We've had an amazing experience with Aqua-Tots in Cary! Both of my kids joined at Level 3, and now, three years later, they are in Level 8. We've seen tremendous growth in their confidence, skills, and love for swimming. All the coaches have been fantastic over the years. I may not remember every name, but each one has played a role in my kids' progress. A special thank you to Coach Zachary -- he was absolutely wonderful and made a big impact. Currently, Coach Cole is doing a great job as well! The front desk team and receptionists have always been friendly, helpful, and professional. The overall environment is positive, encouraging, and very well organized. We're truly grateful for the dedication of the entire Aqua-Tots team. Highly recommend to any parents looking for quality swim lessons for their kids! read more

Not a place for a first lesson. Watch my video. Update: Because they are not a part of any swimming organization, no one holds them accountable for their dangerous methods. I filed a complaint with the USA Swimming Safe Sport and with the U.S. Center for SafeSport. However, neither of these organizations can take action against the rough coaches and the school because it is a private institution and falls outside the jurisdiction of any organization that could halt their dangerous practices. They will continue to lie on their website by stating "Safety first" while simultaneously forcing your screaming child underwater. They scared my 4-year-old. She screamed and was actively resisting, but the coach just took her and threw her into the water. I could see she was suffocating for a moment because he just forced her under water while she screamed. So lovely for a first lesson ever. How do I convince her now that swimming is fun? Coach Lucas doesn't know what he is doing at all. Disappoinment. I regret I brought my kid there. read more

Update: The manager convinced me to come in to use up our leftover lessons (10+). My son loved the bonding time with Sarah and has asked to keep going for lessons, a complete about-face. We are very happy that he wants to go back and enjoyed his time with many great instructors here: Victor, Sarah, Sam, etc. Thanks for all of the support/hard work. While I would tell parents to start lessons young, be aware of teacher changes and prep their child for this, I am very happy to hear that they have changed some management recently and are working hard to provide positive experiences for children read more

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My daughter has been coming here for 2 years and can barely keep her head above water. It's frustrating to spend the amount of money that it costs to come here and have it amount to nothing. We really liked it the first few months when Coach Betty was still there but after that it went downhill as instructors are constantly being changed out without notice. They seem unable to keep staff and without consistency how can my child grow. We have it in the system that my daughter is uncomfortable around adult males and still without notice they have changed her instructor last minute several times to a male. We drive all the way from Pittsboro I'm just asking for a phone call if that happens, that's all, so we don't drive an hour for nothing. I understand that people call in but there's no communication. Then there is the 30$ registration fee every year even though our child is already registered and you need a 30 day notice to cancel. It's ridiculous, they're a corporation. The reasons they give you for the fees make zero sense. There have been some good coaches during our time here (they usually quit within a few months) but at the end of the day I highly don't recommend Aqua-Tots. You're better off paying a larger amount for a private instructor during a shorter period of time so your child actually learns to swim. There are better options. read more

Nearly all coaches present this day were chewing gum. Our coach took repeated sips of a pink poolside beverage during the 25 minute session. She also spent a fair amount of time making eye contact with other coaches chatting poolside Not at all impressed. read more

Love the customer service! All the front desk members are very nice and respectful, but very busy. The instructor's work well with my children and they have progressed tremendously even with hard classes. The only disappointment is the people around me smell very strong like curry and hardly speak english. read more

Ever since we have joined there has been nothing but cancellations whether it is no teacher to equipment breaking down. The only solutions given are make up classes and continued payments drawn monthly. This is not a way to make your customers happy as make ups are very cumbersome to most parents and gets kids out of their routines. Our entire purpose was to get our kid comfortable in the water this summer and almost all summer classes were cancelled. Definitely not what we paid for and the trend continues. Thanks for nothing. Everyone stay away from this location! read more

