Our daughter has made remarkable progress in a short time, thanks to the well-structured program and the caring, dedicated coaches. The front desk team is always friendly, flexible, and incredibly helpful when it comes to scheduling make-up classes. A special shoutout to coaches Maribel and CJ --they've been exceptionally professional, patient, friendly and consistently encouraging. Their clear instruction and positive energy have truly boosted our daughter's confidence and swimming skills. I also highly recommend the Summer Clinic Program--the daily evaluations really accelerated her growth and gave us great insight into her progress. It's a safe, supportive, and fun place for any child to learn to swim.I highly recommend it to other parents! read more

The instructors are generally good and our kids have learned a ton - which is the point of lessons. However, they are constantly rotating or changing instructors which has been challenging for our youngest. Her current instructor is beyond amazing though. Our biggest problem with Bear Paddle is the facility. It feels disgusting. I understand the locker room will be wet, but the floor always looks dirty too, and it doesn't feel just wet, but slimy. It smells like strongly of urine half the time, and sometimes feces. Which leads me to believe they don't clean well enough and they likely need their drains cleaned. The floors in the changing rooms have gunk buildup. The walls are filthy. They need a professional cleaning service to clean multiple times a week, the floors need an acid wash and to be disinfected everyday. The walls need to be cleaned. I don't want to sound harsh or nit picky, I just don't think it's asking too much for cleanliness to be a high priority in a facility where kids and families change and expose their bodies to water, floors, benches, etc. Particularly for what they charge, considering they don't offer more flexible payment setup options. I don't want to keep my bank info on file, and the fees for cards are obnoxious---the tuition never seems to stay the same month over month either. Again, really do love most of the staff and instructors--and I love how far our kids have come by going here. But I'm to the point where we are probably going to have to switch schools, because I can't risk my young ones by exposing them to whatever is going on with that locker room. read more

Bear Paddle Swim in Turnersville/Washington Twp. is very unprofessional and the facility is dirty and the pool area is dark and dingy. The locker rooms and bathrooms need to be cleaned. The staff is young and I would say they are more like babysitters splashing in the water with your kids for 30 minutes while you sit and wonder why you paid 45 dollars for a lesson. They are notorious for hidden charges. They even take the liberty to keep your credit card on file and charge it as they see fit. I spent 30 minutes on the phone with my bank disputing charges for swimming lessons my granddaughter did not even take. Tracy one of the office managers is miserable to deal with. Best wishes. I would check other swim schools. I give them at most a 3 star rating read more

What started out as "just for fun" and "water safety" turned out to be a full on sport for my kid after 2 years, and now he may have competitive swimming in his future. All BP teachers are great instructors but make it fun for the kids too. So all the kids are progressing & developing without the pressure. My kid is in the final year and we will sure miss BP when it's over. Highly recommend this place! read more

Sadly I loved the facility when we first started... but I would not recommend it now. There are a lot of inconsistencies with the instructors and the management is really difficult to work with -- it's difficult to schedule makeup sessions, parents aren't made aware of changes or teacher cancellations until you've already walked in the door, and you cannot put a hold on your membership to take a few weeks out for another activity. We had a great instructor who was wonderful with my special needs child but it did not seem anyone else had any kind of training to work with kids who aren't perfect. Disappointed as it really could be a great place for kids but overall I ended up getting charged for a lot of sessions that never happened and management refused to help. (Just for reference, I never leave public reviews.) read more

I have been taking my daughter to Bear Paddle for a little over a year now and I've finally had the last straw and yanked her out. In the past year, her weekly lessons and skill lessons have been canceled at the last minute, on many, many occasions for "pool issues". Then it's almost impossible to schedule a make up lesson because they only schedule them up to a week out (assuming it's cancelled on a Monday) and by that time, their schedule is full. Ultimately, they keep their money and you end up forfeiting the make up lesson. Also, they can't keep staff (I'm guessing low pay). It's a revolving door and as a result, there's no consistency with teachers and your child doesn't progress. The dressing/locker room area is disgusting. My daughter's weekly lessons are at the end of the day and when you walk back to the changing area, the floor is totally covered in hair with the occasional used bandaid strewn about. It's gross and they could make at least a minimal effort to clean off the floor through out the day. Last week, they cancelled a skill lesson for pool issues (for the zillionth time) and told me I was rescheduled for the following week, same time. This week I drove 25 minutes to the school, only to find out that they never actually put me on the calendar and they're having staffing issues. I ask to speak to the manager. I'm told there is no manager. I then ask her to confirm that no one is in charge. She then says that "Katie" is the manager, but she's been out for a period of time. I ask who is her assistant manager. Well, apparently it's no one. Funny enough, this month's theme is "circus" and it couldn't be more appropriate. The place is a total circus, minus the ring leader, with the clowns left in charge. Skip this place and go anywhere else. read more

