have great water pressure. The only complaints I would have is that 1) you can't buy a single class for aerobics (although I heard they're changing that) and 2) you have to go from the locker room to the pool by way of a freezing hallway (okay so it's like 1 foot but it's still freezing subartic freeze your nads off cold) and 3) there are no lockers but then again no one really takes anything since it's mostly older women and you can leave your stuff on the bleachers and keep an eye on things. Go preggy water splashing make a fool of yourself and feel awesome albany pool read more

I went to the Indoor Pool with the kids for an hour during the Family Rec Swim schedule on a Friday afternoon. Very disappointing experience. Kids are not allowed to dive, jump, splash or have fun. Even very young kids are not allowed to piggyback on their parents. Lifeguards just make sure that nobody has a good time... because there are so many super-strict rules that they are really busy reminding everybody what to do and what not to do... Family Rec Swim is definitely not for a "family" with active young kids, it is not "recreational", and it is not even for "swimming"... I understand that there are common sense rules about not bothering other people, and about playing safely, and I am the first who tries to raise my kids to understand those principles, but this indoor pool has way too many absurd rules that spoilt our afternoon... read more

A solid newish indoor & outdoor public pool that's decently clean with a water temp that's not frigid. I am really not that hard to please when it comes to pools. Will have to write an updated review of swim lessons at a later time. read more

As a lap swimmer, I don't know why people don't like this pool. It's like they have never been to the other pools in Berkeley. UC Berkeley is $12 just to get in and the locker rooms are *almost* just as bad. I like albany because: the hours are pretty consistent (spieker - wtf?), it's cheap, I have never shared a lane, it has end of lane markers, and the water feels good and is very clean. read more