I really wanted to like this place but unfortunately it fell far below what I had heard it was and expected given the price of the class. The good is that its a clean environment, the instructors seem to do well implementing the curriculum, and they give a good amount of feedback which is helpful week to week. Now to the not so good. My 3yr old daughter started in the level three with a great coach who was fun, attentive, and engaging. Just a few short weeks after we began she stopped teaching and another teacher took over her classes. Then that teacher left. So in the three months we were there my daughter had three different teachers, and that doesn't account for the numerous substitutes they had for whatever reason. The inconsistency with teachers is a BIG deal to a 3yr old who is just learning to swim and thrives on consistency. I also have to agree with the poster who said sometimes the teachers acted annoyed. There were certainly a few who seemed to really enjoy their job, but definitely those who seemed to just churn them in and out and not really engage with the kids or work hard to get them comfortable both in the water and with their teacher. I was also incredibly disturbed when I witnessed one of the teachers push my daughters head down to look down in the water. My daughter was just starting out and I realize she needed to get comfortable looking down in the water but I really did not think pushing her head down was appropriate and could have been pretty scary for a young child. It got to the point where my daughter protested every time we went because she didn't like it (and she's usually super enthusiastic about going to her other classes) so I decided it was time to pull the plug. Didn't want her to develop a real fear of the class or water. Hopefully we'll find a better alternative next year! read more

We have been thrilled with aqua-tots. We began when my daughter was 10 months old. She was not such a happy camper for the first two lessons and our instructor was really great about modifying some of the skills to fit her level of anxiety. After about 2 lessons, she flourished. She absolutely loves getting in the water each week. We do basically the same thing every week with some modified and increasingly difficult skills or different ways of approaching the same skills, which makes it fun for the kids. She loves getting in the boat or standing on the floating mat. The instructors are all very great and everyone at the front desk is always so friendly! It is a little more expensive than some other places in the area, but I think it is worth it. read more

We explained to Riley when we enrolled that our grandson was adverse to getting his face wet and was assured by Riley that she would make notes to relay to the instructor of his fear of getting his face wet. It was shocking to watch the instructor pick my grandson up and duck his head under the water. He screamed and cried until they put him back on the edge of the pool. When they tried to duck him again he backed up and started screaming again. At this point I entered the pool to save him from further trauma. When I explained to the instructor that we had discussed child's issue, was told they never received Riley's notes. When I asked Riley about it, she told me that dunking was the only way they had of teaching the child to put his head in the water. Had Riley told me that up front, I would never signed him up. Child says he does not wish to continue with lessons at Aqua Tots. Fred P read more

I just started my 32 month old son in Level 3 swim lessons at the Cary location (they are also in Raleigh). Previously he has taken (pretty intense) lessons with a woman who gives lessons at her private pool. He did well with her, but I decided to try something new. They have 1, 2 or 3 day a week options and you pay monthly. The instructors all have to have at least 2 years of previous swim instructor experience AND must go through Aqua Tots required training. They all seem to be really good with the kids and knowledgeable about teaching them safety and swim lessons. The pool is indoors (in a strip mall...weird, right?) and is surrounded on three sides with windows. One wall of windows opens to the large lobby area, where there are two rows of (comfy) chairs, where parents are welcome to sit and watch the lesson. All in all, very happy so far. read more

We have attended Aquatots for about 4 years. I'll start with the good first. My kids have a great time at lessons, the instructors do a great job and are very friendly with the kids, the facility is nice, and overall, they teach good swimming technique. Now for the bad, every year in January, you are charged a $45 registration fee. It doesn't matter if your child just started lessons in December and you were charged a registration fee then, you will be charged the full fee again in January. It is not pro-rated. They are incredibly defiant when you call to address this and refuse to give any refunds for any reasons probably due to the fact that many parents are pretty angry about this fee. For us, we prepaid for our lessons and paused them as of January 8th due to COVID. We had not taken one lesson in January, yet they refused to refund us the $45. It seems very cheap and shady to do this especially considering how expensive the lessons already are and that we had a $356 credit on our account due to the prepayment of the lessons. Second, they are very inconsistent with progressing children to higher levels. My older daughter started in Level 3 and moved to Level 4 within about three months of starting lessons. Then, she was stuck in Level 4 for almost three years. I was okay with that for the first two years and we did take some short breaks in lessons which may have caused her to backtrack in her progression. However, once we were in our third year of Level 4, it started to feel like they were just milking us for money and making excuses. Every week I would ask the instructor what she needed to work on and they would say something different - her backstroke arms needed to be stronger, she needed to keep her head down, or this instructor had only seen her once so they could not assess if she was ready to move to the next level. Okay, but if there is a different instructor every week for almost 8 weeks, that starts to be ridiculous. Finally, she was moved up to the next level to learn new strokes and skills, but I literally had to beg them to assess her. I almost quit at that point, but again, we had prepaid for our lessons, so I did not want to lose the money. Third, if you call in advance of your scheduled lesson time, you can have a make-up lesson added to your account. In theory, that sounds great. The problem is that the make-up lessons were difficult for our family to use with two working parents - there are never any spots available on the weekend, so that is not an option. They essentially accumulate and go unused unless your schedule has great flexibility. Overall, I think the lessons they provide are great, but the ways their fees are charged and the operational policies are quite punitive towards families. The benefit of the lessons does not outweigh the financial and operational negatives. They truly need to reassess how their business operates. It's just not worth it. read more