The lessons are fine. The facility is in major need of tlc. The pool is grimey and I always get loose hair on me. Lightbulbs are blown out and the bathrooms are dirty. The floors in the changing area are very dirty, not ideal to be barefoot. You'll have a hard time getting anyone on the phone to cancel. All and all it's just gross. Look elsewhere. read more

I am just going to review on having a "Birthday Party" here. We went here recently for a 4 yr old birthday party and it was not what I expected! Most of the kids just sat on the step while the lifeguards would take 1 kid at a time to walk across the water mat or whatever the game was. Kids looked bored just siting around waiting their turn. Kids couldn't swim around. The party room I thought was also small from other kid places. read more

I can't begin to tell you how much I love this place, from the instructors to the environment, top notch. Small class sizes give your child the attention they need when learning to swim. I currently have my 4 year old enrolled (since she was about 3, lessons since 2) and will be enrolling my 1 year old when she turns 2. My 4 year old was at 4 other places for lessons, none of them touched Bear Paddle. Needless to say, I highly recommend them. read more

As a former swim instructor, I came into Bear Paddle with eyes wide open, and was not at all disappointed! All 3 of my girls LOVE swimming there and have improved greatly! The classes are very small (3-4 kids) and so they receive a lot of personalized attention and opportunities to practice. The swim school uses a patch system in which students receive colored patches as they acquire a specific skill for their level, which makes it very exciting for the kids and easy for parents to tell what they still need to work on before moving up to the next level. Times and make-ups are flexible to fit anyone's schedule, and I was able to schedule all three of my girls (different levels and ages) to swim at the same time, which is incredibly convenient. The staff is friendly and the environment is a lot of fun. Even the showers for washing off before getting in the pool are turned into what looks like something from a water park. My kids love to get there early just to spend extra time "showering." Thanks Bear Paddle! read more

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Best !!! I mean just the ambience and the patience to teach kids how to swim is impeccable.

We love Bear Paddle! We drive 35-40 min every week for our daughter's swim lessons and she can't wait to go every week. The classes are really fun, the water is warm and the kids spray shower is my daughter's favorite :) Everyone at Bear Paddle has been more than accommodating and the customer service is exceptional in every regard. We love some coaches more than others but everyone is really nice. Some could be more engaging with the kids and not just stand around telling us what the next activity is. I love that all the employees know the kids by their first name - they take the time to make everyone feel welcomed. Not all the showers work great but we can always shower at home. Definitely recommend Bear Paddle of Marlton! read more

Very disrespectful . My ex signed the kids up and they were already in swimming lessons elsewhere. They just cared about the money and were extremely rude. read more

We have had a great experience with Bear Paddle Swim School in Marlton, NJ. Both my children 3 &4 attended a week long swim camp over spring break. My 4 year old started off using an inflatable and was swimming independently by the last day and moved up to level 2. My 3 year old who was previously afraid to put his face in the water was face dipping like a pro by the end of the week. They are both now doing weekly lessons and show growth each week. The staff is exceptional: fun, professional and great with the kids. I am so happy we started this program and we will definitely keep going! Highly Recommended! read more

We feel welcome as soon as we walk through the doors, we are always greeted! The facility is always clean. And my daughters instructors are the main reason we come here, and why we signed up for the fall season. They're so patient and make the lessons exciting. This place is worth the 45 minute drive. read more

This place and the instructors always go above and beyond. I had an interesting situation where we needed to get lessons fast and they were able to accommodate private swim lessons, they bent over backwards to help us. I also signed my children up for weekly swim lessons and this was the only place my daughter could go that she liked. I have never encountered one rude staff member. read more

This swim school needs to improve. 1) They need to be consistent on start times. Last week I was here with my son and they started 5 minutes late. I was ok with that because there were parents still changing in the locker room. Today we arrived at 8:57 for a 9:00 lesson and they already started. There were 3 parent/child groups still changing in the locker room. 2) The teenagers instructing the lesson speak the instructions into the air. There are four parent/child groups in the pool and they are horrible at explaining what's going on. My wife told me it's because it's the same parents every week and they know the activities, but when I was in the pool one week, I had no idea what was going on. When the instructor speaks they aren't facing you, so it's difficult to hear them. It's like they're just trying to hurry and get through the lesson. In 10 weeks we've had one good instructor. Before you start classes they should show parents a video of the activities your going to do with your child because the instructors are very bad at it. They should train their instructors on how to talk with people in a loud pool environment. They should face the patrons when they talk. They should take time to make sure everyone understands what activity you're doing and why. They should understand the activities. The instructor right now is doing an activity wrong. The child is supposed to go slightly under water at an angle, she is keeping them above water. Grrrr. I can't wait for the lessons we already paid for to be used up and we will be seeking other options for child swim lessons. read more