Love aqua-tots! Teachers are awesome. Lounge for parents is comfy and my girls have progressed leaps and bounds in their swimming. Great place and great results! read more

We had a great experience at Aqua-Tots. Our seven-year-old son has always enjoyed wading and splashing, but we never had consistent or convenient access to pools or beaches. After observing another child needing lifeguard intervention in a pool while we were on vacation, I realized he needed to learn to swim. My own efforts to teach him, however, were utter failures. He was apprehensive about taking lessons, but his instructors at Aqua-Tots were well prepared with appropriate lesson plans and confident demeanor. He undertook more challenging maneuvers in his first lesson than I had ever been able to coax him into attempting. Within a few weeks, he was comfortably floating and swimming, and when our neighborhood pool opened a few months later, he had the confidence to jump in and has never looked back. I appreciated the small class sizes, four kids max, and our son often had classes with only one or two others. The instructors are good at keeping kids of diverse ages on track and involved, and the school seems to do a good job of grouping kids by ability rather than age. All staff we interacted with were friendly and professional. The facility was always clean, no small accomplishment with the number of wet little feet running around. The only thing we didn't care for was that the school is frequently booked to capacity so there are often not enough seats for everyone to comfortably observe the lessons through the window. I would recommend this school to any family with small children needing help learning to swim. read more

Excellent swim school will recommend for any level child. great time slot availability for working parents. Wonderful, fun, organized atmosphere. Great service and instructors. Good price and all around views to watch your child. Bathrooms, showers, dressing area, TV area for siblings, wifi, and plenty of helpful staff. read more

horrible customer service. the girls at the reception desk are too arrogant and do not have any respect for customers and are very rude. neither do they attend phone calls or respond to messages. read more

Not a fan. My kids went to this swim school for a month and learned almost nothing. The classes are half an hour, which starts when the teacher gathers the kids and by the time they are at the water, 5 minutes is gone. Then there are four or five kids on the side of the pool watching while the teacher takes turns with them...then they use five minutes at the end to get out and rinse and get to the door. I timed it one class and each of my children spent a TOTAL of seven minutes in the water. I found the staff to be cold and uncaring- not once did any of them refer to my children by name despite having a card in hand with their names on it. One "coach" just put her hand on my sons head and called him "this one". Also be careful with their withdrawal policy- you're bound for one month ahead if you don't like it and the free trial class is not enough to really see. My kids were pulled out and I put them in a short session at Shepherds Vineyard (open to the public) where the cost was less than half, the staff was loving, and they both were swimming within three classes. (2 and 4). There, they spent the entire time in the water and even got to jump off the diving board. read more

My 3.5 year old has been taking swim lessons here and we have had such an awesome experience here. The coaches are really good and really understanding to how to treat really young ones. They make sure the kids are comfortable with water before they jump in to lessons. I like that they involve a lot of play with teaching so the kids enjoy it. My daughter absolutely loves her lessons here and asks to go everyday. I would strongly recommend swim lessons here to others especially for the younger ones. read more

Rough with the kids, some teachers act annoyed. Very disorganized process and the front staff is very rude, one not as much but not in control, the other is aloof and lacks any level of concern for anyone other than herself. read more

I love their program! I started taking my daughter when she was 8 months old and had the priviledge to start off with Jen, who is the best instructor they have. She had days where she struggled, but they were and are very supportive and always willing to do what's most comfortable for the child and parent. I'm a traveling parent with an unpredictable schedule. Their school allows you to make up as many classes as you need to, which works PERFECT for someone like me. I just recently tried to enroll my daughter in dance and gymnastics class and found that they're alot more strict on the schedule. The classes would be in the morning for her age, which clearly isnt meant for working parents. Or, they only allow you to make up 1 class and you have to tell them before you sign up what that class is. So it's hard to make a financial commitment to it knowing I can fly out at any given day, or I may need to work longer hours, etc. Aqua tots is extremely accomodating! Their pools are also very warm, so temperature is comfortable for everyone. My daughter is almost 2, and I have seen her progressed so much since going a year and a half ago! 5 stars! (I also wanted to add that not every visit was perfect. There were days she hated it. There were days the instructor and I had to force my daughter, but it all took time. Once she got the hang of it and got a nap prior to going, she was good. Trial class doesn't really give you a good picture of whats to come unfortunately. Sometimes you just have to give it more time. Yes, pool is crowded, but, I'm sure in time they'll expand. It's usually how small businesses start. Clearly, they're heading the right path because they're getting more and more students to sign up. I trust in the owners and how they strive to do make their school better. Their kids are examples of what they're capable of teaching kids in the pool, so that alone gives me confident that they understand the needs of a child and what they have to do to make it work. Fortunately for us, we've had a great experience thus far). read more

We signed both of our toddlers (2 and 4) up for lessons, and the progress they've made is remarkable! Rebekah and Ashley have taught the boys and we've been very happy with the amount of time and attention received by the boys. I was a little worried that they would spend more time on the side of the pool as opposed to in the water (because of the 4 student to 1 teacher ratio), but it's been fine, and seeing the other kids seems to reinforce the lessons. Happy with the price and experience, eager for the Raleigh store on Six Forks to open as that is closer to our home! For me, the best part is the flexibility and make-up classes. Several friends schedule private lessons, but especially during the summer we travel a lot and really need that flexibility. read more

During my daughters second day of class she didn't wanna go in and started throwing a fit she is three years old and was scared to go to her class without her mom by herself so to resolve the issue a trainer not even a teacher who was in charge of her class thought it would be OK to continually submerge my daughter under the water dunking her three times while she's having a panic attack I shouted across the pool for her to stop and that she was traumatizing my daughter and I would remove her from the pool I spoke with the manager got my money back told her that we will not be bringing our family back to their establishment ever again and that I am traumatized and so is my daughter the fact that they had a trainer basically trying to drowned my daughter because she was afraid being in the pool is completely wrongUnprofessional and not safe she could have swelled a ton of water it could've caused pneumonia or brain damage I cannot believe that they would allow this practice to happen and that the other two teachers one of being a manager stood by and did nothing until I Express my concern at the front desk and when I got home made a phone call expressing how concerned I was about there training methodI just pray this doesn't happen to anyone ever again and I hope they reprimand the girl who tried to drowned my three-year-old because she was scared thinking that it would somehow stop her from crying which is completely psychotic and mine blowing that someone would think that that would be a method to use on a child of any age to get them to stop crying if you decide to give this business a try please keep in mind and watch exactly what they're doing with their training methods Or lack there of. read more

We've been going here over a year and my daughter (2 1/2 yrs) keeps asking to go back. We started out as parent/baby class members and now she's taking lessons with just the teacher. It's exciting to see her progress her swim skills. It's a fun way to bond with your baby/toddler and I highly recommend it. They have expanded their changing rooms, which is nice. The staff is super-friendly and they have easy make-up class policies. read more

This place is fine for little kids getting comfortable with water. For older kids, they just don't spend enough time in the water. I watched my daughter's 30 minute lesson and she spent about 2 minutes actually swimming. This is just not acceptable. The kids spend their time sitting on the ledge... sitting, not swimming. Frustrating. read more