The manager needs to be more friendly. I especially don't need an attitude when I'm making a payment of over $600. You're welcome. Every other time I've signed my child up as a new student in any other program, we've received some degree of welcome and appreciation. The swim instructors are good and the woman who I believe to be the swim supervisor is great. read more

Very big fan of our time at Bear Paddle. We've been bringing our almost two year old there since he was about one. It's been a great introduction to the water. The first class he was very nervous and cried, but now it's one of the highlights of his week. We had a terrific teacher for quite some time named Roman who was the best. I wish he would come back, but I believe he's on to college. Also an incredible worker there is Joe who really takes the time to get to know everybody and is great in the water with the kids also. Not all the teachers are as terrific, but I've never had a negative experience that sticks out. A little pricey, but recommend this place if you're looking for a swim school for your little ones. read more

I can't say enough good things. Every person we have dealt with has been great. Our grandson loves it and is progressing quickly. They are accommodating and professional. read more

My wife and I went to a birthday party here recently and had a great experience. We have a 20 month old and most children were at the age they could swim. I figured I'd go in with my son but one of the employees, Nia (not sure if the spelling is correct) to the reigns and had our little dude in the pool for almost an hour. She took great care of him and he had a blast. We are actually planning on moving to the area very soon and we'll be in there signing up for swim lessons ASAP. Thanks for your help Nia! You're a rock star! read more

I brought my 3 boys here for swim camp. I am truly amazed at the progress they made in just 5 days! The staff was very friendly and accommodating with lesson times. I brought my kids to MANY other places for swim lessons year after year and they never seemed to learn how to swim. The instructors at Bear Paddle really pushed them and I can now take them swimming with confidence. I look forward to continuing lessons so they can improve their skills. read more

Awesome place! My 4 year old son loves it! The motivate the children and make the experience fun!

I took my daughter for swim lessons as an activity this summer and decided on Bear Paddle since it is close by and I heard good things. Initially it was only supposed to be for the summer months, but we like it so much that we are going to continue this fall. The changing area is so clean and the staff is wonderful. My daughter is two years old and as soon as we pull up, she starts getting excited and yells "Water!" We love our instructor, Claudia. Priscilla at the front desk has also been wonderful and so helpful. We've been going to Family Swim as well on Sunday nights which is fun. I definitely recommend Bear Paddle! read more

My daughters enjoy learning to swim at this facility. The instructors, staff, and their customer service is second to none.

My daughter has been going to Bear Paddle swimming school for only a month but I have noticed such a huge Improvement in my child. When she first got there she was okay with the water but very reluctant to put her face in but after only a month she is actually confident and doing so much better. I can't thank them enough for everything they've given to me and my family I feel much more confident with her swimming and will definitely be continuing the lessons. My child looks forward to swimming every week and I feel good about the fact that they have such helpful and understanding staff that really do understand child and how to teach them in a way that they understand. The instructor Joe is definitely one of our favorites he really makes swimming more fun for the kids and knows how to break it down for my child in a simple way that she can understand plus gives her so much encouragement and confidence. read more

My 4 year old loves his class and the way they teach the different styles of swimming. I cannot believe how much he has learn in such a small amount of time! In just a couple of months, he had grown more comfortable with water. He goes under water, advances pretty good when he is paddling and floats on his back with little help. They were also very helpful with any questions or requests I have!! Really happy!! read more

We have been taking our two year old to Bear Paddle since they opened in July. When we first started we attended on busy Saturday mornings. During this time the instructor kept changing from week to week which I didn't really like. My son is young and I thought he would be more comfortable with an instructor he could recognize from week to week. Our group had a pair of relatives in the class who would bring lots of family to the pool and it was very distracting for our son as well. We decided to move him to a week night class and it has been so much better. Our teacher has been the same now for weeks and my son has built a rapport with her. We also love that no one else is enrolled during that time slot so it is like having a private lesson. My son has moved up the levels since starting in July. He has gotten very comfortable and enjoys going. To me it seems repetitive, but for a toddler it seems appropriate. The facility is clean and the staff have always been polite to our family and accommodating if we have to move his lesson for travel or illness. Because the teachers are high school/ college age the pool staff seems to change with the seasons. Overall we are satisfied with our experience so far. read more