My son has been taking lessons here for the past couple of months, well since the school opened. He is in the level 4 program and takes lessons twice per week. I am very happy with the facility, the two instructors who are teaching my son, and the other members of staff. My son is really enjoying himself and really looks forward to each lesson. He is in a class of four which I think suits his personality. I don't think he'd like it as much is he were in a one-on-one teaching situation, but they do offer individual lessons if needed. I also think the general philosophy of Aqua-Tots is great, geared towards learning at each student's pace. I can see the instructors gradually working to stretch the kids just a bit more, but I can see it is always doing so based on the child's own ability and level of comfort. My son was quite afraid when we started and over the past few sessions he has settled down and looks far more confident and is much more independent in the water at this point. I don't expect it will be long before he is ready for the next level. He still wont quite be a swimmer, but he is heading gradually toward that overall goal. read more

Outstanding facility and staff. The lesson plans and levels are very structured. The staff are all very kid friendly and help even the most scared little guppies overcome their fears. We've had our 5 year old here from January until June, and he's a confident happy swimmer now. We'll definitely keep coming. read more

My 3 y.o. daughter just completed fast track with Brandon, and I am beyond pleased with the results. The fast track is 4 days/week for 2 weeks. There were times when my daughter was screaming and crying, and Brandon did not seemed phased by it. In fact, he had her complete all the tasks anyway. Her last session was today, and she is comfortable putting her head underwater, jumping in, floating, and swimming a short distance independently. Fast track is the way to go, and if Brandon is available, I would definitely recommend his class. read more

My two year was scared after her first lesson so when we came back for the next lesson she would not even go into the pool area. She screamed at the top of her lungs right outside the pool and the swim teacher nor any other staff came up to me to help to getting her in the pool. Since we left I have called twice to complain and speak with the manger. It has been five days and still haven't got a call back and I keep getting told the to get a refund for the month I need to speak to the manger who is not returning my calls. read more

Our experience at Awua Tots has been nothing short of excellent. My daughter loves her coach and classes. They have make-up classes which makes it convenient for us if she is sick/ or we have some other engagements. The coaches are well trained and are so good with the kids, and make them feel comfortable. We love it and would strong recommend. Coach Alex and coach Rohan and coach Allison are my daughter's favorites read more

We've had our daughter here for about 6 months and she has progressed leaps and bounds over where she was when we first started her lessons. She had a fear of water and resisted to going at first as many kids will. Water is dangerous if not treated with respect so some fear is understandable. It is up to the parent to prep their kids on what to expect when going to these classes and build confidence when we sense fear as the cause of resistance. We've been working with our daughter along side what the teachers have been teaching her and she is doing marvelous! I didn't go into this expecting the teacher to do everything for us, I knew we would have to work to get her excited about learning to swim. The instructors seem to enjoy working with the kids from what I see, and they give excellent feedback which is what we go home and practice with her. There are anywhere from 4-5 other kids in her class at a time so it should be expected that we can't get that one on one interaction every time we go. The interaction levels in my daughter's class is well balanced and fair. They do offer private lessons if your child needs special attention but of course that costs more. However, if your child does not do well in the group environment, this may be the extra attention you need to try before giving up. Also, Ive never had any other types of interaction with the fronr staff other than positive. The desk clerksbare very friendly, super helpful and accommodating from the many times ive talked with them. I highly recommend this location. read more

We've had nothing but an extremely positive experience at Aqua Tots. The instructors are great with our kids and the staff is friendly. I also like that even though most people who work there are of college aged, they are clearly very responsible, driven young adults. read more

The good: Clean inviting environment, friendly front desk staff, small play area, private family changing stalls, treasure box with dum dums. While there is some waiting on the ledge for your turn, I would expect that in a group lesson. I also think it's good for kids to watch each other, and learn to wait their turn, especially when it comes to water. Safe environment. The O.K. - 30 minute swim lesson, pretty standard. Group size 4 kids, decent. The Disappointing: the pool is divided into 9 different sections so it can get loud if it's full. The lesson- we had a really rough first lesson. My 4 year old cried the whole time and was worried about going back. I expressed my concern to AquaTots because I was afraid their philosophy wasn't going to be a good fit. They were very helpful and supportive and willing to work with us. They were great with my daughter and her whole class for the second lesson. The water watcher was distracting my upset daughter with little games. After the first few minutes my daughter was laughing and having fun. Brooke, the instructor adjusted the lesson for my daughter who was afraid to go under. The other 3 kids were completely submerged while she only had my daughter dip her face in. My daughter came out smiling and is excited for her next lesson! read more

I love this place. The staff is super friendly! Every coach I have dealt with have been great with kids....the best part is how flexible they are with make ups. It really makes it so convenient for parents when you have them in ongoing classes for a long time. I have been with them for a while and there is nothing I don't like about this place. Although they are super busy, the staff still takes the time to be very helpful and friendly. We need more classes and places like this where they adapt such flexible policies with such wonderful staff! Way to go Aqua Tots team!!! read more

We love Aqua-Tots! The staff are friendly and professional and know how to work with the kids when they're cooperating and even when they aren't. My two kids have consistently been in classes for a year and a half and are both very excelled for their ages! read more

We love Aqua-Tots!!! The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and the lessons are the *best* around. My 3 year old is already proficient in the water due to her swimming lessons, which is such a relief from a safety standpoint. Our family loves time in the pool because our children have learned to love water, thanks to Aqua-Tots! read more

The place is beautiful. The staff is very nice and friendly. However, I took my six year old for a trial lesson and had a very unpleasant experience. I let them know upon sign up that he had a little phobia with water and I wanted to see how he did in a lesson before committing. I also was planning on signing up my toddler. When my son went to his lesson with Rebekah it all started out well. I was surprised he was ok with her going under water with him. After the third time I notice him tell her (they have glass walls for parents to observe) that he didn't want to go under water again. She dunked him under anyway. He started crying. She did it again. He got hysterical and said he didn't want to. She did it AGAIN. At this point I wanted to go in and stop her myself but was told parents were not allowed in the pool arena because it interfered with the "process". I told the staff person that I was not ok with her dunking him when he was clearly having a meltdown and terrified and that I wanted to talk to my son, to please bring him out to me. She went to speak to the instructor but instead of doing as I asked tried to talk my son into staying and he was clearly not having it. He was so rattled (at this point screaming) that he wanted his mom that I had it storm in and get him myself. That may be their process but as far as I am concerned that is not an effective way to teach a child who is already afraid of water. You don't teach according to a lesson plan, you should take the student into consideration and have the knowledge and flexibility to adapt according to their needs. I would not recommend that place at all for parents of hesitant or fearful kids who want to learn to swim. read more

I heard great things about Aqua-Tots from several neighbors but I'm disappointed with the experience my family had at Aqua-Tots and we won't be continuing lessons in the future. The school is clean and new but the pool is over-crowded and the waiting area is always packed full of people. You can join an Aqua Tots class at any time which means your Level 4 child might be a true beginner grouped with kids that have been in level 4 for weeks - I don't agree with the leveling system at Aqua-Tots. Very difficult to get in touch with the Director - left 3 messages for the Director requesting she call me to discuss my son's leveling and she never returned my calls. After my 3rd plea she had someone from the front desk call me to discuss - not sufficient as her message was miscommunicated and resulted in my son being enrolled in the wrong class. Waste of my time. Owner called to apologize for the confusion and I was given a full refund for classes and enrollment fee, which I greatly appreciate (added 1 star). Wanted to love it, but not the right place for my family. read more

We had the opportunity to put three of our kids through the fast track program at Aquatots, and I was SO impressed! Before their lessons, I had a hard time even getting them to go in a swimming pool, because they were so afraid. Only two weeks later, they had conquered so many fears, and my four year old is even able to swim independently a little! I was especially happy to hear that they had learned some really practical water safety tips, like what to do if they fall into a pool. I have four young kids, so those kinds of things are so valuable to me. Maggie was a wonderful teacher. She had a great balance of slowing down when they were afraid and pushing them to overcome those fears. She really did push them hard some days, but those were always the days when they seemed to be their bravest. We were told that if we put our terrified of the water kids in fast track that we wouldn't even recognize the way they acted in the water when it was done, and it was completely true. We just took them swimming yesterday, and we ALL had so much fun! I'm so glad that we get to enjoy swimming with our kids this summer! read more